Life As a Nazi Soldier (Encyclopedia of Discovery and Invention)

Grade 7 Up-This examination of a German soldier's experience begins by describing the rise of the country's militarized culture under Hitler and his requirements of universal military service. The authors then describe the army's rigorous training and devote chapters to Germany's major campaigns in Poland, France, Russia, and Africa, as well as its final defense of its homeland at the end of the war. Although they outline Germany's territorial goals and its military strategy to gain them, their main focus is on the fighting and living conditions average soldiers faced on the various fronts. Cartlidge and Clark condemn the atrocities that occurred on the battlefields and in the death camps, and explain how German ideological beliefs and the extremely difficult wartime conditions created an atmosphere that encouraged them.