- Hardcover: 352 pages
- Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf; 1 edition (May 2002)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0375409009
- ISBN-13: 978-0375409004
- Product Dimensions: 23.9 x 16.8 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 183,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
A major contribution to the history of the Holocaust from the acclaimed author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning The Making of the Atomic Bomb.
In Masters of Death, Richard Rhodes gives full weight, for the first time, to the part played by the Einsatzgruppen--the professional killing squads deployed in Poland and the Soviet Union, early in World War II, by Himmler's SS. And he shows how these squads were utilized as the Nazis made two separate plans for dealing with the civilian populations they wanted to destroy.
The first plan, initiated in July 1941, condemned the Jews of eastern Europe to slaughter by the Einsatzgruppen, who went on to execute 1.5 million men, women and children between 1941 and 1943 by shooting them into killing pits, as at Babi Yar--massive crimes that have been underestimated or overlooked by Holocaust historians. Rhodes documents the organizing and carrying out of this program and introduces the professional men--economists, architects, lawyers--who were the program’s commanders and officers, as well as the "ordinary men" who did most of the actual killing.
The second plan, initiated in December 1941, was directed at the Jews of western Europe. By then, Rhodes shows, the face-to-face killing of hundreds of thousands had so brutalized the SS that even Himmler was shocked into ordering the development of a less "personal" means of murder--the notorious gas chambers and crematoria of the Holocaust’s second wave. Rhodes shows, further, that Hitler and Himmler intended the Jews to be only their first victims; their plan was to open up Russia to German colonization by destroying more than 30 million Slavs and members of other ethnic groups.
Drawing on Nuremberg Tribunal documents largely ignored until now, and on newly available material from eyewitnesses and survivors, Richard Rhodes has given us a book that is essential reading on the Holocaust and World War II.
In Masters of Death, Richard Rhodes gives full weight, for the first time, to the part played by the Einsatzgruppen--the professional killing squads deployed in Poland and the Soviet Union, early in World War II, by Himmler's SS. And he shows how these squads were utilized as the Nazis made two separate plans for dealing with the civilian populations they wanted to destroy.
The first plan, initiated in July 1941, condemned the Jews of eastern Europe to slaughter by the Einsatzgruppen, who went on to execute 1.5 million men, women and children between 1941 and 1943 by shooting them into killing pits, as at Babi Yar--massive crimes that have been underestimated or overlooked by Holocaust historians. Rhodes documents the organizing and carrying out of this program and introduces the professional men--economists, architects, lawyers--who were the program’s commanders and officers, as well as the "ordinary men" who did most of the actual killing.
The second plan, initiated in December 1941, was directed at the Jews of western Europe. By then, Rhodes shows, the face-to-face killing of hundreds of thousands had so brutalized the SS that even Himmler was shocked into ordering the development of a less "personal" means of murder--the notorious gas chambers and crematoria of the Holocaust’s second wave. Rhodes shows, further, that Hitler and Himmler intended the Jews to be only their first victims; their plan was to open up Russia to German colonization by destroying more than 30 million Slavs and members of other ethnic groups.
Drawing on Nuremberg Tribunal documents largely ignored until now, and on newly available material from eyewitnesses and survivors, Richard Rhodes has given us a book that is essential reading on the Holocaust and World War II.
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First Sentence
In the spring of 1941 a police academy in Pretzsch, a town on the Elbe River about fifty miles southwest of Berlin, became the site of a sinister assembly. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
In the spring of 1941 a police academy in Pretzsch, a town on the Elbe River about fifty miles southwest of Berlin, became the site of a sinister assembly. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To read this books was a somehow horrifying experience, although I have read many books on the III. Reich before. Rhodes writes in a very clear style, he isn't accusing anyone and sticks to describing the inhumane deeds many have done during that time. Really shocking to see how many helpfull hands where involved and I wondered, what happend to all these killers and how did they fit into the post-war germany.
Remarkable his explanation how this "Einsatzgruppen"-people became such monsters. A must-read for everyone having a look at the III. Reich, especially for those who think "not everything was bad in that time".
Remarkable his explanation how this "Einsatzgruppen"-people became such monsters. A must-read for everyone having a look at the III. Reich, especially for those who think "not everything was bad in that time".
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I purchased this book to gain a better incite into the dark world of the SS-Einzattsgruppen, and this book certainly did the trick. This book is fantastic in many respects, not least because it not only describes in quite good detail the events and atrocities metted out by the death squads of the SS but it also tries to understand it, and does a pretty good job of it. Not why the Germans did it but why the men, some not long out of school carried out such acts,and examines whether the 'i was just following orders' line was an acceptable excuse.
This book is a powerful account of what the human being is capable of. I can honestly say no book before or since made me stop in my tracks in disbelief to think over what ive just read, i had to read half of the book twice just to make sure i hadnt misunderstood, its a tribute to the men, women and children who suffered the most horrendous of ends. READ THIS BOOK.
