Analytical Essay: World War II

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Analytical Essay - World War II
World War II, the war for survival, shaped the history and landscape of the twentieth century permanently. As such, many wrote about the troubles and trials they had faced due to this war and in particular the actions of Germany. Excerpts taken from Sebastian Haffner, Christabel Bielenberg, and Leni Riefenstahl all help us understand the effect Germany had on it’s citizens, as well as foreign powers. While Haffner and Bielenberg denounce the Nazis, Riefenstahl writes in favor of them, thus demonstrating the discord in the nation at the time.
Sebastian Haffner, born Raimund Pretzel, was a German journalist who wrote about events as they were happening, as such, demonstrates the reality of living under the Third Reich. He describes how the Nazis took over, “The result of this million-fold nervous breakdown is the unified nation, ready for anything, that is today the nightmare of the rest of the world” (Haffner 110). …show more content…

Bielenberg was a British writer who was living in Germany during the Second World War due to her spouse being German. She writes about her personal experiences and impact that the Nazis had on her and her husband. Bielenberg describes the tense atmosphere imposed by the Nazis, “Peter and I did not feel like going straight home after our dinner party with our neighbours. The roads were dark and deserted and we could walk alone and talk alone - or could we?” (Bielenberg 88). The author describes the intense paranoia and fear that invaded all aspects of German society. She wishes to explain how invasive and destructive the German Reich had become. As an upper class writer, her views are based off experience, however, her occupation gives her credibility as means to the truth. The author wishes to inform how the Nazis were not believed in by all and that many resisted. While this confirms the ideas of Haffner, not everyone holds the same views of the

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