In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Encyclopedia
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin (Crown Publishers
, ISBN 0307408841) is a 2011
non-fiction book by Erik Larson. The book is based on real characters and events.
The book takes place largely in Berlin from 1933 to 1937, examining the path to World War II and the Holocaust through the experiences of the American Ambassador to Germany, William Dodd
and his family, particularly his vivacious daughter, Martha
. Initially the Ambassador, who had gotten his Ph.D. in Leipzig 40 years earlier, was very sympathetic to Germany's new Nazi government, and believed reports of brutality and anti-semitism to be exaggerations. Martha, meanwhile, became caught up in the glamour and excitement of Hitler's Germany. Newly divorced, she took many lovers, including then head of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels, and Soviet attache (and secret NKVD
agent) Boris Vinogradov. She felt the appeal of the new government, and defended it to her skeptical friends. However, within months of their arrival, the family had become more cognizant of the evils of the Nazi party, and gradually began to bear witness to its crimes.
The title of the work is a reference to Berlin's famous park, the Tiergarten
, a favorite place to visit for the Dodds, which translates to "Garden of Beasts".
Crown Publishing Group
-External links:*...
, ISBN 0307408841) is a 2011
2011 in literature
The year 2011 will involve some significant events and new books.-Events:*Tomas Tranströmer wins the 2011 Nobel Prize in Literature.*Jennifer Egan wins the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for her novel A Visit From the Goon Squad.-Literature:*T.C...
non-fiction book by Erik Larson. The book is based on real characters and events.
The book takes place largely in Berlin from 1933 to 1937, examining the path to World War II and the Holocaust through the experiences of the American Ambassador to Germany, William Dodd
William Dodd (ambassador)
William Edward Dodd was an American historian who served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937, during the Nazi era.-Early years and academic career:...
and his family, particularly his vivacious daughter, Martha
Martha Dodd
Martha Eccles Dodd and her husband spied for the Soviet Union against her native United States from before World War II until the height of the Cold War. She had lived in Berlin early in the Third Reich with her father, then United States Ambassador to Germany.-Biography:Martha Dodd was born in...
. Initially the Ambassador, who had gotten his Ph.D. in Leipzig 40 years earlier, was very sympathetic to Germany's new Nazi government, and believed reports of brutality and anti-semitism to be exaggerations. Martha, meanwhile, became caught up in the glamour and excitement of Hitler's Germany. Newly divorced, she took many lovers, including then head of the Gestapo, Rudolf Diels, and Soviet attache (and secret NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
agent) Boris Vinogradov. She felt the appeal of the new government, and defended it to her skeptical friends. However, within months of their arrival, the family had become more cognizant of the evils of the Nazi party, and gradually began to bear witness to its crimes.
The title of the work is a reference to Berlin's famous park, the Tiergarten
Tiergarten
Tiergarten is a locality within the borough of Mitte, in central Berlin . Notable for the great and homonymous urban park, before German reunification, it was a part of West Berlin...
, a favorite place to visit for the Dodds, which translates to "Garden of Beasts".
Notable historical figures discussed in the book
- Rudolf DielsRudolf DielsRudolf Diels was a German politician and SS-Oberführer. A protégé of Hermann Göring, Diels was in charge of the Gestapo from 1933 to 1934....
Head of the GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
from 1933 to 1934. - Ambassador William DoddWilliam Dodd (ambassador)William Edward Dodd was an American historian who served as the United States Ambassador to Germany from 1933 to 1937, during the Nazi era.-Early years and academic career:...
University of Chicago professor of History. He was appointed to the Ambassadorship after President Roosevelt found it difficult to find anyone to accept the position. - Martha DoddMartha DoddMartha Eccles Dodd and her husband spied for the Soviet Union against her native United States from before World War II until the height of the Cold War. She had lived in Berlin early in the Third Reich with her father, then United States Ambassador to Germany.-Biography:Martha Dodd was born in...