This book is a powerful account of what the human being is capable of. I can honestly say no book before or since made me stop in my tracks in disbelief to think over what ive just read, i had to read half of the book twice just to make sure i hadnt misunderstood, its a tribute to the men, women and children who suffered the most horrendous of ends. READ THIS BOOK.
79 of 82 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This chilling in depth study describes the reality of how the genocide of the Jews and the destruction of other groups planned by the Nazis did not actually begin with the mass, "industrial" exterminations in the gas chambers of the Concentration Camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau, Majdanek, Treblinka etc., but with small groups known as the "Einsatzgruppen".
Units described as being formed by the Nazi SS leaders Himmler and Heydrich immediately before the invasion of the East/Soviet Union and which followed the advancing German Armies.
Special squads cited in this work as often consisting of many professional, "educated" men such as lawyers, doctors, architects etc., and who are shown here to have participated in an acutely "personal" manner of murder where some 1.5 million men, women and children were barbarically executed by shooting.
The book describes how the bodies of their victims were disposed of in "killing pits" (often anti tank ditches, natural ravines or freshly dug pits). The text revealing how many of the mass graves each contained numerous thousands of innocent victims, frequently shot one by one and buried layer upon layer.
One such massacre quoted in this study as being carried out in the aforementioned manner is that at Babi Yar. A ravine where Jewish men, women, children & the elderly are demonstrated here to have been systematically machine gunned in a two day period of execution.
Numerous photographs are also provided showing how some of the 1.5 million innocent Jews and innocent Poles and Russians were marched to such "pits" as these before being lined up and summarily executed. The book also describes the beginning of the use of mobile gas "killing vans" where the victims carried in sealed areas to the rear were subjected to the vehicles' exhaust fumes.
The graphic detail provided in this work is in itself difficult to read and might upset many readers, but the author makes no effort to trivialise the suffering of the utterly defenceless victims and the cold blooded barbarity of their executors.
Many eyewitness accounts and testimonies of those who participated in the slaughters have been uncovered and are used to provide an essential reference and authenticity to the context of this presentation.
Early on in the book the writer provides a commentary on the nature of violence and how these "ordinary" men became capable of carrying out such atrocities. The study further documents the impact of these mass murders on the individual perpetrators and the ensuing psychological traumas that many endured. Some readers might disagree with the conclusions drawn here or like myself feel uneasy with the section of the book which tries to fathom the mind set of these murderers.
The study also makes specific mention of how Adolf Hitler cherished a fanatic hatred of the Jews and how he personally ensured that the highest priority was placed on their total elimination. The book likewise analyses how Hitler also intended to enslave and destroy with privation the far more numerous Slavic peoples as well. This is an extremely powerful book and a major contribution towards the study of the Holocaust. Recommended.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A very necessary book
This book is not an easy read as it covers the very disturbing actions of the Einsatzgruppen in Eastern Europe against innocent civilians (men, women and children). Read more
Published 8 months ago by Gareth O'Flaherty
The invention of the Holocaust
As told in many other reviews this book is hard to read, because of the detailed accounts of mass murder upon mass murder, including the shooting, drowning, clubbing to death,... Read more
Published 9 months ago by LobsterBoy
a must read book on the third reich
I got this book for Christmas & read it in a couple of days - it's an essential addition to the collection of anyone interested in genocide, ethnic cleansing, the Third Reich,... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. Rdl Carrick
Outstanding and horrific account
An absolute must for anyone with even the slightest interest in The Holocaust. Vivid in detail and masterful in story-telling, Richard Rhodes has delivered a frightening and... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Tjumper
A Difficult Read
The holocaust from the perspective of the concentration camps is well documented and well understood, this does not mean any less horrifying, but this book hit very hard. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr Me
masters of death
excellent reading just shows the depth that the nazi regime would go to pure evil
Published on 16 May 2010 by C. Cane
disturbing but a must read
having read various books on the ss and the nazi regime, i must put this book as the best i have read to date. Read more
Published on 30 Jan 2010 by Ms. J. Mcconnell
Not for the feint hearted.
The World knows of the six million jews murdered in the death camps of Hitlers Germany, few know that this was only a fraction of the twenty million in total who met their end at... Read more
Published on 18 May 2009 by John Gibson
Brutally Fascinating
I really enjoyed this book, it is absolutely chilling. That may sound a contracdiction in terms but it evokes a morbid curiosity that makes it so fascinating. Read more
Published on 20 Feb 2009 by John Smith
At last some facts on the holocaust.
For me the holocaust has been a sleeping partner for some 5/6 years since I decided that prior to visiting Auschwitz I really should get some of the basic facts straight in my head... Read more
Published on 8 Sep 2008 by I. Burgess
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