Customer Reviews

The Good Old Days: The Holocaust as Seen by Its Perpetrators and Bystanders

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book really makes one shiver. I have read a number of books on the holocaust and World War 2 and this book absolute is the rawest of the books covering the genocide. That is not to say the book had a blow by blow account of the methods of killing, but just the history of this group of solders and the off handed way the mass killing was described. The people doing this killing were just normal guys, not unlike friends, family or myself. Wow, it is just amazing to me the way they try to justify what they were in charge of, the crimes against humanity that they committed. That is what was so disturbing to me. It is much easier to think that the mass killing was done by some group of homicidal maniacs let out of the asylum and given guns that that is not the case.

The details you get here are very hard to take once you have finished the book and think about it. This is one of the few books that for weeks after I finished it I would continue to think about it I do not think I can recommend this book enough; it really gives you a feel for the tremendous crime that took place. You will not be able to stop reading the book until you have completed it. I could go on and on. Even if you are not overly interested in WW 2 or the Holocaust you should read this book, there is no way you will not be griped by it.

"The Good Old Days" is a haunting and disturbing glimpse into the Holocaust. This book chronicles a number of events associated with the Nazi attempts to exterminate the entire Jewish people from the globe. Certainly any story of the Holocaust is disturbing to a rational person but "The Good Old Days" presents these events through the words/tales of people who were there - soldiers, killers, non-Jewish citizenry. Most of the events described are related through several people (making the reading a bit tedious) and in all cases the stories, while slightly different in detail - and almost always apologetic when told after the passage of time - would make my stomach wrench at how indifferently the waste of human life was taken. This is especially true in cases where stories are supported by diaries written at the time of the events. It is a oft used generalization that the Germans are a people of exactness and precision. This has never been more true than in assiocation with the Holocaust. The SS and its minions went about their gruesome business with the efficiency stereotypically expected of the Germans - they kept exacting notes, approached it impassively as to not become emotionally attached to the situation (or they were removed from the situation - generally voluntarily, or so it is claimed), and strove to generate more efficient, quick and "humane" ways to dispose of those felt inferior. The passages in this book are presented without any candy coating and thus this text is not for the faint of heart. Yet in doing so the reader is truly left with a feeling of collective human guilt that any culture could perpetrate such acts and in such a detacted fashion. To say that no one in Germany cared about what was happening is unfair, yet it is fair from this text and others on the subject that many were active participants and while some revelled in the experience - which is disturbing enough - most acted as murderers out of duty to service, comrades, Fatherland, and/or their Fuhrer - and this is a TRULY DISTURBING thought. How far mankind is capable of sinking.

This is a solid 4 star effort. It is only the repetitive nature of the text that keeps it from being a 5 star book. Having said this, it is clear why the editors chose to present each story multiple times from several sources: for impact by showing that these were not simply acts of a few that no one knew about or that were ebing acting fought against - in short to show the impassive brutality and collusion of cause. "The Good Old Days" is recommended reading for anyone trying to understand the Holocaust and how such an event so pivotal in the history of man could have happened. Yet beware of the content going into it - it is highly disturbing and often graphic.

"The Good Old Days" caught my eye upon seeing the cover photo. It depicts several Germans in WWII uniforms at a "Gasthaus" enjoying a few beers, with relaxed and unconcerned expressions. The title was perfect for the content.

Being in the military, and stationed in Germany when I purchased the book, I was interested in the subject that was never talked about by my closest German friends. Now, I know why my German friends never discussed the war.

This book is a collection of diaries, official and personal letters, and eyewitness accounts of answers to the "Jewish Question". There is no hearsay or rumors. It is a cold, hard, and blunt account of the extreme cruelty that people are capable of.

This is an excellent piece of history that is rarely seen in the U.S. It doesn't contradict the facts regarding the Jewish extermination. Rather, it makes you understand what it was like to be the "bad guy".

The old "I was only following orders" defense is put to rest. A common theme was that the people who took part in the extermination knew that they could refuse. Without any punishment. However, the persons portrayed in the book, felt it was their duty. And some even enjoyed it. The majority of the documents used in this book appear to be written with no emotion. As if accounting for the number of dead, was just another boring task of completing the daily "red tape".

