Blood and iron : from Bismarck to Hitler : the von Moltke family's impact on German history

“In choosing the Von Moltkes,” wrote Library Journal, “Friedrich chronicles, assesses, and illuminates an often tragic century of German history—a history as much of Bismarck, Hitler, Wagner, Strauss, Mann, and Brecht. His engaging, accessible style puts this tumultuous period in Europe in reach of lay readers, history buffs, and scholars alike.” “Friedrich has written,” Christopher Lehmann-Haupt declared in the New York Times, “a multifaceted volume that is at once historical narrative, biography, and engrossing family history.” “A triple biography,” explained the American Library Association’s Booklist, “Helmuth Carl Bernhard von Moltke, Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke, and Helmuth James von Moltke. They were, respectively, Germany's greatest military strategist, Germany's worst, and one of Germany's notable victims of Nazidom.” The von Moltke family played a critical role in every major crisis of more than a century of turbulent German history, starting with the Franco-Prussian War and then World Wars I & II. By viewing the country through the von Moktkes, Otto Friedrich created an historical perspective that is fresh and vital to understanding modern Germany. The book begins in the Franco-Prussian War when Field Marshal von Moltke defeats the Austrians, besieges and conquers Paris in 1871, and proceeds to make the German Empire the dominant power in Europe. The story continues with the Field Marshal’s nephew, Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke, Chief of Staff of the German armies in 1914. This von Moltke, with his armies on the Marne only twenty miles from Paris, suffers a nervous breakdown and is removed from command. The story then arcs to World War II, with the great, great nephew of the Field Marshall, Count Helmuth James von Moltke, a leader of the underground resistance to Hitler, who is arrested by the Gestapo and executed for treason in the last months of the war. A multitude of sources, including letters and interviews by Freya von Moltke and other family members, were instrumental in substantiating all stories and events. “Crammed with fascinating nuggets about a large cast of historical figures,” wrote the Boston Globe, “this imaginative and engagingly written book is bound to attract a wide audience.” In the turbulent history of modern Germany the name of Moltke has stood for military power and also enduring moral strength. In the Franco-Prussian War and then World Wars I and II, in each a Moltke was a key figure, culminating in the arrest and execution for conspiracy by the Gestapo of Count Helmuth James von Moltke, the great-great-nephew of Field Marshal von Moltke, who had defeated the Austrians, then besieged and conquered Paris in 1871, and made Germany the dominant power in Europe. The Field Marshal's nephew, Helmuth Johannes Ludwig von Moltke, was Chief of Staff of the German armies in 1914. With his armies on the Maine only twenty miles from Paris, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was removed from command. And Helmuth James, working for Admiral Wilhelm Canaris in German intelligence and leader of the underground resistance to Hitler, was arrested by the Gestapo and tried and executed for treason in the last months of the war. At every major crisis in more than a century of German history the von Moltke family has played a critical role. The history of the family is thus a way of perceiving and assessing the history of modem Germany. For the Germany of the von Moltkes was also the Germany of Bismarck and Hitler, Wagner and Strauss, Nietzsche, Mann, and Brecht. Friedrich's vivid and knowledgeable style makes this an absorbing historical chronicle full of characters and events on a broad canvas along with personal histories, anecdotes, and gossip within and without the corndors of power. In the turbulent history of modern Germany the name of Moltke has stood for military power and also enduring moral strength. At every major crisis in more than a century of German history the von Moltke family has played a critical role. The history of the family is thus a way of perceiving and assessing the history of modern Germany. For the Germany of the von Moltkes was also the Germany of Bismarck and Hitler, Wagner and Strauss, Nietzsche, Mann, and Brecht. Friedrich's vivid and knowledgeable style makes this an absorbing historical chronicle full of characters and events on a broad canvas along with personal histories, anecdotes, and gossip within and without the corridors of power.