Military History |
Author: Bastiaan Willems
| Reviewed by Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Gipper, US Air Force, faculty development scholar, Air University |
Through an analysis of the German Wehrmacht's "barbarization" toward the end of World War II, Violence in Defeat provides a useful and cautionary case study on military effectiveness, distinction, and necessity. Reviewer Daniel Gipper highlights the book's particular contributions to the literature, particularly the examination of German "violence against German citizens," which Gipper notes is a "widely overlooked event." Gipper also notes the book's value for reexamining "long-standing assumptions about unit cohesion."
Keywords: World War II, Wehrmacht, Eastern Front, civilians, Germany