Other editions of book Berlin Embassy

On 3rd September 1939, Europe was plunged into war as Germany invaded Poland.But what did the German people think of the war?And what had they actually thought about the rise of the Nazi party?William Russell, a young US diplomat who worked in the American Embassy in Berlin, explains in detail his experiences of Germany in the early phases of the war from August 1939 through to April 1940.By asking questions to his friends, colleagues and people who he passed on the streets, Russell uncovered the state of minds of normal Germans, what they were thinking, doing and saying through the course of 1939 and 1940.Drawing evidence from a variety of sources, including newspapers, the radio, recently published books, as well as the jokes and gossip that circulated on the streets of the German capital, Russell is able to demonstrate how not all Germans were card-waving Nazis, but how the vast majority were politically apathetic, nervous of the future and often outwardly critical of the Nazi regime. Russell explains how many Germans laughed at figures such as Joseph Goebbels and Herman Goering when they were in privacy of their own houses. Although written in only second year of the war it is clear that Russell and many of his friends are aware of the impending horrors that the war will cause and he tries desperately throughout the book to do his best for those who would suffer the most at the hands of the Nazi regime.Berlin Embassy is the classic account of Germany and its people in the first year of the Second World War.“The small things that happen to the small people- as reported by a man in a small job in the American embassy in Berlin, who managed to get the man in the street to talk frankly.” Kirkus Reviews“Exciting reading … A very fine book.” William L. Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi GermanyWilliam Russell was an author and journalist who after completing his education had worked in the Berlin Embassy during 1939 and 1940. After he left Germany he joined the U.S. Army and served two years as an Order of Battle Specialist in the Intelligence Branch in England. He passed away in 2000. His book Berlin Embassy was first published in 1941.

“First published in 1941 to considerable acclaim, Berlin Embassy is the classic account of the last days of peace in Europe, and has been out-of-print for almost fifty years. William Russell was a young American diplomat working at the US Embassy, in Hermann Goering Strasse, during the grim days of 1939. He had studied in Germany, prior to becoming part of America’s diplomatic mission, which placed him in a position to gain unheard of access to remote areas—both physically and ideologically—of German society during one of the most momentous times in world history. Russell does not miss any opportunity to capitalize on this unique position as he gives a totally absorbing account of both the horror and farce which so often defines such epic times. This quite remarkable account is sure to find a whole new readership.”-Print ed.“Vitally significant and impressive.”—William L. Shirer.

Berlin Embassy is a non-fiction book written by American diplomat William Russell which was first published in late 1940.Russell, who worked at the American Embassy in Berlin, details his experiences of living and working in Nazi Germany between August 1939 and April 1940 during the early phases of the Second World War through anecdotes, press cutting, rumours and jokes rather than covering the political and diplomatic aspects of his job in any great detail.

In this masterful narrative, acclaimed historian Giles MacDonogh chronicles Adolf Hitler's consolidation of power over the course of one year. Until 1938, Hitler could be dismissed as a ruthless but efficient dictator, a problem to Germany alone; after 1938 he was clearly a threat to the entire world. It was in 1938 that Third Reich came of age. The Fehrer brought Germany into line with Nazi ideology and revealed his plans to take back those parts of Europe lost to "Greater Germany" after the First World War. From the purging of the army in January through the Anschluss in March, from the Munich Conference in September to the ravages of Kristallnacht in November, MacDonogh offers a gripping account of the year Adolf Hitler came into his own and set the world inexorably on track to a cataclysmic war.

On 3rd September 1939, Europe was plunged into war as Germany invaded Poland. But what did the German people think of the war? And what had they actually thought about the rise of the Nazi party? William Russell, a young US diplomat who worked in the American Embassy in Berlin, explains in detail his experiences of Germany in the early phases of the war from August 1939 through to April 1940. By asking questions to his friends, colleagues and people who he passed on the streets, Russell uncovered the state of minds of normal Germans, what they were thinking, doing and saying through the course of 1939 and 1940. Drawing evidence from a variety of sources, including newspapers, the radio, recently published books, as well as the jokes and gossip that circulated on the streets of the German capital, Russell is able to demonstrate how not all Germans were card-waving Nazis, but how the vast majority were politically apathetic, nervous of the future and often outwardly critical of the Nazi regime. Russell explains how many Germans laughed at figures such as Joseph Goebbels and Herman Goering when they were in privacy of their own houses. Although written in only second year of the war it is clear that Russell and many of his friends are aware of the impending horrors that the war will cause and he tries desperately throughout the book to do his best for those who would suffer the most at the hands of the Nazi regime. Berlin Embassy is the classic account of Germany and its people in the first year of the Second World War. “The small things that happen to the small people- as reported by a man in a small job in the American embassy in Berlin, who managed to get the man in the street to talk frankly.” Kirkus Reviews “Exciting reading … A very fine book.” William L. Shirer, author of The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany William Russell was an author and journalist who after completing his education had worked in the Berlin Embassy during 1939 and 1940. After he left Germany he joined the U.S. Army and served two years as an Order of Battle Specialist in the Intelligence Branch in England. He passed away in 2000. His book Berlin Embassy was first published in 1941.

In this masterful narrative, acclaimed historian Giles MacDonogh chronicles Adolf Hitler's consolidation of power over the course of one year. Until 1938, Hitler could be dismissed as a ruthless but efficient dictator, a problem to Germany alone; after 1938 he was clearly a threat to the entire world. It was in 1938 that Third Reich came of age. The Fehrer brought Germany into line with Nazi ideology and revealed his plans to take back those parts of Europe lost to "Greater Germany" after the First World War. From the purging of the army in January through the Anschluss in March, from the Munich Conference in September to the ravages of Kristallnacht in November, MacDonogh offers a gripping account of the year Adolf Hitler came into his own and set the world inexorably on track to a cataclysmic war.

Berlin Embassy is a non-fiction book written by American diplomat William Russell which was first published in late 1940.Russell, who worked at the American Embassy in Berlin, details his experiences of living and working in Nazi Germany between August 1939 and April 1940 during the early phases of the Second World War through anecdotes, press cutting, rumours and jokes rather than covering the political and diplomatic aspects of his job in any great detail.

First published in 1941 to considerable acclaim, this classic account of the last days of peace in Europe has been out of print for over forty years. William Russell was a young American diplomat working at the US Embassy in Berlin during the grim days of 1939. He had studied in Germany, prior to joining his country's diplomatic corps, so both his knowledge of history and considerable linguistic skills enabled him to gain a unique insight into one of the most momentous periods of world history. He wrote a totally absorbing account of both the horror, the fun and the farce which he experienced. This remarkable book deserves to find a whole new readership, revealing in intimate detail, a time when American diplomacy was forced to handle a Europe fast falling into the abyss of nightmare.

First published in 1941 to considerable acclaim, this is a classic account of the last days of peace in Europe before the outbreak of the Second World War. William Russell was a young American diplomat working at the US Embassy, in Hermann Goering Strasse, during the grim days of 1939 just prior to and after Germany's invasion of Poland. He had studied in Germany before joining his country's diplomatic corps, so both his knowledge of history and considerable linguistic skills would enable him to gain a unique experience of one of the most momentous periods in world history. And he does not miss any opportunity to write a totally absorbing account of both the horror and the farce which so often accompanies such epic times. This quite remarkable account deserves to find a whole new readership, revealing as it does, in intimate detail, a time when American diplomacy was forced to handle a Europe fast falling into an abyss of nightmares.