Book Review: "Riddle of the Reich"

"Riddle of the Reich" was published in 1941, and thus constitutes a contemporary study of Nazi Germany by an experienced American journalist, Wythe Williams. Because it was written in the middle of World War II when there was virtually no direct communication between Germany and the United States (although we were not yet in the war), much of what was written was based on individuals who had left Germany recently, statistics published by the Nazi state, and speculation.

Nevertheless, books like this are not only interesting, but valuable, and I have over the years read a number of them.

So much of what we learn and think about Nazi Germany is colored by the Nazi treatment of the Jews, it is important (without diminishing this fact of Nazi life) to recognize that there was a functioning society in Germany under Nazi rule, with some elements functioning better than others. You wonder what would have happened had Nazi Germany not been anti-Semitic (after all, for years Jews were prominent in Italian fascism) or over aggressive militarily. Or perhaps, the aggression and anti-Semitism was too ingrained in national socialism for it to be intellectually dismissed, even for "what-if" intellectualizing.

The war played havoc with Germany. Its industry and transport had to be modified to support the military, and even agricultural produce was devoted to feeding the military over the civilians. From the civilian perspective, this was stated to be a necessary step to victory which would usher in the 1000 year Reich. But it meant that Germany became hooked on military conquest, with conquered industrial facilities taken over to meet German needs in some instances, while in others, factories and materiel were actually transported into Germany to replenish German industry.

The book looked at the effect of Naziism on various classes of the German populace: the aristocracy, the capitalists, the workers, the middle classes, the Jews. It looked at the conflict between youth (the Germany of the future, and the most ardent supporters of Hitler) and older generations, as well as the position of the various churches (Protestant and Catholic).

The plan for the future subservience of the Eastern European slavs, as industrial fodder for the Reich, is outlined, as well as plans for the residents of France and the low countries as providers of foodstuffs.

And the relationship between Germany and Italy, Germany and Russia, and most interestingly Germany and Japan, where Williams finds social and political parallels in two countries which seem very dissimilar.

Williams is correct that Naziism was defeated, although he was not expecting Pearl Harbor or a two front war for the United States. And, I think he would be shocked at the nature of Germany today, and the democratic course this undemocratic society has followed.