This collection of photographs presents a visual history of the German soldier's experiences and challenges on the Eastern Front during World War II. Hundreds of photos depict army and Waffen SS soldiers, uniforms, weapons and equipment, tanks and other vehicles, aircraft, local villages, life on the front lines, and much more, while the caption text offers insight and detailed information. Many of these photos are rare, and most come from private collections and have never been published before. This is an ideal reference for military history fans, scholars, modelers, and reenactors, and the perfect companion to the narrative accounts found in the Stackpole Military History Series.

How much did Dietrich Bonhoeffer know of the Holocaust, and what did he do to help the Jews? Should Bonhoeffer be considered one of the "Righteous among the Nations"? In this welcome sequel to his acclaimed The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon, Stephen Haynes takes up these vexing and controversial questions. While Bonhoeffer spoke out against mistreatment of the Jews as early as 1933 in a radio broadcast, his own reflection on Jewish identity in Christian theology and on the plight of the Jews developed considerably over the next dozen years. Always forthright yet fair, Haynes analyzes the historical record and Bonhoeffer's maturing theology and shows how Bonhoeffer's self-critical theology relates to the later advent of post-Holocaust theologies, with their sharply posed challenges to traditional Christian supersessionism.

The classic eye-witness account of Nazi Germany, by Hitler's Armaments Minister and right-hand man. 'Inside the Third Reich is not only the most significant personal German account to come out of the war but the most revealing document on the Hitler phenomenon yet written. It takes the reader inside Nazi Germany on four different levels: Hitler's inner circle, National Socialism as a whole, the area of wartime production and the inner struggle of Albert Speer. The author does not try to make excuses, even by implication, and is unrelenting toward himself and his associates ... Speer's full-length portrait of Hitler has unnerving reality. The Fuhrer emerges as neither an incompetent nor a carpet-gnawing madman but as an evil genius of warped conceits endowed with an ineffable personal magic' New York Times

Dr Robyn Arrowsmith is author and publisher of All The Way To The USA: Australian WWII War Brides, which is based on ten years research for her PhD at Macquarie University. Robyn has travelled to America a number of times to meet with some of the remarkable Australian women who fell in love with US servicemen during the urgency and social chaos of WWII. The book chronicles the true and poignant stories of Australian brides and fiancees who embarked on a long journey, leaving family, friends and all things familiar, to follow their hearts to America. Set in an historical context, the War Brides tell their stories for the first time in over six decades. The book highlights the way these women first met their future husbands, their wartime courtships, their weddings, the long wait to sail to America and the sea voyage itself, as well as their reception in a new country. These women bravely displayed commitment, resourcefulness and determination, as they dealt with red tape, chronic homesickness and grief for the families they left behind, while adjusting to different aspects of cultural change and settling in to a new life of wife and mother. There were 15,000 Australian WWII War Brides of American servicemen, but no in depth study has been made until now, and their stories have remained untold. After 60 years, these women have been officially recognised in Washington DC as great ambassadors for good relations between the two countries. These human stories, told in the words of the war brides, add a new dimension to women's history in both Australia and America.

The Battle of the Bulge was the "last hurrah" for the German Army on the Western Front. With the help of various unpublished sources, Samuel Mitcham sets out to tell the story of that battle and of the Ardennes Offensive from the German point of view. The greatest military disaster the United States suffered in the European Theater of Operations in World War II occurred in the Ardennes Offensive, when most of the U.S. 106th Infantry Division was destroyed in the Schnee Eifel (Snow Mountains). This defeat was not inflicted by the vaulted panzer troops, the elite paratroopers, the hardened SS men, or Skorzeny's commandos. It was administered by a mediocre and unheralded unit-the 18th Volksgrenadier Division. Mitcham covers the Battle of the Schnee Eifel from the German point of view in greater depth than any book has ever done, using unpublished German after-action reports and manuscripts, especially those of Lieutenant Colonel Dietrich Moll, the chief of operations of the 18th Volksgrenadier. Similar unpublished works, as well as the papers of Theodor-Friedrich von Stauffenberg, contribute to a unique account of the Battle of the Bulge. Readers will find the organizational structure of Panzers in Winter different from that of other works on the topic. Mitcham uses the first two chapters to set the stage for the offensive and details the opening day in Chapter Three. Thereafter, the battle is discussed by sector, from north to center to south. This approach allows general readers to achieve a better feel for the engagement overall. Final chapters cover the clearing of the bulge and the lives and careers of the major participants.

1991 marks the fiftieth anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor, an event which plunged a basically self-absorbed United States directly into the world's worst conflagration. For years, the United States, which had become a Pacific power almost simultaneously with Japan at the turn of the century, mistrusted Tokyo's intentions in the Far East. Off the international stage, most Americans either ignored Japan or failed to understand the dynamics of a millenium-old culture in the throes of modernization. The almost orderly manner in which U.S.-Japanese relations fell terminally ill in 1941 continues to provide a textbook lesson for those who would work to avoid future catastrophies. In this first book-length, annotated bibliography, Smith provides more than 1,500 citations from eleven languages. Not only is the published literature examined, but care has been taken to cite the main repositories in the United States and abroad holding data necessary for the ongoing reinterpretation of the beginning of the War in the Pacific. The published literature cited covers virtually all factors surrounding the attack and its 1941 background: economic, political, diplomatic, racial, biographical, planning, intelligence, operations, and hardware. Access is augmented by author and name indexes; the latter is keyed to specific personnel and vessels. While aimed primarily at students and scholars, this volume will be useful to teachers, journalists, policymakers, and all concerned with military studies and World War II.

