A monumental study by an esteemed and important chronicler of the no longer existent German culture of Silesia, this volume is comprised of three sections covering: (1) literary institutions during the Nazi state, (2) biographies of then active authors and functionaries, and (3) primary motifs and themes in the literature of the Nazi era. The institutions discussed in the first section include those established by the Nazi party, such as literary and research groups, periodicals, publishers, and libraries as well as pre-existing entities. The lengthier middle section examines individual writers, with special attention paid to Hans-Christoph Kaergel, whose writings exemplify the genre of regional literature. The third section concentrates on themes such as depictions of Silesia, German colonization of eastern territories, and the 1241 Mongol invasion. Noteworthy in these themes is the hostility or indifference toward Poles. Significant authors mentioned within the text are included in an appendix of short biographies of Silesian authors (p. 741-781) and also appear in the name index (p. 827-840) in bold type. Additionally the appendices include a listing of unpublished archival materials and a bibliography of secondary literature. [frh/dfb]

Hitler der Redner [Hitler the Orator]. Ed. Josef Kopperschmidt and Johannes G. Pankau. München: Fink, 2003. 502 p. 24 cm. ISBN 3-7705-3823-4: EUR 41.90 [06-1-111]

The book jacket states that the objective of this collection of 22 essays is neither to demonize Hitler, nor to complain about previous inadequate publications, but to examine how his oratory prowess contributed to the success of the National Socialists. Hitler governed mainly with the power of speech. He did not have to write anything down; his word was law. His seminal work Mein Kampf [My Struggle] was dictated, rather than written, by him. He could sway people to his point of view, even when Nazi Germany was failing. The question is how he managed this. With few exceptions, he seemed to hypnotize people into losing their reason. Hitler altered his communication style as the war progressed, replacing public speeches with table-talks, which are not covered in this volume.

It is misguided to concentrate on the techniques as many of the authors do, without considering the message. The entries here examine his technique, recurring themes, early speeches, and their reception, but only one speech is analyzed minutely, and the effect of the setting and situation on Hitler’s speeches is not considered. This volume examines Hitler’s powerful rhetorical skills with interesting, convincing, and scholarly methods. The question is whether one can fully describe something with words that also depends on the eyes, ears, and emotions. This volume provides valuable insights into the phenomena of Hitler’s persuasive oratory despite this limitation. [frh/rg]

Geschichte eines Buches: Adolf Hitlers “Mein Kampf,” 1922-1945 [History of a Book: Adolf Hitler’s “Mein Kampf,” 1922-1945]. Othmar Plöckinger. München: Oldenbourg, 2006. vii, 632 p. ill. 25 cm. ISBN 978-3-486-57956-7; ISBN 3-486-57956-8: EUR 49.80 [06-1-112]

After the defeat of the Nazi dictatorship, the Allies forbade the sale of Hitler’s ideological programmatic work Mein Kampf in Germany, of which 12 million copies had been sold or given as gifts. Nothing has changed in that prohibition to this day. Although one may publish and read other works by Hitler that are no less doctrinaire and of much more contemporary appeal, the interested reader must obtain the book either abroad, where the German original and numerous translations are freely distributed, or must rely on the copies that are accessible to researchers in public libraries. Substitutes of a kind can be found in the selections by Christian Zentner, Adolf Hitlers Mein Kampf (München, 1974), or Werner Maser, Hitlers Mein Kampf (Esslingen, 1995).

Plöckinger submitted his dissertation in 1998 in Salzburg on Hitler as a speaker and afterwards became a high school teacher of German, history, and mathematics. This study is therefore the work of an outsider and commands respect for its comprehensive research alone. The author presents an investigation of the historical reception of Mein Kampf that deals with the history of its origination, publication, and reception. To this purpose he contacted ca. 1,850 archives, libraries, and private individuals. His aim was to refute the still-current idea of Mein Kampf as an “unread bestseller,” especially in German-speaking areas, and to clear up numerous misunderstandings about its origination. He did succeed in his efforts, although he could not determine where the original manuscript ended up nor whether there exists a special Hitler archive in the military archives in Moscow that contains heretofore unknown material. The history and distribution of Mein Kampf were known in general prior to this work, however there were highly conflicting explanations for numerous details.

Although reference works on this subject indicate that Hitler had co-authors, among them Rudolf Hess, Plöckinger concludes that Hess’ contribution was modest. He also discounts the legend that all newly married couples received a mandated copy from the local government, since many communities were exempt from that order. The text did not become required reading in schools until 1939. Of the 16 languages into which Mein Kampf was translated, only English, Russian, and French are treated in detail, and the reception in Austria receives an entire chapter. After 1933 Mein Kampf became sacrosanct and could be cited only affirmatively. Plöckinger ends his investigation with 1945, although the reception of Mein Kampf was by no means at an end. Translations into Spanish and Arabic were popular in the Spanish-speaking dictatorships in Europe and Latin America and in anti-Israel states.

