Henry Ashby Turner Jr. – författare

In this book, a prominent historian revises his comprehensive overview of Germany since 1945 to take into account the momentous events that swept away one of the German states and united the country under the constitution of the other.  Reviews of The Two Germanies since 1945 "A well-organized, clearly written, and meaty book."—Gordon A. Craig, New York Review of Books "A basic, comprehensive text, valuable for an understanding of a central and changing aspect of European politics."—David P. Calleo, Foreign Affairs "A brief, balanced, and well-written history."—William E. Griffith, New York Times Book Review "A marvelously clear, concise, and judicious survey that will be very instructive for the general reader and extraordinarily useful for courses dealing with post-World War II Germany."—William Sheridan Allen, author of The Nazi Seizure of Power

This book, the first ever based on unrestricted access to General Motors’ internal records, documents the giant American corporation’s dealings with the Third Reich. GM purchased Opel, Europe’s largest automaker, in the 1920s and continued to hold it through the Second World War. Historian Henry Ashby Turner, Jr., uncovers the fascinating story of how the American carmaker conducted business in Germany under the Nazi regime and explores larger issues concerning the relations between international corporations and the Third Reich.The book presents new and detailed information about General Motors’ interactions with Hitler and other Nazi officials, including the carmaker’s attempt to capture the Volkswagen project. It also reveals how American GM executives thwarted a sustained Nazi effort to gain control of Opel. The author concludes with an assessment of the extent of the company’s implication, through Opel, in the Nazi war effort and in the exploitation of forced labor.

_________________'A most valuable contribution to our understanding of one of the key events of the 20th century. Professor Turner has provided by far the most detailed analysis yet of these events, and he enables us to follow every twist and turn of the plot with admirable clarity. Above all, he presents us with a shrewd and judicious assessment of the roles of the various characters involved and of their responsibility for the catastrophic outcome' - TLS'Racy, but deeply serious...the story reads like a thriller, full of clandestine meetings and backstairs intrigue, in which a handful of individuals engaged in high politics, not impersonal forces, bring about the catastrophe' - The Times_________________A detailed, insightful account of the events which culminated in Adolf Hitler's taking power in January 1933.Combating the prevailing view that Nazi rule was inevitable - a result of what T.S. Eliot called "the great impersonal forces" of history - the book shows how luck, political intrigue and the personal weaknesses of Hitler's more powerful, traditional conservative opponents paved the way to his chancellorship. The book provides a portrait of Hitler and the other main players in this political drama: President and ageing war hero Marshal Paul von Hindenburg; his miscalculating Chancellor, General Kurt von Schleicher (whom Hitler would later murder); and Hitler's devious co-conspirator, ex-chancellor Franz von Papen. Richly researched, eye-opening, and utterly gripping, Henry Ashby Turner Jr's story re-establishes the importance of individual actors in the unfolding of these key historical events.