A Mind in Prison: The Memoir of a Son and Soldier of the Third Reich

by Bruno Manz

" A Mind in Prison is a candid autobiographical examination of life in Nazi Germany and the powerful hold Nazi propaganda had on Germany's youth. It is rare to find such an eloquent, frank, and truly remorseful account of the Nazi years by a German who made the tragic mistake of following Adolf Hitler."

 

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, War, Memoir, World War II

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Tina]

Has a lot to say about growing up in a militaristic culture, and how it led to Hitler. Talks a lot about antisemitism and lack of refinement/cruelty among the soldiers he served with.

[Rosa Rose]

Rare testimony of a repented Nazi. Honest and very interesting.

[Stavros Kanakaris]

Interesting read, but the author white washes too much, is very selective in his memories, he has very little recollections of the brutality of the German treatment of the Russian POWs and civilians etc: Ich habe sehr wenig gewusst....which I cannot believe. He followed the rantings of a far way ridiculous looking dictator and almost completely ignored the bad treatment of the jews in his own street or living complex. He glorifies post war America and conveniently ignores the US role in the many dictatorships in Latin America (where many of his Nazi cronies had fled to and were hiding). He (justifiably) praises Germany reparations to Israel but ignores the Germans' scandalous post war attitude towards e.g. the Greeks (reparations) and other countries they completely ransacked and robbed clean of their assets. The essence of why the Germans behaved that way is simple: whenever Germany has international ambitions, the end result always is crisis or war, the last time this happened was in Yugoslavia where they unilaterally and against the advice of all other European countries (with the notable exception of - of course - Austria) pushed for and recognized the rushed independence of the Yugoslav federal republics. Germany even brought the EU on the brink of collapse with their financial dictats during the Euro crisis. The Germans are a single minded people, Manz' book is another illustration of that.

[Al Williams]

Although this was an interesting read, and not without it's merit, it provides little insight into the author's life as a soldier, or even as amember of the Hitler Youth. Beyond his desperate need to exert repentance for his life through the Third Reich years.
Beyond those with whom he felt he had a philosophical affinity, aside from his father, there is little to no expressions of camaraderie or affection for those he fought beside and who were quite likely struggling with the same issues. I felt that this journey of self realization elevated him above most others to such a degree that it was often arrogant.The constant negativity towards Germany and Germans became tiresome and was really quite unnecessary in asserting his expressions of guilt, particularly when there's so much postulating of America's moral infallibility.
I felt his conclusions were incredibly blinkered and lacked objectivity, although it is unfair to be too judgemental about how an individual dealswith his own demons, despite his being all too ready to pass these judgements on others.
Worth the read as a personal insight but has limited historical value.

[Linda]

The brainwashing of the german people: a memoir, basically. Quite interesting and self-reflecting from a former nazi soldiers point of view and the horrible deeds he did. You could say that he wrote it just to save his ass (his praise of the USA is a tad bit repetetive), but I certainly hope that's not the case.

[Jean McD]

Fascinating. This is the only book of this sort that I know of. It's not great writing, but it's not bad. And to find out what it was like to be raised within the social atmosphere that created Nazism makes it worth reading.

[Julia]

interesting, insightful

[Jesse Callaghan]

Interesting look at life in the 3rd Reich. Made more memorable by the authors honesty and willingness to self-reflect.