Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • The Good Germans

  • Resisting the Nazis, 1933-1945
  • By: Catrine Clay
  • Narrated by: Karen Cass
  • Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (50 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
The Good Germans cover art

The Good Germans

By: Catrine Clay
Narrated by: Karen Cass
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Red Rooster cover art
I Am Juden cover art
The Nazis cover art
A Mortal Terror cover art
Dead Irish cover art
Amerikan Eagle: The Special Edition cover art
Godhunter cover art
Ollie Wit Box Set: Books 1-3 cover art
The Broken House cover art
The Blake Brier Thriller Series Boxset - Books 1 to 3 cover art
Moskva cover art
Forbidden System: An Outworld Ranger Prequel cover art
Finding Rebecca cover art
Night Soldiers cover art
Lose Your Breath cover art
The Lawless Land cover art

Summary

After 1933, as the brutal terror regime took hold, most of the two-thirds of Germans who had never voted for the Nazis - some 20 million people - tried to keep their heads down and protect their families.

They moved to the country, or pretended to support the regime to avoid being denounced by neighbours, and tried to work out what was really happening in the Reich, surrounded as they were by Nazi propaganda and fake news. They lived in constant fear. Yet many ordinary Germans found the courage to resist. Catrine Clay argues that it was a much greater number than was ever formally recorded. Her ground-breaking book focuses on six very different characters. They are not seen in isolation but as part of their families. Each experiences the momentous events of Nazi history as they unfold in their own small lives - Good Germans all.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2020 Catrine Clay (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What listeners say about The Good Germans

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    38
  • 4 Stars
    10
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    2
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    34
  • 4 Stars
    6
  • 3 Stars
    4
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting but troubling

I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book. To many, the story of German resistance begins and ends with the July 20 plot and the failed coup attempt. The stories contained within this book go some way to adding depth and understanding to this subject. However, I do have some problems with the narrative. One fault is the simple perpetuation of the myth that the Reichstag fire was started by the Nazis as a pretext for mass arrests of communists. Richard J Evans has conclusively debunked this and all the evidence points to a lone wolf attack by Dutch communist, Marinus van der Lubbe as they German courts found at the time. The Nazis needed no such pretext. More grave, however is the charge that stems from the title, “The Good Germans.” The book, to my mind, reinforces the dichotomy that the Germans could be split in to two groups: Nazis = evil; ordinary Germans = good (and,by extension, resistors, or at least sympathetic to the resistance). This is very far from the truth. Without widespread approval, including at the ballot box, the Nazis would never have been able to go so far. The myth of the all knowing Gestapo has also been shown to be highly exaggerated. Within the Reich itself it was a much smaller organisation than might be imagined and relied heavily on denunciation for information. For ordinary Germans they may have feared the Gestapo and the concentration camps, but they were not directly affected by them. (Note: in countries occupied by the Nazis and the active resistance, both internal and foreign, the threat of the Gestapo and their methods of interrogation was all too real). This book shines great light on the inspirational resistance of Ernst Thälmann, Julius Leber and Fabien von Schlabrendorf among others, but it should not be forgotten that these people were in the tiny minority of Germans willing to oppose the Nazis. Statistics might be boring, but at least a chapter on putting these stories into a wider context might have been helpful.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

What a weird narrator

Sorry, I couldn’t finish the book, I can hardly understand what the narrator is saying. It seems that the recording was made in a bathroom.
And the way she reads... It looks like it’s a first lecture for her.
Hard to understand for me how Aidible accepts such weird narrated books.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A fantastic read. Many interesting people.

This has been one of favourite audio books to date.

I have studied the Nazi era for many years and this was a really refreshing take and I managed to learn a lot that I didn't already know. I'm definitely going to find further literature on Julius Leber and Ernst Thällman. The performance was delivered superbly.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fascinating listen

fascinating listen the history of the Germans against the Nazi regime shows that not all germans are bad

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant book

Loved it from the first minute. It was a real eye opener for me on the scale and sacrifice of the German resistance to the nazis and they're struggles. Would definitely recommend.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fantastic

what a great read. It certainly puts paid to the myth that all Germans were nazis. Includes names I have heard before but mostly new to me. A book that I will listen to agsin.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An important book

A testimony to the best in people. Unimaginable cicumstances matched by unimaginable heroism. Truly inspiring.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Powerful.

Granted me a completely unique perspective of the German people during the war. Powerful. Imagine your country being taken over like Germany was taken over my the Nazis during the 30s. Unbelievable.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

An excellent book

A book that is well worth a read. Give it a try and I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

The good Germans

In a world where everything is black or white, this book is timely. It lays to rest the myth that Germany followed Hitler blindly. This book reminds all those who believe that lie, of the thousands in camps, for their defiance, opposition or disregard of the Nazi tyranny, the executions and the waste. It is a deserved memorial to those brave Germans, known and unknown who sacrificed everything in the struggle for a better world

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!