I wouldn't even be able to imagine what it was to live in the early days of Hitler's Germany as an American. Thankfully this is a wonderful account of the American ambassador's family's lives in Berlin. It's personal, inquisitive and, frankly, shocking.
I'm an Erik Larson fan to begin with (he of "The Devil in the White City"), and this was a great follow-up.
It is a painful experience to read about the ascent of Adolph Hitler, and the emergence of the Nazi Nation. Erik Larson does it with a fresh perspective. William Dodd was a Professor at University of Chicago when offered a job no one else would take. Experienced Diplomats knew that the Ambassadorship of Germany in 1933 was an assignment from Hell. Dodd was naive enough to believe it would be a thrilling adventure.
ReplyDeleteWhen he arrived in Berlin, he was unsuspecting as to the horrors he would face as a country began to first unravel, and later lose its' soul. As a man of strong belief in the principles of American Democracy, he made both a poor diplomat, and a strong presence as a moral beacon in a decaying society.