To end a history of World War II at VE Day is to leave the tale half told. While the war may have seemed all but over by Hitler's final birthday (April 20), Stafford's chronicle of the three months that followed tells a different, and much richer, story.
ENDGAME, 1945 highlights the gripping personal stories of nine men and women, ranging from soldiers to POWs to war correspondents, who witnessed firsthand the Allied struggle to finish the terrible game at last. Through their ground-level movements, Stafford traces the elaborate web of events that led to the war's real resolution: the deaths of Hitler and Mussolini, the liberation of Buchenwald and Dachau, and the Allies' race with the Red Army to establish a victors' foothold in Europe, to name a few. From Hitler's April decision never to surrender to the start of the Potsdam Conference, Stafford brings an unprecedented focus to the war's "final chapter."
Narrative history at its most compelling, ENDGAME, 1945 is the riveting story of three turbulent months that truly shaped the modern world.
Introduction xi
Maps xx
Part 1 Friday, 20 April 1945
1 Cruel Spring 3
2 "Sorrow and darkness" 30
3 Avenging Justice 60
4 "A Curious Pearly Color" 80
5 "To Tall Heroically" 99
6 "Ich War Immer Dagegen" 117
Part 2 20-30 April 1945
7 "A Sort of Alice in Wonderland Air" 141
8 "The Most Degenerate Spectacle" 159
9 Death of a Dictator 179
10 Himmler's Bid 196
11 "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" 210
12 Alpine Refuge 233
13 "Death Fled" 248
14 "The Bitterest Battle" 264
Part 3 Hitler's Death To VE Day
15 Dealing with Nazis 279
16 The Cap Arcona 291
17 "The Dead-End of Hitler's Reich" 307
18 Hitler's Loot 320
19 "The Dawn Has Broken through at Last" 341
Part 4 VE Day To Potsdam
20 VE Day 361
21 "Fortune Is Not Always Jay" 387
22 "A Grotesque Comerly" 407
23 "An Iron Curtain" 423
24 "You Lost People as you Gained Your Freedom" 442
25 Berlin: The Gray City 464
26 Monday, 16 July 1945 482
27 "Other Beasts in Other Lairs" 502
Epilogue: What Happened to Them? 516
Notes 527
Bibliography 555
Index 569
The book follows the lives of various people starting just before VE Day and continues for a short time after VE Day. It is an interesting story. I am glad I read it but, I prefer reading more about the events of World War II as opposed to the day to day lives of people who were in it.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.This gripping account of the final days of World War II is a spell binding masterpiece. The author helps the lay reader understand the terrible destruction that a mad man brought upon us all.
Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.Anonymous
Posted November 11, 2009
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Anonymous
Posted March 20, 2010
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Overview
To end a history of World War II at VE Day is to leave the tale half told. While the war may have seemed all but over by Hitler's final birthday (April 20), Stafford's chronicle of the three months that followed tells a different, and much richer, story.
ENDGAME, 1945 highlights the gripping personal stories of nine men and women, ranging from soldiers to POWs to war correspondents, who witnessed firsthand the Allied struggle to finish the terrible game at last. Through their ...