The End of an Evil Empire

The biographer famous for writing his magnum opus about one of history's most evil men (Hitler), has written a new and engaging book detailing the final months of the Nazi regime. Ian Kershaw's new book The End: The Defiance and Destruction of Hitler's Germany 1944-1945 is a great read for anyone with an interest in how the Nazi regime held out for so long. Especially, long after the war was realistically lost.

For me, the history of Nazi Germany has always been fascinating. It is one of the few instances when you can see the entire history of a nation whose secrets have been laid bare for all the world to see. Most nations of the world have some type of continuity that requires the keeping of secrets and the protecting of agendas. In the case of a nation that was totally discredited, all is there to be dissected and studied.

There is also the sheer scale of the history that Nazism set in motion. In the span of a little over a decade, a cast of bizarre characters, led Germany into a schizophrenic period of annihilatory imperialism followed by self destruction. Few places in history offer such uncomfortable contradictions juxtaposed together, as in humanity doing its greatest evil in the service of creating an imagined utopia.

This, combined with what Hannah Arendt called the "Banality of Evil", makes it an ever frightening mirror on the potentialities of humanity.. Aside from a few true monsters, most of the people who made the evils of Nazism possible, were people who in a different context, would not be all that different from most of us. The story of Nazi Germany is the story of us all. It is one that deserves to be studied and reflected on.

It is this period of self destruction, roughly following the July 20th plot to kill Hitler until after the surrender in May 1945 that Kershaw concentrates on. Kershaw highlights the activities of the party, civilians and the military in helping Germany to hold out for so long. The contributions of key leaders such as the organizational genius Albert Speer are highlighted. Speer epitomizes what Arendt meant when she coined the phrase ”banality of evil”.

Then there is the determination of the military to continue the fight to the last. Especially in the East. The dichotomy of the war in the East and West becomes more and more stark as the war draws to a close. These were in many ways different fights that had their own characteristics. In short, this excellent book can be summed up by Sir Arthur Harris statement that: “they sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind”.

Uttimately, as with almost everything in the Nazi state, it came down to Hitler. Without Hitler, it is doubtful that the war would have continued to the point that it did. Then again, without Hitler, it may have never started in the first place.

If you have ever wondered how, or better, why, Nazi Germany fought until most of its territory was occupied, most of its cities destroyed and there was nothing more that could to be gained by fighting, this is a must read.