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A review by meandmypaperback
Nazi Wives: The Women at the Top of Hitler's Germany by James Wyllie
4.0
3.5-4 stars.
I received this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
One of my favourite genres to read are books about WWII, so when I stumbled across this book I was instantly intrigued. This book focuses on the wives of the top Nazi/Hitler supporters. Which is an angle I haven't read before.
It was very interesting to see how much influence they inevitably had over their husbands and more so Hitler. The general disregard to the entire holocaust that they showed is downright scary. Only a few of the wives actually spoke up or perhaps thought that Hmm, this isn't right. But the majority didn't. And why would they? They were getting money. They were living luxurious lives while the rest of the country were in shambles. Only when the war was getting out of Hitlers control, did they finally question (publicly).
I also, cannot believe how many people committed suicide/or attempted it. It seemed like every person at least thought about it, even carrying out infanticide as well. That shocked me.
I thought that the punishment for the wives were not severe enough. There were some women who were Hitler's right side woman, and they got off a little to easy, also always trying to redeem their husbands names. Claiming that they were only following out of love and obedience. And I guess that is part of the scariness of it; this book was very well researched and had some great details about certain dinner parties- which makes these men and wives- very very human.
This book also sparked an interest for me as well; I wonder how many of the children of these prominent figures denounced Nazism , or if they are still part of the Neo-Nazi movements.
James Wyllie did a great and very thorough job at researching the wives behind the men. If you are looking for a different viewpoint, definitely check out this book.
I received this ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
One of my favourite genres to read are books about WWII, so when I stumbled across this book I was instantly intrigued. This book focuses on the wives of the top Nazi/Hitler supporters. Which is an angle I haven't read before.
It was very interesting to see how much influence they inevitably had over their husbands and more so Hitler. The general disregard to the entire holocaust that they showed is downright scary. Only a few of the wives actually spoke up or perhaps thought that Hmm, this isn't right. But the majority didn't. And why would they? They were getting money. They were living luxurious lives while the rest of the country were in shambles. Only when the war was getting out of Hitlers control, did they finally question (publicly).
I also, cannot believe how many people committed suicide/or attempted it. It seemed like every person at least thought about it, even carrying out infanticide as well. That shocked me.
I thought that the punishment for the wives were not severe enough. There were some women who were Hitler's right side woman, and they got off a little to easy, also always trying to redeem their husbands names. Claiming that they were only following out of love and obedience. And I guess that is part of the scariness of it; this book was very well researched and had some great details about certain dinner parties- which makes these men and wives- very very human.
This book also sparked an interest for me as well; I wonder how many of the children of these prominent figures denounced Nazism , or if they are still part of the Neo-Nazi movements.
James Wyllie did a great and very thorough job at researching the wives behind the men. If you are looking for a different viewpoint, definitely check out this book.