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The most harrowing chapter is a case study of a young man blind from birth who was one of the victims of the "euthanasia" programme which was designed to get rid of the disabled, seen by the Nazis as a burden and a blot on the perfect master race. I had read about this programme before, in the context of its being the forerunner of the Final Solution, whereby the Nazis practiced the methods they eventually used on the Jews, and other "racial undesirables" such as Gypsies. The book possibly does fall down in not making that connection especially as the chapter on how village Jews were affected doesn't convey the full horror - some were helped to commit suicide before deportation, some managed to leave the country, and some were hidden, or shielded by the mayor, a "good Nazi". As far as I recall, only a couple of people were actually deported to camps and they managed to survive and return to the village after the war. The Jews always formed a tiny minority in the village so that part of the book isn't really representative of a lot of other, often more urban, communities. What was Nazi Germany really like in the run up to the Second World War? Julia Boyd’s painstakingly researched and deeply nuanced book shows how this troubled country appeared to travellers of the 1930s who did not have the benefit of hindsight. A truly fascinating read."
To a younger generation it seems incomprehensible that after the tragic Great War people and political leaders allowed themselves to march into the abyss again. Julia Boyd’s book, drawing on wide experience and forensic research, seeks to answer some of these questions." -- Randolph ChurchillWhat does come through the book is that if the British and Americans were relatively popular visitors to Germany, especially in the Weimar years, the French were not. There are also descriptions of President Hindenburg, who was half hidden by a curtain after he had inaugurated Hitler as Chancellor, as he received the plaudits from below while saluting the crowd. There are some wonderful descriptions of that day. Weeks after an English journalist notes that they were confronted everywhere by election propaganda. There were even Americans who saluted and met Hitler! In a restaurant, a parade, a ceremony and thought he was just superb! Kind, soft-spoken, intelligent, and he likes children! Congratulations to Julia Boyd whose Travellers in the Third Reich has been short listed in the history section for the 2018 Los Angeles Times Book Prize,
The book in general was below my expectations but its accessible, non-academic prose reads like a novel with some interesting characters and anecdotes. I recommend two better books if you really want to have an idea about how it was like to live in the Third Reich:As the 30s progressed, the drums of war began to sound. Attempts at appeasement only encouraged Hitler to demand more territory for lebensraum that would be cleansed of its Slavic and Jewish populations to make room for German settlers. Even as war drew inevitably closer, travelers to Germany returned convinced that all was well. “Despite the new frost in relations with Britain, despite air-raid [preparation] week, despite the persistent cry of ‘guns before butter’ and despite Hitler’s relentless push for a free hand in Eastern Europe, one distinguished foreigner after another returned home from Germany convinced that war was the last thing on the Führer’s mind.” (p. 268) About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”: Drawing on the unpublished experiences of outsiders inside the Third Reich, Julia Boyd provides dazzling new perspectives on the Germany that Hitler built. Her book is a tour de force of historical research." The other inescapable aspect of this book is that I can’t, as an American living through a period when neo-fascism has taken hold of many parts of my nation (and perhaps Brits going through in opposing Brexit or Israelis who are horrified by Netanyahu feel the same way), read this without imposing it on the narrative of our times. Over and over again I read passages that seemed eerily contemporary. The feeling of history repeating never left me as I was reading. I can readily imagine a Studs Terkel of this age one day writing Travelers in the Age of Trump. And I feel that readers of that book may well have similar feelings and views that I had reading Travelers in the Third Reich. Germany was seen, both by England and by America, as the last bulwark against Bolshevik (Soviet) communism, which was seen as the primary enemy and it indirectly contributed to the rise of fascism in Germany.
In the light of the next world war, this might seem strange. But it made good sense in the 1920s, and, as some historians have suggested, enabled the rise of Hitler and Nazism. The racism that is often solely attributed to Nazis was shared by many across north Europe and in America. Just as many Germans felt that “racially” they were aligned to the English and the Scandinavians, and sections of white America, there were English people who felt that the colour line started not in Turkey or Africa, but actually in eastern Europe and southern Europe, maybe even in Ireland. We learn that many of the younger members of the Village when war came were members of the 98th or 99th Mountain Battalions part of the 1st Mountain Division, which was an elite division. It also committed war crimes in the later war in Greece. But also other members of the village were part of the suppression of partisans and Jews in Ukraine. One also supervised the killing of 700 Jews in Ukraine.Contains many amazing anecdotes ... It warns us that we, with our all-seeing hindsight, might ourselves have been fooled or beguiled or inclined to make excuses, had we been there at the time. I can thoroughly recommend it as a contribution to knowledge and an absorbing and stimulating book in itself”– Peter Hitchens, Mail on Sunday Art Appreciation I expected that among the many visitors to the Third Reich in Boyd's book there would be some who were in agreement with Nazi political and racial ideas. But finding those sympathetic to Nazi aesthetics came as something of a surprise, perhaps because such expressions of artistic agreement are not commonly remarked upon. Fascinating … surreal scenes pepper Boyd’s deep trawl of travellers’ tales from the scores of visitors who were drawn to the ‘new Germany’ in the 1930s" The British government was warned of the Nazi threat by its professional diplomats but had plenty of German sympathizers in its own ranks, and was terrified of provoking another war, so they failed to create a unified diplomatic front with France. Hitler got his way again and again until he was convinced the West was so weak and degenerate it would never challenge him. England did not even act when Hitler himself gave clear indications of his intentions. “On 7 April [1933] Hitler told McDonald in a private interview, ‘I will do the thing that the rest of the world would like to do. It doesn’t know how to get rid of the Jews. I will show them.’” (p. 104)
Personal comfort. People were having a good time. Social life was fun and full. Food, drink, entertainment, travel, festivals. Just like our lives are when we choose to look away from the hardships others are enduring. Absorbing book...difficult to put down. Fast moving and fascinating glimpse into the 1930s in Germany - original accounts. Reflects day to day life and feelings from foreigners in Germany. Conflicting views of the third reich - the beauty of the german countryside and cities, the vibrancy and friendliness of the people, the discipline and purposefulness of life particular for the young people , the prospering of the economy and the richness of the music, art and culture seemed to dominate peoples thoughts and "excuse" the nasty things going on. The German propaganda machine and understanding of media was a big help. Also one big theme at the time was even if Hitler is "bad" he is protecting Europe from communism. Accounts of meeting Hitler are very favourable - a charming, interested and motivated individual who was not the ranting person of his speeches. Visits to the annual Nuremberg rallies and Bayreuth festivals were big highlights. Most of the positives are still positives today.....you get the feeling that the plunge into war was all very avoidable. Anti semitism was easy to see and yet many foreigners ignored it (partly because many were also anti semitic). Lloyd George for all is charm and leadership has alot to answer for....not only was he a key decison maker for Versaille (disasterous agreement and a key reason for WW2) but he also met Hitler in the 1930s and thought him a fantastic fellow and one the world should be happy to have.....Leaders do not have monopoly on the truth no matter how impressive they are
I enjoyed this book since it gives a panorama of those days, desciribing attitudes, hardships and tragedies which affected the small village. It is a well-researched book which offers a good insight into the period. The events that took place in Germany between 1919 and 1945 were dramatic and terrible but there were also moments of confusion, of doubt – of hope even. Without the benefit of hindsight, how did travellers to the country at this extraordinary time interpret what was unfolding in front of their eyes? How easy was it to know what was actually going on, to grasp the essence of National Socialism, to remain untouched by Nazi propaganda or predict the Holocaust?
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