![]() ![]() ![]() The author’s nuanced and lively narrative shows that a vigorous propaganda campaign by the Nazis, targeted toward tourists and other visitors, was hugely successful for years but became less so as the government tightened its control on the eve of World War II.įoreign diplomats and reporters followed events closely and generally understood what was going on. In her extraordinary and absorbing Travelers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism: 1919-1945, she tells their stories, often in their own words, as they “accidentally witnessed,” in varying degrees, the transformation of a government and its people before their eyes. ![]() Julia Boyd has done exhaustive research on these visitors and their firsthand accounts of their visits. ![]() Surprisingly few, it seems, had their minds changed as a direct result of their visits. Despite rumors and evidence of disturbing activity, many had made up their minds before they came of what they were to see-or not see. Years later, when those visitors looked back at their prewar visits, most genuinely claimed that they could not have been aware of the terrible actions of the Nazis. Foreigners continued to be captivated by Germany’s natural beauty, its strong cultural heritage in literature, music and philosophy, its technological advances and the friendliness of its citizens. In the years after World War I, as Hitler and his followers gained attention and then power in Germany, many foreign visitors, especially from Britain and the United States, poured into the country. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |