PDF Swansong 1945: A Collective Diary of the Last Days of the Third Reich by Walter Kempowski in History

Review

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful. Buy the print versionBy Jane StivariusFormatting for Kindle; in places; is a disaster. You will have to switch back and forth with Kindle for PC. Most annoying. Kempowski has long been a favorite of mine but unfortunately I had to throw all his German works away because I can no longer read the print. Wonderful it is to have this on Kindle even though the Kindle version is terrible unless you have a liking for sentences like this:Whenourenemiesheardthef . .they.not impossible to read but certainly for 16+ dollars the publishers could have done better48 of 48 people found the following review helpful. Looking through a kaleidoscope at four key days in World War II's last weeks in EuropeBy Maine Colonial Swansong 1945 is a translation of the last volume in Walter Kempowski's 10-volume compilation of contemporary documents (including diaries; reports; interviews; letters; notes; newspaper articles and more) from a wide range of people; documenting World War II from those individual points of view. The viewpoints range from forced laborers; prisoners and infantrymen with the Allied and Axis armies to generals and heads of state.During World War II; Kempowski (who was born in 1929 and died in 2007) was a teenager living in Rostock in Germany's northeast. He was a fan of jazz music and not so much of his required membership in the Hitler Youth; where he was punished for his bad attitude. Toward the end of the war; he was drafted into a unit providing messenger services for anti-aircraft facilities. His father was killed in action on the eastern front less than two weeks before the war's end in Europe.After the war; Kempowski got a job working for the US Army in Wiesbaden; in western Germany. In 1948; while Kempowski was visiting his family in Rostock (which was by then part of the Soviet occupation zone) he and his brother and mother were imprisoned as western spies. Though he was sentenced to 25 years in prison; after eight years he was released and was allowed to move to West Germany.In a series of autobiographical novels; Kempowski wrote about his own experiences during and after the war; but he wanted to do something more; something that would present a fully faceted view from those who lived through it. In the 1980s; he placed ads in German newspapers asking people to send him whatever types of documents they might have that would show what they were doing and thinking during the war. The response was strong; and he used a mix of those responses and published materials to compile Das Echolot: Ein Collectives Tagebuch (The Sonar: A Collective Diary); with its 10 volumes published from 1993 to 2005. It appears that Swansong 1945 is the only one of the series to be translated into English (at least so far).Along with Kempowski's novels; Das Echolot is a key work in what is known in German as Vergangenheitsbewältigung; roughly translated as coming to terms with the past. This word is used; in general; to mean analyzing; discussing openly and dealing with the responsibility of Germany for World War II and the Holocaust.The subtitle of Swansong 1945 says that this is a collective diary of the "last days" of the Third Reich. The entries reproduced in this volume are all from just four days in the last weeks of the war: April 20; 1945; which was Hitler's 56th (and last) birthday; April 25; the first meeting of US and Soviet troops in Germany; April 30; the date of Hitler's suicide in the Berlin bunker; and May 8; which marked Germany's unconditional surrender to the Allies.By presenting this birds-eye view of those tumultuous last days of the war; Kempowski powerfully demonstrates just how chaotic it was; how rapidly events changed; how difficult it was to come by accurate and up-to-date information; and how differently people viewed and experienced the same events. Some people are fooled by the German government's optimistic reports and rumors about super weapons that will bring Nazi victory; while others record their doubts and even ridicule Hitler and his Reichsministers. If you know your World War II history already; many of the passages will jump out at you. There are several entries from ordinary Germans upon hearing about the Allies' finding the horrific conditions in the concentration/death camps. More than once; the Germans say it's dreadful; but in some bizarre excuse or exercise in moral equivalence; they then point to atrocities of the Poles against the Germans that started the war. Of course; we now know that those atrocities were false; part of a campaign planned at the highest Nazi levels to make it appear that the Poles were the aggressors against Germany; thus justifying the September; 1939 invasion of Poland by Germany. What a terrible demonstration of the success of Joseph Goebbels' cynical and deadly propaganda