World War Two: Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West

As it says on the tin, a detailed account of the twists and turns of the allies getting into bed together to see off Hitler. Many other post war accounts speculate over why the Americans and the British did this or that but this book goes to the heart of the matter. This is particularly relevant regard the resentment to be found in Polish circles regarding how the west behaved. In short Stalin had all the aces and he knew it. There is a lot of interesting detail over the Katyn massacres and how both the Russians and Germans sought to make capital out of it. This book is a must for any serious consideration of the politics of the European theatre of WW2. On top of that it is very well written and makes a real effort to embrace the experiences of the various footsoldiers and ordinary folk caught up in events. Terrific on every level.

We know the world war as the americans and the british have told us. But what about the very people, without whose blood the war would have never been won? This book tells a grim tale of how the americans and the british negotiated with Stalin, how an early involvement of the americans could have shortened the time of the war and many lives saved. It changed my perspective of the second world war and made me believe that the americans and the british were not after all as noble as they made us believe!Definitely recommend this to everyone who is in pursuit of a full picture of the second world war.

Excelente autor, lo compré en inglés por practicar él idioma y también por ver cómo escribía Laurence Rees, me ha encantadoTapa duraSin duda compraré más libros de este autor

L'histoire que raconte ce livre, c'est celle du mariage d'intérêt entre les États-Unis et la Grande-Bretagne d'une part, et l'URSS d'autre part ; l'auteur focalise son récit sur la période 1941-1945, à partir du moment où l'Allemagne rompt le pacte qui la liait à Staline. Pour un brève, intense et crucial moment, les deux démocraties les plus puissantes de la planète nouent une alliance avec le dictateur moscovite. Alliance qui va nécessiter d'avaler certaines couleuvres, ou de les faire avaler aux autres (citons la Pologne)L'ouvrage est didactique, rédigé dans un anglais accessible ; il dresse un portrait tout en finesse des protagonistes (Staline, Churchill, Roosevelt) et replace avec pertinence les événements dans leur contexte. Sur un ton sobre, il dresse également un réquisitoire à l'encontre d'un régime totalitaire monstrueux, tout en rappelant que l'occident a fermé les yeux sur les déportations et les massacres, Katyn en premier lieu. Y avait-il un autre moyen pour s'assurer de l'appui de Moscou dans la guerre contre les Nazis ? Tout semble indiquer que non, et cette découverte tragique du lecteur contemporain interroge sur la fragilité de nos idéaux.

I enjoyed reading (I am not sure enjoyed is the correct word to use as there were times I had to stop reading to deal some of the atrocities mentioned) this book by Laurence Rees as it gave me a different perspective on the second world war from that that I have grown up with. I had uncles in this war serving in both the European and the Pacific conflicts. They told me very little of what actually occurred (for good reason I am sure).I am not an historian so I cannot comment on the accuracy of Rees work but first came in contact him as an author when I read his book: Their Darkest Hour: People Tested to the Extreme in WW II that caught my interest and led to this second book. Rees also has a documentary produced for the BBC, The Nazis, a Warning from History, which I have but have not viewed as of yet. I was taken with the people quoted (over one hundred)who had experienced first hand the promises, the horrors, the deceits, and the unimaginable tragedies of war. It allows the reader a different point of view on the relationship and the political decisions made by Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin in bringing this war to an end, an end that the author suggests was not in 1945 but only ends with the collapse of communism some thirty years later. A thought provoking read, especially for the person, like myself, with an awakening interest in this part of world history.