More horrors of the 20th century

After listening to the Teaching Company course on the History of Hitler’s Empire, I felt somewhat enlightened on how the Nazis came to power, even somewhat on why.  I understood as well the reasoning behind Hitler’s seemingly incomprehensible attack on the Soviet Union (hadn’t he heard of Napoleon?).  Since he was ideologically driven, he was obsesssed with crushing the s0-called Judeo-Bolshevik conspiracy. With Britain weakened after Dunkirk and America not yet in the war, he turned his attention East, which was his main goal anyway. His racial theories caused him to denigrate the “mongrel” Russians and have the confidence that his army could be in Moscow before winter struck (rather than diminish German moral about the effectiveness of the “lightning war,” or blitzkrieg, he issued only summer uniforms to the troops entering Russia).  Interestingly, if he had been less ideological, he might have won many Russians, fed up with Stalin’s ruthless tyranny, to join his forces. Instead, he managed to unite the Russians against the German advance.  In City of Thieves, a novel by David Benioff, we learn what the Russian resistance meant. “You have never been so hungry; you have never been so cold” begins this compelling, breathtaking novel.  I was in an agony of suspense as the mismatched protagonists are sent on an absurd errand by a corrupt Soviet Colonel.  Tragedy and comedy intermingle to devasting effect.  I have read many “quest” novels, most in the science fiction or fantasy genre, where on one level you know that the good guys are going to win, no matter how many giant spiders are on the move.  This had the elements of a fantasy novel, backed by the horror of the truth.  As Stalin abandoned Leningrad, thousands died of starvation, tainting the waters of the Neva with the stench of death.  There were cannibals.  On the other side were the Einsatzgroupen, the Nazi death squads.  This is no fantasy novel.

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