The Fall of Berlin 1945

Rating:
Summary: The Fall of the Nazi Fascists
Review: The Fall of Berlin 1945 is obviously about the last series of battles in World War II. It not only covers the final battle for the German capital, but it actually starts in January 1945. The Russians are sitting on the Vistula river, just outside Warsaw, and waiting to launch one of the final attacks that will finally collapse the Nazi regime. Beevor has done lots of research, and it shows. This is a completely compelling book. You do, however, have to have an interest in the subject and you should probably not be in a really bad mood when you read it. It is kind of a downer.

For the most part, Beevor concentrates on the Russian front as the Germans face off against the Soviet army. He does have a chapter or two about the other allies, but most of the time that he is talking about them, it is in relation to the Eastern Front and how some of the remaining Germans were trying to retreat to the American and British lines so that they could surrender and hopefully not get killed by the invading Soviet hordes. Beevor also details the Yalta conference and how Stalin completely hoodwinked Churchill and Roosevelt (Roosevelt himself was very ill at this time and certainly wasn't at his best) in regards to his intentions for Poland and for Berlin. Other than this, however, Beevor is completely devoted to action in Poland and in eastern Germany. This isn't surprising, as most of the action in this period of the war was centred here. Not to say there wasn't any fighting in the West, but once the Americans crossed the Rhine river, the Germans seemed more intent on making sure they didn't surrender to the Russians.

Beevor does a good job with the subject. He writes in an interesting manner that doesn't contain the dryness that is prevalent in some history texts. However, he does go deep enough into the subject that it's obviously not intended for light reading. This is a history book, and it certainly feels like one. It's not history-lite for somebody with just a mild interest in the subject. Not being a historian, I can't speak to the accuracy of the research, but he does have a lot of sources, all of which are detailed in the back. He uses archives, interviews, unpublished diaries (including three sources that he insists must remain anonymous, so presumably they are Russian), mostly primary sources. The notes, unfortunately, are in my least favourite format: instead of end or footnotes, the notes are listed by page number and then a brief snippet of a quote to state which section he is referencing. I find this incredibly annoying and hard to follow, so much so that I don't even bother after awhile.

The maps are outstanding as well. Unfortunately, they are all at the front of the book, so you do find yourself flipping back and forth a little bit. It would have been nice to have a couple of full strategic maps at the beginning of the book, but to have the tactical maps begin the section in which they are described. Still, the maps themselves are very well done and definitely worth the time it takes to look at them before reading about the specific operation. They detail every attack, even the attacks on the Western Front. Since the Western Front is not talked about very much, this shows how complete they are.

This is a truly powerful book, especially where Beevor describes the utter devastation that affected Poland and eastern Germany. Berlin was nothing but a pile of rubble with bombs going off everywhere and hardly any buildings without any bomb damage. I think it affected me even more because of the time I was reading it (i.e during the Iraq war). Here I was seeing so little (relatively speaking of course) city and civilian damage, and then I'm reading this book where cities were being bombed into oblivion. It was very disheartening. You certainly should not be reading this book if you're depressed. Beevor details the horrors of war, as German citizens flee from the onrushing Soviets, victorious soldiers rape and pillage to their hearts' content, and there is so much human suffering. Even the Polish and the captured Soviet troops were not spared any of this. It is truly amazing sometimes what the human race is capable of, and Beevor tells us all about it.

That is another small fault with this book, though. While I certainly understand the concentration on the devastation that was inflicted on the Germans, Beevor really seems to centre on the subject of rape. Time and time again he comes back to the subject, and it became a bit annoying after awhile. This is not necessarily because he kept coming back to it, but because every time he did come back to it, he'd go on for a couple of pages about it. It started to get monotonous. I realize that this happened, and that it shouldn't be white-washed, but after the first few times he could surely just briefly cover the fact that more rapes happened at this time. Either that, or he should have just had a chapter detailing the horrors that happened and then not really talked about them again.

Ultimately, though, this is a very worthy book, with just enough minor quibbles to bring it down to four stars. If you like military history, this is definitely the book for you. This period of World War II is not well-documented in book form, at least not that I've seen. Beevor does a great job of covering the subject and I think you'll like it. You certainly won't enjoy it, but you will find it compelling. And isn't that what a history book should be?

David Roy

Rating:
Summary: detailed but dry
Review: this book has good detail but I found it a little dry to read. I found myself flipping forward page after page to get past the boring details.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling tale of the fall of Berlin
Review: This book obviously covers the last few months of WW2 and how the Russians captured Berlin. It is a fascinating account that details the operations and strategies of the German, Russian, and American armies as well as presents civilian stories from inside the city. It shows how one of the primary motivations of the Russians was to capture the atomic weapons research lab at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute and how the Americans, not knowing of its existence (according to the author), refused to engage in a race to Berlin.

The story is very well told and offers an interesting blend of facts, first-person accounts, and analyses. I would have liked to have seen a little more explanation of the strategies employed by Roosevelt and Stalin, not only in relation to Germany but in their own competition for dominance as the war drew to a close, but that is perhaps a different book.

The book does have some shortcomings: Beevor tries to throw in a few analyses that just fall flat. For example, he makes the unfounded claim that Hitler was a "repressed pedophile" and "supressed his homoerotic side". These claims completely ignore Hitler's earlier love for Geli Raubal and his long affair with Eva Braun. He also tried to explain an elaborate "4-stage process" of why soldiers raped women that I found simply ludicrous.

Overall, this is an enjoyable, not too dense book that I would definitely recommend to others with even a casual interest in the subject.

