On the Road to the Wolf’s Lair: German Resistance to Hitler

by Theodore S. Hamerow

In the beginning, they rallied behind Hitler in the national interest of Germany; in the end, they sacrificed their lives to assassinate him. A history of German resistance to Hitler in high places, this book offers a glimpse into one of the most intractable mysteries. Why did high-ranking army officers, civil servants, and religious leaders support Hitler? Why did they ultimately turn against him? What transformed these unlikely men, most of them elitist, militaristic, and fiercely nationalistic, into martyrs to a universal ideal? The resisters in On the Road to the Wolf's Lair are not the singular souls doomed to failure by the massive Nazi machinery, but those who emerged from the Third Reich itself--those people whose cultural, administrative, and military positions allowed them, ultimately, to form a systematic, organized opposition to the Nazi regime. These were people with a vested interest in the Third Reich, and their slow and painful awakening to its evils makes a dramatic story, marked as much by temporizing and compromise, vacillation and reluctance--a resistance to conscience--as by the intrigue and heroics of political resistance that finally emerged. Hamerow follows these men as, one by one, they find themselves overwhelmed by guilt and contrition over their support of a murderous regime. He shows how their awakened moral reckonings and higher interests overrode lifetime habits and disciplines on the road to "the wolf's lair." The result is an unsparing history of the German resistance to Hitler--one where the players emerge for the first time as real people with complex motives and evolving characters. Almost a history of the possibility of an emerging collective moral conscience within a destructive environment, the book adds to our understanding of the fall of the Third Reich and of the task of history itself.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

454 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 1997

Reviews

[Penecks · Rating 2 out of 5]

Once again, I'm torn on a book's rating based on readability versus academic merit, and dryness versus fact presentation. On the Road to the Wolf's Lair doesn't do anything particularly wrong, however, it is perhaps betrayed a bit by its premise: the events that caused and ultimately lead up to the 1944 assassination plot, perhaps the most well known zenith of German resistance to their own Nazi overlords. Yet, in getting to even the start of the war, Hamerow puts us through somewhat of a slog.

If you are interested in the Weimar Republic, you may as well stop reading this and grab the book. For general WWII readers, be prepared for a large and circular retelling of the rise of the Nazis essentially seen through religious, civilian, and some military elements of 20's and 30's Germany. In fact, probably more than half the book is simply this very academic retelling of what random resistance members (some in name only) thought of the state of this new national socialism. Hamerow fails to really even introduce the vast majority of the "cast." Outside of the Stauffenbergs and maybe larger figures like Beck, these religious and civilian leaders are most likely unknown to general WWII leaders.

There is a ton of information packed into the text, however for the non-academic, going through every single minor church sermon or civilian letter to find bits and pieces of "anti-Nazi" thought, then doing the same song and dance for another relatively forgettable German, is not the most engaging reading. Hamerow is a great writer, in that he makes it not obvious one has spent an entire chapter reading what could have probably been summarized on two pages, were it not for each individual's mildly different experience.

Once the war rolls through, the book is saved a bit and opens up, now showing more active resistance and the thoughts behind each type of plotter, some working out of morality, others to save their own skins, or something in between. In fact this duality and public perception of the resistors is presented as the main thesis through the end of the book. The would-be coup leaders are first seen with suspicion, then revulsion, and finally acceptance as a post-war Germany looks for new heroes.

Perhaps the fact that Hamerow does not even detail anything about the assassination bomb attempt, and basically refers us to other works, points to how this book particularly nails down some topics while seemingly ignoring the general reader. There is very little to ease one into the wealth of information within. I can't say I recommend this one as any historical overview of this portion of military history.

[Kate Forsyth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an in-depth examination of the men behind the ill-fated Valkyrie plot to assassinate Hitler, and the events which drove them to take such a drastic and dangerous path. It does assume the reader is well acquainted with the story, so should perhaps be read in conjunction with the famous classic account by Allen Welsh Dulles, Germany’s Underground: The Anti-Nazi Resistance. Dulles was OSS chief in Bern, Switzerland, during World War II and was acquainted with many people in the German Resistance.