In August 1941 Churchill and Roosevelt met in a secluded bay off the coast of Newfoundland. It was the first of their wartime meetings and in many respects the most significant. The Atlantic Charter, its result, proclaimed the two leaders' vision of a new world order, a set of principles that would govern international relations with the coming of peace. This remarkable collection of essays is the result of an international conference of American, British, and Canadian scholars held at Memorial University of Newfoundland that marked the 50th anniversary of the historic meeting. The essays discuss both the Charter's formulation and its long-term significance, and provide fascinating perspectives on the Second World War and its aftermath.

This volume presents a wide-ranging selection of Jewish theological responses to the Holocaust. It will be the most complete anthology of its sort, bringing together for the first time: (1) a large sample of ultra-orthodox writings, translated from the Hebrew and Yiddish; (2) a substantial selection of essays by Israeli authors, also translated from the Hebrew; (3) a broad sampling of works written in English by American and European authors. These diverse selections represent virtually every significant theological position that has been articulated by a Jewish thinker in response to the Holocaust. Included are rarely studied responses that were written while the Holocaust was happening.

For the ordinary people of Nazi Germany, resistance rarely took the form of active political or economically disruptive activity. But a great many people expressed their disgust through jokes and humor. In "Underground Humour in Nazi Germany: 1933-1945," F. K. M. Hillenbrand compiles a collection of jokes, stories and cartoons representing covert popular opposition which took humorous form. Even this was dangerous, as an ill-judged moment of wit could lead to the camps; but the Nazis themselves recognized the impossibility of stopping anti-Nazi jokes.
Although wonderfully entertaining, "Underground Humour in Nazi Germany: 1933-45" is not a joke book, but a serious study of the uses of humor and word play, supplemented always with full translations and explanations when a joke is retold. Hillebrand explains not only how humor could be used subversively in the Third Reich, but also suggests the ways that people resist under any totalitarian conditions, not exclusively Nazi Germany. He emphasizes the importance of humor to societies under stress.
Revealing an important feature of the Third Reich's social history, "Underground Humour in Nazi Germany: 1933-45" is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of 20th century Germany.

On November 26, 1943 the United States sustained its largest loss of troops at sea. Over 2,000 U.S. servicemen were aboard the British troop ship HMT Rohna in the Mediterranean on their way to the China-Burma-India Theater of war. Traveling in a convoy, the Rohna and 23 other ships were attacked by German bombers. After a fierce fight that ended with no ships lost, a single bomber made a final run. Armed with the latest technology (a rocket powered, remote controlled Henschel HS-293 glide bomb), it set its sights on the Rohna. Many men were killed instantly by the direct hit. Rescue ships spent hours pulling survivors from the water. By the time the losses were totaled, 1,015 U.S. servicemen had lost their lives. During a four-year period, author Michael Walsh met with survivors at their annual reunions, sitting with them as they recorded their stories of that night. Rohna Memories: Eyewitness to Tragedy is a repository of their recollections, whenever possible in their own words. Also included are: * Diagrams and photos * Letters home * Witness reports * Tributes by relatives * Lists of survivors and casualties

This book presents the remarkable personal journals of a German soldier who participated in Operation Barbarossa and subsequent battles on the Eastern Front, revealing the combat experience of the German-Russian War as seldom seen before. Hans Roth was a member of the anti-tank (Panzerjager) battalion, 299th Infantry Division, attached to Sixth Army, as the invasion of Russia began. Writing as events transpired, he recorded the mystery and tension as the Germans deployed on the Soviet frontier in 1941. Then a firestorm broke loose as the Wehrmacht broke across the front. During the Kiev encirclement, Roth's unit was under constant attack as the Soviets desperately tried to break through the German ring. At one point, a friend serving with the SS led him to a site where he witnessed civilians being massacred (which may well have been Babi Yar). After suffering through a horrible winter against apparently endless Russian reserves, his division went on the offensive again, this time on the northern wing of 'Case Gelb', the German drive toward Stalingrad. In these journals, attacks and counterattacks are described in 'you are there' detail, as if to keep himself sane, knowing that his honest accounts of the horrors in the East could never pass through Wehrmacht censors. When the Soviet counteroffensive of winter 1942 commences, his unit is stationed alongside the Italian 8th Army, and his observations of its collapse, as opposed to the reaction of the German troops sent to stiffen its front, are particularly fascinating. These journals, including original maps, some of which Roth himself helped compose, were recently discovered by his descendants, who arranged for the translation of their long-lost grandfather's journals. Roth was able to bring three of them back to his wife during the war, but never brought back a fourth journal, as his fate after the summer of 1943 in Russia is still unknown. What he did leave behind, now finally revealed, is an incredible first-hand account of the horrific war the Germans waged in Russia.