Vivacious daughter of the Ambassador; had numerous affairs with renowned figures in Berlin, and ultimately became a Soviet spy. - Herman Göring
- Fritz HaberFritz HaberFritz Haber was a German chemist, who received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1918 for his development for synthesizing ammonia, important for fertilizers and explosives. Haber, along with Max Born, proposed the Born–Haber cycle as a method for evaluating the lattice energy of an ionic solid...
- Mildred Fish-HarnackMildred HarnackMildred Fish-Harnack was an American-German literary historian, translator, and resistance fighter in Nazi Germany.- Life in the United States:...
Friend of Martha's and an American academic in Berlin. - Ernst HanfstaenglErnst HanfstaenglErnst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstaengl , was a Harvard-educated German businessman who was an intimate of Adolf Hitler before falling out of favor and defecting. He later worked for Franklin D...
Close friend of Adolf Hitler as well as Martha Dodd. - Reinhard HeydrichReinhard HeydrichReinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich , also known as The Hangman, was a high-ranking German Nazi official.He was SS-Obergruppenführer and General der Polizei, chief of the Reich Main Security Office and Stellvertretender Reichsprotektor of Bohemia and Moravia...
- Adolf HItlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
- H. V. Kaltenborn Famed American radio announcer; believed accusations of brutality against Nazis were exaggerated until he and his son were beaten for not giving the Nazi salute in 1933.
- Edgar Ansel MowrerEdgar Ansel MowrerEdgar Ansel Mowrer was a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author best known for his writings on international events.Born in Bloomington, Illinois, Mowrer graduated from the University of Michigan in 1913...
Chicago Daily NewsChicago Daily NewsThe Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
Berlin bureau chief who was one of the first to report on the atrocities and abuses of the Nazis. Forced to flee Germany due to threats on his life. - George S. MessersmithGeorge S. MessersmithGeorge Strausser Messersmith was a United States ambassador to Austria, Cuba, Mexico and Argentina. Messersmith also served as the head of the U.S. Consulate in Nazi Germany during the rise of the Nazi party....
Consul in Berlin - Franz von PapenFranz von PapenLieutenant-Colonel Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934...
Vice Chancellor under HindenburgPaul von HindenburgPaul Ludwig Hans Anton von Beneckendorff und von Hindenburg , known universally as Paul von Hindenburg was a Prussian-German field marshal, statesman, and politician, and served as the second President of Germany from 1925 to 1934....
. - William PhillipsWilliam PhillipsWilliam Phillips may refer to:*William Phillips , artilleryman and general officer in the British Army who served as a major-general in the American Revolutionary War...
U.S. Under Secretary of State - Ernst RöhmErnst RöhmErnst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
- Sigrid SchultzSigrid SchultzSigrid Schultz was a notable American reporter and war correspondent in an era when women were a rarity in both print and radio journalism.-Background:...
Popular hostess in Berlin - William Shirer Foreign correspondent for the Chicago Daily NewsChicago Daily NewsThe Chicago Daily News was an afternoon daily newspaper published between 1876 and 1978 in Chicago, Illinois.-History:The Daily News was founded by Melville E. Stone, Percy Meggy, and William Dougherty in 1875 and began publishing early the next year...
- Hans ThomsenHans ThomsenHans Thomsen was a German diplomat for the Third Reich. He served as Chargé d'Affaires at the Embassy of Germany in Washington, representing the German government from November 1938 to December 11, 1941...
- Ernst UdetErnst UdetColonel General Ernst Udet was the second-highest scoring German flying ace of World War I. He was one of the youngest aces and was the highest scoring German ace to survive the war . His 62 victories were second only to Manfred von Richthofen, his commander in the Flying Circus...
- Rabbi Stephen WiseStephen Samuel WiseStephen Samuel Wise was an Austro-Hungarian-born American Reform rabbi and Zionist leader.-Early life:...
Influential American rabbi who befriended Dodd on the ship to Germany in 1933.