H Peter Nennhaus

The Shipwreck of a Nation
Author: H. Peter Nennhaus
ISBN: 978-1-4327-3403-9, Pages: 307, $26.95 Publication Date: February 27, 2009, Softcover, Biography, Published by: Outskirts Press

H. Peter Nennhaus penned his memoir of Germany in pre-WWII and during the war in an attempt to show how the Berliner experienced life in his book entitled “The Shipwreck of a Nation”. Growing up at this time, he witnessed and experienced many tribulations, but it was from the viewpoint of a victim of propaganda.

Accounts of his childhood indicate that he was the son of a Nazi party member, was among those who had been duped by Adolf Hitler’s regime, and all these descriptions preceded the invasion of European countries by the German Army which resulted in World War II.

Nennhaus remembers fondly his childhood and trips to a farm belonging to a close relative. He writes of the joy he had as a youth without care or understanding of the events going on around him. He remembers that in 1938 there was an episode called Kristallnacht, “the night of broken glass”, where the Nazis smashed windows of stores owned by Jews, but he was ignorant of its meaning at that time. He only recalls the store owners in his neighborhood were out cleaning up glass and trying to once again resume their lives. His father never explained to him what was meant by the propaganda that this was supposed to be a spontaneous outburst; whereas, historically, it was Hitler’s Brown Shirts who commenced a campaign which was to be the “final solution”.

The attempt to play ignorant is futilely established by his references to facts which are supposedly from authoritative sources. Many times he tells of the stories he overheard or those which were promoted by the Nazi German government as truth with regard to historical events. Modern history books refute many of his perceptions. For example, he accepted as fact, Poland was going to invade Germany and it was a pre-emptive strike by the German Army to prevent this from happening. Even the invasion of Russia by Germany was again described as a means of stopping Stalin’s Russian troops from attacking Germany.

The main reason this book is being reviewed is to point out what had transpired in Nazi Germany as told by the author is not an account of what really happened. What really happened is that religious people of all faiths were exterminated, the Holocaust was a reality, and those who opposed the government were put to death. Nennhaus states that the ordinary Berliner was not aware of these atrocities during the war. It was only after the war and being forced to view films by the allies did he first learn what happened to those who were taken from their midst.

As a youth, Nennhaus was indoctrinated as a member of “Hitler Youth” and the training which he received is clearly revealed in his memory of what had happened. History is distorted to reflect a stilted viewpoint which is what he had believed to be true.

He states, without remorse, that he wanted to join the Army in order to receive the Iron Cross medal and the badge of honor for the destruction of a tank, but he was too young and the war was ending. The way that he describes this phase, the reader is given the impression he really felt cheated that he could not attain these indicia of his allegiance.
He describes his brothers; one a hero who died in the war and the other being sent to a prison camp in Russia after the war. He had extreme animosity toward Russia throughout the book because of them.

This book carries a caveat by the publisher that the views expressed by the author are not those of the publisher.
This book is not recommended as a good read. In fact, it is one that you should cast aside and let it become the ‘Shipwreck’ of a lost generation.… (plus d'informations)

H. Peter Nennhaus grew up in Berlin during WWII; a volatile time in German and world history. The book is different in that he tells the story from a German boy’s point of view who saw things differently at that time in history. You can see Mr. Nennhaus’s interest in history by reading the historical events in this book. He tries to link these events to what was happening in his life at that same time.

A memorable scene was when his father, who worked for the German Ministry of Agriculture, was trying to deter the young 15-year-old Peter from wanting to join Hitler’s war.

It was not how he said it; he spoke with fatherly concern, earnest and like a friend. It was what he said. It not only contradicted my innermost feelings and desires, but it also violated my idealism, which had been burned and hardened in the patriotic kiln of war….I was on the threshold of what I had been waiting for these past five years, and now Father told me it was wrong.

Despite his dad’s hopes, Peter was drafted at 16 years old to attend pre-military training at the Adolf-Hitler School in the Swiss Alps and he finds out first hand that the war is going no where.

The prose went back and forth from historical events to events happening in his families lives which only seemed to slow down my reading.

Mr. Nennhaus’s account of his life at this frightening time in history is very personal and heartbreaking and I commend him and his family for the courage and perseverance they displayed in trying to survive such a horrible event.… (plus d'informations)

The Shipwreck of a Nation by H. Peter Nennhaus is an attempt (and a very good attempt, I might add), to record the thoughts, feelings and, as his introduction informs us, the overall mindset of the average German citizen before, during and immediately post World War II. I was drawn to this work for two reasons. First is the fact that I belong to one of those families who was unfortunate enough to have had member fighting on both sides of this conflict; a father and number of uncles on the Allied side and a number of uncles and cousins fighting on the German. My second reason is the fact that I am a bit of a European History nut and will read anything that I think might add to my knowledge in this area. Now that being said…
Dr. Nennahaus was a young boy upon the outbreak of hostilities in Europe during this time frame. His family consisted of average German citizens, no more involved in politics than most, and leading rather solid, ordinary, middle class lives. All of this of course changed drastically. Now due to the fact that the old saying that “the winner gets to write the history books,” stories such as the one being presented here are few and far between and those that are written are usually not read by “the other side.”

The main thrust of this biography does not delve into the motivations behind the Nazi movement, but rather focuses upon what the average German citizen felt; what his or her perceptions were as to events as they unfolded. The author is very specific in his feelings as to his feelings in regard to the atrocities committed at that time. He goes to great lengths to note that he is not speaking to us through hindsight, but rather from a real time point of view. Of course he does address the issues as to the cause of the war, the development of the war and its conclusions. Again though, it must be remembered that we are seeing it through his eyes, a young German boy/man. There are two sides to every story and this is his side.

Now there are several things that need be kept in mind when reading this work. First, the reader must keep everything in historical context; in its proper sequence, and travel with the young writer as if the reader were actually there. That is, one must put themselves into the writer’s shoes for a bit. Secondly, the reader, as pointed out by another reviewer her, must have at least a working knowledge of European history going back to at least the mid 1800s. This is quite important. Some of the subjects the author addresses will be just a bit difficult to fully understand unless this history is known to the reader. Third and I feel very importantly, the reader must approach this work with an open mind. There are indeed statements in this book that might offend if not placed in the proper order and context. There are numerous statements made by the author that can (and I am sure will, as this work is read), be questioned and there is great potential for some heated debates here. That, as far as I am concerned, is a good thing. A good example of this would be the author’s statements as to the justification for the invasion of Poland. We get to see how the man on the street viewed pivotal event. The book will make you think.

One of the best parts of this work is when the author, Dr Nennhaus takes us inside his family and gives us glimpses of their private lives. The author does this through recounts drawn from his memory and via letters from friends and family. Many of these family scenes are quite touching and heartwarming. Actually I felt this was the best part of the book.

This is a well written biography; the author is a good writer and once you become acquainted with his syntax, the work becomes quite readable. Nennhaus is quite informed as to his history and explains things quite well. The author takes great pains to be as neutral as possible while telling his tale, something I feel would be quite a challenge under the circumstances.

The author does make some very good points, many of which I personally agree with. His feelings of what was done to Germany by the French and English at the Treaty of Versailles I pretty much agree with. The statements and his attitude toward the Soviet Union under the leadership of Uncle Jo are absolutely spot on as far as I am concerned. Other statements…well we could go on with that at length here, but that is not the purpose of this review.

All in all this is an excellent work and a highly informative, if not always enjoyable, read. War, any war, is the height of human stupidity and the author is quick to point this out. It is sometimes difficult to read about such things. Informative, yes, always enjoyable, no. This is a thoughtful read and certainly should be on your bookshelf.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks… (plus d'informations)

4556. The Shipwreck of a Nation Germany: An Inside View, by H. Peter Nennhaus (read 8 Apr 2009) The author of this non-pretentious book was born in 1929 and lived in Berlin as he was growing up. He tells well the story of his family--how older brothers were caught up in Hitler's army. He himself tells how he was thinking as the years went by--thoroughly in accord with the propaganda the German people were fed, altho it is encouraging to see that his parents came to see the awfulness of Hitler and his regime, even if the author never did while Hitler was alive. The author presents some reasoning which gives support to his youthful views, as I suppose David Irving does. The author cannot get over, it seems, even now, that Stalin was so much more evil earlier than Hitler was but never induced the hate which Hitler inspired even before the Holocaust. But the thing which I found most intriguing was the story of his time during and immediately after the war. He eventually came to the United States and is described, as of 2009, as "a retired surgeon living outside Chicago." This book held my attention throughout and I recommend it to anyone interested in what life was like to a non-Jewish youth in Hitler's time,… (plus d'informations)