I recently finished reading ‘Rise and Fall of the Third Reich’ by William L. Shirer and I wanted to know what are some other great books to read as their are so many out there.
Any suggestions?
First, what are your interests ? Europe Theatre of Operations ? Pacific Theatre of Operations ? Strategic (the whole shebang), Operational (individual campaigns or battles) or Tactical (single unit or individual) view ?
That’s a bit of a coincendence, I’m almost finished reading that book myself, in fact its sitting within arms-length to my right (at this point in the story the main bad guy is holed up in a bunker with the Allies about to overrun Berlin…please don’t give the ending away) 
Seriously though it is a very good book, probably the best one-volume history of the Nazi’s I’ve read (though I haven’t read that many and also read any recommendations with interest)
I did find though that some of the authors attitudes towards homosexuality to be a bit eyebrow-raising looking back from these more enlightened times and also wonder if information that has come to light in the intervening decades has added much new to the story.
I was reading the book with my tablet nearby to check what happened to named individuals whose fate was unknown when the book was written…the wonders of modern technology.
I don’t know, the problem is it is really difficult to narrow it down because its all so fascinating.
Probably more interested in the European Theatre.
Maybe something on the Eastern Front considering how pivotal it was.
Hmm, are you referring to the homosexuality in the S.S?
I read most of the pre-war and begining of the war section and then I stopped for a little while and came back and finished it.
Well his references to homosexuality in general, he just throws it in as another unsavoury aspect of the Nazi’s and their fellow-travellers perversions and criminality.
On a sidenote I did find it interesting how Stalin and the Soviets in their public pronouncements stated repeatedly that they were fighting against the ‘Hitlerites’ and not the German people per se, it seems an oddly careful distinction for them to make and especially Stalin, a person not known for his touchy-feely attitudes.
Didn’t Hitler have the Brown Shirts whacked because the main guy was playing for the Other Team?
OK, Eastern front it is then.
For an overview, from the German side, a bit old but still interesting, I would suggest Paul Carrell’s two volume history : Hitler turns East (1941-1942) and Scorched Earth (1943-1944) or, if you prefer the Soviet side, Alexander Werth’s Russia at war (Werth was a Western war correspondant in the Soviet Union during the war).
For more modern views, Richard Overy’s Russia’s war is a good introduction, while John Erickson’s two volume history The Road to Stalingrad and The Road to Berlin are for someone more knowledgeable (their lack of maps make them hard to follow for someone not familiar with the history of the region).
There’s also histories of specific battles or campaigns, like Harrison Salisbury’s history of the siege of Leningrad The 900 days, or Anthony Beevor’s histories of Stalingrad or The Battle of Berlin or Robin Cross’s Citadel, the battle of Kursk about the greatest tank battle of WWII.
There’s also the biographies of various participants, but on that I would recommend is Catherine Merridale’s Ivan’s war an oral history of what the Great Patriotic War was for the average Russian.
These should provide you with a start. Don’t hesitate to ask for other titles once you are more familiar with the subject.
That was just an after the fact excuse to justify the Night of the Long Knives. the main reason was to appease the Army and the industrialists who saw the SA as uncouth rabble-rousers.
Well he had him and the organisation whacked but that wasn’t the reason, at least in the early stages of his career Hitler didn’t seem to particularly care who joined the cause (in regards to their private life anyway) just so long as they supported him and were useful. In fact if I recall correctly Rohm was one of the few people he was genuinely close to.
Which is an interesting question, for such an intolerant person what was his attitude to homosexuality in general?
Even though I’ve read several books on the rise of the Nazis (including Shirer’s) I was always a bit confused about the line of events that led to the purge of Rohm and the SA until I read Max Gallo’s The Night Of The Long Knives: June 29-30, 1934
It also gave a convenient scapegoat for the “mysterious” assassinations of just about every person in Germany that Hitler, Himmler, and Goering had a political or personal grudge against.
Awesome man, thank you! I was also recently suggested Albert Speer: His battle with truth by Gitta Sereny, but I’d like to read other accounts of the war before I go into specific people. Thanks again man!
Are you reffering to Rohm? He was killed for political reasons during the night of the long knives.
Hitler, in general, didn’t care about homosexuality, at least at the start.
Yes, apparently I was mistaken.
Probably something I saw on the Hitler Channel. 