Interrogations : the Nazi elite in Allied hands, 1945 /

By June 1945, most of the top Nazi political and military officials were in Allied custody. However, the Nuremberg War Crimes Tribunal did not convene until late November. During the interval, Goring, Speer, Hess, Jodl, Ley, and many of the lesser lights were interrogated as Allied legal authorities gathered evidence. Overy, professor of modern history at King's College, London, has assembled the transcripts of more than 30 of these interrogations. The results are stunning. Some of the transcripts are sickening, as when relatively minor officials describe with chilling blandness the process of selection for life or death at Auschwitz. Some have a surreal, almost comical, effect, as when Hess, apparently feigning amnesia, claims he does not know Goring, who is trying to engage him in conversation. Franz Von Papen, one of the non-Nazis who felt sensible conservatives could control Hitler, provides invaluable insight into their attitudes toward Hitler and the Nazi movement. This is a riveting but deeply disturbing book, which will make an essential contribution to our understanding of the Nazi era. --Jay Freeman

Desperate rats will devour one another to survive. At the end of World War II, the members of the captured Nazi hierarchy were indeed desperate to survive. Craven and cringing, they dissembled with their captors, attempting to sacrifice one another to escape inescapable guilt. As historian Overy (Russia's War) points out, though there was never any doubt about the criminality of the Nazi regime, subjecting that regime to judicial process was very risky: if the case were not proven, the accused might actually go free. Overy presents excerpts of the pretrial interrogations that provided the Allies with much of the information they needed to convict those responsible for the war and its atrocities. Overy's descriptions of the interrogations and illuminating commentary reveal the leaders of the "master race" to be weak-willed cowards. It was typical for the primary defendants to deny responsibility for the barbarity that occurred right under their noses or to feign incredulity that such fantastic cruelty could even occur. Copiously annotated and supported by an extensive bibliography, Interrogations is highly recommended, especially for academic libraries with a strong emphasis on 20th-century or military history. Michael F. Russo, Louisiana State Univ. Libs., Baton Rouge (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The first publication of Allied interrogations of Nazi war criminals in preparation for the Nuremberg trials. Historian Overy (The Battle of Britain, p. 242, etc.) shows that the unique evil of Nazi Germany was as difficult to comprehend in the immediate aftermath of WWII as it is today. During the war, it was clear to the Allied leaders that Hitler, Himmler, Bormann, and their cohorts would somehow have to be held accountable once Germany was defeated. The chieftains of the Nazi State had brought "aggressive war" to a world at peace, and would be personally punished for it. This conviction, however, proved problematic. Any verdict already in before the trial would render that trial a farce. Accordingly, Churchill suggested to Roosevelt that known Nazi leaders be executed rather than tried. Somewhat improbably, Stalin insisted on a trial, and as the Allied forces neared Berlin, plans were already underway. Of course, the men of whose guilt the Allies were most certain never made it to Nuremberg: Hitler and Himmler committed suicide, and Bormann most likely was killed in a bombing. Each of the 22 left to stand trial was interrogated at length over the six-month period between arrest and formal indictment. Here, Overy presents the edited text of those sessions. It is a disturbing collection. These are not the confessions of innocents, but rather the calculated admissions of criminals intent on avoiding the gallows or preserving a legacy. Their evasions remain hauntingly effective. Even though 10 of the 22 were found guilty of crimes warranting death, much doubt remains to this day about exactly how each was involved. As Overy observes, the assignation of responsibility within the Nazi regime is a problem that still troubles historians. Was everyone but Hitler simply following orders? To his credit, Overy puts these questions in context in an admirably crafted 200-page introduction.