This is the first general history of World War II to be based both on the existing literature and on extensive work in British, American and German archives. It covers all the theaters of war, the weaponry used, and developments on the home front. Taking a global perspective, the work deals with all belligerents and relates events in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, South and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific to each other. The role of diplomacy and strategy, of intelligence and espionage, and the impact of war upon society are all dealt with, often on the basis of hitherto unknown material. New light is shed on the actions of great and small powers and on topics ranging from the beginning of the war to the dropping of the atomic bombs; the titanic battles on the Eastern Front are fitted into the war as a whole; the killing of six million Jews and millions of others is placed into context; and the fighting at sea and in the air is included in a coherent view of the great conflict. --

This is an updated single volume edition of the complete history and analysis of Hitler's foreign policy leading to the outbreak of World War II. Weinberg shows the inexorable goal of Nazi Germany's foreign policy and Hitler's key role in setting its course.

The purpose of Weinberg’s text is to suggest a way in which the dramatic events of World War II may be seen. Weinberg argues that the war must be seen as a whole, and that the presentation of it in discrete segments covering the European and Pacific portions separately distorts reality and obscures important aspects of the war on both sides of the world. In addition, any understanding of the great struggle requires a mental self-liberation from the certain knowledge of its outcome. In desperate struggles millions fought and died, hopeful or fearful--or both--but without awareness of the end.

Though written more than a century ago, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's beautiful sonnet rings true today for three young couples who believe in the power of love. In "Night Vision," Brett finds a way to brighten a special girl's lonely existence. "Bobby's Girl" features Dana, who must choose between two brothers, both of whom she loves. "Laura's Heart," the third story, introduces 16-year-old Laura Carson, who is hospitalized on a regular basis because of her weak heart. But when tragedy strikes a loved one, she realizes her heart is stronger than she thought and that love lives on forever. "From the Hardcover edition."

Ch. 17 (pp. 217-244), "The 'Final Solution' and the War in 1943, " deals with the persecution and extermination of the Jews in the context of the war. The main German focus in regard to the Jews in 1943 was to kill as many as possible of those still alive in the ghettos of Eastern Europe and those whose lives were protected by the reluctance of Germany's allies, satellites, and collaborator regimes to hand them over to the Germans. The collapse of Italy placed the Jews in Italian-controlled territories in the hands of the Nazis. The circle of the Nazis' victims broadened in 1943 - Gypsies were included, as well as persons of partial Jewish descent ("Mischlinge"). In the same year, the Nazis took the decision to occupy Hungary and annihilate its Jews. Concludes that there were limits on the genocidal program due to the turning tide of the war, but the Germans made massive efforts to kill as many Jews as they could. Notes that 1943 also saw significant attempts at organized Jewish resistance.

Bd. 1. Overskrifter: The World through Hitler's eyes; First steps of the New Regime; General viewpoint; Disarmament; Four-Power Pact; The churches; Eastern Europe; German policy towards Poland, the Soviet Union, Lithuania and the Ukraine in 1933; Austria, Czechoslovakia, Southeats Europe; The Far East to the Summer of 1935; Germany and the Western Hemisphere, 1933-1936; German rearmament, withdrawal from the League, and relations with Britain and France; Germany and the European powers from the proposed Eastern Pact to the announcement of conscription; From Stresa to the remilitarization of the Rhineland; The remilitarization of the Rhineland; Germany ascendant: the power shift of 1936; The German-Austrian agreement; German relations with Italy, England and France; The Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War; The consolidation of Germany's position in Central and Eastern Europe in 1936; On to War: the Axis, the Anti-Comitern Pact, and the Four-Year Plan.