Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself: The Downfall of Ordinary Germans, 1945

The extraordinary German bestseller on the final days of the Third ReichOne of the least understood stories of the Third Reich is that of the extraordinary wave of suicides, carried out not just by much of the leadership, but also by thousands of ordinary Germans, during in the war's closing period. Some of these were provoked by straightforward terror in the face of advancing Soviet troops or by personal guilt, but many could not be explained in such relatively straightforward terms. Florian Huber's remarkable book, a bestseller in Germany, confronts this terrible phenomenon. Other countries have suffered defeat, but not responded in the same way. What drove whole families, who in many cases had already withstood years of deprivation, aerial bombing and deaths in battle, to do this? In a brilliantly written, thoughtful and original work, Huber sees the entire project of the Third Reich as a sequence of almost overwhelming emotions and scenes for many Germans. He describes some of the key events which shaped the period from the First World War to the end of the Second, showing how the sheer intensity, allure and ferocity of Hitler's regime swept along millions. Its sudden end was, for many of them, simply impossible to absorb.

History

Huber, Florian

Europe

Penguin

The German bestseller on the final days of Nazi Germany
One of the last untold stories of the Third Reich is that of the extraordinary wave of suicides, carried out not just by much of the Nazi leadership, but by thousands of ordinary Germans, in the war's closing period. Some of these were provoked by straightforward terror in the face of advancing Soviet troops or by personal guilt, but many could not be explained in such relatively straightforward terms.
 Florian Huber's remarkable book, a bestseller in Germany, confronts this terrible phenomenon. Other countries have suffered defeat, but not responded in the same way. What drove whole families, who in many cases had already withstood years of deprivation, aerial bombing and deaths in battle, to do this?
 In a brilliantly written, thoughtful and original work, Huber sees the entire project of the Third Reich as a sequence of almost overwhelming emotions and scenes for many Germans. He describes some of the key events which shaped the period from the First World War to the end of the Second, showing how the sheer intensity, allure and ferocity of Hitler's regime swept along millions. Its sudden end was, for many of them, simply impossible to absorb.

Allen Lane.

Named a Best History Book of 2019 by The Times (UK) The astounding true story of how thousands of ordinary Germans, overcome by shame, guilt, and fear, killed themselves after the fall of the Third Reich and the end of World War II. By the end of April 1945 in Germany, the Third Reich had fallen and invasion was underway. As the Red Army advanced, horrifying stories spread about the depravity of its soldiers. For many German people, there seemed to be nothing left but disgrace and despair. For tens of thousands of them, the only option was to choose death -- for themselves and for their children. "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" recounts this little-known mass event. Using diaries, letters, and memoirs, historian Florian Huber traces the euphoria of many ordinary Germans as Hitler restored national pride; their indifference as the Führer's political enemies, Jews, and other minorities began to suffer; and the descent into despair as the war took its terrible toll, especially after the invasion of the Soviet Union. Above all, he investigates how suicide became a contagious epidemic as the country collapsed. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and other primary sources, "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" presents a riveting portrait of a nation in crisis, and sheds light on a dramatic yet largely unknown episode of postwar Germany.

"Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself": The Mass Suicide of Ordinary Germans in 1945

Self-Help

Death & Grief

Little, Brown Spark

Monatelang brandete 1945 eine Selbstmordwelle durch Deutschland, die Tausende – Frauen, Männer und Kinder – in den Untergang riss. In welchen Abgrund hatten die Menschen geblickt, dass sie angesichts der Befreiung vom Dritten Reich nur im Tod einen Ausweg sahen? Aus der Sicht derer, die das unfassbare Geschehen selbst miterlebt haben, erzählt der Historiker Florian Huber von dem größten Massenselbstmord der deutschen Geschichte und seiner Verdrängung durch die Überlebenden – ein fesselnder Blick auf die Gefühle der kleinen Leute, die in ihren Untergang marschierten.

Kind, versprich mir, dass du dich erschießt: Der Untergang der kleinen Leute 1945

Piper Verlag GmbH

Colloid/nanoparticle formation and mobility in the context of deep geological nuclear waste disposal: (Project KOLLORADO-2) Final report (KIT Scientific Reports ; 7545))

Science & Math

Noseck, Ulrich

Technology

KIT Scientific Publishing

Tauchen. Faszination unter Wasser

Kunz, Uli

Tessloff Verlag

Don Camillo spricht mit Jesus.

Religion & Spirituality

Müller, Jörg

Christian Books & Bibles

Steinkopf

Hinter den Türen warten die Gespenster: Das deutsche Familiendrama der Nachkriegszeit

Berlin Verlag

English summary: The Vormärz can be read as a phase of profound change: enforcement of the central government, media innovation, economic change, new political ideas and religious revivals fundamentally changed Europe's society. Border regions were particularly affected, as was Tyrol, a crownland in the western part of the Habsburg Monarchy, where the ""German"" and ""Italian"" catholic cultures clashed as a result of their starkly different reactions to the ""impositions of modernity"" (R. Schlögl). German-speaking Ultramontanes in northern Tyrol and liberal Catholics in the Italian-speaking south had diverging relationships with the modern state and pursued different models of society. For both branches of Catholicism religion was the central link to their respective nationalities. The study combines the core approaches of borderland studies with religious and media history and shows how historical studies of Catholicism can benefit from transnational perspectives. German description: Im Vormärz veränderten zentralstaatliche Durchdringung, mediale Innovation, wirtschaftlicher Wandel, neue politische Ideen und religious revivals die Gesellschaften Europas grundlegend. Grenzräume wie das Kronland Tirol im Westen der Habsburgermonarchie waren dem in besonderem Masse ausgesetzt. Hier prallten deutsche und italienische katholische Kulturen aufeinander. Deutschsprachige Ultramontane im Norden und liberale Katholiken im italienischen S|den Tirols stellten sich anders zum modernen Staat und verfolgten unterschiedliche Gesellschaftsentw|rfe. F|r beide aber war Religion das zentrale Bindeglied zur |bergeordneten Kulturnation. Die Studie verbindet Ansätze der borderland studies mit religions- und medienhistorischen Fragestellungen und zeigt, wie sehr katholizismusgeschichtliche Untersuchungen von transnationalen Perspektiven profitieren können.

Grenzkatholizismen: Religion, Raum und Nation in Tirol 1830-1848 (Schriften Zur Politischen Kommunikation) (German Edition)

V&R Academic

Kind, beloof me dat je de kogel kiest: Duitsland 1945 en de ondergang van gewone mensen (Dutch Edition)

Military

Hollands Diep

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