'The infantry is only a few metres ahead of us when suddenly, on the left of our tank, a Russian stands up. The swine had pretended to be dead when our infantry came past him! That's an old classic, pretending to be dead and then firing from the rear. But that isn't a good idea when facing tank-men like us... floor the accelerator! Turn left and run over him! 'An utterly gripping first-hand German account of the war on the Eastern Front.' - Dan Snow "Unvarnished, absorbing, gritty and pulling no punches. One of the best accounts of war on the Eastern Front I have ever read." - Peter Caddick-Adams "An erudite, well-written, thoughtful account of the harsh realities of combat on the Eastern Front in World War Two" - Roger Moorhouse The war on the Eastern Front from 1941 to 1945 was the bloodiest combat theatre in the bloodiest war in history. Oberleutnant Friedrich Wilhelm Sander experienced this bloodshed first-hand when serving with the 11th Panzer-Regiment. This regiment made up the core of the 6th Panzer-Division, one of Hitler's top armoured formations, which was involved in most of the major campaigns on the Eastern Front; campaigns such as Operation Barbarossa and Operation Winter Storm. Sander recorded his experience of these campaigns in astounding detail in some recently-discovered diaries covering the period from April 1938 to December 1943, translated here for the first time by historian Robin Schafer. Written during the fighting, these diaries not only offer an honest assessment of the war on the Eastern Front, but also provide an insight into the mind of a young and highly politicised officer, and offer an intimate glimpse into the close-knit community of a German Panzer crew. A brutally honest, immediate and unfiltered personal account, Sander's translated diaries make for some uniquely fascinating reading about some of the most important campaigns of the Second World War. Supported by more than 100 photographs and maps from the period, Blood, Dust & Snow will be of great interest not only to readers studying the war on the Eastern Front, but also to any historian researching the Second World War.

The inspirational story of the ordinary people who forged the documents that saved thousands of Jewish lives in World War Two. 'Powerful ... gripping ... inspiring' JONATHAN DIMBLEBY Between 1940 and 1943, a small group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists in Switzerland engaged in a wholly remarkable - and until now, almost completely unknown - humanitarian operation. Under the leadership of the Polish Ambassador, Aleksander Lados, they undertook a systematic programme of forging identity documents for Latin American countries, which were then smuggled into German-occupied Europe to save the lives of thousands of Jews facing extermination in the Holocaust. The Lados operation was one of the largest rescue missions of the entire war, and The Forgers tells this extraordinary story for the first time. We follow the desperate bids of Jews to obtain these life-saving documents, and their painful uncertainty over whether they will be granted protection from the Nazis' murderous fury. And we witness the quiet heroism of those who decided to act in an attempt to save thousands of lives. 'As gripping as it is moving' JULIA BOYD, author of Travellers in the Third Reich 'Original and thought-provoking' RICHARD OVERY, author of Blood and Ruins 'Astonishing' KATJA HOYER, author of Beyond the Wall

A new and definitive account of the German invasion of Poland that initiated WWII in 1939, written by a historian at the height of his abilities. 'Deeply researched, very well-written... This book will be the standard work on the subject for many years to come' - Andrew Roberts, author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny The Polish campaign is the forgotten story of the Second World War. The war began on 1 September 1939, when German tanks, trucks and infantry crossed the Polish border, and the Luftwaffe began bombing Poland's towns and cities. The Polish army fought bravely but could not withstand the concentrated attack. When the Red Army invaded from the east, the country's fate was sealed. This is the first history of the Polish war for almost half a century. Drawing on letters, memoirs and diaries from all sides, Roger Moorhouse's dramatic account of the military events is entwined with a human story of courage and suffering, and a dark tale of diplomatic betrayal. 'Important... Moorhouse has a wonderful knack for reminding us about the parts of the Second World War that we are in danger of forgetting' Dan Snow ** Shortlisted for the Duke of Wellington Medal for Military History 2020 **

For nearly two years the two most infamous dictators in history actively collaborated with one another. The Nazi-Soviet Pact stunned the world when it was announced, the Second World War was launched under its auspices with the invasion and division of Poland, and its eventual collapse led to the war's defining and deciding clash. It is a chapter too often skimmed over by popular histories of the Second World War, and in The Devils' Alliance Roger Moorhouse tells the full story of the pact between Hitler and Stalin for the first time, from the motivation for its inception to its dramatic and abrupt end in 1941 as Germany declared war against its former partner. Using first-hand and eye-witness testimony, this is not just an account of the turbulent, febrile politics underlying the unlikely collaboration between these two totalitarian regimes, but of the human costs of the pact, as millions of eastern Europeans fell victim to the nefarious ambitions of Hitler and Stalin.

