Secret Reports on Nazi Germany
The Frankfurt School Contribution to the War Effort
Published on 14. July 2013
Book
Hardback
704 pages
978-0-691-13413-0 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
"[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 "[A] fascinating collection... The history of wartime intelligence is a developing field, and this material is a welcome addition."--Library Journal "[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 "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."--Choice "[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 "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 "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 ReviewsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
1106 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-13413-0 (9780691134130)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Franz Neumann | Herbert Marcuse | Otto Kirchheimer
Secret Reports on Nazi Germany
The Frankfurt School Contribution to the War Effort
E-Book
06/2015
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
from
€125.95
Available for download
Persons
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.
Content
Foreword, by Raymond Geuss ix Acknowledgments xv Notes on the Texts xvii On the Authors xxi Introduction 1 Part I THE ANALYSIS OF THE ENEMY 1Franz Neumann - Anti-Semitism: Spearhead of Universal Terror 27 2Herbert Marcuse - Possible Political Changes in Nazi Germany in the Near Future 31 3Herbert Marcuse - Changes in the Reich Government 38 4Franz Neumann and Paul Sweezy - Speer's Appointment as Dictator of the German Economy 48 5Herbert Marcuse and Felix Gilbert - The Significance of Prussian Militarism for Nazi Imperialism: Potential Tensions in United Nations Psychological Warfare 61 6Herbert Marcuse - German Social Stratification 74 Part II PATTERNS OF COLLAPSE 7Franz Neumann - German Morale after Tunisia 95 8Herbert Marcuse (assisted by Franz Neumann and Hans Meyerhoff) - Morale in Germany 100 9Franz Neumann, Herbert Marcuse, and Felix Gilbert - Possible Patterns of German Collapse 106 10Franz Neumann - The Social and Political Effects of Air Raids on the German People: A Preliminary Survey 118 11Franz Neumann - The Attempt on Hitler's Life and Its Consequences 133 Part III POLITICAL OPPOSITION 12Franz Neumann - The Free Germany Manifesto and the German People 149 13Herbert Marcuse - The German Communist Party 167 14Herbert Marcuse - The Social Democratic Party of Germany 199 Part IV DENAZIFICATION AND MILITARY GOVERNMENT 15Otto Kirchheimer - The Abrogation of Nazi Laws in the Early Period of MG 229 16Herbert Marcuse - Dissolution of the Nazi Party and Its Affiliated Organizations 253 17Franz Neumann - German Cartels and Cartel-Like Organizations 264 18Herbert Marcuse - Policy toward Revival of Old Parties and Establishment of New Parties in Germany 285 19Otto Kirchheimer - General Principles of Administration and Civil Service in Germany 301 20Otto Kirchheimer - Administration of German Criminal Justice under Military Government 318 21Franz Neumann - The Problem of Inflation in Germany 345 Part V A NEW GERMANY IN A NEW EUROPE 22Franz Neumann and Paul Sweezy - The Adaptation of Centralized European Controls of Raw Materials, Industry, and Transport 397 23Franz Neumann - The Revival of German Political and Constitutional Life under Military Government 412 24Franz Neumann - The Treatment of Germany 436 Part VI TOWARD NUREMBERG 25Otto Kirchheimer and John Herz - The "Statement on Atrocities" of the Moscow Tripartite Conference 451 26Franz Neumann - Problems Concerning the Treatment of War Criminals 457 27Otto Kirchheimer and John Herz - Leadership Principle and Criminal Responsibility 464 28Herbert Marcuse - Nazi Plans for Dominating Germany and Europe: The Nazi Master Plan 475 29Otto Kirchheimer - Nazi Plans for Dominating Germany and Europe: Domestic Crimes 522 Part VII A NEW ENEMY 30Herbert Marcuse - Status and Prospects of German Trade-Unions and Works Councils 557 31Herbert Marcuse - The Potentials of World Communism 591 Notes 611 Index 659