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Hitler Victorious: Eleven Stories of the German Victory in World War II
Preface: Imagining the abyss/ Gregory Benford
Introduction: Hitler victorious/ Norman Spinrad
Two dooms/ C.M. Kornbluth
The Fall of Frenchy Steiner/ Hilary Bailey
Through road no whither/ Greg Bear
Weihnachtsabend/ Keith Roberts
Thor meets Captain America/ David Brin
Moon of ice/ Brad Linaweaver
Reichs-peace/ Shelia Finch
Never meet again/ Algis Budrys
Do ye hear the children weeping?/ Howard Goldsmith
Enemy transmissions/ Tom Shippey
Valhalla/ Gregory Benford
Introduction: Hitler victorious/ Norman Spinrad
Two dooms/ C.M. Kornbluth
The Fall of Frenchy Steiner/ Hilary Bailey
Through road no whither/ Greg Bear
Weihnachtsabend/ Keith Roberts
Thor meets Captain America/ David Brin
Moon of ice/ Brad Linaweaver
Reichs-peace/ Shelia Finch
Never meet again/ Algis Budrys
Do ye hear the children weeping?/ Howard Goldsmith
Enemy transmissions/ Tom Shippey
Valhalla/ Gregory Benford
299 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1986
6 people are currently reading
496 people want to read
About the author
Gregory Benford
565 books615 followersGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine.
As a science fiction author, Benford is best known for the Galactic Center Saga novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977). This series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient mechanical life.
As a science fiction author, Benford is best known for the Galactic Center Saga novels, beginning with In the Ocean of Night (1977). This series postulates a galaxy in which sentient organic life is in constant warfare with sentient mechanical life.
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January 14, 2010The best part of this collection was one of the two introductions, the one written by Norman Spinrad. In it Spinrad says some provocative things, such as
“Who can honestly deny that there is a bit of the Nazi dream in each of us? For deep down beneath the civilized layers of our spirits is there not an ego unbound? Do we not all on some level consider ourselves the secret hero of the story? Does not our species seek to transcend natural evolution through science and technology? …If Christianity is essentially a cult reinforcing the superego virtues of humility, restraint, empathy, and charity, then in Christian terms Nazism certainly qualifies as a Satanic cult, celebrating such egoistic virtues (and Christian sins) as pride, power, vengeance, ruthlessness, will, and ultimately the central sin of Lucifer, the lust to transcend God-given creation and seize the godhead for one’s self. Interestingly enough, both Christianity and Nazism suppress natural expressions of sexual drive for the purpose of capturing this energy to serve their own ends. Christianity channels this bottled-up libidinal drive for orgasmic release into a focus on itself as the only path to true transcendent ecstasy. Nazism channels it into psychosexually charged fetishistic militarism and violence in the serves of the expansionist state.”
I thought that and other things he said was interesting. Would that this collection lived up to such grandiose explications.
The first story, Two Dooms by C.M. Kornbluth, is probably the campiest of the lot, and the oldest one (all the others were written in the 80’s, specifically for this book). It involves a Manhattan Project scientist who has cracked some small framework in the overall secret of the atomic bomb and is unsure if he should divulge his findings. Some Shaman friend gives him drugs and he trips himself into a future where conquered America is split between Japanese and Nazi control. He tries to be reasonable with both sides but ultimately finds they’re either dumb or crazy and manages to trip himself back in the present, where he concedes maybe nuking Japan isn’t such a bad idea after all.
In The Fall of Frenchy Steiner by Hilary Bailey, a guitarist in conquered Britain gets tangled up with a lounge singer who just happens to have clairvoyant powers that Der Fuehrer has used to his betterment in the past. Ultimately the couple escape some shenanigans and everybody lives happily ever after.
Greg Bear’s Through Road No Whither is a limpdick little thing about two Nazis who get transported into another dimension by a spooky Gypsy.
Weihnachtsabend by Keith Roberts had some of the most unsettling imagery (a Christmas party where it is the tradition for the children to follow Lucia Queen/Das Christkind in the dark as she escapes some malevolent spirit called Hans Trapp) but to be honest the plot was so turgid I couldn’t follow it at all; I think it involved some guy shacking up with his ex-wife and being framed a traitor.
There were parts of Thor Meets Captain America by David Brin I liked immensely. In this absurd world the Nazis have been offered the help of the Norse Gods themselves, and only Loki the Trickster has decided to aid the Allies in their plight. It is discovered that through necromancy the Gods are being willed into power, and their very existence depends on this continuing death of thousands. It could have been a powerful allegorical tale, and I liked the conclusion, yet I feel the writer wasn’t capable stylistically of getting across what a terrific idea he had.
