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book: Secret Reports on Nazi Germany
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Secret Reports on Nazi Germany

The Frankfurt School Contribution to the War Effort
  • , and
  • Edited by: and
  • Preface by: and
Language: English
Published/Copyright: 2013

About this book

A groundbreaking book that gathers key wartime intelligence reports

During the Second World War, three prominent members of the Frankfurt School—Franz Neumann, Herbert Marcuse, and Otto Kirchheimer—worked as intelligence analysts for the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime forerunner of the CIA. This book brings together their most important intelligence reports on Nazi Germany, most of them published here for the first time.

These reports provide a fresh perspective on Hitler's regime and the Second World War, and a fascinating window on Frankfurt School critical theory. They develop a detailed analysis of Nazism as a social and economic system and the role of anti-Semitism in Nazism, as well as a coherent plan for the reconstruction of postwar Germany as a democratic political system with a socialist economy. These reports played a significant role in the development of postwar Allied policy, including denazification and the preparation of the Nuremberg Trials. They also reveal how wartime intelligence analysis shaped the intellectual agendas of these three important German-Jewish scholars who fled Nazi persecution prior to the war.

Secret Reports on Nazi Germany features a foreword by Raymond Geuss as well as a comprehensive general introduction by Raffaele Laudani that puts these writings in historical and intellectual context.

Author / Editor information

Franz Neumann (1900-1954) was a labor lawyer and political activist in Germany before the Nazi period, and was a professor of political science at Columbia University after his work in the OSS and at the Nuremberg Trials. Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) was a philosopher who made important contributions to the Frankfurt School critical theory of society. He taught at Brandeis and San Diego universities after his work in the OSS. Otto Kirchheimer (1905-1965) worked for the OSS until 1952. Later he was professor of political science at the New School for Social Research and Columbia. Raffaele Laudani is assistant professor of the history of political thought at the University of Bologna.

Reviews

"Secret Reports On Nazi Germany is a whole different, yet substantially significant, eye opening, scholarly saga, that simply needs to be read by all those who are remotely interested in what actually took place in wartime Nazi Germany. In other words, it's the real deal. . . . Secret Reports on Nazi Germany is an exceptionally well put together account of a country simply gone mad. More importantly, it's fresh and it's incisive."---David Marx, David Marx: Book Reviews --- "Secret Reports on Nazi Germany is a work of immense scholarly value that can serve as an important resource for scholars and students interested in the Second World War, U.S. postwar policy, the origins of the Cold War, critical theory, and the politics of exile. Most important, the reports in this collection provide a critical starting point for tracing the historiography on Nazism in the United States."---Anne Berg, H-Net Reviews --- "[A] highly valuable source for anyone interested in intellectual history, the history of ideas, the history of the Second World War, Nazi Germany or wartime intelligence. . . . The texts presented within this volume will most certainly remain essential reading material for anyone dealing with the so-called Frankfurt School, as well as for those scholars and students dealing with wartime intelligence structures, Nazi Germany and the Second World War."---Goran Miljan, European Review of History --- "Editor Laudani laces the reports throughout the forward, introduction, and short biographies, placing them in the larger context of critical theory and as tools for assessing postwar liberal democracy. Overall, the reports offer highly readable, objective assessments and possible reforms." --- "[S]ome of the most brilliant analysis of Nazi Germany ever written and a valuable lesson in postwar planning. . . . [A] rich and multi-layered collection of political essays that will be of enduring interest to students of military intelligence, Marxism, Nazi Germany and the Allied effort in the Second World War."---John Bew, New Statesman --- "[A] fascinating collection. . . . The history of wartime intelligence is a developing field, and this material is a welcome addition." --- "[F]ascinating. . . . [T]his new volume . . . conveniently collects a substantial chunk of the original documents penned by Neumann and his research team."---William E. Scheuerman, Foreign Affairs

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  • Publicly Available

    Frontmatter

    i
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    Contents

    v
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    Foreword

    ix
    Raymond Geuss
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    Acknowledgments

    xv
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    Notes on the Texts

    xvii
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    On the Authors

    xxi
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    Introduction

    1
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  • Part I. The Analysis of The Enemy
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    1. Anti-Semitism: Spearhead of Universal Terror

    27
    Franz Neumann
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    2. Possible Political Changes in Nazi Germany in the Near Future

    31
    Herbert Marcuse
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    3. Changes in the Reich Government

    38
    Herbert Marcuse
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    4. Speer’s Appointment as Dictator of the German Economy

