Hellstorm: The Death of Nazi Germany, 1944-1947

We’re all taught from a young age that we need to hear both sides of the story. Well, I think that adage applies nowhere more than to our World Wars. If you have one half of the world fighting for a cause and the other half of the world fight for another, I think it’s reasonably fair to honestly and impartially review both sides of the story and each side’s tale of events. And yet, most of us only feel it necessary to give “our” side the time of day. This phenomenon is largely due to the propaganda produced by our own governments. Do you really think the controllers of our countries want us being objective about their enemies? Possibly sympathizing with them? Hearing them out? Well, if you want to come to an unbiased, realistic conclusion, you have to investigate the other side of the story regardless of what your own governments insists.There is in fact evidence to suggest the Danzig massacre did occur, which would justify Germany’s invasion of Poland and the reclaiming of German land that was taken from Germany post-WWI. Dating back to WWI, Germany was blamed for that war, despite the outbreak of the war beginning between Austria and Serbia, with Germany only coming to the aid of its closest cousin. As a result, a massive anti-German sentiment was wrongfully stirred up post-WWI, and it has persisted ever since. The extortionist dictates of the Treaty of Versailles heaped unpayable war reparations upon Germany, reducing the country to a debt slave and its eventual economic collapse in 1929. The misappropriation of German land fragmented Germany and allotted portions of the country to the victors of WWI. Czechoslovakia was formed from portions of German land, which was composed of many ethnic Germans. Hitler nearly ordered the invasion of Czechoslovakia for the persecution of Sudetenland Germans, but Germany and Czechoslovakia were able to come to a peaceful reconciliation by repatriating the Sudetenland Germans to Germany. Unfortunately, Poland refused to respond to Hitler’s negotiations and Germany consequently invaded.After WWII, the largest ethnic cleansing in history took place when more than 12 million ethnic Germans were expelled from Eastern Europe. The scale and savagery of the reprisals – shootings, forced death marches, the rape of two million German women and children, the public humiliation, torture and execution of countless ethnic Germans, particularly in Czechoslovakia and Poland - all lend much credence to the legitimacy of the Danzig massacre. Few people have suffered more than the Germans and yet none of their misery has been allowed our attention.

The popular perception of WW2 in Europe is a picture painted by the Allies immediately after the war, to both justify their actions during the war and to suit their political objectives: in brief "the Germans were the villains who committed the Holocaust" and deserved to be punished. This dangerously simplistic view conceals a far more complex history, which deserves much wider publicity.As one example, historians generally accept that the US's conventional and atomic bombing of Japan, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of civilians, was carried out because they "could do rather than needed to do" to win. The US also treated post-war Japan with compassion, because that suited that political aims. In contrast, the Allies killed just as many German civilians, with negligible military benefit, and treated post-war Germany vindictively, yet popular history still perceives this as having been justified.More specifically, the "war crimes" committed by the Russian forces across eastern Europe and Germany defy belief, yet these were known about by the western Allies and ignored, Even worse, the western Allies actually cooperated with the Russians to force Germans into areas of Russian occupation, knowing they were being sentenced to forced labour and death. All because America was content to sacrifice eastern Europe and most of Germany to Russia, in exchange for Russia paying the blood price for defeating Germany.Hellstorm seeks to highlight these disparities and injustice. Whilst the author sometimes gets carried away with his own arguments, adding unnecessary exaggerations, the thrust of his arguments are valid and justify wider publicity. Indeed, it is only recently that the Germans themselves have been able to come out of the shadow of the Holocaust and discuss their enormous suffering during and after WW2.A good follow-on read is Savage Continent - Europe in the Aftermath of World War II by Keith Lowe, which takes a wider look at the sea of ethnic, religious and civil wars that raged across Europe before, during and after WW2.If we are to learn the lessons of history, we need a full understanding of WW2, from all perspectives.

Quite often after finishing a book and putting it away in the book shelf it still dominates your thoughts, this book is one of them. The depth of information covering the military, political and human aspects of this time in our history did not suprise me, I am well read on these different stages which developed under the second world war. The human misery did affect me, The wheeling dealing of the big three Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill will remain as a monumental witness to the fallibility of of human nature. I endeavour to read objectively to avoid terms like they " got what thet deserved " although it's not always easy.The victors write the history. A new book has now tempered my view or in a way balanced the the depravity of "Hellbound". I strongly recommed WWII readers to buy KL, A History Of The Nazi Concentration Camps by Nikolaus Wachsmann.This book really sets the stage for retaliation on a grand scale without diminishing the suffering of the " Hellbound " victims.

After reading this book I have the greatest respect for the German people.

This is a difficult subject to read about but so very important. This was an attempted genocide of the German people by God's enemies. Sadly, kinsmen of the German people were eager to please God's enemies for some reason. NSDAP was the political party btw.

And these are the countries that feel they have the right to judge the others? and To define the concepts og justice, peace, democracy, and human rights? Shame on you!

Well researched book is not for those uncomfortable with facing facts that one would rather not know. Some would prefer not to know hard and terrible truths but here they are, confronting the history we were taught, the movies we’ve seen etc. Though horrible, I would rather know the truth than be duped by immoral politicians and those who are total hypocrites.

We all know less about this half of the truth of WW2.... this book was very educating,although , not the easiest to read !!

Não gostei de nada. As mesmas historias aqui reletadas deveriam conter tambem o que diriam aqqueles que estavam dentro camara de gas.