Moon of Ice, by Bran Linaweaver, is the longest story in the collection and is told through the letters of Dr. Goebbels, the protagonist. It was the greatest stylistic achievement of the lot, as I easily believed I was reading the thoughts of Dr. Goebbels. But the plot, sort of a cross between Wolfenstein 3-D and Moonraker, was pretty vapid.
Reichs-Peace by Sheila Finch is so harmless it’s hardly worth mentioning. Suffice to say a psychic girl (trying to buy passage to Germany) is rescued from her plight by Hitler’s plucky widow, Eva Braun.
Algis Budrys’ Never Meet Again tells the story of an old man who has spent the past fifteen years creating an alternate-time-dimension-whatever machine and winds up in an alternate timeline where the Soviets have taken over half of Germany and his dead wife is a fink. Moral of the story: Be Careful What You Wish For.
Do Ye Hear the Children Weeping? by Howard Goldsmith wins points for having the most hilariously pretentious name, and is the one that most obviously doesn’t really have to take place in an alternate history. A couple buys a home haunted by a Nazi’s doctor’s aborted experiments; it contains such howlers as “There were burn marks [on his throat:], like those made by a rope- or an umbilical cord!” so that should give you some hint of its quality.
Enemy Transmissions by Tom Shippey was a bit intriguing: it involves a Nazi Dream Analysis Department, where by interpreting Dreamer’s dreams the Nazi’s hope to achieve ultimate supremacy or something. The story didn’t really go anywhere.
And, finally, Gregory Benford’s Valhalla tells of an agent from the future tricking Hitler right before he is to commit suicide into standing trial for his atrocities in the future.
Most of these stories seemed to be obsessed with transportation, the moon/space, and eugenics. The Soviets are sometimes peripherally mentioned, though surprisingly are not in the forefront as I would imagine in a Cold War-era written “speculation” anthology. Only a few stories imagine a future where America is actually conquered, while most imagine a future where Germany has conquered Europe and a uneasy peace has been achieved. Many imagine this German-conquered Europe to be steps above America in technological, if not humanitarian, achievements. Most deal (although indirectly) with the Holocaust, and imagine a future where the reality of the Holocaust has been forgotten; indeed, an unsettling amount of writers seem to hold to the belief that the bulk of the German populace was unaware that the concentration camps existed in their time. Most stories also seem to be self-conscious about the fact they are imagined alternate histories, and even include the idea of other alternate histories within the stories themselves. Quite too many of them are simplistically optimistic that eventually, even in another timeline where the Nazis won the war, that the Reich would eventually fall, or at least become more moderate.
The problem with these science fiction stories seems to be that they are indeed science fiction, and thus deal with all sorts of flashy topics like space travel, psychics, and Supermen. The Dr. Goebbels story was particularly disappointing for this reason because up to the introduction of the science fiction element it was a pretty interesting alternate history.
There is something unsettling about reading campy stories describing perhaps the most horrific alternate history that anyone could imagine. And yet isn’t that the ultimate vengeance on the Nazis, to present their would-be-future world as nothing more than the pulpiest of pulp?
“Who can honestly deny that there is a bit of the Nazi dream in each of us? For deep down beneath the civilized layers of our spirits is there not an ego unbound? Do we not all on some level consider ourselves the secret hero of the story? Does not our species seek to transcend natural evolution through science and technology? …If Christianity is essentially a cult reinforcing the superego virtues of humility, restraint, empathy, and charity, then in Christian terms Nazism certainly qualifies as a Satanic cult, celebrating such egoistic virtues (and Christian sins) as pride, power, vengeance, ruthlessness, will, and ultimately the central sin of Lucifer, the lust to transcend God-given creation and seize the godhead for one’s self. Interestingly enough, both Christianity and Nazism suppress natural expressions of sexual drive for the purpose of capturing this energy to serve their own ends. Christianity channels this bottled-up libidinal drive for orgasmic release into a focus on itself as the only path to true transcendent ecstasy. Nazism channels it into psychosexually charged fetishistic militarism and violence in the serves of the expansionist state.”
I thought that and other things he said was interesting. Would that this collection lived up to such grandiose explications.
The first story, Two Dooms by C.M. Kornbluth, is probably the campiest of the lot, and the oldest one (all the others were written in the 80’s, specifically for this book). It involves a Manhattan Project scientist who has cracked some small framework in the overall secret of the atomic bomb and is unsure if he should divulge his findings. Some Shaman friend gives him drugs and he trips himself into a future where conquered America is split between Japanese and Nazi control. He tries to be reasonable with both sides but ultimately finds they’re either dumb or crazy and manages to trip himself back in the present, where he concedes maybe nuking Japan isn’t such a bad idea after all.
