Defeating the Totalitarian Lie: A Former Hitler Youth Warns America (Paperback)

~ Hilmar von Campe (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The main preoccupation of my parents during the Nazi years was to save us children from Nazi indoctrination says Hilmar von Campe. At 10 years old, like every other child, he had to enter the Hitler Youth and at 18 he was conscripted into the army. He was a gunner in a tank in the Yugoslavian theatre fighting the Soviet army, became in 1945 a prisoner of war of the Communist Tito government and in the same year staged a sensational escape crossing seven borders. His reports about the Nazi years and the war are a lesson of history as he brings facts unknown to most Americans. He describes the whyit came about, his own moral responsibility and how his life changed. The Nazi system, like any other totalitarian system, he says, is based on lies. Lies are at the root of the problem in the world. You cant defeat them with money or armies but only with the truth. Hilmar compares developments in American society and in the world today with what happened in preNazi Germany and warns America to turn away now from the destructive ideological path we are on.

About the Author

Hilmar von Campe is a graduate of the University of Hamburg. He was listed in the 1992 "International Whos Who of Intellectuals." He is the author of four books, and WW2 veteran in the German Army as well as a former prisoner of war in Yugoslavia who staged a daring escape in 1945, crossing seven borders to freedom.

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: HighWay (October 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0981509193
• ISBN-13: 978-0981509198
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #207,917 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Frightening Parallels Between Nazi-Germany and Today's Red, White and Blue. America Be Warned!, November 19, 2008

By	D. Howell "type2mydog" (Sisters, OR United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Hilmar von Campe was seven years old when Hitler took over Germany. "The main preoccupation of my parents during the Nazi years was to save us children from Nazi indoctrination" says Hilmar. At 10 years old, like every other child, he was required by law to enter the Hitler Youth, and at 18 he was conscripted into the army. He was a gunner in a tank in the Yugoslavian theatre fighting the Soviet army, became a prisoner of war of the Communist Tito government in 1945, and in the same year staged a sensational escape crossing seven borders by following the North Star by night and hiding in bushes by day. The destruction of Germany, the loss of his father in a Soviet concentration camp, the death of his elder brother in the war with the Soviet Union, and the expulsion from their home in Eastern Europe, had a profound impact on von Campe. His reports about the Nazi years and the war are a lesson of history as he brings facts unknown to most Americans.

As a student of economics at the University of Hamburg, he had to come to grips with the question, "How could this happen?" and reflects upon his own moral responsibilities for the atrocities of a godless government. He discovered that the Nazi system was built on lies and contempt of human life and that his link, as well as that of millions of Germans to the Nazis, was the lie. "I lied for personal gains and they lied for political power. But a lie is a lie," he stated. "The bystander is as responsible as the criminal."

"All materialistic totalitarian ideologies, the Nazis, the Communists, and the radical Islamists are based on lies and hatred," von Campe maintains. "They have a common source." His comparisons of the National Socialist ideology and society with the other ideologies and modern society are unique. Having lived nearly thirty years in various countries of Latin America, and equipped with the experience of one who has traveled the world, resulting in a broad basis of political comparison, Hilmar speaks to warn America in this book, Defeating the Totalitarian Lie, linking shockingly similar developments between Nazi-Germany and America today.

"America needs a God-inspired ideology - only on that road can America fulfill her destiny and as a nation under God, give moral leadership to the world and make truth the basis of all human relationships."

A MUST READ!!!

50 of 63 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read !!!, November 13, 2008

By	Mark E. Penn "Mark E Penn" (Natrona Heights, Pa) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

A must read for anyone that wonders why the ACLU hates God and why the Democratic Party hates American and individual liberty.

Do you think it a coincidence that Obama has proposed the same type of "mandatory youth groups"?

Do you think it is a coincidence that Freedom OF Religion has become Freedom FROM Religion thanks to the ACLU and the socialists/left?

Do you think it a coincidence that there is nothing that Obama and the Demoratic Party will not insert themselves into?

Read this book and see where they are headed.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leaders Reflect the People Governed, December 5, 2008

By	Samson - See all my reviews

I lived in West Germany for 8 years before the fall of the Berlin Wall and spoke with Germans who had experienced Hitler first hand. Hilmar von Campe's story and explanation for what happened sounds remarkably like theirs. Some people would like to say that this book is warning of the perils of unbridled Democratic Party power; others of unchecked Republican Party exploits. Campe, like those German citizens I knew, argue otherwise. They would say -- look in the mirror. The Bible says (and I'm paraphrasing here) that people get the leaders they deserve. If George Bush bothers you -- look in the mirror. If Barrack Obama bothers you -- look in the mirror. Campe's central premise is that the collapse in moral standards has set the stage for the rise of National Socialism (NAZI) / Communism / Liberal Fascism, (or some other brand of radical socialism)in the United States. If you didn't get that when you read the book, then re-read it with an open mind. The past 20 years of national politics have seen ever greater abuses of power, a more and more dumbed down electorate, elections based increasingly on cult and not substance, and a progressive collapse of morality. This goes beyond political parties; beyond the Republicrats we are force fed every four years; to the heart of what is ailing America and how to get back on track. This book represents hard core analysis from an insider who lived it; not theoretical intellectual hype. Get the book. Read it. And THINK.