Swansong 1945 : a collective diary of the last days of the Third Reich

Quelle

Chronicles the end of Nazi Germany and World War II in Europe through hundreds of letters, diaries, and autobiographical accounts covering four days that fateful spring: Hitler's birthday on April 20, American and Soviet troops meeting at the Elbe on April 25, Hitler's suicide on April 30, and finally the German surrender on May 8. Side by side, we encounter vivid, first-person accounts of civilians fleeing Berlin, ordinary German soldiers determined to fight to the bitter end, American POWs dreaming of home, concentration-camp survivors' first descriptions of their horrific experiences, as well as the intimate thoughts of figures such as Eisenhower, Churchill, Stalin, Joseph Goebbels, and Hitler himself. These firsthand accounts, painstakingly collected and organized by renowned German author Walter Kempowski, provide the raw material of history and present a panoramic view of those tumultuous days, an extraordinary account of suffering and survival.--From publisher description.

Object Details

• Alternative title: Abgesang 1945
• Location: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• ISBN: 9780393248159 ; 0393248151
• Dimensions: 25 cm
• Extent: XXII, 479 Seiten
• Edition: First American edition
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: First published in Great Britain by Granta Books, 2014 as Swansong 1945: a collective diary from Hitler's last birthday to VE Day. Great Britain : Granta Books, 2014 ; Original German edition first published in 2005 as Das Echolot : Abgesang '45 : ein kollekitives Tagebuch by Albrecht Knaus Verlag, Munich

Classification and Topics

• Keyword: Geschichte ; Zweiter Weltkrieg ; Kriegsende ; Deutschland ; Deutschland ; Mitteleuropa ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (where): New York
• (who): W. W. Norton & Company
• (when): 2015
• Creator: Kempowski, Walter
• Contributor: Whiteside, Shaun ; Kempowski, Walter

Further information

• Table of contents: https://d-nb.info/1079299254/04
• Rights: Bei diesem Objekt liegt nur das Inhaltsverzeichnis digital vor. Der Zugriff darauf ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Last update: 11.06.2025, 1:49 PM CEST