    48
    Franz Neumann and Paul Sweezy
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    5. The Significance of Prussian Militarism for Nazi Imperialism: Potential Tensions in United Nations Psychological Warfare

    61
    Herbert Marcuse and Felix Gilbert
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    6. German Social Stratification

    74
    Herbert Marcuse
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  • Part II. Patterns of Collapse
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    7. German Morale after Tunisia

    95
    Franz Neumann
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    8. Morale in Germany

    100
    Herbert Marcuse
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    9. Possible Patterns of German Collapse

    106
    Franz Neumann, Herbert Marcuse and Felix Gilbert
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    10. The Social and Political Effects of Air Raids on the German People: A Preliminary Survey

    118
    Franz Neumann
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    11. The Attempt on Hitler’s Life and Its Consequences

    133
    Franz Neumann
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  • Part III. Political Opposition
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    12. The Free Germany Manifesto and the German People

    149
    Franz Neumann
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    13. The German Communist Party

    167
    Herbert Marcuse
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    14. The Social Democratic Party of Germany

    199
    Herbert Marcuse
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  • Part IV. Denazification and Military Government
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    15. The Abrogation of Nazi Laws in the Early Period of MG

    229
    Otto Kirchheimer
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    16. Dissolution of the Nazi Party and Its Affiliated Organizations

    253
    Herbert Marcuse
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    17. German Cartels and Cartel-Like Organizations

    264
    Franz Neumann
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    18. Policy toward Revival of Old Parties and Establishment of New Parties in Germany

    285
    Herbert Marcuse
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    19. General Principles of Administration and Civil Service in Germany

    301
    Otto Kirchheimer
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    20. Administration of German Criminal Justice under Military Government

    318
    Otto Kirchheimer
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    21. The Problem of Inflation in Germany

    345
    Franz Neumann
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  • Part V. A New Germany in a New Europe
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    22. The Adaptation of Centralized European Controls of Raw Materials, Industry, and Transport

    397
    Franz Neumann and Paul Sweezy
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    23. The Revival of German Political and Constitutional Life under Military Government

    412
    Franz Neumann
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    24. The Treatment of Germany

    436
    Franz Neumann
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  • Part VI. Toward Nuremberg
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    25. The “Statement on Atrocities” of The Moscow Tripartite Conference

    451
    Otto Kirchheimer and John Herz
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    26. Problems Concerning the Treatment of War Criminals

    457
    Franz Neumann
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    27. Leadership Principle and Criminal Responsibility

    464
    Otto Kirchheimer and John Herz
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    28. Nazi Plans for Dominating Germany and Europe: The Nazi Master Plan

    475
    Herbert Marcuse
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    29. Nazi Plans for Dominating Germany and Europe: Domestic Crimes

    522
    Otto Kirchheimer
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  • Part VII. A New Enemy
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    30. Status and Prospects of German Trade-Unions and Works Councils

    557
    Herbert Marcuse
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    31. The Potentials of World Communism

    591
    Herbert Marcuse
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    Notes

    611
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    Index

    659
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Publishing information
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
eBook published on:
June 16, 2015
eBook ISBN:
9781400846467
Edition:
Course Book
Pages and Images/Illustrations in book
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https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400846467
eBook ISBN: 9781400846467
Keywords for this book
Nazi Party; Nazism; Nazi Germany; Adolf Hitler; Weimar Republic; Communism; War economy; War crime; Nazi propaganda; Trade union; Politics; Denazification; Totalitarianism; Decree; Anti-fascism; Political party; Prussia; Military occupation; Gestapo; Germans; Bolsheviks; Employment; Jurisdiction; Soviet Union; Imperialism; Legislation; Social democracy; Allied-occupied Germany; National Bolshevism; Civil service; Capitalism; Middle class; Weimar Constitution; Wehrmacht; German Reich; Raw material; Herbert Marcuse; Gauleiter; Prosecutor; Communist Party of Germany; Politician; Ideology; Marcuse; Nationalization; Statute; Tax; Dictatorship; Internment; Proclamation; Reichswehr; Führerprinzip; Trade association; German Communist Party; Prisoner of war; Labour movement; Rationing; Left-wing politics; Crime; Reichsleiter; Assassination; Agriculture; Authoritarianism; Post-war; Reichsbank; Slavery; Great power; Government agency; War effort; Right-wing politics; Reprisal
Audience(s) for this book
For an expert adult audience, including professional development and academic research
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