The German War

“ A terrific book. Nicholas Stargardt brilliantly explores diaries, letters and other previously untapped sources to provide more vivid and nuanced insight than ever before achieved into the motivation of ordinary Germans fighting the most horrific war of all time ”

Ian Kershaw

“ A gripping new book…To write like this requires a rare sensitivity and psychological sophistication coupled with a degree of fearlessness…Stargardt impresses not only as a cultural historian. He also has an impressively strong grasp on the military narrative of the war. And this is indispensable…Stargardt has given us a truly profound piece of history ”

New York Times Book Review

“ Beautifully written and convincingly argued, this book is a must ”

Saul Friedlander, author of Nazi Germany and the Jews

“ A considerable success ”

Simon Heffer, Literary Review

“ Sympathetic and nuanced portraits of German men and women… Intimate account of individual Germans’ experiences of war, Stargardt explores private emotions… Beautifully written… He writes with the correct tone and sensitivity. ”

Wendy Lower, Times Literary Supplement

“ Superbly researched and clearly written, The German War is an important and significant book ”

Dominic Green, Spectator

“ For the first time, the wartime chronology of German sentiment, of popular hopes and fears, realism and fantasy, becomes truly visible. A powerful and compelling account ”

Mark Roseman, Professor of History, Indiana University

“ Insightful, illuminating, complex, and convincing... Seven decades and a mountain of monographs later, I wouldn’t have thought there’d be much more to say about WWII. Stargardt has proven me wrong ”

Robert Moeller, Professor of History, University of California, Irvine

“ The German War is an outstanding book by a master historian... a masterpiece of historical writing, blending seamlessly a ‘bird’s eye’ view with intimate micro-history of this calamitous period in twentieth century Europe ”

Jan Gross, author of Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland

“ Stargardt negotiates the considerable risks of writing from inside German experiences of this brutally destructive war with subtlety, humanity, and wisdom. This is a rich and deeply impressive lesson ”

Jane Caplan, Emeritus Fellow, St Antony’s College, Oxford

“ Stargardt negotiates the considerable risks of writing from inside German experiences of this brutally destructive war with subtlety, humanity, and wisdom. This is a rich and deeply impressive lesson ”

Jane Caplan, Emeritus Fellow, St Antony’s College, Oxford

“ Stargardt’s book is a prodigious accomplishment… The German War [is] essential reading for anyone interested in the Second World War in Europe ”

Robert Gallately, Times Higher Education

“ This masterly book may well change forever what we thought we knew about response of the German people to the war ”

Nigel Jones, History Today

“ Riveting ”

John Kampfner, Observer

“ Thought-provoking ”

Marcus Tanner, Independent

“ Superb study ”

Nikolaus Wachsmann, Guardian

“ [A] riveting account of how these ordinary Germans experienced and sustained the war ”

Nicholas Shakespeare, Daily Telegraph

“ Places a flashlight inside the heads of “ordinary” Germans… Thought provoking ”

Maria Popova, Observer

“ well written and human account of a period of madness and how individuals sought to make sense of it ”

Simon Fowler, Who Do You Think You Are

“ Nicholas Stargardt spotlights the surprising twists and turns in the popular embrace of both the war and Nazi racial extremism. He explains—as few have—why the German people fought to the finish, whereas even the supposedly fanatical Japanese surrendered before an invasion of the homeland ”

Sheldon Garon, author of Molding Japanese Minds: The State in Everyday Life

“ Ambitious and absorbing new book. ”

Richard J. Evans, London Review of Books

“ [A] revelatory book. ”

Simon Shaw, Mail on Sunday

“ I enjoyed this book immensely…This book fills a vast gap in our knowledge of history and I am glad to have read it. ”

Reg Seward, Nudge