Germany

This groundbreaking international bestseller lays to rest many myths about the Holocaust: that Germans were ignorant of the mass destruction of Jews, that the killers were all SS men, and that those who slaughtered Jews did so reluctantly. Hitler's Willing Executioners provides conclusive evidence that the extermination of European Jewry engaged the energies and enthusiasm of tens of thousands of ordinary Germans.

World War II was more than just a clash of armies—it was a battle of ideologies, economies, and strategies on a global scale. It was the deadliest conflict in human history, involving more than 30 countries and resulting in the deaths of an estimated 70 to 85 million people, including both military personnel and civilians. For a time, it seemed as though Nazi Germany, led by Adolf Hitler, might succeed in reshaping the world according to its vision. Germany’s early victories stunned observers and instilled fear across Europe.

Hans Schiller was a seventeen-year-old student in Bromberg, Prussia, when World War I broke out in August 1914. He enlisted in the German army and was assigned to an artillery unit on the Eastern Front. From 1915 to 1917, Schiller saw action in what is now Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland. After the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917 and Russia's withdrawal from the war, Schiller was transferred to the Western Front. He arrived in time for Germany's last great offensive in the west.

Jahrhundertelang fegte ein Feuer durch Europa. Es brannte unaufhörlich und zwang Nationen und Königreiche in die Knie – dieses Feuer kam aus dem Norden. Aufgrund einer Reihe soziopolitischer Auslöser brachen die Wikinger aus ihren nordischen Heimatländern in Skandinavien auf und durchzogen die Reiche Europas in alle Himmelsrichtungen – nach Süden, Osten, Westen und Norden. Meisterhaft beherrschten sie die Navigation der Ozeane und dominierten die Flusswege. Auf ihren schnellen Langschiffen schrieben diese unbarmherzigen Nordmänner ein völlig neues Kapitel europäischer Geschichte.

The German Army lost two consecutive wars and the conclusion is often drawn that it simply wasn't able to cope with its opponents. This image is constantly reinforced in literature and in the media, where seemingly brainless operating German units led by fanatical officers predominate. Nothing was as far from the truth. The records show that the Germans consistently outfought the far more numerous Allied armies that eventually defeated them: their relative battlefield performance was at least 1.5 and in most cases three times as high as that of its opponents.