"Promise me you'll shoot yourself" : the mass suicide of ordinary Germans in 1945

Resource Information

The work "Promise me you'll shoot yourself" : the mass suicide of ordinary Germans in 1945 represents a distinct intellectual or artistic creation found in Charleston County Public Library. This resource is a combination of several types including: Work, Language Material, Books.

Label

"Promise me you'll shoot yourself" : the mass suicide of ordinary Germans in 1945

Title remainder

the mass suicide of ordinary Germans in 1945

Statement of responsibility

Florian Huber ; translated by Imogen Taylor

Title variation

"Promise me you will shoot yourself"

Creator

• Huber, Florian, 1967

Contributor

• Taylor, Imogen, (Translator)

Translator

• Taylor, Imogen, (Translator)

Subject

• Germany -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945
• Germany -- Social conditions -- 1933-1945
• National socialism -- Germany -- Psychological aspects
• Suicide -- Germany -- History -- 20th century
• World War, 1939-1945 -- Germany -- Psychological aspects
• Germany -- History -- 1933-1945

Language

• eng
• ger
• eng

Summary

"By the end of April 1945 in Germany, the Third Reich had fallen and invasion was underway. As the Red Army advanced, horrifying stories spread about the depravity of its soldiers. For many German people, there seemed to be nothing left but disgrace and despair. For tens of thousands of them, the only option was to choose death -- for themselves and for their children. "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" recounts this little-known mass event. Using diaries, letters, and memoirs, historian Florian Huber traces the euphoria of many ordinary Germans as Hitler restored national pride; their indifference as the Führer's political enemies, Jews, and other minorities began to suffer; and the descent into despair as the war took its terrible toll, especially after the invasion of the Soviet Union. Above all, he investigates how suicide became a contagious epidemic as the country collapsed. Drawing on eyewitness accounts and other primary sources, "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" presents a riveting portrait of a nation in crisis, and sheds light on a dramatic yet largely unknown episode of postwar Germany."--Amazon.com

Cataloging source

YDX

Dewey number

940.531610943

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

no index present

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography