Naval Officers Under Hitler: The Story of Crew 34

by Eric C. Rust

This book is the collective biography of 318 men who joined the German Navy in 1934 to become professional officers. Eric C. Rust traces the lives and mentality of these men from their upbringing in the Weimar Republic through their post-war careers. Unique in its subject matter and methodology in both German and international military historiography, Naval Officers under Hitler is a professional, political, and psychological group portrait based on personal interviews and correspondence as well as on archival material. Well documented and thoroughly researched, this book will prove invaluable to the scholar of German history and fascinating reading for the general reader interested in World War II.



Naval Officers under Hitler stresses the drama of recent German history as closely as anyone would wish--these naval officers were observers, witnesses, participants, victims, and sometimes, beneficiaries. The book argues that the vast majority of junior naval officers under Hitler, while well trained and prepared to defend Volk and Vaterland as good patriots, felt no profound or lasting attachment to Nazi ideology. Instead their ideological preferences remained with patriotic, conservative groups such as the German National People's Party and its successor organizations after World War II. Otherwise love of the sea and of the naval profession lay at the center of their overall mentality and priorities.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published March 30, 1991

Reviews

[JD · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent book about the German naval academy's class of 1934 (induction year), which played a big role in the fighting of the Kriegsmarine during World War 2, but it left me personally a little disappointed. The book is unique in that it covers a German military academy's history during this time, but I was expecting more of individual wartime careers covered in this book of Crew 34, but this was only covered in two chapters and not in great detail, and only the more successful and notorious members are named during these pages. The book focuses more on the group as a whole and the times they lived in. Well researched book, but not the most captivating read. Recommended if you are interested in the subject matter.

[Lisa Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a very unique and refreshing study within naval history. It is definitely an academic read and probably not suitable for someone who just wants to get an overview of the topic. I am a graduate student in military history and will be writing my graduate dissertation within this field of study. For me it was the perfect book to get an insight into the stage of research. I found it especially interesting that the author was fortunate to actually meet some of the Crew's survivors.

[Roger Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

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