Ratings5
Average rating3.8
This was very good. It was interesting getting the viewpoints of “regular” people who were the titular travelers in the third reich. It was also interesting watching it all close in around the visitors. Really excellent overall.
At a time when America is operating concentration camps and moving ever more closely towards totalitarianism, this book is especially poignant. Why did tourists continue to visit a country that was so clearly uncivilized and aggressive? How did they reconciliate the politics of the country with the friendly, efficient people they met everywhere on their travels? At the same time, it's also a good recap of the events eading up to WW2 and the Holocaust, if you forgot those lessons from school, or can't entirely memorize the timeline. I'm recommending this book to everyone right now.
I really enjoyed my experience with this book. One of my goals for 2020 was to read more non-fiction, particularly history, and this was one of my top contenders for the year.
Firstly, I have studied very little history and while I learnt about WWI in school we did not cover WWII. So it was really interesting and enlightening to read about the transition period. The accounts go chronologically and come from a variety of walks of life. As another reviewer said, the fresh feeling of the letters and diary entries kept me very engaged and focused.
I would say that as someone who knows absolutely nothing about the time period, I could have done with reading a few other texts to get a better grasp of the major players of the time. A lot of information is packed into this book, and I am looking forward to re-reading it when I have a better base knowledge.