In The Fall of Frenchy Steiner by Hilary Bailey, a guitarist in conquered Britain gets tangled up with a lounge singer who just happens to have clairvoyant powers that Der Fuehrer has used to his betterment in the past. Ultimately the couple escape some shenanigans and everybody lives happily ever after.
Greg Bear’s Through Road No Whither is a limpdick little thing about two Nazis who get transported into another dimension by a spooky Gypsy.
Weihnachtsabend by Keith Roberts had some of the most unsettling imagery (a Christmas party where it is the tradition for the children to follow Lucia Queen/Das Christkind in the dark as she escapes some malevolent spirit called Hans Trapp) but to be honest the plot was so turgid I couldn’t follow it at all; I think it involved some guy shacking up with his ex-wife and being framed a traitor.
There were parts of Thor Meets Captain America by David Brin I liked immensely. In this absurd world the Nazis have been offered the help of the Norse Gods themselves, and only Loki the Trickster has decided to aid the Allies in their plight. It is discovered that through necromancy the Gods are being willed into power, and their very existence depends on this continuing death of thousands. It could have been a powerful allegorical tale, and I liked the conclusion, yet I feel the writer wasn’t capable stylistically of getting across what a terrific idea he had.
Moon of Ice, by Bran Linaweaver, is the longest story in the collection and is told through the letters of Dr. Goebbels, the protagonist. It was the greatest stylistic achievement of the lot, as I easily believed I was reading the thoughts of Dr. Goebbels. But the plot, sort of a cross between Wolfenstein 3-D and Moonraker, was pretty vapid.
Reichs-Peace by Sheila Finch is so harmless it’s hardly worth mentioning. Suffice to say a psychic girl (trying to buy passage to Germany) is rescued from her plight by Hitler’s plucky widow, Eva Braun.
Algis Budrys’ Never Meet Again tells the story of an old man who has spent the past fifteen years creating an alternate-time-dimension-whatever machine and winds up in an alternate timeline where the Soviets have taken over half of Germany and his dead wife is a fink. Moral of the story: Be Careful What You Wish For.
Do Ye Hear the Children Weeping? by Howard Goldsmith wins points for having the most hilariously pretentious name, and is the one that most obviously doesn’t really have to take place in an alternate history. A couple buys a home haunted by a Nazi’s doctor’s aborted experiments; it contains such howlers as “There were burn marks [on his throat:], like those made by a rope- or an umbilical cord!” so that should give you some hint of its quality.
Enemy Transmissions by Tom Shippey was a bit intriguing: it involves a Nazi Dream Analysis Department, where by interpreting Dreamer’s dreams the Nazi’s hope to achieve ultimate supremacy or something. The story didn’t really go anywhere.
And, finally, Gregory Benford’s Valhalla tells of an agent from the future tricking Hitler right before he is to commit suicide into standing trial for his atrocities in the future.
Most of these stories seemed to be obsessed with transportation, the moon/space, and eugenics. The Soviets are sometimes peripherally mentioned, though surprisingly are not in the forefront as I would imagine in a Cold War-era written “speculation” anthology. Only a few stories imagine a future where America is actually conquered, while most imagine a future where Germany has conquered Europe and a uneasy peace has been achieved. Many imagine this German-conquered Europe to be steps above America in technological, if not humanitarian, achievements. Most deal (although indirectly) with the Holocaust, and imagine a future where the reality of the Holocaust has been forgotten; indeed, an unsettling amount of writers seem to hold to the belief that the bulk of the German populace was unaware that the concentration camps existed in their time. Most stories also seem to be self-conscious about the fact they are imagined alternate histories, and even include the idea of other alternate histories within the stories themselves. Quite too many of them are simplistically optimistic that eventually, even in another timeline where the Nazis won the war, that the Reich would eventually fall, or at least become more moderate.
The problem with these science fiction stories seems to be that they are indeed science fiction, and thus deal with all sorts of flashy topics like space travel, psychics, and Supermen. The Dr. Goebbels story was particularly disappointing for this reason because up to the introduction of the science fiction element it was a pretty interesting alternate history.
There is something unsettling about reading campy stories describing perhaps the most horrific alternate history that anyone could imagine. And yet isn’t that the ultimate vengeance on the Nazis, to present their would-be-future world as nothing more than the pulpiest of pulp?
July 28, 2020
Too many stories involving super science=magic or supernatural action to take this book seriously. Some of the stories Hitler is not victorious.
May 31, 2022
Another book that I had forgotten but was reminded of having read today. There are some really great stories in this anthology! Greenberg is one of the truly great anthologists of all time.
