Author Sebastian Haffner booklist (click here)

Book Review By David Loftus
Defying Hitler by Sebastian Haffner

Sebastian Haffner was the pen name of a German-born journalist named Raimund Pretzel who fled Germany for England in 1938 and became known as a "British" journalist and historian during and after the war. This manuscript, which details the Germany of his youth and the rise of Hitler, was written shortly after his escape, but filed away when the war broke out. His son only discovered it after his death in 1999 and it was a smash bestseller in Germany. In it, Haffner describes what it was like for thoughtful, liberal Germans to see their country taken over by monsters, and how so many "ordinary" Germans could have failed to resist, even participated. It starts slow and analytical, but when the author gets to the personal narrative about his Jewish friends and girlfriend, the changes in his Berlin society and neighborhood, and the grotesque "training camp" which he and other aspiring lawyers were forced to attend before being allowed to take their qualifying exam, the book becomes gripping.
Plot Political/social rights fight Yes Plotlet: - fights between different pol/social groups War/Cloak & Dagger story? - impact on civilian - holocaust War/Spying Yes Period of greatest activity? - 1900+ Subject of Biography Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes Ethnicity - White Nationality - German How sensitive is this person? - sensitive to others' feelings Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other people Physique - average physique Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 () Europe Yes European country: - Germany City? Yes City: - dangerous Misc setting - fort/military installation Century: - 1930's-1950's Style Person - mostly 1st Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Book makes you feel? - concerned Commentary on society? Yes Commentary on - decency - justice system - wicked men Writer's slant towards subject: - somewhat unfavorable Story of entire life, or part? - story of set of events during life Autobiography? Yes Pictures/Illustrations? - A lot 11-15 B&W How much dialogue in bio? - significantly more descript than dialog How much is philosophy rather than life story? - 0-25% of book