. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

With Germany lifting the ban on the publication of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf, can we expect a whitewashing of the main movers and shakers of that controversial period? The lifting of the ban has been reluctant. The truth is that the term of copyright has already come to an end. Bavarian copyright holders have little choice in this regard. The thinking behind the move is, ‘if we don’t publish the former chancellor’s memoirs, others will.’ Too late, that genius has already left the lamp; the relative liberalization of the Internet has taken care of that.

Of greater concern is the potential torrent of literature published by Hitler’s Reich that could accompany the notorious Führer chronicles. Much of the propaganda radiating out from Nazi-controlled Munich and Berlin in the 1930s and during the war was published in English. This leaves the doors wide open for book plagiarists. Many revisionists might sympathize with the Nazi Reich.

Military history has always attracted a large number of readers. Conventional bookstores have sections reserved for history. Dilemma, much of the history section is dominated by material that focuses on the Reich and World War II. It is well known in publishing circles that the two types of best-selling books begin with the letter ‘s’ denoting sex and swastikas. Such is the period’s public fascination that publishers admit that swastikas on a book cover can double sales.

The title Heroes of the Reich published by Amazon Books and Amazon Kindle is a good example. The author of the book offers mini-biographies about those figures who were revered in Hitler’s Germany. Surprisingly, although many of these ‘heroes’ are German citizens, many, such as England’s Winifred Wagner and Reich Foreign Minister Alfred Rosenberg, were not German. Another cause for wonder is that many idolized figures in Nazi Germany were more popular in the West than in the Nazi Reich. These include the conductor Herbert von Karajan and the internationally revered soprano Elizabeth Schwarzkopf. Both were enthusiastic paid members of Hitler’s National Socialist Party.

The book, Heroes of the Reich, is a compelling read. To be fair, some of the characters covered have already inspired big movies. As far as my feet can take me recounts the odyssey of a German prisoner of the Soviets. Clemens Forell escaped from the Gulag and made a perilous 8,000-mile journey back to his home country. The buccaneering exploits of Luftwaffe fighter ace escape artist Franz von Werra were chronicled in the film The One That Got Away.

To maintain the credibility of the Reich Heroes charm, the author does his best to write objectively. This may seem like a way to sanitize the images portrayed in the nearly forty biographical chapters of the book. The best advice is to read the book and interpret things however you want. It happened a long time ago.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *