I had no idea there was such a healthy tourist industry in Germany right up to 1939 with large numbers coming from the UK and the USA. Many of the letters Boyd quotes are from these ordinary travellers, as well from visiting politicians, academics and their families. Germany is beautiful – the holidays sound wonderful. Pre-existing racism and fear. Anti-semitism was rampant in Germany and throughout the world. Just like anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant feelings are plaguing our world now. I can't recommend this book enough for the insight it brings on the Third Reich at ground level, the reason it succeeded initially and the fear grip it exerted on its people throughout. That it courted and dazzled it's visitors into the bargain is also clear. Just as Mussolini was remembered for getting the trains to run on time, full employment including the youth of any Western style democracy is something hard to achieve at anytime...just one thing that caught the eye of many travellers the author cites. Some of what we are told is irrelevant! Three examples should suffice—we are told of when Göring’s lion cub pees on him, of when Göring’s bison refuses to mate before an audience and of when the released Olympic doves defecate on a group of American Olympic athletes. Perhaps the author is trying to be funny. There is a lot of information that you just do not know what to do with! To modern eyes, the failure of many of these correspondents to recognise the dangers of Nazism is galling. The complacency and the wilful blindness to sinister truths are plain to see, though it became impossible to maintain as the Nazis started openly persecuting the Jews and annexing surrounding territories. For who could sensibly fail to understand the implications of cities festooned in massive Nazi banners flapping above state-sanctioned, anti-Semitic graffiti – the writing, literally, on the walls?

Travellers in the Third Reich By Julia Boyd | Used - Wob Travellers in the Third Reich By Julia Boyd | Used - Wob

As the title suggests, Boyd focuses upon those travelling to Germany for a particular purpose - either to spend time there as part of a holiday or as a government representative, amongst other reasons - but she also considers those who chose the country as their adopted homeland whilst studying there, for example. Kay Smith, wife of US military attache Colonel Truman Smith, after a visit to the now infamous "Degenerate Art" exhibit in Munich had a reaction which fell in with the intentions of the exhibit's organizers: 'The continuous viewing of ugly distorted faces and forms, with blood and vomit spewing from them - vulgar disgusting scenes - produced a definite physical reaction.' ... Kay, who had been reading articles in the American press condemning Nazi philistinism, was now, on this issue at least, entirely in sympathy with the Führer. 'I heartily supported the name Degenerate Art which Hitler had given it,' she wrote, 'and was delighted when he announced that "the era of the purple cow" was over.' (276) Ypač ryški užsienio jaunimo stovyklose kurios buvo labai madoje tarp Anglijos ir Amerikos jaunimo. Susitikimai su valdančiaisiais tikintis, kad vaikai perduos viską tėvams. Pvz britų ambasadoriaus dukrai specialus spektaklis ir susitikimai su politikais suorganizuoti tam jog ji kuo teigimiau savo tėvui atsilieptų apie nacių gėrį

And btw, in more than one instance the 'inmates' of the camps who spoke to foreign visitors were not inmates, but actors and German soldiers pretending to be inmates.) What does come through the book is that if the British and Americans were relatively popular visitors to Germany, especially in the Weimar years, the French were not. There are also descriptions of President Hindenburg, who was half hidden by a curtain after he had inaugurated Hitler as Chancellor, as he received the plaudits from below while saluting the crowd. There are some wonderful descriptions of that day. Weeks after an English journalist notes that they were confronted everywhere by election propaganda. Travellers in the Third Reich is a chronological overview of the history of the Third Reich, supplemented with the accounts of a wide variety of foreign visitors (mostly from the UK and the US). The book doesn’t put forward any grand conclusions. Rather, it offers a new perspective on Germany during this time and a glimpse into the political attitudes around the world. She includes professionals such as diplomats and journalists, famous writers, students and holiday takers and everything in between. Everyone thought Germany was beautiful with its landscapes, music culture and its universities. Very few included significant negative comments. NAZI’s were very good with PR, showing how the country had improved since the war and the draconian policies of the Versailles Treaty. And were they ever good at putting on a show! All that hid the very nasty core of their racism that eventually led to the halocaust.

Travellers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism Through the Eyes of Travellers in the Third Reich: The Rise of Fascism Through the

I have to say, I really loved that book, because you can see how he managed to manipulate the people's mind, and not only germans, but foreigners as well. Especially I was surprised how many British or Americans adored him at the time. Reicho didybė aprašyta taip stipriai ir taip įtaigiai, visokie festivaliai ir masiniai renginiai, kad net norisi laiko masina nusikelti. Kažkaip susišaukia su dabartine turizmo bangą į Šaiurės Korėją. Tiek daug mums žinomų vardų ir švenčių kurios minimos, pvz oktober fest arba Thomas Cook kuris šlovino ir skatino turizmą į VokietijąThe countryside remained beautiful, the medieval towns picturesque and the beer cheap. So why spoil a good holiday worrying about the Jews?'