Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd

I am incredibly honoured to be a blogging partner to the 2018 Jewish Book Week that takes place between 3-11^th March 2018. I will be there in person for two events and can honestly say that it is going to be an incredible week of great talks and discussions.

I will also be talking about some of the books and author interviews that will be coming up during the week and to start I am going to introduce Julia Boyd and her latest book that was released in August 2017. Travellers in the Third Reich – The Rise of Fascism Through the Eyes of Everyday People. (Elliott & Thompson) Julia Boyd will be in discussion Anna Sebba on Thursday 8th March at 7pm and tickets are still available.

Travellers in the Third Reich is a look through the eyes of those who visited what is in a sense Hitler’s Germany between the 1920’s and 1930’s. With Germany on her knees after the First World War and then the rise of fascism and the then rise of Adolf Hitler those who visited Germany got a real first-hand look and a real glimpse of what was coming. Through this outstanding and well researched book Julia Boyd takes British, French and a few Americans and even a Chinese scholar notes and diary entries to give a real outsiders view to a Germany that was rebuilding and also rebuilding its armed forces. Subdued but now strong under Hitler these notes and diary entries make powerful reading.

Some of these notes and accounts comes from well-known sources such as Neville Chamberlain Unity Mitford and even the poet W.H. Auden. These accounts as seen by these and just the ordinary traveller give a real insight to the day to day life of Nazi Germany.

During the 1930’s it is easy to try and figure out what people in Britain thought about the Nazi regime and especially Hitler but what Boyd has done with this book is give a real insight to what people really thought their inside Germany especially when they came face to face. Sometimes honest and sometimes really quite shocking. But life was carrying as normal in Germany cultural visits to the country were common and even children were sent their as part of cultural educational visits. Then even as Europe was just moments away from WWII Thomas Cook was still advertising German holidays.

It is important to note that without these travellers who visited and even stayed in Germany for a while and those who kept diaries and wrote letters and journals these historical notes would never come to light. These are an important and also fascinating to read. This book covers just about everything that went on in Germany whether that is how popular Germany was with American tourists to fascists burning books and also concentration camps. This is well written and also an easy to read book that really does give a very real look at what Germany was like through those that went to visit Germany.

Reading Travellers in the Third Reich has given me a new look at how people viewed Germany between the wars which is somewhat different to how I was always told or read in other books. Boyd has written what I think in time will become a valuable research tool for those wishing to learn more of Nazi Germany. Virginia Wolf herself thought German was “pretentious” while author of Tarka the Otter Henry Williamson spoke on Desert Island Discs about nature loving Germans. There is so much to learn through these pages and even now I am going through and finding fascinating accounts. These notes, letters and accounts are voices from the past recounting visits that are historically important now as they were when they were first written. Future generations will read this outstanding book and learn. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

464 Pages

My thanks to Rebecca Fincham and also Elliott & Thompson for the review copy of Travellers in the Third Reich.

Travellers in the Third Reich by Julia Boyd is published by Elliott & Thompson and was published on 10^th August 2017 and is available through Waterstones, Amazon and all good bookshops.

To learn more of the 2018 Jewish Book Week and view the ‘What’s On’ pages and even book tickets to the events taking place at Kings Place visit the website.

Jewish Book Week you can also book tickets by telephone on 020 7520 1490

You can also keep up to date with the Jewish Book Week on their Twitter page: Join the discussion @jewishbookweek I hope to see you there.