Further reading
on Germany in WWII, the German Resistance and
Army
Of the hundreds of sources used for
my Ph.D. and subsequent research, I have selected only those
secondary sources which are either major, classical works on the
topic (and so, although often older, still readily available) or
those books which stood out from the many thousands on the topic
for one reason or another.
Historical Sources
Hoffmann, Peter, History of the German Resistance,
1933-1945
This is a standard and comprehensive work on
the Resistance for serious
scholars.
Hoffmann,
Peter, Widerstand,
Staatsstreich, Attentat. Der Kampf der Opposition gegen
Hitler
Schlabrendorff, Fabian v., Offiziere gegen Hitler
Released in 1946 this was the first book ever
published about the German Resistance; Schlabrendorff was a minor
participant, who had also been arrested and tortured by the
Gestapo.
Zeller,
Eberhard: Geist der
Freiheit
Released in 1954 by a personal friend of many
members of the Resistance it conveys the spirit of their struggle
far better than many later, academic works.
Fest,
Joachi, Staatsstreich.
Der lange Weg zum 20. Juli
Klemperer,
Klemens von, Enrico Syring & Reiner Zimmermann, Für Deutschland. Die Männer des 20.
Julis
Lill,
Rudolf & Heinrich Oberreuter (Hrsg), 20. Juli. Portraits des
Widerstands
Goddard,
Donald, The Last Days of
Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Letters and Papers from
Prison
Hansen,
Richard, A Noble Treason:
The Revolt of the Munich Students Against Hitler
A good introduction to the White Rose
resistance group.
Grunberger, Richard, The 12-Year Reich: A History of Nazi
Germany, 1933-1945
By far one of the best, concise social
histories of Nazi Germany providing insights into education, the
role of women, business, agriculture, the press etc.; rather than
focusing on political events, it describes how society worked in
Nazi Germany.
Grube,
Frank & Gerhard Richter, Alltag im Dritten Reich. So lebten
die deutschen 1933-1945
Wheeler-Bennet, John, The Nemesis of Power: The German Army
in Politics, 1918-1945
Wheeler-Bennet, John, Die Nemesis der Macht. Die deutsche
Armee in der Politik, 1918-1945
Goerlitz,
Walter, History of the
German General Staff, 1657-1945
Dupuy,
T.N., A Genius for War:
The German Army and General Staff, 1807-1945
Müller,
Klaus Jürgen, Das Heer
und Hitler
Siedler,
Franz: Blitzmädchen, Die
Geschichte der Helferinnen der deutschen Wehrmacht im Zweiten
Weltkrieg
Personal
Accounts/Autobiographies
Wartenburg, Marion Gräfin (Countess) York, Die Stärke der
Stille
Gräfin Yorck is the widow of a founding
member of the Kreisauer Kreis, Peter Graf Yorck and gives important
insights to this civilian resistance
group.
Feuersenger, Marianne, Mein Kriegstagebuch.
Führerhauptquartier und Berliner Wirklichkeit
Ms. Feuersenger was a secretary working in
key Wehrmacht offices including at Hitler's HQ but with close ties
to members of the Resistance.
Boveri,
Margaret, Tage des
Überlebens
Life in Berlin during the
war.
Bredow,
Ilse Gräfin v., Deine
Keile kriegste doch
Maschmann,
Melita, Fazit
Written by a young woman who became a senior
leader in the Bund deutscher Mädel - the girls equivalent of Hitler
Youth - this is one of the most critical and honest accounts of
life inside Nazi Germany I have ever run across.
Novels
Schrader, Helena, An Obsolete Honor
Set
in
Germany during the Second
World War, this novel traces the gradual transformation of a loyal -
albeit critical - German General Staff Officer into a traitor and
assassin candidate. Secondary characters in the novel reflect
the
great diversity of feelings toward National Socialism from idealistic
enthusiasm to self-interested support, cautious approval and
humanitarian opposition.
Solmssen,
Arthur: A Princess in
Berlin
Written by a Berliner, son of a Jewish
banking house, this is one of the most insightful books ever
written about Germany in the Weimar Republic.
Further reading
on WWII -
Aviation
Again, there are so very many books published on WWII and
Aviation in WWII that what follows is only a limited selection of
titles which I personally think are excellent introductions to the
topic and/or stand out among their peers as particularly worth
reading.
Historical Sources
Bungay, Stephen: The Most Dangerous Enemy: A
History of the Battle of Britain (this is a day by day account with
excellent statistics and order of battles; an excellent source for
a serious scholar)
Bishop,
Patrick: Fighter Boys: Saving Britain 1940 (approaches the topic by
subject rather than chronologically providing greater insight and
analysis of such things as background, training and attitudes of
pilots rather than an historical account of events)
Townsend,
Peter: Duel of Eagles: The Struggle for the Skies from the First
World War to the Battle of Britain, (written by a man who commanded
a Fighter Squadron during the Battle of Britain, this bring some
personal perspectives but also looks at the subject historically
and includes the biographies of individual German fliers as
well)
Clayton,
Tim & Phil Craig, Finest Hour, (this book following a large
number of protagonists through the Battles of France and Britain,
including Dunkirk puts the Battle of Britain in
perspective)
Reynolds,
David: Rich Relations: The American Occupation of Britain,
1942-1945 (a very detailed account of how US and Britain coped with
the huge number of American troops stationed in Britain during the
war.)
