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In The Man Who Built the Berlin Wall, Nathan Morley brings to life
the story of the longtime leader of the German Democratic Republic.
Drawing from a wealth of untapped archival sources - and firsthand
interviews with Honecker's lawyers, journalists, and contemporary
witnesses - Morley paints a vivid portrait of how an uneducated
miner's son from the Saarland rose to the highest ranks of the
German Communist Party. Having survived a decade of brutality in
Nazi prisons, Honecker emerged as an ambitious political player and
became the shadowy mastermind behind the construction of the Berlin
Wall in 1961, a crucial moment in twentieth-century history.
Although frequently on the verge of being relegated to obscurity,
he managed to overthrow strongman Walter Ulbricht at the height of
the Cold War and reigned supreme over the GDR between 1971-1989.
However, by 1980, the Honecker honeymoon was on the wane as a
decade of economic and social difficulties blighted the GDR. Then,
as tumultuous changes swept through the Soviet bloc, everything in
and around him collapsed in 1989. His health, his certainties, his
ideology, his apparatus of power, and his beloved SED party.
Terminally ill, he was literally kidnapped from Russia to answer
for his crimes in a Berlin court. A controversial figure,
Honecker's notorious philandering, his difficult relationship with
his wife Margot, penchant for porn, addiction to hunting, and
gilded lifestyle at a forest settlement north of Berlin are all
brought into sharp focus. Although haunted by the fall of the
Berlin Wall, Erich Honecker died in 1994, still believing the GDR
was the envy of the world.
'A wonderful account of a life filled with far more ups and downs
than its subject's languid demeanour ever suggested.' Miles Jupp.
Even if the name doesn't ring a bell, you'd recognise David
Tomlinson's face - genial and continually perplexed, he was Mr
Banks in Mary Poppins, Professor Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks
and Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug. To many, he's the epitome of
post-war British comedy. But at times his life was more tragedy
than comedy. A distinguished RAF pilot in the Second World War, his
first marriage was to end in horrific tragedy and his next romance
ended with his lover marrying the founder of the American Nazi
Party. He did find love and security in his second marriage, but
drama still played its part in his life - from the uncovering of an
earthshattering family secret to the fight for an autism diagnosis
for his son, up against the titans of the British medical
establishment. Tomlinson may have died over twenty years ago, but
his star continues to shine. In Disney's British Gentleman, Nathan
Morley reveals the remarkable story of one of Disney's most beloved
icons for the very first time.
Holidays with Hitler tells the story of German leisure time and
state-sponsored fun under the Nazi regime. Nathan Morley looks at
consumerism, entertainment and travel in German society, and offers
a vivid portrait of what it was like to visit as a foreign tourist
seeking fun in a totalitarian state. An important part of Nazi
policy was the vast Strength through Joy programme, headed by Dr
Robert Ley - a brash and fanatical party member. Although Strength
through Joy is best remembered for introducing the Volkswagen
Beetle, it also allowed fourteen million people to enjoy annual
vacations at bargain basement prices while improving the health of
the population by encouraging running, hiking, swimming, and active
family holidays. With millions of working people paying monthly
dues, the organization amassed a hefty fortune. On the island of
Rugen in the Baltic Sea, a vast resort capable of accommodating
22,000 holidaymakers began construction in 1937 - the same year the
Wilhelm Gustloff, the first Strength Through Joy vessel, was
launched in Hamburg. With the arrival of the Second World War, the
organisation adapted, the goal being the 'cultural caretaking of
the bomb-battered population and our soldiers'. Nathan Morley,
employing meticulous research, tells the story not only of the
Strength through Joy programme but also the efforts to organise the
Olympics and disguise anti-Jewish sentiments from the thousands of
visitors; the way millions of Germans spent their free time; and
what it was like to be a foreign tourist as the thin veneer of a
disintegrating Reich peeled away to reveal an ugly and evil
interior.
'A wonderful account of a life filled with far more ups and downs
than its subject's languid demeanour ever suggested.' Miles Jupp.
Even if the name doesn't ring a bell, you'd recognise David
Tomlinson's face - genial and continually perplexed, he was Mr
Banks in Mary Poppins, Professor Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks
and Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug. To many, he's the epitome of
post-war British comedy. But at times his life was more tragedy
than comedy. A distinguished RAF pilot in the Second World War, his
first marriage was to end in horrific tragedy and his next romance
ended with his lover marrying the founder of the American Nazi
Party. He did find love and security in his second marriage, but
drama still played its part in his life - from the uncovering of an
earthshattering family secret to the fight for an autism diagnosis
for his son, up against the titans of the British medical
establishment. Tomlinson may have died over twenty years ago, but
his star continues to shine. In Disney's British Gentleman, Nathan
Morley reveals the remarkable story of one of Disney's most beloved
icons for the very first time.
Radio Hitler follows the life of Deutschlandsender, the Nazi
equivalent of BBC Radio 4, and its sister stations that transmitted
to Germany and the world at large. Using first-hand interviews,
archives, diaries, letters and memoirs, this book examines what
Nazi radio was and what it stood for. Detailed here is the vast
'fake news' effort, which bombarded audiences in the Middle East,
Africa, the United States and Great Britain. A light is also shone
on the home service stations that, with their monumental
announcements including Stalingrad, the assassination attempt on
Hitler and the invasion of France, provided the soundtrack to
everyday life in Nazi Germany. Details of entertainment shows and
programmes designed to lift morale on the Home Front are abundant
and offer a fresh insight into the psyche of the nation. The book
also looks at Nazi attempts to develop television throughout
Germany and in occupied France. A rich cast of characters is
featured throughout, including Ernst Himmler, brother of Heinrich,
who worked as technical chief at Deutschlandsender, and Lord
Haw-Haw, the infamous British mouthpiece of the Nazi propaganda
machine. Nathan Morley had unlimited access to former Reich radio
studios and transmitter sites in Hamburg, Berlin, and Vienna, as
well as to a vast archive of recordings and transcripts. The result
is a fascinating and revealing portrait of propaganda,
communication and media in Nazi Germany.
Radio Hitler follows the life of Deutschlandsender, the Nazi
equivalent of BBC Radio 4, and its sister stations that transmitted
to Germany and the world at large. Using first-hand interviews,
archives, diaries, letters and memoirs, this book examines what
Nazi radio was and what it stood for. Detailed here is the vast
'fake news' effort, which bombarded audiences in the Middle East,
Africa, the United States and Great Britain. A light is also shone
on the home service stations that, with their monumental
announcements including Stalingrad, the assassination attempt on
Hitler and the invasion of France, provided the soundtrack to
everyday life in Nazi Germany. Details of entertainment shows and
programmes designed to lift morale on the Home Front are abundant
and offer a fresh insight into the psyche of the nation. The book
also looks at Nazi attempts to develop television throughout
Germany and in occupied France. A rich cast of characters is
featured throughout, including Ernst Himmler, brother of Heinrich,
who worked as technical chief at Deutschlandsender, and Lord
Haw-Haw, the infamous British mouthpiece of the Nazi propaganda
machine. Nathan Morley had unlimited access to former Reich radio
studios and transmitter sites in Hamburg, Berlin, and Vienna, as
well as to a vast archive of recordings and transcripts. The result
is a fascinating and revealing portrait of propaganda,
communication and media in Nazi Germany.
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