Vance-Watkins, Lequita and Aratani Mariko (Editors). White Flash/Black Rain: Women of Japan Relive the Bomb (Milkweed Editions, 1995).
White Flash/Black Rain: Women Of Japan Relive The Bomb speaks of the shared accountability for bringing about war, any war. These women bear witness not only to the unspeakable mass destruction unleashed by the United States when it dropped the bomb, but also of the disastrous path Japan followed with its policy of conquest and Emperorism in Korea and China, and the abuse of the "comfort women" used by Japanese soldiers. White Flash/Black Rain is a book of peace. These women tell their stories in hope that what happened at Hiroshima and Nagasaki will never, never happen again. (Midwest Book Review)
Vassiltchikov, Marie. Berlin Diaries, 1940-1945 (Vintage, 1988).
The secret diaries of a twenty-three-year-old White Russian princess who worked in the German Foreign Office from 1940 to 1944 and then as a nurse, these pages give us a unique picture of wartime life in that sector of German society from which the 20th of July Plot—the conspiracy to kill Hitler—was born.
Vause, Jordon. U-Boat Ace: The Story of Wolfgang Luth (U.S. Naval Institute Press, 2001).
An exceptional figure in the history of the German Navy, Wolfgang Luth was one of only seven men in the Wehrmacht to win Germany's highest combat decoration, the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords, and Diamonds. At one time or another he operated in almost every theater of the undersea war, from Norway to the Indian Ocean, and became the second most successful German U-boat ace in World War II, sinking more than 220,000 tons of merchant shipping. A master in the art of military leadership, Luth was the youngest man to be appointed to the rank of captain and the youngest to become commandant of the German Naval Academy. Nevertheless, his accomplishments were overshadowed by those of other great aces, such as Prien, Kretschmer, and Topp.
Verton, Hendrick. In The Fire Of The Eastern Front: The Experiences Of A Dutch Waffen-SS Volunteer On The Eastern Front 1941-45 (on and Company Ltd., 2006).
Dutch SS accounts are very rare, particularly ones such as this, covering recruitment, training, and frontline service first with 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking', then later with SS Regiment Besslein. He not only informs and illustrates the general politics of the time, but also explains how Dutch views of the Third Reich changed so radically, discusses the founding of the Waffen-SS, the recruitment of Dutch volunteers into it and why so many non-German Europeans volunteered to fight and risk their lives for Germany. His discussion of the intensity of the SS's training is also noteworthy. Of course, the core of the book lies in Hendrik's recollections of his service on the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945, initially with the 5th SS Panzer Division 'Wiking'. He offers the reader an impressive and fluid account, whether it be describing the midst of battle, surviving 50 degrees below zero, frosts and frozen ground, or traversing a quagmire of roads. Of particular historical interest are his later recollections of service during 1944-45 with SS Regiment Besslein on the Eastern Front, focusing on his participation in the epic defense of Breslau - this siege remains little-known in the West, and first-hand accounts such as Hendrik's are even scarcer, making this title a worthy addition to the literature on the Second World War.
Victor, George. Hitler: The Pathology of Evil (Potomac Books, 1999).
Any student of World War II knows that Adolph Hitler was a complex and demon-ridden man. Victor, a Jewish psychotherapist dealing with personality disorders, argues that Hitler's troubled pathology has never been seriously studied because of fears that he might emerge as a guiltless and even sympathetic victim of forces beyond his control. In this painstaking analysis of Hitler's family background and childhood, supported by exhaustive study of his written and spoken utterances, the author makes a convincing case of how the German leader came to be deeply disturbed and shows how these findings manifested themselves in Hitler's social philosophy, leadership style, and, eventually, his fateful policy decisions. Less convincing is his contention that Hitler deliberately avoided quick victories over Britain and the Soviet Union to have time to complete the Holocaust. Even so, this is a fascinating and extremely lucid journey into the mind of one of the century's most pivotal figures. (Raymond L. Puffer, U.S. Air Force History Program, Edwards AFB for Library Journal)
Vinogradov, V.K. Hitler's Death: Russia's Last Great Secret from the Files of the KGB (Chaucer Press, 2005).
At last one of the greatest mysteries of the Second World War has been solved. Since historian Hugh Trevor-Roper made his name with the publication of Hitler’s Last Days, it has been accepted that the Nazi leader killed himself as Allied troops closed in. Many have suspected that the story was incomplete; now, with the help of previously unpublished documents from the KGB archives, one of the last great secrets of World War II can be revealed. With testimony from Germans and Russians who participated in the battle for the Reichstag and evidence from those sent to arrest the Fuhrer, Hitler’s Death pieces together the astonishing truth of the final days of Nazism. Surrounded by secrecy, this book also includes a detailed examination of the complete diaries of Martin Bormann and graphic new evidence from Hitler’s inner circle. This revelatory work provides a unique insight into the death throes of the Third Reich and is guaranteed to cause controversy.
Vogel, Ilse-Margret. Bad Times, Good Friends (Sheep Meadow Press, 2001).
The memoirs of a gentile woman living in Berlin during World War II. The author recounts how she and her friends struggled to protect anyone who was against Hitler.
Voss, Johann. Black Edelweiss: A Memoir of Combat and Conscience by a Soldier of the Waffen-SS (Aberjona Press, 2002).
Originally written while the author was a prisoner of the US Army in 1945–46, Black Edelweiss is a boon to serious historians and WWII buffs alike. In a day in which most memoirs are written at half a century’s distance, the former will be gratified by the author’s precise recall facilitated by the chronologically short-range (a matter of one to seven years) at which the events were captured in writing. Both will appreciate and enjoy the abundantly detailed, exceptionally accurate combat episodes.
Even more than the strictly military narrative, however, the author has crafted a searingly candid view into his own mind and soul. As such, Black Edelweiss is much more than a "ripping yarn" or a low-level military history. Black Edelweiss joins not only the growing body of German military memoirs, but the more select, more narrowly-focused group of personal memoirs by other Waffen-SS enlisted men. Beyond the microcosmic view of combat these books relate—to the extent that they are honest and candid—such books are important for what they can reveal about their authors’ motivations and reflections on those impulses and their consequences. To date, these works differ significantly.
