| | On Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945 by Marie Vassiltchikov, the blurb uses the phrase "secret diaries." This gives the impression that she was noting down the inside skinny after rubbing elbows with the top thugs in the Nazi FO. Not so, but not a problem. This account of trying to get by in extraordinary circumstances brings to mind the classic war memoir Pacific War Diary, 1942-1945 by James J. Fahey. Vassiltchikov sometimes was supervised by the middle-level Nazi gangsters, the mediocrities that, like Eichmann, worked the levers of atrocity and genocide with all the banality of evil. Besides giving insight into a sick work environment, other points of interest include her account of the July 20, 1944 plot to kill Hitler; the pervasiveness of fear caused by state terror; and life as a civilian in cities being bombed relentlessly. Sometimes the aristocratic tone and numerous passages about the pursuit and enjoyment of food and drink feel rather wearying. But all in all this is worth reading for those interested in war-time diaries, written by decent people in terrible situations.
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| | Posted 10/23/2008 5:42 AM - 36 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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