The Most Valuable Asset of the Reich: A History of the German National Railway Volume 2, 1933-1945 (Hardcover)

~ Alfred C. Mierzejewski (Author) "In August 1932 Carl Stieler told Adolf von Batocki, his colleague on the Reichsbahn board of directors, that he expected that Hitler would end the..." (more)
Key Phrases: coal car placings, field railway commands, freight car space, Nazi Party, Main Administration, General Government (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

Mierzejewski's book will be the standard work on the German National Railway for years to come.

Holocaust and Genocide Studies

Essential reading for all scholars of modern Germany.

Central European History

Mierzejewski has done a wonderful job.

Business History

An account that is elaborate, circumspect, and thoroughly convincing.

Central European History

Essential.

Historische Zeitschrift

Product Description

The largest enterprise in the capitalist world between 1920 and 1945, the Deutsche Reichsbahn (German National Railway) was at the center of events in a period of great turmoil in Germany. In this, the second volume of his comprehensive history of the Reichsbahn, Alfred Mierzejewski offers the first complete account of the national railway under Hitler's regime.

Mierzejewski uses sources that include Nazi Party membership records and Reichsbahn internal memoranda to explore the railway's operations, finances, and political and social roles from 1933 to 1945. He examines the Reichsbahn's role in German rearmament, its own lack of preparations for war, and its participation in Germany's military operations. He shows that despite successfully resisting Nazi efforts to politicize its internal functions, the Reichsbahn cooperated with the government's anti-Semitic policies. Indeed, the railway played a crucial role in the Holocaust by supporting the construction and operation of the Nazi death camps and by transporting Jews and other victims to them.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 280 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press; First Edition edition (November 29, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807825743
• ISBN-13: 978-0807825747
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,061,786 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where the evidence leads, January 8, 2006

By	R. W. Rynerson (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Mierzejewski has done a thorough job of documenting the Deutsche Reichsbahn's struggles with and acceptance of the National Socialists and World War II. Mierzejewski provides valuable insights into the railway's management and operations, but through that also provides a look at the inner workings of Nazi Germany.

Most foreigners are unaware of the many contradictions in German policies and the compromises made on a daily basis. This book is best read by someone who has either an interest in transportation management or modern German history. It should be in the library of any English-reading person who has those interests.

A weak point, as in the previous book in this series, is that it would have helped to have more and detailed maps. The lands that Hitler lost in the East are unfamiliar to most Western readers of English language books.

It also has little about operations in the chaos at the very end of the war. This would have required oral histories and military files that are not in the same collections otherwise researched by Mierzejewski. That the accounting data for FY 1944 is only "preliminary" is one symptom of the uproar at the end of the line.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fails to Deliver the Goods, September 7, 2008

By	R. A Forczyk (Laurel, MD USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Alfred C. Mierzejweski, a university professor in Alabama, has attempted to write a political and economic history of the Reichsbahn (German National Railway) during the Third Reich. Although the book is impeccably researched, it is written in a very dry, academic style and too narrowly focused. The first chapter, on the initial "coordination" of the Reichsbahn by the Nazis when they came to power, is painful to read. The book has only 164 pages of actual text and most of this focuses on high-level bureaucratic and organizational issues, rather than the actual operations of the railway.

For those readers who hope to learn more about the Reichsbahn's role in supporting German military operations in the Second World War, the book is far too general and thus a disappointment. Although there are some useful statistics, many are too arcane - like the number of daily car placings or tons/kilometer - to be of real use to military historians. Mierzejweski does have a sub-chapter on the railways role in the invasion of the USSR in 1941, but there is little new information included. I was particularly interested in learning more about the Eisenbahn railroad repair units, but they are only mentioned in passing. Incredibly, there is no detailed discussion of the re-gauging issue in the occupied Soviet areas or how the supply difficulties contributed to the German defeat. Instead, the "winter crisis of 1941/2" is discussed more in terms of general statistics and leadership changes. However the author does convincingly demonstrate that the Reichsbahn was ignored in Hitler's war plans and was starved for resources, like steel and labor.

It is also clear that the Reichsbahn did poorly in the political in-fighting prevalent in the Third Reich. The over-age Reichsbahn leadership seemed more intent on maintaining organizational autonomy and balancing their financial budget than either fighting for resources or evaluating how the Third Reich was using their trains. This is particularly evident in regard to the Holocaust. Mierzejweski clearly shows that the upper leadership of the Reichsbahn was aware of the death camps and their own role in transporting the Nazi's victims. However, since the total number of cars required for the Holocaust was less than 5% of the total available and hence a small burden on the Reichsbahn, the railroad leadership ignored the moral issues. Significantly, Mierzejweski points out that only two Reichsbahn officials involved with transporting victims to the death camps asked to be re-assigned to other jobs (with no negative repercussions).

As a history, this book only succeeds on the organizational level. There are very few photos and only a handful of inadequate maps. There are too many useless statistics - like Reichsbahn financial information or investments - and not enough crucial information - like the number of trains lost due to military action, or produced each year as replacements. This book lays a solid foundation for understanding the subject, but then unfortunately builds very little atop it. The book is certainly not worth the price of admission.