March 23, 2013
Kornbluth's "Two Dooms" always fun--and had to be a major influence on High Castle. Could've in fact been Dick. I'll assume the eating of the 'shrooms at the end was part of his reverie and not the old "hit me in the head to lose my memory and hit me again to get it back" trick. Upon re-reading, "Frenchy Steiner" very well-written--and very good; sort of like if Sillitoe wrote science fiction. Everything else pretty much interchangeable/forgetable--except "Moon Of Ice" does do a pretty convincing Goebbels impression.
January 9, 2018
Una colección de cuentos de autores famosos con ucronías en las que los nazis ganan la guerra. Suena bien pero no. La mayoría de ellos meten mucha fantasía, sueños premonitorios y cosas así. Solo me han gustado un par de relatos, en especial "Nunca nos encontraremos de nuevo" de Algis Budrys,
January 21, 2011
Really depressing, but then that is expected of a Nazi victory in World War II. It seems that there should have been one story celebrating the victory even if it was because other changes were driven that led to a better future; lack of imagination amoung science fiction writers. The best story was the continued diaries of Goebbels.
June 16, 2009
Alternate history stories about a victorious third Reich. Some great food for thought here, and some chilling scenarious.
June 10, 2014
The most surprising thing about this collection of eleven stories about an alternate future following a German victory in World War II is that there aren't many more such collections.
November 20, 2022
I largely agree with Printable Tire's review, so read that one first. A few things I differed on.
Notably, I actually liked a lot about "Do Ye Hear the Children Weeping?" In fact both its positives and its negatives are kinda representative of the collection as a whole. Had this been a true haunted-house story, knocking off the last couple pages, it would have actually been a great example of what this collection often does well: people moving on with their lives, largely unconcerned with the history that has preceded them (whether due to ignorance, as Printable Tire criticizes may not be as accurate as indicated, or due to apathy), until forced to recon with history's horrors. But the story doesn't know how to end, so it ends badly. The idea that the outcome of Nazi eugenics might include selectively allowing Jewish people with specific physical variations to survive for entertainment purposes, and as an invented proof of the "validity" of a genocide, isn't actually unreasonable and could be its own interesting story. That they would "hide in plain sight" in the form this story suggests is silly, but this isn't a subtle piece of writing. But the American main characters, there to rent this "haunted" house, simply are there to observe these remaining Jewish people act as ghosts taking vengeance on those who directly participated in the extermination; they simply deny knowledge of what really happened when the SS comes through. This is done to suggest a form of complicity with anti-Nazi rebellion; instead it works to disregard the main characters' complicity with the Nazis themselves. And making the "ghosts" into real people acting renders their actions to scare these main characters no longer haunted creepy but instead more...sexual-assault creepy. This story has a good idea communicated badly.
And that is perhaps a lot of the collection: good ideas communicated badly. I differ from the referenced review on which ones I thought had good ideas buried in them, which underscores how writing is about more than just interesting ideas but also about communicating them effectively.
It also has some bad ideas communicated badly, which is unfortunate. But that may have more to do with the kind of science fiction that was en vogue at the time this was written.
A noticeable problem with this collection is the unbearable whiteness. Multiple stories exoticize people of color, complete with telepathic Romani and shamanic Native Americans whose purpose is to do the magic white people can't. Despite presenting stories of colonization, there is no post-colonial analysis of anything at all. This again speaks to the sci fi industry standards at the time, which were, well, appalling.
Not a worthless read, but definitely a niche one.
Notably, I actually liked a lot about "Do Ye Hear the Children Weeping?" In fact both its positives and its negatives are kinda representative of the collection as a whole. Had this been a true haunted-house story, knocking off the last couple pages, it would have actually been a great example of what this collection often does well: people moving on with their lives, largely unconcerned with the history that has preceded them (whether due to ignorance, as Printable Tire criticizes may not be as accurate as indicated, or due to apathy), until forced to recon with history's horrors. But the story doesn't know how to end, so it ends badly. The idea that the outcome of Nazi eugenics might include selectively allowing Jewish people with specific physical variations to survive for entertainment purposes, and as an invented proof of the "validity" of a genocide, isn't actually unreasonable and could be its own interesting story. That they would "hide in plain sight" in the form this story suggests is silly, but this isn't a subtle piece of writing. But the American main characters, there to rent this "haunted" house, simply are there to observe these remaining Jewish people act as ghosts taking vengeance on those who directly participated in the extermination; they simply deny knowledge of what really happened when the SS comes through. This is done to suggest a form of complicity with anti-Nazi rebellion; instead it works to disregard the main characters' complicity with the Nazis themselves. And making the "ghosts" into real people acting renders their actions to scare these main characters no longer haunted creepy but instead more...sexual-assault creepy. This story has a good idea communicated badly.
