| Description |
vi, 292 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Note |
"Originally published in Germany under the title Kind, versprich mir, dass du dich erschiebt by Berlin Verlag, Piper Verlag GmbH, February 2015 ; First English edition published in Australia by the Text Publishing Company, June 2019"-- Title page verso. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-292). |
| Contents |
Four days in Demmin -- Demmin is everywhere -- Tumultuous emotions -- The pull of silence. |
| Summary |
One of the last untold stories of the Third Reich is that of the extraordinary wave of suicides, carried out not just by much of the Nazi leadership, but by thousands of ordinary Germans, in the war's closing period. Some of these were provoked by straightforward terror in the face of advancing Soviet troops or by personal guilt, but many could not be explained in such relatively straightforward terms. Florian Huber's remarkable book, a bestseller in Germany, confronts this terrible phenomenon. Other countries have suffered defeat, but not responded in the same way. What drove whole families, who in many cases had already withstood years of deprivation, aerial bombing and deaths in battle, to do this? Huber sees the entire project of the Third Reich as a sequence of almost overwhelming emotions and scenes for many Germans. |
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"By the end of April 1945 in Germany, the Third Reich had fallen and invasion was underway. As the Red Army advanced, horrifying stories spread about the depravity of its soldiers. For many German people, there seemed to be nothing left but disgrace and despair. For tens of thousands of them, the only option was to choose death -- for themselves and for their children. "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" recounts this little-known mass event. Using diaries, letters, and memoirs, historian Florian Huber traces the euphoria of many ordinary Germans as Hitler restored national pride; their indifference as the Führer's political enemies, Jews, and other minorities began to suffer; and the descent into despair as the war took its terrible toll, especially after the invasion of the Soviet Union. Above all, he investigates how suicide became a contagious epidemic as the country collapsed. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and other primary sources, "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" presents a riveting portrait of a nation in crisis, and sheds light on a dramatic yet largely unknown episode of postwar Germany."--Amazon.com. |
| Subject |
Suicide -- Germany -- History -- 20th century.
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World War, 1939-1945 -- Germany -- Psychological aspects.
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National socialism -- Germany -- Psychological aspects.
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War victims -- Germany.
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Suicide victims -- Germany.
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Psychic trauma -- Germany.
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Germany -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945.
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Germany -- History -- 1933-1945.
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Germany -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945.
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| Added Author |
Taylor, Imogen (Translator)
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| Added Title |
Kind, versprich mir, dass du dich erschiesst. English.
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Promise me you will shoot yourself |
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"Promise me you will shoot yourself" |
| ISBN |
9780316534307 |
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0316534307 |
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