This volume begins with an investigation of Operation Barbarossa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. It draws upon eye-witness German accounts of what occurred, and supplements these with German archival and detailed Soviet materials. The Soviet government has released extensive amounts of formerly classified archival materials from the period. This material has been incorporated into the maps and text.

1992 will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the great Pacific naval battles in the Coral Sea and off Midway Island. Occuring within a month of each other, these turning Point engagements brought an end to Japan's military expansion and six months of Allied defeat and retreat in the Pacific. Fought mostly over the ocean by airmen flying primarily from aircraft carriers, the battles were marked on both sides by courage and luck, forewarning and foreboding, skill and ineptitude. In this first book-length, partially-annotated bibliography, Smith provides more than 1,300 citations to the growing literature on these major battles. Materials in seven languages are cited as well as information provided on many of the repositories located in the United States or abroad that have holdings necessary for the continuing reinterpretation of the battles. Following an overview and introduction, the volume contains sections devoted to reference works and sites, general histories, hardware, biography, combatants, and special studies, and separate section for both battles. Access is augmented by author and name indexes. This volume will be a required reference guide for all those concerned with the War in the Pacific and modern military studies.

Winston Churchill described the loss of Singapore as the greatest disaster ever to befall British arms. Louis Allen analyzes the remote political causes of the Japanese campaign, gives an account of the events of the campaign, and then attempts to apportion responsibility for the defeat.

"Aurora" is the story of a young school teacher from rural Alabama who ventured to New York where she fell in love with a romantic, young gentleman from old German aristocracy. They marry, have two children, and take a steamer to Germany. In Germany Aurora discovers she is married to an agent engaged in espionage against her country. After a difficult divorce, she gains custody of her children and reestablishes herself within the employment of the American Consulate in Hamburg. In 1941, when the Consulate expelled all employees prior to the U.S. declaration of war against Germany, Aurora leaves for Portugal via Frankfurt with her two children. In route, she is confronted by Gestapo agents and her children are abducted. She returns to Hamburg to fight for the return of her children. With the assistance of a Nazi friend, she locates her children and remains in Hamburg until July 1943 when her home was totally destroyed by the fire storm that killed nearly 45,000 civilians and reduced most of the city to rubble. Aurora's memoir recounts struggles to keep her children and survive the bombardment during Operation Gomorrah.

On October 25, 1944, the Samuel B. Roberts, along with the other twelve vessels comprising its unit, Taffy 3, stood between Japan's largest battleship force ever sent to sea, and General Douglas MacArthur's transports inside Leyte Gulf. Faced with the surprise appearance of more than twenty Japanese battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, including the Yamato, at seventy thousand tons the most potent battlewagon in the world, the twelve-hundred-ton Samuel B. Roberts turned immediately into action with six other ships. The ship churned straight at the enemy in a near-suicidal attempt to deflect the more potent foe and buy time for MacArthur's forces. Of 563 destroyers constructed during World War II, the Samuel B. Roberts was the only one sunk, going down with guns blazing in a duel reminiscent of the Spartans at Thermopylae or Davy Crockett's Alamo defenders. The men who survived faced a horrifying three-day nightmare in the sea, where they battled a lack of food and water, scorching sun, numbing night time cold, and nature's most feared adversary - sharks. The battle would go down as history's greatest sea clash, the Battle of Samar - the dramatic climax of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

"Beautifully researched and masterfully told" (Alex Kershaw, "New York Times "bestselling author of "Escape from the Deep"), this is the riveting story of the heroic and tragic US submarine force that helped win World War II in the Pacific.
Focusing on the unique stories of three of the war's top submarines--"Silversides," "Drum," and "Tang"--"The War Below "vividly re-creates the camaraderie, exhilaration, and fear of the brave volunteers who took the fight to the enemy's coastline in World War II. Award-winning journalist James Scott recounts incredible feats of courage--from an emergency appendectomy performed with kitchen utensils to sailors' desperate struggle to escape from a flooded submarine--as well as moments of unimaginable tragedy, including an attack on an unmarked enemy freighter carrying 1,800 American prisoners of war.
The casualty rate among submariners topped that of all other military branches. The war claimed almost one out of every five submarines, and a submarine crewman was six times more likely to die than a sailor onboard a surface ship. But this valorous service accomplished its mission; "Silversides," "Drum," and "Tang "sank a combined sixty-two freighters, tankers, and transports. The Japanese were so ravaged from the loss of precious supplies that by the war's end, pilots resorted to suicidal kamikaze missions and hungry civilians ate sawdust while warships had to drop anchor due to lack of fuel. In retaliation, the Japanese often beat, tortured, and starved captured submariners in the atrocious prisoner of war camps.
Based on more than 100 interviews with submarine veterans and thousands of pages of previously unpublished letters and diaries, "The War Below "lets readers experience the battle for the Pacific as never before.