Lewis,
Bruce: Aircrew: The Story of the Men who Flew the
Bombers
Gross,
Chris: Brothers in Arms: A Story of a British and a German Fighter
Unit, August to December 1940.
Personal
Accounts/Autobiographies
Hillary, Richard: The Last Enemy (published
during the war itself)
Gibson,
Guy, VC: Enemy Coast Ahead (published during the war)
Richey,
Paul: Fighter Pilot (published during the war itself)
Johnstone,
AVM Sandy, Enemy in the Sky (wartime diaries of then Squadron
Leader and commander in the Battle of Britain)
Wellum,
Geoffrey, First Light (Battle of Britain pilot, written only
recently with the retrospective advantages of a man of mature age
reflecting on his youth - truly excellent)
Page,
Geoffrey, Shot Down in Flames (as Hillary's book this describes the
experiences of a pilot shot down in the Battle of Britain and
burned beyond recognition along with the painful process of medical
treatment)
Deere,
Alan: Nine Lives (Battle of Britain "ace")
Kingcome,
Brian: A Willingness to Die (Battle of Britain flight
commander)
Johnson,
Group Captain J.E., Wing Leader (RAF's highest score fighter
"ace")
Gray,
Jennie, Fire by Night (written by the daughter of a man who served
in Bombers, this book reconstructs a critical crash, although not a
first hand account it is very personal and provides excellent
insight into life in Bomber Command)
Novels
With so many excellent first hand accounts, most novels
just
seem to fall flat or even ring false. An example of a book that
completely misses the mark, for example, is Piece of Cake by Derek
Robinson. It is so poor, that surviving Battle of Britain pilots
considered suing Robinson but decided that would only increase the
sales of the book and so let it be.
Nevertheless, I think the following books, particularly
Radcliffe's, are excellent reads.
Radcliffe,
Robert, Under an English Heaven,
Grieg,
Andrew, That Summer,
Singer,
E.M., Mother Flies Hurricanes,
And of course one can always enjoy a classic like Memphis
Belle by Monte Merrick.
Further reading on
Women Pilots in WWII
Women Pilots in the
U.S.A.
There has been a great deal published on the WASPs and WAFs in the
U.S. including a large number of personal memoirs.
The memoirs vary in quality from books of glaring historical
inaccuracy to excellent biographies combining solid period research
with personal experience. Among the latter are the Simbeck
biography of Cornelia Fort and Bartels moving story of Evelyn
Sharp.
For a detailed and well documented academic analysis of the reasons
the WASP bill failed in Congress in 1944, readers should refer to
Merryman, Clipped
Wings.
For an easy but fair introduction to the topic in a non-fiction
format, I recommend Verges, Keil and Rickman, all of who have
produced highly readable and well researched books.
Verges, Marianne, On Silver Wings: The Women Airforce
Service Pilots of World War II, 1942-1944, 1991.
Rickman, Sarah Byrn, The Originals: The Women's
Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron of World War II, 2001.
Keil, Sally Van Wagenen, Those Wonderful Women in Their
Flying Machines: The Unknown Heroines of World War II,
1990.
Cole, Jean Hascall, Women Pilots of World War II,
1992.
Granger, Byrd Howell, On Final Approach: The Women
Airforce Service Pilots of World War II, 1991.
Merryman, Molly, Clipped Wings: The Rise and Fall of
the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) of World War II,
1998.
Simbeck, Rob, Daughter of the Air: The Brief
Soaring Life of Cornelia Fort, 1999.
Bartels, Diane Ruth Armour,
Sharpie: The Life Story
of Evelyn Sharp, Nebraska's Aviatrix, 1996.
Women Pilots in the
U.K.
Publications on the women pilots in the UK are fewer and generally
much older. In fact, only Diana Barnato Walker (also famous for
being one of the first women to fly faster than the speed of sound)
has recently published her memoirs including her time with the ATA,
and Lettice Curtis has published an autobiography which, however,
adds nothing new to her 1971 comprehensive history of the ATA.
Curtis' history of the ATA, The Forgotten Pilots, remains
the best history of the organization on the market and includes
much valuable information about the women who flew with it, as does
the "official" history of the ATA, published just after the end of
the war, Cheeseman's
Brief Glory.
For books focusing exclusively on the women (something not entirely
appropriate in the context) one can turn to Lucas, King, de Bunsen
or du Cros.
Michael Fahie, the son of the Director of Women Pilots, Pauline
Gower, has produced a lovely tribute to his mother in A Harvest of Memories, with
much important information on her tactics and success in gaining
equal opportunity for her women pilots.
The best and easiest reads are Cheeseman and Walker, and both books
are highly recommended for an understanding of the ethos and spirit
of the ATA and the women who flew in it.
Curtis, Lettice, The Forgotten Pilots: A Story of the
Air Transport Auxiliary, 1939-45, 1971.
Cheeseman, E.C., Brief Glory: The Story of the Air
Transport Auxiliary, 1946.
Lucas, Y.M., WAAF with Wings,
1992.
King, Alison, Golden Wings: The Story of Some of
the Women Ferry Pilots of the Air Transport Auxiliary,
1956.
Bunsen, Mary de, Mount up with Wings,
1960.
Cros, Rosemary du, ATA Girl: Memoirs of a Wartime Ferry
Pilot, 1883.
Fahie, Michael, A Harvest of Memories: The Life of
Pauline Gower M.B.E., 1995.
Walker, Diana Barnato, Spreading My Wings,
2003.
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