This book is filled with details, but the author leads the reader through his deductions by means of a clear structure. The name and topical index allows for quick and easy access. It is carefully edited and has a pleasing typographic design. [frh/mjc]

Bilder für die Welt: die Reichsparteitage der NSDAP im Spiegel der ausländischen Presse [Images for the World: The Party Congresses of the NSDAP as Reflected in the Foreign Press]. Ed. Friedrich Kießling und Gregor Schöllgen. Köln: Böhlau, 2006. viii, 214 p. ill. 24 cm. (Beihefte zum Archiv für Kulturgeschichte, 61). ISBN 978-3-412-27305-7; ISBN 3-412-27305-8: EUR 24.90 [06-1-114]

This study offers a country-by-country analysis of European and U.S. press coverage of Nazi Party Congresses held in the years before and after Hitler’s seizure of power. While the 1934 Party Congress, or at least its filmic representation, is familiar from the indelible images of Riefenstahl’s Triumph of the Will (1935), ten such events took place from 1923 to 1938, and they were staged from the start as spectacles of power. Edited by two historians at the University of Erlangen-Nürnberg, the present volume includes chapters by various authors, each treating print reporting on the Congresses in a different national context: Great Britain, France, the United States, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Italy, and the Soviet Union. A broad, representative range of newspapers and ideological positions is considered for each country.

This is an informative book and it fills what had been an existing research gap with regard to the international reactions to National Socialism in Germany. However, the chapters’ focus on the content of the press coverage in the individual countries does not adequately take into account the insights of current media studies, which have pointed to national differences in the print media with regard to structure, presentation, use of images, and the weight given to various textual forms(e.g., reportage, interview, editorial, etc.). While the book includes images from the international press (photographs, caricatures, etc.), they are not integrated into the individual chapters and the relationship between the image and text in the press coverage of the Nazi Congresses is not given much consideration.

The book contains neither an index nor a bibliography, and biographical documentation of the journalists whose work is discussed is wanting. In some instances, relevant research literature seems not to have been consulted. Despite these shortcomings, however, and although it leaves a number of questions unanswered or unexplored, this book represents a valuable contribution to the historiography of National Socialism. [frh/kw]

Für ein anderes Deutschland: der deutsche Widerstand gegen den NS-Staat 19331945 [For Another Germany: The German Resistance Against the National Socialist State, 1933-1945]. Gerd R. Ueberschär. Frankfurt am Main: Fischer-Taschenbuch-Verlag, 2006. 400 p. 19 cm. (Fischer-Taschenbücher, 13934; Die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus). ISBN 978-3-596-13934-7; ISBN 3-596-13934-1: EUR 12.95 [06-1-115]

The author formerly worked at the Militärgeschichtlichen Forschungsamt [Research Institute for Military History] and the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv [Federal Military Archive] and has published extensively on contemporary history. This treatment of German Resistance to National Socialists is divided chronologically into three sections: the roots of resistance (1933-1939), resistance in wartime (1939-1944), and the July 20, 1944, assassination attempt on Adolf Hitler and its consequences. It encompasses all aspects of resistance to the Nazis, regardless of political, religious, or social motivation and examines the historiography of the German Resistance, the changing attitude of the German government, and the German people’s sense of collective guilt. The broad coverage of individuals and groups discussed here allows little room for subtle observations, but it is imperative to recognize the resistance fighters’ courageous contributions as well as the smaller oppositional acts of the average German. One third of the volume documents the resources used, including a bibliography and facsimiles of key documents, footnotes, and a name index, making the book a readable reference work. The book is an informative and sensitive treatment of one of the most important sequence of events in modern history. The publication should be required reading for students to counteract those who continue to describe the Nazi era in nostalgic terms. [frh/rg]

Frauen aus Deutschland in der französischen Résistance: eine Dokumentation [Women from Germany in the French Resistance: A Documentation]. Ed. Ulla Plener. 2d rev. and updated ed. Berlin: Edition Bodoni, 2006. 334 p. ill. 21 cm. (Arbeiterbewegung—Forschungen, Dokumente, Biografien). ISBN 3-929390-90-6: EUR 24.80 [06-1-116]

This is a collection of biographies of women, many of them Jews and/or communists, who emigrated from Germany to France following the National Socialists’ rise to power. The women were active in the French Resistance during the Nazi occupation of France and the collaborationist rule of the Vichy Regime. This book describes their suffering, resistance activities, and fates: seven of the women were executed, while others ended up in prison or concentration camps. The text is enhanced by photographs and historical documents that are abundantly duplicated in facsimile form. What is interesting here is the use of the private archives of Resistance fighters, including contemporary underground-press publications and autobiographical resources, in addition to French and German governmental sources. The bibliography does not document the unpublished materials obtained from the private archives but is still useful, since many of the published materials are not widely known. An extensive name index completes this heartening collective biography of modern-day heroines. [frh/rg]

Annotierte Bibliographie: die Veröffentlichungen der Kommission für Geschichte des Parlamentarismus und der Politischen Parteien seit 1952 [Annotated Bibliography: Publications since 1952 by the Commission for Parliamentary History and Political Parties]. Ed Martin Schumacher. Düsseldorf: Droste. 21 cm. [06-1-117]

1952/2004. 2004. x, 309 p. ill. ISBN 3-7700-5261-7: EUR 5