Rating:
Summary: Well told tale!
Review: Beevor has captured the heart of an empire crumbling. The story of the fall of Berlin, while told before, takes on a much more human face in this book. The citizens of Berlin, who were told all along that they were winning the war, were faced with the grim truth. The fight to survive and escape became the main focus for many proud Germans, and the fatalism of the die-hards leads them to their certain doom. This is a very human tale that should not be missed.

Rating:
Summary: Brutal and Compelling !
Review: It beggars belief to think that a few Fascist fanatics at the heart of the Third Reich could unleash such an unprecedented cycle of brutality and savagery onto the peoples of Europe and Asia .

This book traces the last months of the Third Reich , and the Red Army's bloody crusade to avenge the Nazi atrocities committed in the East as it swept West to capture Berlin before it fell to the Allies , so that it could obtain the valuable uranium deposits that would enable Russia to kickstart its progress into becoming a nuclear superpower .

It's the harrowing tales of brutal mass rape , the misery of the thousands of innocent people as they literally froze to death , the refugee columns and countless soldiers crushed to nothing under the tracks of tanks , and the almost casual acceptance of soldiers that death was always only moments away , that conveys the absolute Hell on earth that these people must have lived and died through . The book pulls no punches as it describes the sense of sheer panic experienced by the civilians and deserters caught in this nightmare as the Red Army drew ever closer , and finally succeeded in capturing Berlin . All this to the background of a slightly mad and deluded Hitler issuing insane orders to the German nation that in effect only multiplied the already unimaginable casualties . The Western Allies also come across as being incredibly naive , as Stalin used every trick in the book to reach Berlin first and establish the foothold in Eastern Europe that would ultimately have such a profound effect on the post-war world .

You could describe this book as a tragic , unbelievable , absurd , and darkly ironic tale of the heroism and brutality of the human race . And folks , this isn't Joseph Heller's - Catch 22 , this actually happened . God forbid another true story like this one !

Rating:
Summary: Barbarous!
Review: The depravity of Stalin even overshadows Hitler! While it was to be expected that the U.S.S.R would exact it's revenge on Germany for similar atrocities commited by the Nazi's (e.g. Stalingrad), the extent of barbarism goes far beyond any semblence of civility.
The book is very well documented and is easily understood with maps to guide the reader along the way. It is a book well worth having in any WW II History buff's library.

Rating:
Summary: Masterful, if grim
Review: The author has written a learned and detailed account of a very grim saga. It does not have quite the human touch of Stalingrad, and is a little drier as a result. But it is certainly readable, if uncomfortable. There are few heroes, and quite a lot of villains, not least many of the Red Army. Stalin comes across as a crafty schemer; the Western Allies, particularly the Americans as naive and gullible; and Hitler, yet again, as an evil demented maniac.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed bag of beans
Review: The book does give a good picture of Nazi Germany's last grotesque death spasms e'ven though it is not anywhere near the standards of "Stalingrad".

The best parts are the eye witness accounts, dairy notes and letter snips. I also like the way Beaver weaves many personal stories into the book along the way.

The weak spot is that Beaver ended up with 300 pages in stead of editing it down to the 100 pages that would make it a job well done.

Beaver relies too much on too few sources. Sterotyping is obvious. And several themes are repeated again and again; rape, rape, rape, Berliners sense of humor, Berliners sense of humor, Berliners sense of humor, Russians stealing clocks, Russians stealing clocks, Russians stealing clocks. Boring, isnt' it?

You can learn quite a lot about the last great battle of a terrible war but you have to add and subtract a too much along the way to end up with a balanced picture.

Rating:
Summary: The Fall Of Man
Review: Antony Beevor took on quite the task with just one aspect of this terrible war, The battle of Berlin. In 1945 this epic was lived out in the lifes of desperate people.On the German side a Propaganda Ministry telling a fearful defeated people that to surender to the Russians means death, and rape. Sadly this was the truth for alot of the people of Berlin and eastern Europe. On the Russian side another madman Stalin giving his men no other option but to fight or be shot as a traitor.With the terrible things the Germans did in occupied Russia, and revenge on the Russian minds, they move into the capital of Nazi Germany hunting for Hitler and all his followers. What we have and brought out quite well is the finale battle to the death.

Wonderful insight on Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, Eisenhower, Montgomery, and Marshal Zhukov.
Beevors well thought out use of Soviet files reveals the terrible revenge mixed with unbelieveable stupidity and evil unleached on the German people and depth of man's evil in this world.

A few of the personal stories seemed forced into the page without really telling us anything, while some needed to go futher and he didn't. But some where even compelling. 4 1/2 stars

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Account of the Third Reich's Final Days
Review: Although I'm a professional historian, military history is admittedly not my specialized field: Regardless, I found this account of the last days of the Third Reich, as Russian troops encircled Berlin, absolutely fascinating. Beevor does an excellent job reminding the reader who is who among the lengthy list of generals, field marshalls, and other leaders, so that I found it fairly easy to keep track of what could have been a confusing mass of armies upon armies on either side of the front lines. His descriptions of personalities, battles, strategies, hardships, and attrocities are captivating, so much so that I read this somewhat lengthy book in an amazingly short time -- I was pulled through from cover to cover (and was so impressed that I now intend to read Beevor's "Stalingrad"). The author's use of first-hand eyewitness accounts and anecdotes, culled from diaries and memoires, breathes life into what might have been a purely military history concerned only with tactics, weapons, and troop movements. Indeed, if you like the work of Stephen Ambrose ("D-Day," "Band of Brothers," "Citizen Soldiers"), you'll probably like Beevor's "Fall of Berlin." (The book contains several excellent maps, by the way, which are located in the front for easy reference.)