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Hitler's Soldiers
- The German Army in the Third Reich
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 26 hrs and 38 mins
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Hitler's Soldiers
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Summary
For decades after 1945, it was generally believed that the German army, professional and morally decent, had largely stood apart from the SS, Gestapo, and other corps of the Nazi machine. Ben Shepherd draws on a wealth of primary sources and recent scholarship to convey a much darker, more complex picture.
For the first time, the German army is examined throughout the Second World War, across all combat theaters and occupied regions, and from multiple perspectives: its battle performance, social composition, relationship with the Nazi state, and involvement in war crimes and military occupation.
This was a true people's army, drawn from across German society and reflecting that society as it existed under the Nazis. Without the army and its conquests abroad, Shepherd explains, the Nazi regime could not have perpetrated its crimes against Jews, prisoners of war, and civilians in occupied countries. The author examines how the army was complicit in these crimes and why some soldiers, units, and higher commands were more complicit than others.
Shepherd also reveals the reasons for the army's early battlefield successes and its mounting defeats up to 1945, the latter due not only to Allied superiority and Hitler's mismanagement as commander-in-chief, but also to the failings of the army's own leadership.
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What listeners say about Hitler's Soldiers
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- paul hadfeild
- 24-03-18
update on how complicit the normal solders
Well worth reading as it shows just how complicit the normal solders were in all the atrocities , not the normal white washed version that has been peddled for years.
This information has been coming out in dribs and drabs the "we were just normal solders doing our duty it was all the ss " myth has been debunked and this book puts it all together.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- A. Abutaleb
- 09-06-23
Fantastic
Cannot recommend this enough. Very well researched and approached an emotive historical period with nuance and objectivity
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mike
- 19-09-23
Good factual account
Not easy listening due to brutality of the atrocity towards civilians but I learnt a lot about the complex relationship between the Nazis and the Wehrmacht . It highlighted the many reasons that a disciplined and professional European army killed so many civilians .Ultimately Hitler and the Nazi Party were responsible and destroyed Germany . I learnt a lot from this book . Very good !
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 18-08-23
The Evil that Men Do
A well narrated account of the moral and cultural collapse of a modern society
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR R WATTS
- 03-12-23
Great History of WW2
Great book with understanding of the German position, it’s successes and failings
A good listen
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- mat brown
- 17-05-18
A thoroughly researched piece
What a great listen
The narrator was engaging and the narrative compelling
Thanks to Ben Shepard and Micheal Page
I’ll be listening to this book many times
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Paul B. C
- 15-08-18
well researched with a balanced viewpoint.
The book covered the German army from the key pre-era
with references and comparisons to the first world war. it also charted the change in the army as the war progressed until it's final destruction in 1945 using a wide range of references including testimonies from German soldiers and officers after the war. it also balanced the capabilities of both allies and German forces and how they change during the war. With respect to the question "was the German soldier innocent of the atrocities committed?" No one was completely innocent but the indoctrination of younger soldiers prepared them for atrocities especially with to lesser race. However, it was stated that Hitler and his officers were overwhelmingly to blame and other contributing factors such as inadequate means of dealing with prisoners, lack of provisions and food to fight played a great part.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Helen
- 23-11-18
Soldier,soldier
Interesting but a little drawn out in places, with measurements given in metric and imperial
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- DAVID Rowlands
- 20-07-20
Must Read/Listen
I enjoyed listening to this very comprehensive study of the German Army from 1933 to 1945. The audio book covers all aspects of the German army including cultural, moral, operational, tactical and organisational. The book fills in the gaps having only learnt from documentaries, history lessons, and occasional book. The narration was well paced and compelling listening. This book answers all the questions especially why did the Army follow Hitler so blindly right to the end. It do not often award full 5 stars but on this occasion it is well deserved.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Michael Embree
- 26-10-21
Great book
Good book and very informative. Unlike other books it focuses on the German military and its campaigns, not just the war crimes
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