Hellstorm: The Death Of Nazi Germany, 1944-1947 [Hardcover]

[stonemint]

Has anyone read this? Worth buying?

[Robert Jones]

No I haven't but based solely on the vignette provided by Amazon.com it does indeed sound like a truly interesting read.

It was the most deadly and destructive war in human history. Millions were killed, billions in property was destroyed, ancient cultures were reduced to rubble--World War II was truly man's greatest cataclysm. Thousands of books, movies and documentary films have been devoted to the war. There has never been such a terrible retelling of the story, however, as one will find in Hellstorm. In a chilling "you-are-there" style, the author places the reader at the scene, in the moment. Throughout this book readers will see what Allied airman saw as they rained down death on German cities; or the reader will experience what those below experienced as they sat trembling in their bomb shelters awaiting that very same death from above. The reader will view up close the horrors of the Eastern Front during the last months of fighting and through the mud, blood and madness of combat they may come to understand how the same German soldiers, who only moments before had destroyed an enemy tank, could now risk their own lives to rescue the trapped Soviet crew inside. Readers will witness for themselves the fate of German women as the rampaging Red Army raped and murdered its way across Europe--all females, from "eight to eighty" feared the dreaded words, "Frau Komm." The worst nautical disasters in history which claimed thousands of lives, the greatest mass migration known to man in which millions perished, the fate of those wretched victims in post-war death camps and torture chambers, these and many other dark secrets of World War II now come to light in Hellstorm.

[nomis]

Hellstorm.

Yes i read it when published.

Its a good, difficult at times to read, book. Difficult in that it re-lives very distressing events, and whatever your beliefs, or allegiances, one thing we all have in common is that we are Human Beings.

I am glad i read it.

SF.

[Terry OToole]

it is a collection of at times intensely harrowing events witnessed by the people that were there , i agree with Nomis that at times it is a difficult read , some of the tortures executions and sexual abuse begger belief ! it punches a big hole in the hollywood version of the good guys and bad guys , however it is history in the raw and particulary thought provoking !

[BrianK]

Sounds depressing, like reading about fakes and prices on the forum.

[nomis]

Hellstorm

BK,

Think you're missing the point and trivialising a subject by associating it with present-day *rseholes.
A lot of people out there don't like to hear about the retribution the allied armies inflicted on the German people, it takes away from the ' blinkered rosy-eyed ' view we were educated with. There are many differing views on the subject.
If that sounds boring to you , maybe choose a different subject matter.
War, on any level , is hell on earth and is to be taken litely at our peril.

Perhaps those in power might reflect on that at present.

SF.

[BrianK]

I know all about Dresden, Hamburg, Allied rapes etc. I was just suggesting it's been done before & not shocking information. I have read books on the subject. All the later books seem to be fights about body counts.

[Herr Lyppe]

Thanks for the head's up on this. It actually looks like a good read, despite the blurb on Amazon which makes it sound a little too sensationalist for my tastes.
Another two good books that I have on this, which are both equally difficult to read, are 'After the Reich' by Giles McDonough and 'A Terrible Revenge' by Alfred-Maurice De Zayas.

I'm not sure that it's a matter of people not wanting to hear about these events, but rather a General apathy towards the plight of the Germanic peoples after WWII. Germans in particular seem conditioned to be resigned to these ramifications, an attitude that was clearly demonstrated when the discovery of private footage of German Nationals being lined up along a road and executed was published on the Der Spiegel website. The footage was taken in the immediate post-war period in Czechoslovakia. Both the tone of the article and that of the post's respondents was 'it's what we deserved'.
Any attempt to bring these events to the fore generally gets you labelled as a revisionist, which apparently makes me a neo-nazi.

Looking at Amazon it does suggest another book that seems interesting 'Through Innocent Eyes: The Chosen Girls of the Hitler Youth' by Cynthia Sandor.
Has anybody read this?

Allan

[BrianK]

I'd just like to know from those who have read it; since I am retired, on a fixed income, and the tax man has just taken a nasty bite, what the startling new revelations are that make it worth investing $30 or so in this book.

[Terry OToole]

I'd just like to know from those who have read it; since I am retired, on a fixed income, and the tax man has just taken a nasty bite, what the startling new revelations are that make it worth investing $30 or so in this book.

Brian , you are right ,in fact its more a collection of eye witness accounts from other books (though some come from the author) , i m unaware of any new revelations ,but i suppose to the vast number of people un-aware of this episode in history it would be startling ! a cheaper option would be "flight in the wnter, Russia conquers jan-may 45" by Juergen Thorwald , this book , "a woman in Berlin, and "the forgotton soldier" amongst others are extensively used for material in this new book

[Chris Boonzaier]

"the forgotton soldier" amongst others are extensively used for material in this new book

That kind of undermines credibility does it not? Why not a bit of Sven hassle while about it... :-)

[Terry OToole]

That kind of undermines credibility does it not? Why not a bit of Sven hassle while about it... :-)

i believe the officer running the old comrade organisation of "grossdeutschland " has now accepted Sajers account as fact ! bit unfair to compare him with sven hassel , who apparently authored one book (rather dubiously) the others where written by other people using his name , apparently !

[Josh Cowell]

i believe the officer running the old comrade organisation of "grossdeutschland " has now accepted Sajers account as fact ! bit unfair to compare him with sven hassel , who apparently authored one book (rather dubiously) the others where written by other people using his name , apparently !

Hi Terry, is the old officer running the Gross Deutschland Kameradenschaft still in good health?

[Josh Cowell]

Thanks for the head's up on this. It actually looks like a good read, despite the blurb on Amazon which makes it sound a little too sensationalist for my tastes.
Another two good books that I have on this, which are both equally difficult to read, are 'After the Reich' by Giles McDonough and 'A Terrible Revenge' by Alfred-Maurice De Zayas.

I'm not sure that it's a matter of people not wanting to hear about these events, but rather a General apathy towards the plight of the Germanic peoples after WWII. Germans in particular seem conditioned to be resigned to these ramifications, an attitude that was clearly demonstrated when the discovery of private footage of German Nationals being lined up along a road and executed was published on the Der Spiegel website. The footage was taken in the immediate post-war period in Czechoslovakia. Both the tone of the article and that of the post's respondents was 'it's what we deserved'.
Any attempt to bring these events to the fore generally gets you labelled as a revisionist, which apparently makes me a neo-nazi.

Looking at Amazon it does suggest another book that seems interesting 'Through Innocent Eyes: The Chosen Girls of the Hitler Youth' by Cynthia Sandor.
Has anybody read this?

Allan

Allan, thank you for that great bit of eloquently stated opinion. I feel the same way as you do. What a pity...

[Terry OToole]

Hi Terry, is the old officer running the Gross Deutschland Kameradenschaft still in good health?

oh no no no i m not getting into the is Sajer the real deal thing i suppose its an individual choice ,there seems to be many fierce arguements either way , and i don t know whether the officer in question IS senile