Up-close, anecdotal look at the Nazi occupation in Greece, by
Mazower (Modern History and International Relations/University of
Essex). What with ideology, global strategies, and battle tales,
it's easy to overlook what daily life was like for a non-Aryan
nation under the Third Reich. From the German anti-aircraft gun in
front of the Temple of Olympus and children playing a few yards
from resistance fighters left hanging dead by their necks, to the
utter disruption of family life and complete economic collapse,
Mazower elucidates the particulars of Hitler's fate for non-Aryans.
The author's tone is almost detached, but his documentation is
overwhelming: Rich and poor Greeks have their say, as do Germans
and American observers, and it's clear that even at the peak of its
success, Nazi rule - nearly unchallenged and seemingly invincible -
included "sadistic overtones." Hitler wanted to plunder Greece,
and, according to Goering's orders, the German leaders "could not
care less...that people...are dying of hunger. Let them perish so
long as no German starves." Mazower examines how this brutal policy
clashed with Greek culture, inspiring local brigands to resistance.
Anecdotal evidence abounds here, including stories of priests,
whores, politicians, defeated soldiers, black marketeers, and men
shipped to work in Germany. Meanwhile, Mazower explores the German
experience as well: the satisfaction of controlling what was
respected in the West as the birthplace of culture; the profound
relief of serving in Greece, away from the Russian front; and,
ultimately, the SS terror system as it bore down on the resistance.
A grinding, horrific experience, intimately explored. (Kirkus
Reviews)
This gripping and richly illustrated account of wartime Greece
explores the impact of the Nazi Occupation upon the lives and
values of ordinary people. The first full account of the experience
of occupation, it offers a vividly human picture of resistance
fighters and black marketeers, teenage German conscripts and
Gestapo officers, Jews and starving villagers. "Fascinating. . . .
[Mazower] succeeds in getting under the skin of the occupation. . .
. [This book] conjures up, in vivid detail, life under an
occupation that had shattered old certainties and replaced them
with painful choices, cynical compromises, and hopes undercut by
the daily death toll." -Mark Almond, New York Times "A vivid
picture of the German occupier's mind and actions. . . . Mazower's
arguments are always fair." -Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times Book
Review "A superb book on the horrors afflicting wartime Greece. . .
. [Mazower] has done vast archival research and emerged with a
gripping, readable and human account, setting every moment of a
tragic period in appropriate context." -Fritz Stern, Foreign
Affairs "[A] sensitive, illuminating and richly textured account of
painful, complex experience." -Richard Overy, Observer Mark Mazower
is professor of history at Birkbeck College, University of London,
and author of Dark Continent.
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