that even at the end of this terrible war; ordinary German citizens still believed this canard.Some observations; about the weather; food and the like; remind us that even in the midst of what historian Max Hastings calls "the greatest and most terrible event in human history;" daily life goes on. This kaleidoscopic view of the last days of the war makes a fascinating and illuminating supplement to traditional history and; with one caveat (which I discuss below); I recommend it to anyone with an interest in learning about the war's end in Europe.I do wish Kempowski had included some brief biographies of some of the people whose diary entries are included in the book. A person's name is given and; most often; the caption will say something like "forced laborer;" "British/American/Red Army soldier;" and so on. But; inexplicably; it says nothing after many names; including names like "Bernard Law Montgomery." Yes; of course; most people who read this book know that's the British Field Marshal; but it still seems strange not to note that. And it should be expected that there will be some readers who don't know who Montgomery is.The omission of biographic information is more problematic with people like Marie "Missie" Vassiltchikov and Mathilde Wolff-Mönckeberg. There is no indication that Vassiltchikov was a Russian princess who fled to Germany after the Russian Revolution; worked at various German government offices during the war and was well-acquainted with several members of the July 20 plot to kill Hitler. Mathilde Wolff-Mönckeberg was the cultured Hamburg mother of five children; all living abroad; who wrote a long series of unsent letters to her children during the war. Her letters were later published in the book On the Other Side: Letters to My Children from Germany 1940 -46. I knew about Vassiltchikov and Wolff-Mönckeberg already; but how many readers won't know their stories? And I'm sure there are other names in the book that don't mean anything to me but whose back stories would add more richness to the reading. I wish Kempowski had starred at least some of these names and put brief bios of them in an appendix.If it were not for the omission of brief biographical notes; I probably would have given the book five stars.32 of 34 people found the following review helpful. Shocking Sights of the last days of the WWII Third ReichBy William Garrison Jr."Swan Song 1945: A Collective Diary of the Last Days of the Third Reich" by Walter Kempowski (April 2015).This 479-page book contains hundreds of excerpts from various diaries and publications from hundreds of different individuals regarding their observations of the last 20 days of WWII in Europe: a handful of generals from both Allied and Axis camps; including dozens of lower ranking officers and soldiers; including both military and civilian clerks; medical staff; along with opinions and observations from many civilians living throughout Europe.Some brief excerpts:Mary Wigman in Leipzig: "The bombed out [German} women in the basement were boozing with Frenchmen and US soldiers....I have never encountered lechery so naked; so shameless...." (p. 37).German Gen. Westphal: "I had asked [Field Marshal Kesselring] as a matter of urgency to win Hitler's agreement to a ceasefire....[when he returned he said] "Hitler had been very 'distant'. Of course he had avoided factual discussions with his customary skill" (p. 59).German corporal E. Fechner: "We had been taken prisoner by the Americans...The door opens [to our room]; and three German commanding officers come in; salute and hold a birthday party for the Fuhrer [A. Hitler]....Americans allowing German officers to hold a birthday party for Hitler. And I lay in bed; with bullets in my leg and didn't object; but raised my arm and thought I was mad" (p. 5).Alisah Shek @ Theresienstadt concentration camp: " Everyone is horrified....People throw them bread; they pounce on it and lash out around them. The gloom; the wooden boxes and wood pulp; dirt; clothes; all filthy...An unbearable stench of old dung" (p. 82)American Francis Sampson @ Neubrandenburg: When visiting a Russian unit; "A few metres from or camp; in the forest; we saw a sight that I will never forget.... Several German girls had been raped and killed here. And some had been hung by their feet and their bodies slit open...." (p. 248).And there are hundreds more of shocking vignettes from other war-time observers in this book. But no need for me to reprint more here -- you should be able to view the "Look Inside" feature for further interest.I like to read accounts from original "I was there" sources; rather than reading the generalized summaries of WII authors. If you have a similar interest; then you will find this book most illuminating about those who encountered horrible sights in Europe during WWII.. [Other similar books that were recently issued I suggest are: "Stalingrad" by Jochen Hellbeck and "Descent into Hell" by Ryukyu Shimpo.]