Mobilized Nation. Germany 1939–1945

The book by the Oxford professor, one of the most authoritative researchers of Nazism, tells about World War II from the perspective of German citizens. It is based on private letters and diaries from the war period. In chronological order, from 1939 to 1945, it describes how the Germans perceived the beginning of the war, what their hopes and fears were, and how their thoughts and feelings changed in moments of victories and defeats, as well as after the defeat of Nazism. The author pays special attention to how the citizens of the warring country perceived the repressions and atrocities in the occupied territories and in Germany itself, how they related to the conquered peoples, to the Jews, and to the “final solution to the Jewish question,” as well as to the complex relationships between the state and the church. Much space is devoted to the topic of massive Nazi propaganda. Details of everyday life in Germany on the front lines and in the rear are of great interest: shortage of food and consumer goods, rationing system, bombings, evacuation, relationships with foreign workers, problems of children and teenagers. Taking a completely obvious anti-Nazi stance, Nicholas Stargardt deliberately avoids judgments, striving to provide an impartial, document-supported description.