This is a follow-up to the author's excellent earlier work on travellers in the Third Reich. This time a Bavarian village is taken as a case study and in fine deatil, tyhe author shows the impact of Nazism on the people and structures of the villages. Most notable is the way that everything is permeated; Nazism was not just a system of government but intended to be a way of life for commuinities. The book is balanced and seeks out examples of people who behave in ways which might not not be expected from their position or title. Very useful in correcting preconceptions about what it was like to be an ordinary German in those years. ( )

An interesting alternative take on Nazi Germany, seen through the microcosm of a small alpine village, the southernmost in the country, on the border with Austria and near beautiful mountain ranges. The scene is set, starting just after the First World War, progressing through the rise to power of Hitler, the take over of all aspects of daily life by the Nazi state and the eventual build up and waging of war and its aftermath A few people were opposed to the Nazis but kept their heads down, aware of the grim fate of those who spoke out, about ten percent were members of the party and the rest weren't bothered about what the Nazis did to certain groups, such as the Jews, as long as they provided full employment and gave Germany back its self respect and prestige after the humiliation of the defeat in WWI and the treaty of Vienna. Some of those gradually experienced doubts once the Nazis dragged the country into a second world war.

The book is meticulously researched, helped by very good records kept in the village itself and some unpublished diaries including a couple of soldiers' diaries from the regiments in which villagers served. The chapters are organised thematically which is a help, as it would probably be too bitty with a chronological approach. As it is, there are a huge number of people mentioned and I referred to the index and the list of people at the back quite frequently to remind myself who was who. Some were mentioned only once and possibly some of those could be dropped.

The most harrowing chapter is a case study of a young man blind from birth who was one of the victims of the "euthanasia" programme which was designed to get rid of the disabled, seen by the Nazis as a burden and a blot on the perfect master race. I had read about this programme before, in the context of its being the forerunner of the Final Solution, whereby the Nazis practiced the methods they eventually used on the Jews, and other "racial undesirables" such as Gypsies. The book possibly does fall down in not making that connection especially as the chapter on how village Jews were affected doesn't convey the full horror - some were helped to commit suicide before deportation, some managed to leave the country, and some were hidden, or shielded by the mayor, a "good Nazi". As far as I recall, only a couple of people were actually deported to camps and they managed to survive and return to the village after the war. The Jews always formed a tiny minority in the village so that part of the book isn't really representative of a lot of other, often more urban, communities.

The book is very detailed and in some cases, such as the account of infighting among the local Nazis, becomes a bit too much so and drags a bit. I found the postwar section also does this and so many people are mentioned in the book that it would be nice to have a bit more depth on some and fewer sketchy mentions in passing, but I suppose the material just doesn't exist. Overall, I rate the book as 4 stars. ( )

I remember reading an article stating that Nazi Germany and World War II are the most popular subjects among young students of history. These tragic chapters of the 20th century also seem to exert a dark fascination on “general readers” of history. There are so many books on the subject that one is tempted to ask – is there anything new to say about Hitler’s Germany? Turns out there is, and Julia Boyd is distinguishing herself in a crowded field thanks to her unusual approach to the history of the era. Her book Travellers in the Third Reich described the rise of the Nazis through the eyes of foreigners who visited Germany before the war. She has now followed this with A Village in the Third Reich, a book which describes the impact of Hitler, Nazism and World War II on everyday life through the eyes of the inhabitants of the Bavarian mountain village of Oberstdorf. Researched and written with the help of Angelika Patel, herself a native of Oberstdorf, this volume draws on reports, letters, interviews and memoirs to provide a surprisingly intimate portrait of a village facing unprecedented change and then heading into war.

One of the major philosophical and moral questions linked to Nazi Germany is how much ordinary people were aware of the injustices suffered by Jews and minorities at the hands of the regime. Boyd’s book does not seek to whitewash the responsibility of those who supported the Nazis or who might have disagreed with them while remaining silent. The advantage of approaching the subject through the “microcosm” of one village, however, helps to provide a nuanced view beyond simplistic collective condemnation.

Of course, there were many Germans who, for various reasons, embraced the novel, evil ideology of their leader. But one should also consider that the Nazis consciously sought to nip in the bud any attempts at criticism and dissent, and their violent tactics were unfortunately effective at silencing opposition. And yet, even the heavy shadow of the regime could not quell some brave souls. Boyd finds examples of humanity, sometimes in the most unexpected of places – a case in point is Oberstdorf’s mayor who, despite being a committed Nazi, also protected several Jews living in his village.

After the initial chapters on the rise of Nazism, the book also describes the outbreak of war and the war itself, including poignant stories of Oberstdorf soldiers fighting on the Eastern Front. Indirectly, the book also reveals the social change brought about not only by Nazism and war, but also by other factors. Oberstdorf, for instance, was originally a relatively inward-looking Catholic village in the mountains, but tourism was already changing it into a relatively “cosmopolitan” settlement.

A Village in the Third Reich is an engrossing work of social history which approaches well-known historical events through unusual viewpoints.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-village-in-third-reich-by-julia-boy... ( )

A Village in the Third Reich – What Happened in a Beautiful Village

Julia Boyd has once again written an enticing history of Germany, coming at it from a different perspective than usual histories. Boyd the author of the author of Travellers in the Third Reich which was a best-selling history will once again make the charts with this book. This time looking at the Third Reich through the picturesque village of Oberstdorf in the mountains of Bavaria.

Today Oberstdorf is a destination village for those who love alpine and winter sports in winter and mountain climbing in summer. It is the southernmost village in Germany and one of its highest towns, with the next stop being Austria. Before tourism arrived in the nineteenth century the village subsisted on farming.

