Album of the damned: snapshots from the Third Reich / Paul Garson

Chicago: Academy Chicago Publishers, 2008. 1st edition. Hardcover. Fine cloth copy in an equally fine dust-wrapper. Particularly and surprisingly well-preserved; tight, bright, clean and especially sharp-cornered. Physical description; xiii, 408 p.: ill., ports; 29 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. 405-408). Summary; The nearly 400 WWII photographs in this book were taken primarily by German soldiers, civilians, and professionals embedded with the troops. They depict everyday life, men and women at work and play as well as at war. The photographs in this startling collection were taken by German soldiers and civilians during the Third Reich; a few were taken by professionals embedded with the troops. But for the most part, they are the work of amateurs taking snapshots for family and friends.Through these black and white images, we enter the living rooms, the back yards, the boulevards and the killing fields of Nazi Germany. Many of these photos were once in family albums. Some soldiers returned with them after the war and, years later, these photographs were offered for sale by relatives along with their own snapshots of the home front. Other pictures were captured by the Soviets and, after the fall of the USSR, became available on the open market. The author acquired these snapshots from some fifteen countries; he spent more than four years researching, working every day, reviewing more than 100,000 images and selecting nearly 400 for this book. 'Most images,' the author says, 'are accompanied by text that both complements historical research and offers a subjective analysis of each - all in an effort to comprehend, to somehow attempt to understand what is essentially unfathomable.' Review: ""Album of the Damned is a very special document; a unique and well-researched collection of photographs of German civilians and soldiers at work and play. Coming face to face with the seeming 'normalcy' of these images is what stuns the reader. The visuals and the commentary are powerful and remarkably fresh."" - Michael Birnbaum, Professor of Jewish Studies The American Jewish University, Los Angeles, California. Subjects; World War, 1939-1945 - Pictorial works. Europe - History - 1918-1945 - Pictorial works. Germany - History - 1933-1945 - Pictorial works. Germany - Social life and customs - 20th century - Pictorial works. Third Reich [1933-1945]. Illustrated books. Photographs. Social history. Civilians. Armed forces. European history: from c 1900 -. Inter-war period, 1918-1939. Second World War, 1939-1945. PHOTOGRAPHY / History. Europe - History - 1918-1945. Germany - History - 1933-1945.