Includes bibliographical references (pages 639-681) and index.

"Drawing on a wealth of first-hand testimony, the German War is the first foray for many decades into how the German people experienced the Second World War. Told from the perspective of those who lived through it-- soldiers, school-teachers and housewives; Nazis, Christians and Jews-- its masterful historical narrative sheds fresh and disturbing light on the beliefs, hopes, and fears of people who embarked on, continued, and fought to the end, a brutal war of conquest and genocide"--,Provided by publisher.

"A major new history of the Third Reich that explores the German psyche to explain why the nation continued to support a war they knew could not be won. As early as 1941, Allied victory in World War II seemed all but assured. How and why, then, did the Germans prolong the barbaric conflict for three and a half more years? In The German War, acclaimed historian Nicholas Stargardt draws on an extraordinary range of primary source materials--personal diaries, court records, and military correspondence--to answer this question. He offers an unprecedented portrait of wartime Germany, bringing the hopes and expectations of the German people--from infantrymen and tank commanders on the Eastern front to civilians on the home front--to vivid life. While most historians identify the German defeat at Stalingrad as the moment when the average German citizen turned against the war effort, Stargardt demonstrates that the Wehrmacht in fact retained the staunch support of the patriotic German populace until the bitter end. Astonishing in its breadth and humanity, The German War is a groundbreaking new interpretation of what drove the Germans to fight--and keep fighting--for a lost cause."--Publisher's description.

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