Boyd using unpublish diaries is able to follow the lives of the villagers and their day to day encounters with the rise of the Nazis, through to the end of the war when the village was occupied first by the French and then the Americans. What emerges is a picture is how some supported the Nazis other adapted to survive and how some knew it was best not to say what they thought out aloud.

It was during the 1920s that Oberstdorf started to develop a substantial tourist trade as a holiday resort. Oberstdorf was in the main an observant Catholic village with a small Protestant church. In politics the village supported the centre-right Catholic Bavarian People’s Party. Oberstdorf was doing quite well in the 1930s and many of its were wealthy and they also had distinguished Jewish visitors.

Nazi history began in the village in 1927 when a postman, Karl Weinlein transferred into the village from Nuremberg. Weinlein had a better NSDAP party membership number than Goebbels. A low party number conferred on Weinlein hallowed status within the Party. The villages were reluctant to join, but the Wall Street crash did offer fertile ground even in Oberstdorf.

In the election of 1930 on a village turnout of 70% the NSDAP won more votes than any other of the Parties which had stood. It was found that Protestants were more likely to vote for the Nazis, but all the same they received a substantial vote from the Catholics. It also showed that in 1933 the taking over of the machinery of Government at every level. It also showed how petty the Nazis could be amongst themselves, especially when the first two Nazi mayors were “moved” rather quickly. It also shows how there could be compassionate Nazi mayors such as Mayor Fink who lasted throughout the war years until the surrender and occupation.

We learn that many of the younger members of the Village when war came were members of the 98th or 99th Mountain Battalions part of the 1st Mountain Division, which was an elite division. It also committed war crimes in the later war in Greece. But also other members of the village were part of the suppression of partisans and Jews in Ukraine. One also supervised the killing of 700 Jews in Ukraine.

Dachau was to the north of the Oberstdorf, but the villages were already aware of some of the Nazi round-ups of its citizens, especially the Jews. By 1941 most were well aware of the roundups that had been undertaken in the East in their name. This leaked out via the Feldpost, or when soldiers were on leave at home.

When it came to the end of the war the propaganda machine which they had lived under for the previous 12 years, they were fearful for their lives. Stories about what the Russians were doing were widespread and all they could do was hope that it would not be the Russians who came. In the end the village surrendered to the French in May 1945, before the Americans took over in the July.

At the end of the war a list of the Nazis in the village was completed from various sorts. From an incomplete list it was found that there were 455 names on the list, roughly 10% of the village, which also happened to mirror the Nazis membership across Germany.

Today the only visible scars of the war and the Nazi years can be found in the memorial chapel, where the names of the 286 Oberstdorfers killed in the Second World War are carved in stone. Some families never forgave their neighbours for what happened, while others tried to forget. But what cannot be seen is the invisible scars of the Third Reich which will always remain part of the village’s history.

This is a wonderful micro-history of the Third Reich using the village as an exemplar of the ordinary German in those fateful years. It brings to life some of the difficulties for some and how easy it was for others to do nothing. Everybody made their decision which is clear and had to live with it.

As a book that brings to bear what was happening in Germany at the time it brings a fresh and new perspective. Germany during the Third Reich needs to be focused on the people not just the military and political leaders. This book does that, very well. ( )

I remember reading an article stating that Nazi Germany and World War II are the most popular subjects among young students of history. These tragic chapters of the 20th century also seem to exert a dark fascination on “general readers” of history. There are so many books on the subject that one is tempted to ask – is there anything new to say about Hitler’s Germany? Turns out there is, and Julia Boyd is distinguishing herself in a crowded field thanks to her unusual approach to the history of the era. Her book Travellers in the Third Reich described the rise of the Nazis through the eyes of foreigners who visited Germany before the war. She has now followed this with A Village in the Third Reich, a book which describes the impact of Hitler, Nazism and World War II on everyday life through the eyes of the inhabitants of the Bavarian mountain village of Oberstdorf. Researched and written with the help of Angelika Patel, herself a native of Oberstdorf, this volume draws on reports, letters, interviews and memoirs to provide a surprisingly intimate portrait of a village facing unprecedented change and then heading into war.

One of the major philosophical and moral questions linked to Nazi Germany is how much ordinary people were aware of the injustices suffered by Jews and minorities at the hands of the regime. Boyd’s book does not seek to whitewash the responsibility of those who supported the Nazis or who might have disagreed with them while remaining silent. The advantage of approaching the subject through the “microcosm” of one village, however, helps to provide a nuanced view beyond simplistic collective condemnation.

Of course, there were many Germans who, for various reasons, embraced the novel, evil ideology of their leader. But one should also consider that the Nazis consciously sought to nip in the bud any attempts at criticism and dissent, and their violent tactics were unfortunately effective at silencing opposition. And yet, even the heavy shadow of the regime could not quell some brave souls. Boyd finds examples of humanity, sometimes in the most unexpected of places – a case in point is Oberstdorf’s mayor who, despite being a committed Nazi, also protected several Jews living in his village.

After the initial chapters on the rise of Nazism, the book also describes the outbreak of war and the war itself, including poignant stories of Oberstdorf soldiers fighting on the Eastern Front. Indirectly, the book also reveals the social change brought about not only by Nazism and war, but also by other factors. Oberstdorf, for instance, was originally a relatively inward-looking Catholic village in the mountains, but tourism was already changing it into a relatively “cosmopolitan” settlement.

A Village in the Third Reich is an engrossing work of social history which approaches well-known historical events through unusual viewpoints.

https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2022/05/a-village-in-third-reich-by-julia-boy... ( )