For the first time in one enthralling book, here is the incredible true story of the numerous attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler and change the course of history.
Disraeli once declared that "assassination never changed anything," and yet the idea that World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust might have been averted with a single bullet or bomb has remained a tantalizing one for half a century. What historian Roger Moorhouse reveals in Killing Hitler is just how close-and how often-history came to taking a radically different path between Adolf Hitler's rise to power and his ignominious suicide.
Few leaders, in any century, can have been the target of so many assassination attempts, with such momentous consequences in the balance. Hitler's almost fifty would-be assassins ranged from simple craftsmen to high-ranking soldiers, from the apolitical to the ideologically obsessed, from Polish Resistance fighters to patriotic Wehrmacht officers, and from enemy agents to his closest associates. And yet, up to now, their exploits have remained virtually unknown, buried in dusty official archives and obscure memoirs. This, then, for the first time in a single volume, is their story.
A story of courage and ingenuity and, ultimately, failure, ranging from spectacular train derailments to the world's first known suicide bomber, explaining along the way why the British at one time declared that assassinating Hitler would be "unsporting," and why the ruthless murderer Joseph Stalin was unwilling to order his death.
It is also the remarkable, terrible story of the survival of a tyrant against all the odds, an evil dictator whose repeated escapes from almost certain death convinced him that he was literally invincible-a conviction that had appalling consequences for millions.

_'An engaging and novel approach to a familiar history. Pleasingly comprehensive and accessible highly recommended_' - Iron Cross magazine. Hitler's Third Reich is still the focus of numerous articles, books and films: no regime of the twentieth century has prompted such a body of literature. Collated by one of the world's leading historians of Nazi Germany and illustrated throughout, this book is an, compelling and revelatory guide to the Third Reich. Ranging from documents and postcards to weapons and personal effects, these objects include Pervitin, Hitler's Mercedes, Hitler's grooming kit, the Messerschmitt 262, the Luger pistol, the Tiger Tank, Eva Braun's lipstick case, the underpants of Rudolf Hess, and, of course, the Swastika and Mein Kampf.

The story of Central Europe is anything but simple. As the region located between East and West, it has always been endowed with a rich variety of migrants, and has repeatedly been the scene of nomadic invasions, mixed settlements and military conquests. In order to present a portrait of Central Europe, Norman Davies and Roger Moorhouse have made a case study of one of its most colourful cities, the former German Breslau, which became the Polish Wroclaw after the Second World War. The traditional capital of the province of Silesia rose to prominence a thousand years ago as a trading centre and bishopric in Piast Poland. It became the second city of the kingdom of Bohemia, a major municipality of the Habsburg lands, and then a Residenzstadt of the kingdom of Prussia. The third largest city of nineteenth-century Germany, its population reached one million before the bitter siege by the Soviet Army in 1945 wrought almost total destruction. Since then Wroclaw has risen from the ruins of war and is once again a thriving regional centre. The history of Silesia's main city is more than a fascinating tale in its own right. It embodies all the experiences which have made Central Europe what it is - a rich mixture of nationalities and cultures; the scene of German settlement and of the reflux of the Slavs; a Jewish presence of exceptional distinction; a turbulent succession of imperial rulers; and the shattering exposure to both Nazis and Stalinists. In short, it is a Central European microcosm.

Berlin was the city at the very center of World War Two. It was the launching pad for Hitler's empire, the embodiment of his vision of a "world metropolis." Berlin was also the place where Hitler's Reich would ultimately fall. Berlin suffered more air raids than any other German city and endured the full force of a Soviet siege.

In "Berlin at War," historian Roger Moorhouse uses diaries, memoirs, and interviews to provide a searing first-hand account of life and death in the Nazi capital--the privations, the hopes and fears, and the nonconformist tradition that saw some Berliners provide underground succour to the city's remaining Jews. Combining comprehensive research with gripping narrative, "Berlin at War" is the incredible story of the city--and people--that saw the whole of World War Two.