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Title: Hitler Strikes Poland: Blitzkrieg, Ideology, and Atrocity (Modern War Studies) by Alexander B. Rossino ISBN: 0-7006-1234-3 Publisher: Univ Pr of Kansas Pub. Date: May, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4 (5 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: THE CORROSIVE INFLUENCE OF NAZI IDEOLOGY ON SOLDIERS
Comment: If you read the title you will see that this book is NOT a military history of the Polish Campaign. That in-depth history has yet to be written. Therefore let me warn any future readers looking for a detailed description of the campaigns and the sweep of the panzers, the gallant fighting of the Poles replete with maps, you shall have to look elsewhere.
The books central thesis could be summarised thus: historical interpretations of the Polish campaign have focused on it as the opening phase of a world war, where the harsh realities of battle on the Eastern Front and ideology of terror imbibed within Naziism did not give full vent. In fact as Rossino recounts, all the elements of Nazi Terror found expression from the first day of the war in Nazi occupied Poland.
- SS Order Police were fully integrated behind the line and were detailed to pick up political and Jewish leaders and members of the polish "intelligensia"
- Nazi ideology served as a well-spring to preciptate attrocities and aggravate encounters that turned into ferocious expressions of violence towards men, women and children --- without ideology some of these soldiers would have been controlled by their officers, or restrained by other men in their unit.
- the tendency to view Poles and Jews as inferior to Germans, and German Culture, gave full expression by the wanton and unprecipated killing of Polish civilians for no reason other than personal pleasure.
- in addition to SS and other terror elements, the Wehrmacht was equally responsible for the killing of civilians and POWs for no reason other than to terrorise the population or to "cleanse" it. And when reasons were lacking Poles were killed merely because they were views as members of a lesser race. Common sympathy were negated by ideology.
All of the above happened from Sept 01st. Although the mass factory killings are absent, it is clear that that is only a matter of time. The fact remains that Poland was the first test case of a terrific expression of volience of the average German Soldier towards civilians and POWs.
Besides the general attrocities commited in this book particular to Poland, I think that Rossino hits upon a grander issue. That is the issue of the corrosive influence of ideology on the mind of soldiers. In some cases commanders tried to stop the killings or discipline German troops or the SS. In most cases it was not because of a common human sympathy for the plight of Poles or Jews, it was merely for maintaining order in the rear and discipline within the army ranks. These few people found it immpossible to go through regular military authorities to discipline German soldiers guilty of attrocities. The system, conditioned by ideology thwarted them. In addition the German soldier also knew that he could kill with impugnity, and without compassion, as long as he was killing those of "lesser races."
This should serve as a chilling reminder or the importance of order in the ranks or any army during military operations, and the importance of dealing with any element that would think of the enemy as less than human. The German road to aggression in Poland is not a straight one to Auschwitz .... it is however, the start of the journey.
Rating: 1
Summary: Insult to Poles who fought back
Comment: I found the book extremely disappointing and insulting to the Poles. The author states that Polish civilians might have brought the German retaliation on themselves because they essentially tried to fight back. What a ridiculous conclusion! Thanks to their British and French allies who did not honor their comments to assist, the Poles had to fight back any way they could. Hitler made no secret of his desire to wipe out the Poles. The Poles had no intention of rolling over and capitulating to the Germans (as the French subsequently did). The author's portrayal of ethnic Germans in Poland also leaves a lot to be desired. Their treatment of their Polish nieghbors was also horrific. Better accounts can be found in Lucas' "Forgotten Holocaust" and Piotrowski's "Poland's Holocaust".
Rating: 5
Summary: Excellent Writing and Original Research
Comment: In a crowded field of study on World War II, Rossino has done an incredible job of finding new and important material about this topic. His research sheds new light on Nazi Policy in Poland during and after the invasion on 1 September 1939. He clearly shows that the "Final Solution" was not a systematic plan from the beginning of the war. Although the Nazis carried out operations of murder and oppression, they did not exclusively focus on Jewish citizens of that nation, but rather on all Poles in general. Anyone who is a student of World War II must have this book in order to understand the war in Poland and how Hitler began his conquest of Europe.
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Title: A Question of Honor : The Kosciuszko Squadron: Forgotten Heroes of World War II by Lynne Olson, Stanley Cloud ISBN: 0375411976 Publisher: Knopf Pub. Date: 23 September, 2003 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
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Title: Poland 1939: The Birth of Blitzkrieg (Campaign 107) by Steve Zaloga, Howard Gerrard, Steven J. Zaloga, Ramiro Bujeiro ISBN: 1841764086 Publisher: Osprey Pub Co Pub. Date: September, 2002 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Fall of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940 by Julian Jackson ISBN: 019280300X Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: June, 2003 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: The Coming of the Third Reich by Richard J. Evans ISBN: 1594200041 Publisher: The Penguin Press Pub. Date: 05 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $34.95 |
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Title: Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw by Norman Davies ISBN: 0670032840 Publisher: Viking Press Pub. Date: 06 May, 2004 List Price(USD): $32.95 |
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