The German Trauma: Experiences and Reflections 1938-2001

Gitta Sereny is one of the world’s most respected journalists and historians. This book gathers together the best of her writing on Germany from over sixty years. It amounts to an extraordinary portrait of the country and its people, how they have come to terms with their Nazi past, both collectively and in specific instances – and how the burden of their guilt has altered the national identity. She writes about key individuals – Stangl, Speer – and the questions which their lives raise. The penetration and conviction of her writing throughout is startling and she constantly reminds us why it is important to consider the questions she addresses – war guilt, holocaust denial and the temptations of obedience.