The Ailing Empire: Germany from Bismarck to Hitler

The Ailing Empire: Germany from Bismarck to Hitler

Using his skills as a journalist, historian, and memoirist, Sebastian Haffner (author of The Meaning of Hitler) traces the development of the German Empire (1871-1945) and the central role of warfare that characterized the Reich. Haffner contends that Germanyâ€™s unfavorable geographic position had much to do with the stateâ€™s belligerence and that, from its inception, created the conflicts that culminated in two world wars.

â€œThe fruit of decades of study, the moving and sometimes very personal testament of an author whose works more than any others have influenced public opinion and challenged academic historians.â€ â€” Die Zeit

â€œA brilliant work from the top hat of a powerful historical magician.â€ â€” Rudolf Augstein, Der Spiegel

â€œA thoroughly successful work.â€ â€” Wiener Tagblatt

â€œA book with more historical insights than a whole pile of learned volumes.â€ â€” MÃ¼nchner Abendzeitung

â€œThe history of the Third Reich in just 43 pages? Impossible to do more than discuss a few features superficially. But not with Sebastian Haffner. This brilliant thinker â€” a journalist turned historian â€” reveals the fundamental lines of development in a way that anyone can follow. The pages bristle with questions and unexpected answers. The 300 pages of â€˜The Ailing Empireâ€™ contain more clever and original insights into German history between 1871 and 1945 than many a weighty tome.â€ â€” Dieter Wunderlich

â€œThis illuminating survey by a German journalist focuses on the continuities and discontinuities of the modern German Reich ... Haffner argues that the founding of the state was never regarded as a climactic achievement but rather as a springboard for expansion, and that Germanyâ€™s unfavorable geographic position had much to do with the stateâ€™s armed belligerence. The author also contends that the Reich was self-destructive almost from the beginning, creating a host of enemies who brought it to its knees in two world wars and eventually divided it. He describes how Hitler accelerated the catastrophic finish of the Reich by inopportunely taking on both the Russians and Americans, then tried to turn military defeat into the annihilation of the German people with his Nero Directive of March 18-19, 1945.â€ â€” Publishers Weekly

â€œ[The Ailing Empire] tells the story of yesterdayâ€™s Germans who made today. It is a story Americans must understand.â€ â€” San-Diego Union

â€œSebastian Haffner has written a book that traces the path of Germanyâ€™s political self-destruction, and offers a realistic account of the warâ€™s real causes ... It is a highly readable analysis of the road from Bismarck to Hitler ... This book, based on many previously unpublished accounts, is a devastating portrait of human society.â€ â€” Chattanooga Times

â€œThis is a highly readable analysis of German history over the last century. A long-time journalist, Haffner asserts that the foundations of the German Reich were an inadequate basis for a modern nation state and contained the seeds of its own destruction. Though lacking documentation, Haffnerâ€™s first-hand recollections of the Nazi era are most interesting. Particularly noteworthy are his observations on daily life during the regime and his judgment regarding those literary and artistic â€˜antisâ€™ who chose â€˜internal emigrationâ€™ within the Hitler state.â€ â€” Library Journal
Country USA
Manufacturer Plunkett Lake Press
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2012-09-03
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Plunkett Lake Press
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2012-09-03
Format	Kindle eBook

The Ailing Empire: Germany from Bismarck to Hitler

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