Examines the fate of the seven high-ranking Nazi officers--Hess, Funk, Speer, Schirach, Neurath, Doenitz and Raeder--incarcerated at Spandau Prison after their convictions at the Nuremberg War Crime Trials.

"In 1945 seven men, once among the most powerful on earth, were locked away in a vast prison built to hold more than 600 inmates, surrounded by every conceivable escape-proof precaution. Tried and convicted for attempting to enslave the world, they were the last of what Winston Churchill had called the Hitler gang."--Goodreads.com.

When the Allies decided to try German war criminals at the end of World War II they were attempting not only to punish the guilty but also to create a record of what had happened in Europe. This ground-breaking new study shows how Britain and the United States went about inscribing thehistory of Nazi Germany and the effect their trial and occupation policies had on both long and short term 'memory' in Germany and Britain. Donald Bloxham here examines the actions and trials of German soldiers and policemen, the use of legal evidence, the refractory functions of the courtroom, andAllied political and cultural preconceptions of both 'Germanism' and of German criminality. His evidence shows conclusively that the trials were a failure: the greatest of all 'crimes against humanity' - the 'final solution of the Jewish question' - was largely written out of history in thepost-war era and the trials failed to transmit the breadth of German criminality. Finally, with reference to the historiography of the Holocaust, Genocide on Trial illuminates the function of the trials in perpetuating misleading generalizations about the course of the Holocaust and the nature ofNazism.

The essays address the nature of Nazism as reflected in contemporary perceptions of Nazi Germany in the United States; the origins and character of fascism; the many forms of antisemitism; German scholars' efforts to promote persecution in the Third Reich; the role of ethnic Germans in the anti-Jewish and anti-Slavic policies of the Reich; the actions of German police in the occupation of eastern Europe and in the Holocaust; Hitler's style of leadership; the nazification of the German military high command; and the politics surrounding the memory of Nazism and the Holocaust after 1945."--BOOK JACKET.

The riveting story of what happened to the seven top Nazi war criminals in the aftermath of World War Two and the Nuremberg trials. Who were they? What were their crimes? And why were they incarcerated in one of the most secure prisons in human history? This gripping study of human corruption and fallibility is the perfect book for fans of Volker Ullrich, Ian Kershaw and Peter Longerich. In 1945 seven of Hitler's henchmen were incarcerated as solitary inmates of the vast Spandau prison in Berlin originally built to accommodate hundreds. Every conceivable precaution was taken to ensure escape was impossible for such high-profile prisoners. Hitler's henchmen; Rudolf Hess, Konstantin von Neurath, Karl Dönitz, Baldur von Schirach, Erich Raeder, Albert Speer and Walter Funk had been tried and convicted for their complicity in Hitler's campaign and had escaped the death penalty, unlike many of their former comrades. This extensively researched book has been constructed from innumerable sources including, in some cases, first-hand accounts from the men themselves, their families, friends, lawyers and enemies; from visits made to Berlin with their wives, from smuggled and authorised letters written in prison and authentic conversations between the prisoners. What is revealed are intimate details of the private lives of these once powerful men, their thoughts and reflections inside Spandau, their differing attitudes to their crimes and how these affected their relationships with each other. Also revealed is the complex and frustrating diplomatic and political in-fighting between the four Powers of the United States, Britain, France and the USSR, administering the gaol in the post war era. A situation that remained until September 1987 when, within weeks of the death of remaining prisoner Rudolf Hess, the bulldozers moved in to raze it to the ground. 'A fascinating book revealing the previously unknown thoughts, feelings, hopes and fears of these seven men... It will greatly interest both historians and general readers interested in historical and political events preceding and following the Second World War' - British Book News 'Chilling but readable account of the history of the Third Reich' - Bradford Telegraph and Argus 'The author is eminent amongst investigative journalists and THE SEVEN MEN OF SPANDAU adds to a lengthening list of formidably researched, readable and important books ... a scholarly piece of research ... a gripping study in human corruption ... authoritative study of the working of Hitler's Third Reich' - The Book Exchange 'Well pieced-together account of the seven leading Nazis imprisoned after the Nuremburg trial' - Encounter 'Fishman's massively detailed book gives us what is surely as much of the truth as we shall ever know' - Bath and West Evening Chronicle 'This book faithfully fulfils its purpose, which is to keep the lessons of the Nazi era fresh in mind' - Eastern Daily Press 'An authoritative and interesting book' - Kentish Times

Survivors, especially, will appreciate Weber's account of Hitler's war against the Jews; from killing Jews at the edge of the pit to Zyklon-B and the crematoria.