Bidspirit auction | Silent Germany Speaks! - Shattering

Silent Germany Speaks! - Shattering Impressions by a Swiss Journalist Who Traveled through German Cities under Nazi Rule. Switzerland, 1935 - First Edition - Das stumme Deutschland redet! - Silent Germany Speaks! - Impressions of conditions in Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler by a Swiss journalist who traveled secretly through various German cities in order to report on what was taking place in a country that had become a dictatorship within a very short time. Published by the anti-fascist press Verlag Die Liga, Zurich. Switzerland, 1935 - First edition. Extremely rare. German. A clandestine documentary project published during the consolidation of Nazi power in Germany, in which a journalist assembled impressions, letters, recorded conversations, and diaries that had been secretly smuggled from Nazi Germany into Switzerland. Silent Germany Speaks! was intended to expose to the world the cruel and ugly face of Nazi Germany, both in its manifestations of antisemitism toward the Jews and in its treatment of Germany's own citizens, through countless conversations and encounters that took place in various German cities during 1934-1935. It was an attempt to convey events in real time as they truly were, rather than as they were presented by Nazi propaganda to the outside world. He encountered German Jews in various cafés and describes them as follows: ”They sit for hours in cafés with newspapers, hoping to catch signs of the downfall of the regime that persecutes them.” Among other things, he presents the testimony of a man who witnessed a violent outburst against Jews during a parade of SA men, as well as other manifestations of antisemitism. The author expressed his astonishment at ”the undeniable fact that a large part of German Jewry, despite everything, remains attached to its homeland and refuses to evade its common fate.” At the same time, he also met Jews who told him of their intention to immigrate to the Land of Israel or to emigrate to other countries. The author also met several people who had known Hitler personally and described him as a ”madman” who spoke for hours to those around him without being able to tell whether they were listening to him. He also met people in Munich who told him about the atrocities taking place in the Dachau camp, and he even succeeded in speaking with senior members of the Nazi Party who told him that Goebbels was the most hated man among the leadership. He encountered people who had once been loyal to Hitler but had turned their backs on him after learning of the atrocities committed within the ranks of the SS. He heard accounts of corruption at the highest levels of Hitler's regime and reached the conclusion that the loyalty of German citizens to the new regime was an illusion that the Nazi Party had successfully projected to the outside world. During his travels through German cities, he also visited the homes of middle-class German families who told him that the Hitler Youth movement, which had become compulsory at that time, was destroying Germany's youth. He even heard of cases of death during the movement's activities as a result of the excessive exertion imposed upon the boys. Likewise, he visited churches and heard from clergymen how they were being persecuted by Hitler's agents. Extremely rare. Not recorded in the WorldCat global library catalogue. VII, 213, [2] pages. Very good condition.