It makes you wonder. If you were in their shoes, would you do the same?

In an age where some claim that the holocaust did not occur, this book is a must read. What makes this book truly great is the fact that it is composed entirely of recollections and diary entries of Germans.

The most horrifying recollection was the description of an SS enlisted man grabbing little children(under five years of age) by the hair off of the ground and shooting them with a pistol then tossing their little bodies in the mass grave with other victims.

It was also compelling that a number of recollections dealt with various enlisted men who were ordered to murder civilians and refused without any negative consequence because of their refusal. While a number of Germans actively participated in the Holocaust, a great number of them refused to murder civilians. The classic defense of "I was only following orders" is indeed put to rest as a falsehood as one of the other reviewers noted.

In an age of revisionist history with both far right facist slants and politically correct liberal bias the truth is often hard to come by. However, this book is all first person accounts of a well documented period in history.

A job well done to Mr.(Herr) Klee and his associates.

Hearing about this book offered few surprises for what was inside on the pages. Absolute chaos conformed into the minds of men who have lost all grasps of humanity.

This has to be the only book I know of that actually hears out the personal stories of death camp guards, workers, etc. And, unlike the books by Rudolph Hoess, these give a glimpse of the life of the guys doing the shooting rather the ones ordering them. Much different perspective none the less.

One thing this book does put forth is the interaction of the SS and SD with the Wehrmacht. Actual accounts of Army volunteers for shooting squads proves that the military did know about the holocaust despite what is always thrown back and forth, being involvement depended on who was in charge.

To understand the basic mantality possesed by the people told about within this book, all you have to do is look at the cover photo and read on.

Excellent book written by German authors. No holds barred.

Read it but be careful! The abyss will look back at you. The reports, letters and diary excerpts... This is really the backside of the nazi grandiose facade. Not forget the Holocaust? This book will never let you forget.

The most jarring aspect of this book is the casual, flippant remarks that are made about mass-extermination. Some of the German quotes in this book were taken from diaries and letters to loved ones, and much of it is casual. There is a convenient language spoken. For instance, few people say that they were "killing Jews." The most common phrase was, "special actions."

There are dry reports of incidents written by SS men that could be interchanged with a unemotional report of wheat production on any farm. Only, these reports are about numbers of Jews murdered, or bodies liquidated.

It is the casual nature of these comments that makes this book so surprising. It's all so "matter-of-fact." It's all so horrifyingly mundane.

I bought this as a compliment to other books I own about the Holocaust, and few books have matched the surreality of the Nazi "Final Solution" than this book. It is highly recommended, but only for those who want to see the atrocities described from the cold, heartless eyes of the Nazi murderers themselves.

"The Good Old Days (Schoen Zeiten)" is a brilliant example of how ordinary people can allow themselves to be brainwashed and manuipulated into becoming bestial by those in power. I believe this book should be REQUIRED reading for every high school student in America. If one wants to stop prejudice, etc., one need only start here to truly understand the terrible results of such beliefs.

Good old days is an historical account of wittnesses inside the einsatzgruppen murders of jews.
it was not hard to understand that most of the men doing the shooting got sick to the point of having to get drunk to forget.
what i DID find shocking was that many of these wittnesses told that if they refused to shoot jews, they were assigned to another job...it was not 'following orders', or the fact that they either did this job or they were punished severly.... not true. simply, they all could have, had they chosen to, not do the job of shooting jews by massacaring them as they dug their own graves.....
the soldiers tell their stories, in their own words...
a riviting account of the 'good old days''
i recommend this book to anyone studying nazi history, and those who want the truth instead of propaganda.

This book is a very interesting read, featuring first hand accounts of the Holocaust. The fact that the book is entirely primary source materials makes it all the more interesting. These are the words of the men who did the deeds and their reaction to it. The book uses letters, diaries, interviews, reports, and all kinds of other materials for sources. It is an interesting read, but the only reason I give it 4 stars instead of 5 is although it is a great source, some of the chapters are rather dry, but overall the book is well worth the read.