Death Waltz
History, Non-Fiction
The beginning of all or nothing
On 1st of June, 1944, German troops controlled almost all of Europe. By 1st of September, Hitler had barely survived an assassination attempt and the Allies were on the borders of the Reich. The end of the bloodiest war in history seemed imminent, but it would be another eight months until the collapse. And during this time, as many people died as in the previous five years.
In the summer of 1944, the death waltz began at a speed never previously thought possible. But life also flourished in the liberated cities and countries. The simultaneity of murder and joie de vivre is grippingly portrayed in Christian Bommarius's great narrative, a story that still astonishes.
- Christian Bommarius presents his third historical panorama, following '1949' and 'The Fever of Unrest' ('Im Rausch des Aufruhrs')
- For readers of Harald Jähner, Sönke Neitzel, Ian Kershaw
- The first comprehensive presentation of the 1944 summer of war in Europe
Christian Bommarius, born in 1958, lives in Berlin. He is a lawyer and journalist who worked for newspapers for many years, e.g. as the chief commentator for the Berliner Zeitung. Christian Bommarius is a recipient of the Otto Brenner Prize, and in 2018 he was awarded the Heinrich Mann Prize.
The beginning of all or nothing
On 1st of June, 1944, German troops controlled almost all of Europe. By 1st of September, Hitler had barely survived an assassination attempt and the Allies were on the borders of the Reich. The end of the bloodiest war in history seemed imminent, but it would be another eight months until the collapse. And during this time, as many people died as in the previous five years.
In the summer of 1944, the death waltz began at a speed never previously thought possible. But life also flourished in the liberated cities and countries. The simultaneity of murder and joie de vivre is grippingly portrayed in Christian Bommarius's great narrative, a story that still astonishes.
- Christian Bommarius presents his third historical panorama, following '1949' and 'The Fever of Unrest' ('Im Rausch des Aufruhrs')
- For readers of Harald Jähner, Sönke Neitzel, Ian Kershaw
- The first comprehensive presentation of the 1944 summer of war in Europe