Berlin cover art

Berlin

The Downfall 1945

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Berlin

By: Antony Beevor
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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About this listen

Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Berlin by Antony Beevor, read by Peter Noble.


Berlin: The Downfall 1945 is Antony Beevor's brilliant account of the fall of the Third Reich.

The Red Army had much to avenge when it finally reached the frontiers of the Reich in January 1945. Political instructors rammed home the message of Wehrmacht and SS brutality. The result was the most terrifying example of fire and sword ever known, with tanks crushing refugee columns under their tracks, mass rape, pillage and destruction. Hundreds of thousands of women and children froze to death or were massacred because Nazi Party chiefs, refusing to face defeat, had forbidden the evacuation of civilians. Over seven million fled westwards from the terror of the Red Army.

Antony Beevor reconstructs the experiences of those millions caught up in the nightmare of the Third Reich's final collapse, telling a terrible story of pride, stupidity, fanatacism, revenge and savagery, but also one of astonishing endurance, self-sacrifice and survival against all odds.

 Europe Germany Military Russia Western Europe Revenge Imperialism War Survival Scary Holocaust Suspenseful Thought-Provoking Soviet Union Red Army

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Critic reviews

Fascinating, extraordinary, gripping
A masterpiece of modern historical writing (Michael Burleigh)
This brilliant storyteller makes us feel the chaos and the fear as if every drop of blood was our own. It is much more than just a humane account; it is compellingly readable, deeply researched, and beautifully written (Simon Sebag Montefiore)
All stars
Most relevant
Harrowing stuff. An eye opener on the suffering of the German civilians.
4 stars because I felt a bit overwhelmed by the military and geographic detail. That problem probably doesn't arise in the printed version with it maps.

The speed and strength of the narration greatly adds to the sense of an unfolding catastrophe . Compelling book..

Good book with good narration.

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For those with a sensitive disposition towards the brutal realities of war, this isn't a book for you. It covers some very controversial topics that history should not forget, but in a gritty way that comes across harsher than fiction. Very good book all together - non biased and very relevent to those interested.

Gritty, real and frightfully true.

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Brilliant insight into the battle of Berlin, fully recommend this to anyone interested in the subject

Exceptional

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I enjoyed this recording greatly, delivered in a deliberately somber tone and speed it brings home the horror and scale of the end of the war as well as the bravery, cruelty and stupidity of the individual and collective acts.

The political, military and strategic thinking are all here and the scale of the geographical areas, numbers of personnel & abuses are all laid out in a clear and understandable way

Compelling in its destructive horror

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Essentially, a narration on the end of the Third Reich, the Nazis, and WWII.

The book doesn't portray the victors, predominately the Red Army, in the best of lights, as it retells stories of the brutal retribution that they inflicted on German civilians in the aftermath of the war.

The narration was excellent and on point when it comes to such a powerful but difficult subject matter.

The brutal end of the Third Reich

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