And that is perhaps a lot of the collection: good ideas communicated badly. I differ from the referenced review on which ones I thought had good ideas buried in them, which underscores how writing is about more than just interesting ideas but also about communicating them effectively.
It also has some bad ideas communicated badly, which is unfortunate. But that may have more to do with the kind of science fiction that was en vogue at the time this was written.
A noticeable problem with this collection is the unbearable whiteness. Multiple stories exoticize people of color, complete with telepathic Romani and shamanic Native Americans whose purpose is to do the magic white people can't. Despite presenting stories of colonization, there is no post-colonial analysis of anything at all. This again speaks to the sci fi industry standards at the time, which were, well, appalling.
Not a worthless read, but definitely a niche one.
August 12, 2017
Some stories were really good.
March 25, 2022
This book is extraordinary amazing. I simply couldn´t put it down.
Want to read
April 2, 2022Two dooms/ C.M. Kornbluth
Weihnachtsabend/ Keith Roberts
Never meet again/ Algis Budrys
Do ye hear the children weeping?/ Howard Goldsmith
Valhalla/ Gregory Benford
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 12, 2024
Few stories were good. 1-2 frightening. Others can be given pass
June 24, 2022
Hacer un libro con usa serie de relatos de temática común corre el riesgo de que la calidad sea irregular, que es lo ha terminado ocurriendo. Existen buenas historias ambientadas en un mundo en el que los nazis ganaron la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pero me temo que no dan para llenar un libro. A pesar de todo no es mal libro, pero no hay ningún relato que me haya parecido especialmente bueno y algunos son francamente prescindibles.
Want to read
March 12, 2017I remember reading this in High School and really enjoying a few of the stories and really disliking a few (particularly thor meets capatin america). It is one of those books I lent to a friend of a friend never thinking about how the book would ever find its way back to my bookshelf. Now I'd like to reread it and see if the stories are as good or as bad as I remember them.
April 2, 2017
Este libro llamó mi atención por su planteamiento. Explorar realidades diferentes que fueran posibles si Hitler hubiera ganado la II Guerra Mundial. Vi una película hace años basada en el libro de Robert Harris "Fatherland" y pensé que serian similares. Como dicen que la historia la escriben los vencedores este libro retrata alemanes supersticiosos, dominados por el esoterismo e incluso la brujería, dictadores que sumen al mundo en una segunda edad media y al feudalismo incluso. No busco negar las atrocidades que los Nazis hicieron en la guerra contra el pueblo judío, creo además que, de haber ganado la guerra, hubieran erradicado a los judíos de Europa y escondido todo, como lo hacen los vencedores. Sin embargo, llegar a menospreciar al pueblo alemán y al pueblo japonés que han demostrado en su historia su verdadera valía es algo injusto. Las introducciones al libro y un par de cuentos salvan al libro de ser una recopilación de cuentos de brujas.
July 31, 2008
Eh. Nothing in this collection really wowed me except for David Brin's "Thor Meets Captain America," which was what led me to Hitler Victorious in the first place. For a truly great speculative fiction collection try his
The River of Time
instead.
February 3, 2008
I found the book to be overall enjoyable and interesting. There was one story that did drag a bit (the one an official shooting his boss for causing his girlfriend's disappearance. Can't recall the title). I liked the one about Goebbels' diary. Overall, a good speculative fiction anthology.
March 28, 2012
disappointed in this one actually. sigh. only 2 stories that i actually enjoyed.
categorized on my shelves as sci-fi since it's speculative, but it's not sci-fi as i generally define it. though, technically i think alternate history is a subcategory.
categorized on my shelves as sci-fi since it's speculative, but it's not sci-fi as i generally define it. though, technically i think alternate history is a subcategory.
May 16, 2015
While this compilation of short stories is a bit uneven of quality, the reader is left wanting more. It should be noted that these stories tend more towards science fiction than straight-forward alternate history.
December 12, 2014
It was ok with less than half of the stories been any good
October 11, 2013
Once historias sobre qué hubiese pasado si los nazis ganan la guerra. Definitivamente sería un mundo distinto. Interesante y aterrador ejercicio de imaginación.
July 25, 2014
Picked it up without any expectations. The more I read the more enjoyable they became. A library book sale bargain---but not worth new list price.
September 20, 2015
It's not a bad book, but it is not a really good either.
October 12, 2018
The go to example of alternative history for thirty two years. Brillant and compelling. Have read hundreds of times
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