Customer Reviews

Germany and the Second World War: Volume II: Germany's Initial Conquests in Europe (Germany & the Second World War)

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This volume is a translation of the second volume of the series 'Das Deutsche Reich und der Zweite Weltkrieg', a project of the Military Research Department of the German Bundeswehr. The complete work is planned for 10 volumes, of which two are two-part. The series in general is of the highest standard and deals with military, political and economic developments affecting Germany during the war.

This is not a general history of the war. Those seeking a balanced treatment of all theaters will not find it here. There is however, to my knowledge, no finer work on Germany's involvement.

The quality of the translation is good. I wish that I could say the same for the production quality of the books themselves. Oxford University Press is certainly capable of producing first class books and one would expect that books in this price category would be of the highest production standard. Alas, this is not the case. These volumes are greatly inferior in quality to the German originals, which cost less than $40.00 per volume. If you cannot read German, want one of the best series on Germany's role in the war ever to appear, and don't mind paying a hefty price for a lower quality book, I do recommend them.

As the above reviewer pointed out, this is an excellent historical work sold in a horrible package. Oxford University Press has done a disservice to their customers by packaging such a significant work in a low quality binding. I therefore conclude that the volumes are certainly not worth the steep price tag based on their packaging.

However, the quality of the research is excellent and of great value to both the academic researcher and casual reader alike. A German perspective of their role in the war is long overdue. The Militargeschichtliches Forschungsamt has done a wonderful job in allowing their researchers the academic freedom to pursue issues without forcing preconceived conclusions onto them. The researchers have provided a scope of work that explores different ideas and, often times, reaches differing conclusions.

These volumes differ from other countries' "official" histories of the war. The period of time that has passed since the war's end and the publication of this work allow the contributors to focus on the modern notion of military history, encompassing not only military tactic and strategy but also the social, economic and political influences and consequences of the war.

Aside from the poor production quality, this is an outstanding and highly recommended work.

This review refers to the first four volumes in this series.