''Berlin Embassy'' is a non-fiction book written by American

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

William Russell (1915–2000) which was first published in late 1940. Russell, who worked at the American Embassy in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, details his experiences of living and working in

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

between August 1939 and April 1940 during the early phases of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

The work

The book describes William Richard Russell's experiences between August 31, 1939 to April 10, 1940, dealing with long queues of desperate people seeking emigrant visas, the outbreak of the

, the

German invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

and

Phoney War The Phoney War (; ; ) was an eight-month period at the outset of World War II during which there were virtually no Allied military land operations on the Western Front from roughly September 1939 to May 1940. World War II began on 3 Septembe ...

, as well as touching on the beginning of the

invasion of Norway Invasion of Norway may refer to: *1033 invasion by Tryggvi the Pretender *1567 Swedish invasion during the Northern Seven Years' War *1658 Swedish invasion during the Second Northern War *1716 Swedish invasion during the Great Northern War *1808 S ...

. Russell was a clerk on the consular staff of the American Embassy in Berlin.James B. Lloyd ''Lives of Mississippi Authors, 1817-1967'', p. 398 The book consequently reflects his personal experiences of life in Berlin during the early stages of the war through anecdotes, press cutting, rumours and jokes rather than covering the political and diplomatic aspects of his job in any great detail: The bilingual Russell socialized extensively with random Germans in pubs and nightclubs, on trains while conducting business, in rural villages as well as in the capital. Despite this professed objective, the final chapter is devoted to a study of the character of

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

Main argument

The central argument which Russell attempts to communicate in his work is that, contrary to opinion in America and elsewhere, the majority of Germans were politically apathetic or even anti-Nazi, with only a small minority actually being overtly in favour of the status quo:

There are, perhaps, 2 million members of the Nazi party. That is not many in a nation of seventy million people.

However, he also argues that a large number of Germans (regardless of their political views) chose to side with the Nazis temporarily for the duration of the war:

For what exists in Germany today, I have ... a simple illustration:
...Imagine that
Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...
were still president of the United States, and as unpopular as he was at the time he was defeated for the Presidency. Imagine that the United States had been forced into a war under his leadership. He would be supported by every man, woman and child...
Many people feel that way in Germany today. They will support Adolf Hitler until the war is won; as soon as it is over, they have the firm intention of getting rid of him.

Russell attempts to highlight the cynical view of many Germans towards the Nazi régime. In particular, he focuses on the popular views of key Nazi figures - including

Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician, aviator, military leader, and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which gov ...

("When Goering appears on the movie screen...Berlin audiences usually snigger."),

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

Julius Streicher Julius Sebastian Streicher (12 February 1885 – 16 October 1946) was a German publicist, politician and convicted war criminal. A member of the Nazi Party, he served as the ''Gauleiter'' (regional leader) of Franconia and a member of the '' Reic ...

("...has committed so many crimes and stolen so much money from the Party that even the Nazis could not cover up his crimes any longer") and

Hans Kerrl Hanns Kerrl (11 December 1887 – 15 December 1941) was a German Nazi politician. His most prominent position, from July 1935, was that of Reichsminister of Church Affairs. He was also President of the Prussian Landtag (1932–1933) and head of ...

("...a gay old rascal frequently seen in Berlin dives until the wee hours of the morning"). Above all,

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and philologist who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief Propaganda in Nazi Germany, propagandist for the Nazi Party, and ...

(whom Russell describes as "...the most hated man in Germany...") is seen to elicit the most hatred. "In three years spent in Germany," Russell wrote "I have never heard one kind word spoken on his behalf." Jokes of the time are frequently inserted to summarise the contempt of many ordinary Germans to the Nazi leaders.

Other themes

Several factors of the everyday life of Germans during the period which Russell writes about extensively were shortages of food and clothing owing to rationing (even though the war had just begun), the shortage of home heating fuel, breakdowns and freezing conditions in train service, and the lack of proper information on current affairs, owing to censorship and propaganda in the German media. This led, in Russell's belief, to over-reliance on both frequently incorrect rumours and the (officially prohibited)

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

German-language radio service.

Editions

*The first edition of ''Berlin Embassy'' was published in the United States by E.P. Dutton & Co in 1940/1. *An unedited reprint was produced (for the United Kingdom market exclusively) by Elliott & Thompson in 2003. *Basic Books produced another reprinted version in November 2006.

References

Works cited

External links

''Berlin Embassy'' on ''goodreads.com''
{{Authority control 1940 non-fiction books American biographies Books about Nazism World War II memoirs Non-fiction books about diplomacy E. P. Dutton books