Since the end of World War II, Germans have struggled with the legacy
of the Wehrmacht—the unified armed forces mobilized by Adolf Hitler
in 1935 to ensure the domination of the Third Reich in perpetuity.
Historians have vigorously debated whether the Wehrmacht's atrocities
represented a break with the past or a continuation of Germany's
military traditions. Now available for the first time in English, this
meticulously researched yet accessible overview by eminent historian
Rolf-Dieter Müller provides the most comprehensive analysis of the
organization to date, illuminating its role in a complex, horrific
era.
Müller examines the Wehrmacht's leadership principles, organization,
equipment, and training, as well as the front-line experiences of
soldiers, airmen, Waffen SS, foreign legionnaires, and volunteers. He
skillfully demonstrates how state-directed propaganda and terror
influenced the extent to which the militarized _Volksgemeinschaft_
(national community) was transformed under the pressure of total
mobilization. Finally, he evaluates the army's conduct of the war,
from blitzkrieg to the final surrender and charges of war crimes.
Brief acts of resistance, such as an officers' "rebellion of
conscience" in July 1944, embody the repressed, principled humanity of
Germany's soldiers, but ultimately, Müller concludes, the Wehrmacht
became the "steel guarantor" of the criminal Nazi regime.
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Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9780813168043
Publisert
2016
Utgiver
Vendor
The University Press of Kentucky
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter