The End: Ian Kershaw Summary

From July 1944 to May 1945, The End covers all human factors that kept the Nazis in power even though it was certain they had failed the German nation.

About the author

Ian Kershaw is a British professor of history born in 1943. He has published over a dozen bestsellers on Hitler and Nazi-related topics, most of which have been translated into 30 different languages.

Despite this, he didn’t start his career as a Nazi Germany expert but as a medievalist.

Like Alex Ferguson, Kershaw was knighted in 2002 by the queen for his contribution to history.

The Summary

As it was clearly outlined, the existence of the Third Reich rested on the authority of Hitler. To better put it, Hitler is the Third Reich.

What, then, did the authority of Hitler rest on to keep the Nazi war machine running, especially during the last ten months of the Third Reich?

This is what Ian Kershaw answered clearly in this book. He stated that Hitler’s authority rested on three main players in the Third Reich: his party comrades, the army general, and, of course, the German civilian.

The war was lost in December 1944, and they could feel it. Even then, the German civilians were still ready to believe a miracle was coming to save the day. They had complete hope in the revelations that were coming from Hitler’s office through Bormann and Goebbels. The promise of a mighty weapon that would wipe the West out with just one strike. But it never came.

As Kehsaw pointed out, they weren’t ready for any uprising against the Nazi regime. And all this kept Hitler’s authority firmly in place. This same authority kept the war going for longer than it should, and the population would pay handsomely with everything they had.

The Nazi comrades helped Hitler in controlling a major part of the German population’s social lives. Fear was the tool employed by these Nazi party officials, achieved through coercion and brutal repression.

Goebbels overfed the population with constant propaganda, which left them confused about what to believe regarding the war situation. Confusion, in turn, fuels inaction.

But what about the generals that kept the Nazi war machine going? Kershaw pointed out that they kept Hitler’s authority in place by being too obedient or at least outwardly obedient. Their self-justification was their duty to the German nation, which they claimed was not political at all. Even when they realized that the Soviets would eventually catch up, still they didn’t surrender. And the few ones that tried to surrender were sentenced to death by Hitler or dismissed on the spot.

But for the foot soldiers, what kept their motivation to fight to the end was complex. But the chief reason Kershaw pointed out was fear of revenge from the Soviets. They were fighting to the end to protect their loved ones from Soviet atrocities. Until Berlin was reduced to rubble.

And for Hitler, it has been all or nothing for him since the beginning. Even though it was clearly visible to him that the war was lost from all the reports that had come to him, he would still not capitulate. He maintained the face of an uncompromising leader. And his close associates and the population knew this. It’s either Germany wins, or it should cease to exist.

Review

The book sat on my shelf for almost a year before I decided to pick it up and read. And the reason it took me that long to read was I thought it would be laborious to read, and I was right.

There are too many finicky details, too much unfamiliar terrain, etc., but I did learn enormously about the last month of the Third Reich. So let’s continue.

One of the facts I just learned while reading The End was the vast number of German generals under Hitler’s command in 1945. It was shown that the number stood at 1,250 generals spreading across Germany and its occupied territories. Field Marshal Walter Model alone commanded 30 generals.

Another fact to acknowledge was the fact that the Germans were lamenting about their situation in these last ten months of the war. But anyone who’s read the public opinion report from the early years of the Second World War would know these populations had positive feelings back then. They were enthusiastic when the Wehrmacht destroyed Poland, conquered the French, and occupied many parts of Europe.

Most Germans had no right to complain. They had eaten their piece of the pie in 1939-42; now it’s the Russians’ turn.

And finally, the book’s font is tiny; keep that in mind.

Finale

The book is an easy read, and Kershaw really delivers on the reasons the war dragged on so long. It contained personal accounts from individual sources, like those Germans captured by the British.

Next Two Books About the End of the Third Reich

Berlin by Anthony Beevor: It was said that Anthony Beevor has done a great job at telling the horrors of the last hours of the Third Reich.

The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand by Citino: This book is over 600 pages long, and all it talks about is the end of the Third Reich. In particular about the destruction of the Wehrmacht by the Allied forces on all fronts.