The Most Valuable Asset of the Reich: A History of the German National Railway, Volume 2, 1933-1945

History of the German National Railway #2

by Alfred C. Mierzejewski

The largest enterprise in the capitalist world between 1920 and 1945, the Deutsche Reichsbahn (German National Railway) was at the center of events in a period of great turmoil in Germany. In this, the second volume of his comprehensive history of the Reichsbahn, Alfred Mierzejewski offers the first complete account of the national railway under Hitler's regime.

Mierzejewski uses sources that include Nazi Party membership records and Reichsbahn internal memoranda to explore the railway's operations, finances, and political and social roles from 1933 to 1945. He examines the Reichsbahn's role in German rearmament, its own lack of preparations for war, and its participation in Germany's military operations. He shows that despite successfully resisting Nazi efforts to politicize its internal functions, the Reichsbahn cooperated with the government's anti-Semitic policies. Indeed, the railway played a crucial role in the Holocaust by supporting the construction and operation of the Nazi death camps and by transporting Jews and other victims to them.

274 pages, Hardcover

First published December 18, 2000

About the author

Alfred C. Mierzejewski is professor of German history at the University of North Texas.

Reviews

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is likely that no one else would be as excited about this book as I was. I have long had in mind having the major German character in my novel-in-progress (tentatively titled CHOOSING HITLER) make his career in the German Railway.

This book provides incredibly relevant detail for that purpose, including ... the educational background he would need ... the sequence of positions he might hold ... the relationship between the German Railway, the Reichswehr, the SS, and Hitler ... the role of the Railway in support of Hitler's wars ... and the role in transporting Jews to the ovens.

What did railway officials and workers know about the ongoing Holocaust? Plenty.

What did they care about the Jews being taken to murder? Most of them, not at all.

UPDATE 12/21/15 ... I have now read the sections covering activities from the period Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 until just before the invasion of Poland in 1939. This carefully presented history will form the background for the career of the major German character in my novel-in-process during those years, as Berthold Becker advances within both the railroad and the Nazi Party, and develops a close relationship with Hermann Goering.

[John Vandike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being this is an academic work it is perhaps not surprising that it is a bit dry. The first volume covering the Deutsch Reichbahn's history from the end of the First World War through to the End of the Weimar Republic and the rise of the Nazi Party to power featured a fairly detailed accounting of the mechanics of running a railroad and what the DRB's leadership did in pursuit of improving a railroad. The second volume, in contrast, is mostly focused around the relationship between the Party and the railroad, the interactions of the DRB with the various other railroad companies under the Nazi umbrella (France & Belgium's national railroads, the Ostbahn, and the pseudo-military railroad only partially under the control of the DRB). But mostly the volume focuses on how the DRB management and staff were all too aware of the activities of the SS's racial objectives and activities and the dysfunction of the Nazi political apparatus. The actual operation of the railroad is generally reduced to dry tables of statistics comparing ton-kilometers or passenger-kilometers year-over-year. Likely a great starting point for a Ph.D. thesis on the subject of wartime railroading, but not much to recommend for the general rail-enthusiast.

[Joe McCullough · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sober look.

A well documented resource on an off unappreciated topic. The lifeblood of the Reich was pumped through the rail system. An outstanding look at this critical aspect of the Second World War.

[Rythm Saeed]

Good book