Alternatives to Hitler: German Resistance under the Third Reich

by Hans Mommsen, Angus McGeoch, Jeremy Noakes

Overview

Internal opposition to Nazism is often mythologized as heroic or dismissed as "too little, too late, and for the wrong reasons." These seminal writings trace the real and complex history of the German Resistance from the ascent of the Nazi Party to the July 1944 attempted assassination of Hitler. Informed by four decades of research and written by the premier historian of the German Resistance, this book constitutes the definitive work on those tens of thousands of Germans who fought the Third Reich from within.


Hans Mommsen considers the full spectrum of opposition, from small but still-dangerous acts of political disobedience to large-scale conspiracies to overthrow the government. Along the way he tells the incredible stories of such Germans as Count Claus von Stauffenberg, who planted a briefcase bomb during a staff meeting at Hitler's East Prussian military headquarters, and the members of the Kreisau Circle, who clandestinely met to plan for Germany's postwar future as a democratic member of an integrated Europe.


While upholding resistance to Nazism as a value beyond reproach, Mommsen considers the varied and sometimes murky motives of those who resisted—motives that ranged from principled commitment to pragmatic self-interest by former Nazi sympathizers. He examines resisters' detailed and not-always-democratic programs to rebuild a state and reeducate a Nazified society and considers their sometimes ambivalent attitudes toward the unfolding Final Solution.


Available in English for the first time in this fluid translation, this book is a signal achievement by a major scholar—and the standard work on the German Resistance available in any language.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691116938
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	09/07/2003
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Hans Mommsen, one of Germany's preeminent historians, is Professor Emeritus at Ruhr University in Bochum. His many books include Rise and Fall of Weimar Democracy and From Weimar to Auschwitz (Princeton).

Table of Contents

Introduction by Jeremy Noakes 1

1. Carl von Ossietzky and the concept of a right to resist in Germany 9

2. German society and resistance to Hitler 23

3. The social vision and constitutional plans of the German resistance 42

4. The Kreisau Circle and the future reorganization of Germany and Europe 134

5. Count Fritz-Dietlof von der Schulenburg and the Prussian tradition 152

6. German anti-Hitler resistance and the ending of Europe's division into nation-states 181

7. Julius Leber and the German resistance to Hitler 194

8. Wilhelm Leuschner and the resistance movement of 20 July 1944 205

9. Carlo Mierendorff's 'Socialist Action' programme 218

10. Adolf Reichwein's road to resistance and the Kreisau Circle 227

11. The position of the military opposition to Hitler in the German resistance movement 238

12. Anti-Hitler resistance and the Nazi persecution of Jews 253

Notes 277

Bibliography 303

Index 305

What People are Saying About This

Michael Geyer

When the doyen of twentieth-century German historians writes on the subject for which he is best known, in the genre in which he excels, nothing can go wrong. And this is indeed the case. Mommsen's work on the German Resistance is political history par excellence.
— Michael Geyer, University of Chicago

Europaische Sicherheit

No work on the events of 1944 or the plot against Hitler can afford to ignore Mommsen's book. It is unavoidable.

Suddeutsche Zeitung

Mommsen has produced the standard work on the subject—faultless, it leaves nothing to be desired. His range is both broad and penetrating. . . . The biographical chapters are a veritable Who's Who of the Resistance.

From the Publisher

"When the doyen of twentieth-century German historians writes on the subject for which he is best known, in the genre in which he excels, nothing can go wrong. And this is indeed the case. Mommsen's work on the German Resistance is political history par excellence."—Michael Geyer, University of Chicago

"Mommsen has produced the standard work on the subject—faultless, it leaves nothing to be desired. His range is both broad and penetrating. . . . The biographical chapters are a veritable Who's Who of the Resistance."—Süddeutsche Zeitung

"No work on the events of 1944 or the plot against Hitler can afford to ignore Mommsen's book. It is unavoidable."—Europäische Sicherheit

"This English translation will be invaluable to all students who have no access to the German original."—Ian Kershaw, University of Sheffield

Ian Kershaw

This English translation will be invaluable to all students who have no access to the German original.
— Ian Kershaw, University of Sheffield

Recipe

"When the doyen of twentieth-century German historians writes on the subject for which he is best known, in the genre in which he excels, nothing can go wrong. And this is indeed the case. Mommsen's work on the German Resistance is political history par excellence."—Michael Geyer, University of Chicago

"Mommsen has produced the standard work on the subject—faultless, it leaves nothing to be desired. His range is both broad and penetrating. . . . The biographical chapters are a veritable Who's Who of the Resistance."—Süddeutsche Zeitung

"No work on the events of 1944 or the plot against Hitler can afford to ignore Mommsen's book. It is unavoidable."—Europäische Sicherheit

"This English translation will be invaluable to all students who have no access to the German original."—Ian Kershaw, University of Sheffield

Editorial Reviews

"When the doyen of twentieth-century German historians writes on the subject for which he is best known, in the genre in which he excels, nothing can go wrong. And this is indeed the case. Mommsen's work on the German Resistance is political history par excellence."—Michael Geyer, University of Chicago


"Mommsen has produced the standard work on the subject—faultless, it leaves nothing to be desired. His range is both broad and penetrating. . . . The biographical chapters are a veritable Who's Who of the Resistance."—Süddeutsche Zeitung


"No work on the events of 1944 or the plot against Hitler can afford to ignore Mommsen's book. It is unavoidable."—Europäische Sicherheit


"This English translation will be invaluable to all students who have no access to the German original."—Ian Kershaw, University of Sheffield

From the Publisher

Interest in German opposition to Hitler has grown in the past few years, led by the work of such prominent historians as Joachim Fest (Plotting Hitler's Death) and Theodore S. Hamerow (On the Road to the Wolf's Lair: German Resistance to Hitler). Now another major German historian weighs in with a remarkable contribution to this fascinating subject. Mommsen has produced a well-researched account of the myriad opposition forces that sought to overthrow Hitler and his Nazi henchmen. Mommsen explores the background and ideological differences of the different groups, ranging from left-wing dissenters to conservative military officers who had in common only the belief that Hitler was ruining the future of Germany. The result is a highly sophisticated work from a mature historian at the top of his game. For all history collections.-Ed Goedeken, Iowa State Univ. Lib., Ames Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal