Eight Days in May

The Final Collapse of the Third Reich

By: Volker Ullrich, Jefferson Chase - translator

Narrated by: John McLain

The best-selling author of Hitler: Ascent and Hitler: Downfall reconstructs the chaotic, otherworldly last days of Nazi Germany.

On April 30, 1945, in a bunker deep beneath the Old Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler and his newly wedded wife, Eva Braun, killed themselves. But Nazi Germany lived on, however briefly. The subsequent eight days were among the most turbulent in history, witnessing not only the final battles of World War II and the collapse of the Wehrmacht, but the near-total disintegration of the once-mighty Third Reich.

In a taut, propulsive narrative, eminent historian Volker Ullrich depicts the final days of the Nazi empire through the eyes of Germans, both famous and ordinary, who experienced them. He takes us inside the phantomlike regime of Hitler's chosen successor, Admiral Karl Dönitz, while capturing the drama of a society in its death throes - from mass suicides to fanatics calling for one last stand. Integrating an astonishing variety of new primary sources, Ullrich offers an indispensable account of the costs of mass delusion.

©2020 Verlag C. H. Beck oHG, München (P)2021 Tantor

Not with a bang but an 8 day whimper

Amazing examination of the eight final days of the Nazi regime in Germany. I always thought of WWII going from war to peace like flipping a light switch but this describes a much more unevenly paced event with varying degrees of desperation and denial by Germans at all levels and places as defeat closed in.

Other reviewers found the narrator distracting because of his German pronunciation but I didn’t find it a big deal.

narrator’s pronunciation of German words is AWFUL!

How can somebody who is being paid to read a book about WWII history mispronounce Fuehrer (constantly pronouncing it as “fir-er”)? After about the hundredth time I was starting to go crazy The content of the book is very good

Not Really Eight Days--And the Narration ...

This book is kind of about the last eight days of the Third Reich. It does cover those days, but also engages in numerous digressions backward and forward in time. Maybe that is unavoidable to some extent, but at times it gets a little irritating. Still, I learned some new things.

Speaking of irritating, there is the narration. The author (or translator) repeatedly uses the word "Führer" to refer to Hitler. Not surprising. But McLain simply cannot pronounce it correctly. He basically says "Foo-rer." As one who has taken German language classes, I understand German pronunciations can be challenging. But to mispronounce a word that appears over and over again almost made me quit the book. He is better with other German words, but mangles a few others.

Good story, well written and researched. Needs a different narrator

The narrator’s pronunciation of Germans words got to be really annoying. Not sure how he past an audition without any lessons or feedback

An important history

Packed with personal details about the individuals involved in the final days of Nazi Germany from Hitler’s suicide to the final unconditional surrender to the Allies eight days later.

Often overlooked, it’s important to understand the timeline from the perspective of displaced persons and high ranking military leadership alike.

The narrative is excellent as well.