Witness to War: Diaryies of the Second World War in Europe and The Middle East

by Richard J. Aldrich

Witness to War offers a compelling alternative history of a world in turmoil. Using the personal diaries of schoolboys, women factory-workers, soldiers, spies as well as statesmen, the story of the Second World War is retold in a strikingly original format. Remarkable diary extracts - many never published before - are interspersed with a clear narrative of the main events of this vast conflict. The reader is guided through the war, month by month, experiencing each event at first hand.Keeping a diary in wartime involved a degree of danger and secrecy. In occupied Europe a captured diary could betray friends and relatives to the enemy. Some were downright illegal, such as those kept by soldiers on the front line. Each has a fresh story to tell. Rare material from hitherto unknown diaries is combined with the journals of famous figures such as Joseph Goebbels, Joyce Grenfell, Anthony Eden, Jean-Paul Sartre, Evelyn Waugh and Noel Coward. We also read the private thoughts of those who were close to Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler. Day by day we glimpse of the reality of individuals living out their lives in wartime. The result is an extraordinary collective testimony that reveals the triumph of the human spirit.

Genres: Military History, World War II

957 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2004

Reviews

[Steven Linton · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the source material on which it draws brings an interesting perspective, the serious factual errors are jarring - suggesting Lake Ladoga is on the outskirts of Moscow, for example, or that Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 8 1941 - and detract from the book.

[Colin · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the 70th anniversary of the end WW2 we can anticipate numerous parades, memorials, TV programmes and talking heads, certainly in the United Kingdom, giving us our country's view about the war and the sacrifices and effects of and to our people. This is important, and certainly interesting enough to warrant our attention. For many years I, for one, never really considered how it might have affected other people and nations as all films and documentaries I watched tended to focus on either Britain or the USA. 'Witness to war' is one of the books now available to remind us that people in all the countries involved, including our opponents went through it as well. And those people had much the same concerns and issues as we have - how will affect me, what is going to happen, will my family get through this? The eight and a half hundred pages of this book, the diaries of such people gives us an idea of such 'ordinary' people, with what I thought was a bonus of diary entries from politicians, Generals, and other major figures, again from many of the protagonists. They provide some telling, and sometimes damning comments - for example a general who describes Chamberlain's war cabinet as a 'flock of sheep' and coming away from a meeting with this eminent group of people running things 'disgusted with the lot of them' . There are also vivid accounts from army officers and soldiers involved in battles and their aftermath - all of these people who put themselves at, as diaries seemed to be frowned upon to say the least and considered as a potential security risk. Over the years, I have read and watched a great deal of material about WW2. This book, like most of the kind which I devour held something I hadn't heard about - the systematic theft of property from German internees being shipped from Britain to Canada, I confess that earlier in life and fed a diet of 'The World at War' and 'Stalag 17' I might have said something like 'serves them right'. I wonder how many people today know that this actually went on. As the book continues through it's reflection of the war years, we begin to realise just how many people must have kept diaries - indeed the civilian population of Britain were asked to volunteer to take part in submitting their diary entries so that morale, and opinions could be monitored by the government (see 'Our Hidden Lives' by Simon Garfield) . I was surprised by the number of diaries kept by soldiers on the front line, and even those kept by soldiers operating behind enemy lines - where did they find the time? Each section of the book (month by month) is prefaced by a summary of the progress of the conflict, which helps to put the entries into context and to keep an eye on the big picture. It is a long read, but an absorbing one, I didn't try following the guidance after nearly every diary entry to 'see also page xx' as I would probably still be reading it now. A good read, now going back to the charity shop from whence it came, and I'm sure that the next reader will enjoy it as much as I did.

[Jakub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good for anyone interested in WWII. An interesting perspective for me - not only from the eyes of the soldiers, generals, historians or writers but the 'real' people. There are soldiers and politicians (and writers too) but many housewives and children too. Great work done by the author. Would like to read the one on the Pacific front.