Winzig, Germany, 1933-1946: The History of a Town under the Third Reich / Edition 1

by Rita S. Botwinick

Overview

This history of Winzig challenges the often-held view that Germany under Hitler resembled one vast concentration camp. Except for the Jews, the townspeople lived much as they had before 1933. A few Winzigers profited and a few suffered as a result of the Nazi regime, while most continued their nonpolitical daily lives. Only World War II itself effected serious changes. Winzig was a microcosm of Germany in that only a minority supported Hitler, and yet in twelve years no strong anti-Nazi movement developed. That fact constitutes an indictment against silent majorities everywhere.

Rita S. Botwinick's account of a small town examines how the Nazis achieved political power, the changes instituted by the New Order, the reaction and decimation of the town's Jewish families, the impact of the Russian invasion, and the expulsion of the German population by the Polish authorities. Botwinick discusses the integration of this expelled population into Germany west of the 1949 Polish/German border without the creation of long-term problems—a remarkable achievement which has been neglected in chronicles of the postwar era. The story of Winzig is told through narratives of the lives of ordinary individuals and describes their behavior in the face of extraordinary circumstances.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780275941857
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	08/24/1992
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.44(d)
Lexile:	1110L (what's this?)

About the Author

RITA S. BOTWINICK is on the faculty of Florida Atlantic University, where she teaches European history and the Holocaust. Dr. Botwinick, who holds a Ph.D. from St. John's University, was born in Winzig, Germany and lived there until the age of sixteen, when she and some members of her family escaped to the United States. After World War II, contacts with former Winzigers were renewed—as a result she was able to personally document the events that occurred in Winzig in the 1940s.

Table of Contents

Introduction
The Good Old Days
Victory by Default
Something Ventured-Nothing Gained
Anti-Semitism Blight and Flight
Death of a Small Town
The Oder/Neisse Line
Notes
Maps
Photographs
Bibliography
Index