World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the WestIn this revelatory chronicle of World War II, Laurence Rees, winner of the 2006 British Book Award for History, documents the dramatic and secret deals that helped make the war possible and prompted some of the most crucial decisions made during the conflict. Drawing on material available only since opening of archives in Eastern Europe and Russia, Rees reexamines the key choices made by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt during the war. And as the truth about Stalin’s earlier friendly relationship with the Nazis is laid bare, a devastating and surprising picture of the Soviet leader emerges. The emotional core of the book is the amazing new testimony obtained from nearly a hundred separate witnesses from the period—former Soviet secret policemen, Allied seamen who braved Arctic convoys and Red Army veterans who engaged Germans in hand-to-hand fighting on the Eastern Front. Their dramatic personal experiences make clear in a compelling and fresh way the reasons why the people of Poland, the Baltic states and other European countries simply swapped the rule of one tyrant for another. Rees’ ability to weave high politics—the meeting of the Allied leaders at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam—with the dramatic personal experiences of those on the ground who bore the consequences of their decisions is eye opening.World War II Behind Closed Doorswill change the way we think about the Second World War. |
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LibraryThing Review
User Review - odrach - LibraryThingRees asks in his intro, "When do you think the Second World War ended?" and his answer to that is, "Well, it depends how you look at it." In 1945 when the war ended in the West, in eastern Europe the ... Read full review
A must read!!!
User Review - wacked4 - BordersGreat insight in the relationship between Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin. You will be amazed how Churchill and Roosevelt "looked the other way" at the atrocities that the Russians committed against the Poles. Politics and War leads to anti trust and deception. Read full review
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World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis, and the West Laurence Rees Limited preview - 2009 |
World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, The Nazis and the West Laurence Rees No preview available - 2010 |