Title: Traitors or Patriots?
Subtitle: A Story of the German Anti-Nazi Resistance
Author: Louis Eltscher
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1-5320-4676-6
Pages: 426
Genre: Historical non-fiction
Reviewed by: Carl Conrad

Read Book Review

Louis Eltscher created a powerhouse book of references, explanations, profiles, and descriptions of the history of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany the his book Traitors or Patriots? Although subtitled A Story of the German Anti-Nazi Resistance, the book actually details as much about the formation of Nazi Germany as it offers details about the resistance to it.

The story begins with the description of an intricately plotted attempt by a lone German carpenter in Munich by the name of Georg Elser, who felt compelled to stop the tyranny of Adolph Hitler. Though Elser failed to assassinate Hitler with a self-made bomb when Hitler would be giving a speech in 1939, author Louis Eltscher goes on to recount in impressive detail the many subsequent efforts which were made by groups and individuals to derail the Nazi nation. The galvanizing question the author explores in a variety of ways, through the writings of such prominent theologians as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and others, is whether assassination was ever morally justifiable? And he found that “at certain times, a lesser evil, murder, must be perpetrated in order to overcome a greater evil which, in this case, was continued Nazi rule.”

It was to escape from the constraints and servitude imposed on Germany by the harsh measures of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 (the conclusion of WWI) that motivated Germany’s insistence upon its emancipation, and it was the appointment of Adolph Hitler as Chancellor of Germany in 1933 that elevated his Nazi Party to a position in which it could control and guide the future of the German people. Using exhaustive resources, Mr. Eltscher provides reference lists at the end of each chapter which total, including the Glossary, two Appendixes, a Bibliography and the Index, over one hundred pages of other references to support and analyze his assessment of the Nazi phenomenon. Providing a narrative and references, this historical tome is a valuable resource for anyone wanting to understand the Nazi movement or its evolution in history.

Contrary to notions that Hitler seized power in Germany, Mr. Eltscher concludes that it was instead the gift of three people who should have known better – Paul Von Hindenberg (President of the Weimar Republic), General Kurt Von Schleicher (Minister of Defense), and Franz Von Papen (the previous Chancellor) who simply gave the Chancellery to Hitler which provided the means for his totalitarian dictatorship. As Eltscher himself describes it, “Instead, the path to power led through a series of political bargains that Hitler struck with three men who wished to manipulate matters to serve their own interests. Hitler would become their puppet in an authoritarian government of their own design. Instead, the puppet became the puppeteer.”

Traitors or Patriots? is an excellent and exceptionally detailed book for anyone who wishes to know more about the establishment and decimation of the Nazi regime.