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Book reviews
By Patrick Wilson
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Inside Hitler’s Bunker:
The Last Days of the Third Reich
by Joachim Fest
(Macmillan, £16.99. ISBN 0-405045906)
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If Hitler’s rise from a corporal in the
Wehrmacht to Führer of the Third Reich
was extraordinary, so too was his fall.
Indeed few scenes have so captured popular
imagination than the final days of his
existence in a Berlin bunker, with the
Russians advancing through the rubble
of the bombed German capital.
The story and our image of those final
moments has to a large extent been thanks
to the remarkable work of Hugh Trevor-
Roper, who as a young intelligence officer
arriving in Berlin following the cessation
of hostilities, interviewed many of the
survivors and pictured those final moments.
Six decades later, Joachim Fest has
produced an equally outstanding account
of the scene, while providing a wonderful
insight into the mentality of Hitler and his
entourage as defeat loomed. He describes
the claustrophobic atmosphere in the vast
concrete labyrinth of interconnecting
chambers beneath the Reich Chancellery,
with a drugged and enfeebled Hitler veering
wildly between hysterical despair and lunatic
optimism.
Fest describes those final moments:
“Utterly beside himself, he pounded his fist
into his palm while tears ran down his
face…‘The war is lost,’ he shouted. ‘But
gentleman, if you believe that I will leave
Berlin, you are sorely mistaken! I’d rather
put a bullet in my head.’”
His obstinacy and ruthlessness remained
until the end. Three days before Hitler’s
suicide, Herman Fegelein, an SS General
and the husband of Eva Braun’s sister, refused a summons with Hitler
because he was drunk, Hitler had him shot
despite Eva Braun’s pleas.
Hitler himself was determined not to
suffer the same fate as Mussolini, who died at
the hands of partisans. By using both poison
(which he had first tested on his beloved
alsatian, Blondi) and a pistol he ensured that
no mistake was made. An utterly memorable
book which provides a tremendously
detailed account of those final days.
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Molvania:
A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry
by Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Rob Sitch
(Atlantic Books, £8.99. ISBN 1-843542323)
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In an age where libraries are full of travel
books from every picture-postcard location
in the world, it was somewhat surprising to
stumble upon a refreshingly original title.
The front cover of toothless peasants selling
their wares in deserted flea markets sets the
tone for a book that is all about the diversity
of culture, and a somewhat unattractive
one at that, rather than merely providing
another glorification of travel. Since the
fall of communism, Eastern Europe has
increasingly received rave reviews from fund
managers, property hunters and adventurous
travellers alike. This travel spoof shows that
not all countries in this region can transform
themselves from the decades and in some
cases, centuries of neglect, decay and poverty.
As such, any holidaymakers more
concerned with budget than research could
find themselves sorely surprised by what
greets them as they touch down in Molvania.
The authors succeed in providing a
wonderfully witty insight into a country of
extreme climate, radioactive lakes, cement
factories and smog. It attempts to analyse the
strange and in-sanitised culture of a people
who have suffered from famine, disease, and
oppression in equally high measures.
Alcoholic waiters and chain-smoking
chefs may not be a rarity, but where else is
‘horsflab’ a national delicacy. It hardly
surprises therefore that women’s clothing
comes in three sizes: small, medium and
pregnant.
Travellers will be equally surprised by the
totalitarian housing units – ‘what they lack
in old world charm, they more than make
up for in concrete.’ This book, the first in
the series, is thoroughly readable and
informative. Those of you thinking of a
budget holiday to Molvania this year may
well be advised to have a read of this first.
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Pendulum of Battle
Operation Goodwood July 1944
by Christopher Dunphie
(Pen and Sword Books, £19.95. ISBN 1-84415-010-0)
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Inevitably the 60th anniversary of the DDay
landings has focussed on the magnitude
of the operation (Overlord) to seize the
beaches and build the vital bridgehead on
Nazi-occupied Europe.
While there is no denying the brilliance
of the planning and the boldness of the
execution of what is likely to remain the
greatest military endeavour of all time, the
story does not end there. The weeks that
followed the initial assault were fraught with
danger and tension.
Had there been media coverage of the
unrestrained nature that we have today,
there would have been credible reports of
political impatience and unhappiness with
commanders’ performances. Results, in the
shape of successful breakouts from the tight
Allied-held bridgehead, were too long in
coming. It is against this background that
Operation Goodwood, the largest tank
battle involving British armour ever
fought, was conducted.
The author, as a former senior army officer
and experienced Normandy battlefield guide,
is well qualified to analyse the background,
aims, actions and consequences of what was
by any standards an ambitious undertaking.
He sets the scene for Montgomery’s plan and
explains that, due to the chronic shortage of
infantry reinforcements, resulting from heavy
casualties incurred since . June, there was no
choice but to fight an armoured battle.
The snag was that, tactically, the ground
was less than ideal and the Germans with
their deadly ..s, which were converted antiaircraft
guns, had a good choice of fire
positions from woods and villages.
This well-informed account provides
an excellent balance between the strategy
and tactics. Dunphie’s research has included
many interviews with those who fought at all
levels, be it in command or in the gunner’s
seat. Unusually he has also sought out views
and experiences of Germans involved and
this gives the reader a far fuller picture.
An added attraction to this book is that
there is an annex providing useful
instructions on how to visit the battlefield to
best effect. Even in a year which is seeing an
unprecedented number of books on the
Second World War, Pendulum of Battle
deserves to be read. It is a serious, yet highly
readable study of warfare and can be warmly
recommended.
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