Nazi Rule and the Soviet Offensive in Eastern Germany, 1944-1945: The Darkest Hour [Hardcover]

This book is a groundbreaking examination of the final period of Nazi rule in Germany's eastern provinces at the end of the Second World War. It outlines the wartime role of this region and assesses the impact of Nazi 'popular mobilization' initiatives during the closing months of the conflict. Major projects, such as the preparation of the Ostwall defenses and the raising of the Volkssturm (Home Guard), are examined in depth. The book concludes by weighing up the importance of propaganda and coercion by the Nazi regime as it attempted to prolong its existence in the face of crushing military defeats. Nazi Rule and the Soviet Offensive in Eastern Germany, 1944-1945 incorporates a unique synthesis of archival and printed source material, which covers to a great extent the eastern German Nazi leadership, their crimes, and their corruption. As the Third Reich was on the brink of defeat, its leader and lackeys wielded life or death powers and were loathed by the civilian population as much as the advancing Soviets were feared. This extensive account of this important historical period and circumstance is essential reading for all scholars and students of the Third Reich and European military history.