The 20th of July

by Hans Hellmut Kirst

O dia 20 de Julho de 1944, que foi um dia trágico na história da Alemanha, é, pela primeira vez, o tema central de um romance que tem por fulcro o atentado contra Hitler e os movimentos do grupo de soldados e oficiais que interferiram na histórica revolta.A descrição exacta dos factos ocorridos é o fundamento desta obra de grande projecção. Nomes, datas, horas, tudo corresponde à realidade. As citações e parte dos diálogos são autênticos e foram extraídos de documentos oficiais.A primeira parte do livro descreve os preparativos desta "tragédia moderna". A segunda parte trata dos preparativos que antecederam o vinte e quatro horas dramáticas cuidadosamente reconstituídas neste notável romance. A terceira parte é o relato do final sangrento desta trágica a matança dos soldados, o inferno dos interrogatórios, o cinismo assustador do "Tribunal Popular", a perseguição e a execução dos heróis.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, German Literature, World War II, War

350 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

A veteran from WW II, he wrote various novels focused on military life and the corruption in the army.


Hans Hellmut Kirst, der international erfolgreichste deutsche Autor der Nachkriegszeit, wurde am 5. Dezember 1914 in Osterode in Ostpreußen als Sohn eines Gendarmeriebeamten geboren. Von 1933 bis 1945 diente Kirst als Berufssoldat. Mit seiner später verfilmten Romantrilogie „08/15“, seinen Welterfolgen „Fabrik der Offiziere“ und „Die Nacht der Generäle“ fand Hans Hellmut Kirst auch literarisch große Anerkennung.

Reviews

[Dimitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

***1/2 Een glad geschreven bewerking van Stauffenberg's bomaanslag, waarbij de uitvoerige contacten tussen auteur, overlevenden & nabestaanden de feiten naadloos doet overvloeien in fictief uitgebreide dialogen. Valkyrie in inkt.

[Christopher Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hans Hellmut Kirst's Soldiers' Revolt dramatizes the 20 July plot against Hitler. A popular German writer of WW2 fiction (best-known in his home country for the Gunner Asch books, and outside for his wartime whodunnit The Night of the Generals), Kirst explores the moral and political dilemmas facing Germans living under National Socialism, particularly those in the military. This novel examines how a cross-section of Germans, from infantrymen and Gestapo goons to the conspirators and Hitler himself, reacted to this eleventh-hour coup, with all its wasted courage, dubious moral justification (since the war was effectively lost) and debatable impact. Kirst's portrait of the plotters is the novel's high point: the dithering of Generals Ollbricht, Beck, Fromm and others is well-captured and darkly humorous, showing the agonies of career soldiers sworn to defend a madman. Some show an eye towards posterity, others towards the main chance; some are decisive while others dither; some blanch at killing Hitler while others insist it's the only solution; none are entirely admirable. Except, perhaps, Claus von Stauffenberg, depicted as an ambitious young man filled with wry wit, moral outrage and a decisiveness lacking in his colleagues. The book ably recreates this most puzzling of historical events with tension and clarity, from the plotting to the failed coup and the bloody vengeance of Hitler's henchmen. Kirst's book only stumbles in a few needless subplots involving mostly fictional characters (an SS man who murders his father over a romantic tangle, an empty retread of The Night of the Generals); otherwise, it's a remarkably insightful work about the failures, courage and compromises of those who opposed the Third Reich.

[Thorsten Giermann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ein sehr gutes Buch von Kirst zum 20. Juli 1944

[Seamus Mcduff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not an easy read for someone learning German, and it took me many months -- in fact I probably should have chose something easier.
I can't comment on the writing style or quality, but the latter part of the novel does help you appreciate the bravery and grisly end of those who dared to oppose Hitler and his regime.