In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Once, at the dawn of a very dark time, an American father and his daughter found themselves suddenly transported from their snug home in Chicago to the heart of Hitler's Berlin. In 1933, William E. Dodd became America's ambassador to Germany amidst Hitler's rise to power. Dodd and Martha, his daughter, initially sympathized with the Nazi's, downplaying the violence against Jews. Throughout most of the book, readers are shown a detailed look at Germany in 1933-1934 through the experience of Ambassador Dodd, a university professor from Chicago. Larson weaves together a very particular kind of story about the Dodd family and 1930s Hitler in Germany, showing the chilling story of William Dodd, Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
Content warnings may include themes of violence, antisemitism, sexual relationships, and descriptions of political repression.
From The Publisher:
Erik Larson, New York Times bestselling author of Devil in the White City, delivers a remarkable story set during Hitler's rise to power.
The time is 1933, the place, Berlin, when William E. Dodd becomes America's first ambassador to Hitler's Nazi Germany in a year that proved to be a turning point in history.
A mild-mannered professor from Chicago, Dodd brings along his wife, son, and flamboyant daughter, Martha. At first Martha is entranced by the parties and pomp, and the handsome young men of the Third Reich with their infectious enthusiasm for restoring Germany to a position of world prominence. Enamored of the "New Germany," she has one affair after another, including with the suprisingly honorable first chief of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels.
But as evidence of Jewish persecution mounts, confirmed by chilling first-person testimony, her father telegraphs his concerns to a largely indifferent State Department back home. Dodd watches with alarm as Jews are attacked, the press is censored, and drafts of frightening new laws begin to circulate. As that first year unfolds and the shadows deepen, the Dodds experience days full of excitement, intrigue, romance-and ultimately, horror, when a climactic spasm of violence and murder reveals Hitler's true character and ruthless ambition.
Suffused with the tense atmosphere of the period, and with unforgettable portraits of the bizarre Göring and the expectedly charming-yet wholly sinister-Goebbels, In the Garden of Beasts lends a stunning, eyewitness perspective on events as they unfold in real time, revealing an era of surprising nuance and complexity. The result is a dazzling, addictively readable work that speaks volumes about why the world did not recognize the grave threat posed by Hitler until Berlin, and Europe, were awash in blood and terror.
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3 comment(s)
This is a very interesting look at American politics in the 1930s with emphasis on relations with the rise of the 3rd Reich. For anyone who has asked, “Where was America before all of this started?!” or who bought into the idea that America was somehow immune to or above the bigotry experienced in Germany, I recommend this book.
I found this didn't hang together as well as
Devil in the White City. I knew as little about the history of
Beasts as I did about
Devil, but I finished the former without a better understanding of the time period. I didn't feel that Larson had a strong point to make about the rise of Hitler, other than it was bad? And few people realized just how bad?
I did learn interesting things, such as just how anti-Semitic everybody was. Everybody, not just the Nazis, saw a "Jewish problem" everywhere. Even Dodd and other Americans, who opposed the attacks on Jews in Germany, silently agreed that Jews were not so cool (they just didn't deserve to be beaten in the streets I guess).
Also curious was the homosexuality that was prevalent in the Storm Troopers. I was surprised that Hitler would turn a blind eye to that sort of thing in any way, although his own sexuality, while briefly touched on, was a little confusing.
Finally, I couldn't tell what point Larson was trying to make about Martha. Dirty slut? Adventurous woman? Playing the field with a deft hand, or having no idea how close she skirted danger?
Overall, I wish Larson had concentrated more on one aspect of the book rather than give such a broad overview.
The biography of a very dull diplomat turned into a thrilling account of the rise of fascism, intrigue, and cults of personality.
What can you read after
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin?
About the Author:
Erik Larson is the author of five national bestsellers: Dead Wake, In the Garden of Beasts, Thunderstruck, The Devil in the White City, and Isaac's Storm, which have collectively sold more than nine million copies. His books have been published in nearly twenty countries.
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