The shocking discovery that my grandfather, as a 21-year-old student, had applied to join the SS as SS-Anwärter (candidate), only to withdraw in August 1939 to pursue a career as a naval engineer and start a family, led to extensive research into my family history and WWII. I developed a keen interest in the German Resistance, contacted historians, archivists, veterans, visited museums, and was in touch with members of Claus von Stauffenberg’s family, the Bonhoeffer Centre in London, and the White Rose Memorial in Munich. To this date, not many people know that over 720,000 German civilians, military, paramilitary, and clergy died trying to overturn the Nazi regime.
I wrote...
Hitler's Lost State: The Fall of Prussia and the Wilhelm Gustloff Tragedy
By
Tim Heath,
Michela Cocolin
What is my book about?
Seen as an agricultural utopia within Hitler’s Germany, it's often the view that both East and West Prussia had remained relatively untouched during the Second World War. Yet the violence, prejudice, and murder associated with the National Socialist regime that brought most of Europe to ruin were widespread throughout Prussia during its brief existence. When the MV Wilhelm Gustloff was sunk by a Russian submarine, 9,343 passengers - 5,000 of them children - would perish. It was the worst loss of life in maritime history. Yet 75 years later, her tragic story is still unknown to many.
Note: My mother was a 5-year-old child refugee at the time. With what is happening now in Ukraine, I find there are many unfortunate similarities between the two tragic stories.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
The Books I Picked & Why
The History of the German Resistance, 1933-1945
By
Peter Hoffmann
Why this book?
During my research for my book, I was fortunate to get in touch with Claus von Stauffenberg’s grandson Philipp von Schultess, who recommended the Peter Hoffmann book.
It is a very detailed, comprehensive book on a topic that is too often omitted from schoolbooks and history books alike, the over 700,000 German civilians, politicians, clergy, military, and paramilitary who lost their lives trying to overturn the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. The Hoffmann was a starting point to the discovery of several other books about the German Resistance and a visit to the German Resistance Memorial and Museum in Berlin, where von Stauffenberg and other co-conspirators were executed.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
The Good Germans: Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945
By
Catrine Clay
Why this book?
This is a more recent book. It was published in 2020, the same year as mine, so I couldn’t use it as part of my bibliography. Nevertheless, I have enjoyed reading it, it offers invaluable personal accounts by ordinary Germans as well as aristocratic Prussians who shared an utter contempt for Hitler’s propaganda and showed an astonishing courage in the face of the overwhelming brutality of the Nazi regime, resisting it and staying true to their values.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
Germans Against Hitler - July 20, 1944
By
Hans-Adolf Jacobsen Royce,
Hans Zimmermann,
Erich Zimmermann
Why this book?
Given all the films and books available about the 20th of July 1944 attempted assassination of Hitler and coup, I find this book the most fascinating one, as it contains a meticulous collection of the most striking reports of investigations on the Reich from juridical, theological and military standpoints. It is an invaluable read to fully understand the German Resistance, its motives, and its historical significance.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
Stauffenberg: A Family History, 1905-1944
By
Peter Hoffmann
Why this book?
When one mentions German Resistance, the name Claus Maria Schenk von Stauffenberg springs to mind for all the right reasons. Whereas the other Peter Hoffmann book on my list looks at the German Resistance as a whole, this more intimate account of Claus von Stauffenberg’s background and aristocratic upbringing focuses on his biography, particularly his close relationship with his brothers Berthold and Alexander, their formative years, their association with the circle of the poet Stefan George and their political, military and professional development, which led them to take leading positions against Hitler’s tyranny.
When you buy a book we may earn a small commission.
Sophie Scholl and the White Rose
By
Annette Dumbach,
Jud Newborn
Why this book?
Sophie and Hans Scholl are often remembered as the siblings who “would not keep silent” against the Nazis until their arrest, flash trial, and execution by guillotine on February 22, 1943. What Sophie and Hans started was much more than a local students’ movement; The White Rose involved students, academics, clergy, and civilians in Munich and around other parts of Germany. The book captures and reflects upon the many dimensions of the activities of those involved, it contains all the 6 original leaflets published by the White Rose as well as indexes of the trial and sentences of its members.
