Book SummaryFive Days That Shocked the World, by Nicholas Best

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Five Days That Shocked the World

The collapse of authoritarian rule in Germany and Italy led to the conclusive end of the regimes led by Hitler and Mussolini.

This part examines the downfall of the major authoritarian regimes of the World War II period, detailing the final chapters in the existence of Hitler and Mussolini, as well as the actions of their adherents and accomplices as their realms crumbled. The book highlights the extreme desperation, chaos, and brutality that characterized the final stages of combat in Germany and Italy.

The collapse of Germany's Nazi government.

This part of the story recounts the end of Hitler's dominion in Germany, including his final hours in Berlin, the fates of key figures like Göbbels, Bormann, and Himmler, and Admiral Dönitz's brief leadership until the surrender.

During his last hours, Hitler was trapped within his Berlin stronghold, surrounded by encircling Soviet forces.

Adolf Hitler's physical and mental condition deteriorated rapidly as he isolated himself in a subterranean bunker under the Chancellery, coinciding with the approach of Soviet forces toward Berlin. Best depicts Hitler as a diminishing figure, increasingly disconnected from reality, obsessively shifting tokens on a map in a vain effort to command units that had either been annihilated or scattered beyond cohesion.

Despite the dire situation, Hitler clung to baseless optimism, including the belief in the impending arrival of General Wenck's forces to rescue Berlin and push back the Soviet onslaught, or the hope that the United States would intervene to prevent Germany from falling under Soviet domination. During the chaos of the Berlin conflict, he took the chance to formalize his relationship with Eva Braun through marriage and also to express his last desires in a testament, while ordering the death of Hermann Fegelein, his brother-in-law, on charges of treachery. The circumstances of the execution are especially unsettling.

Context

• The bunker, known as the Führerbunker, was located beneath the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. It was part of a larger underground complex designed to protect Nazi leadership from air raids.
• Historians suggest that Hitler's mental state was affected by delusions of grandeur and denial, as he refused to accept the reality of Germany's impending defeat.
• Despite being heavily outnumbered and outgunned, the German forces, including the remnants of the Wehrmacht and the Volkssturm (a national militia), mounted a desperate defense of the city, which resulted in intense urban warfare.
• His physical health was in decline, exacerbated by stress, lack of sleep, and possible drug use, which likely impaired his judgment and perception of reality.
• The use of maps and tokens was a traditional military practice, but by 1945, the situation in Berlin was so chaotic that such methods were largely futile.
• Hitler's reliance on Wenck's forces highlights his desperation and the collapse of effective communication and command within the German military hierarchy at the time.
• Nazi propaganda often portrayed the Soviet Union as a greater threat than the Western Allies, which could have contributed to Hitler's belief that the U.S. might eventually side with Germany against the Soviets.
• Eva Braun had been a loyal companion to Hitler, often staying with him at his residences, including the Berghof in Bavaria, and was one of the few people who had access to his private life.
• After Hitler's death, the testament was smuggled out of the bunker by couriers. It was eventually discovered by Allied forces and became a significant document in post-war investigations and trials.
• Fegelein was executed by firing squad, a decision made swiftly amidst the chaos in the bunker, reflecting the desperate and lawless atmosphere of the final days of the Third Reich.
• Fegelein was found attempting to flee Berlin, dressed in civilian clothes and carrying cash and jewelry, which contributed to suspicions of his disloyalty.

The book chronicles the concluding chapters in the lives of key Nazi figures including Göbbels, Bormann, and Himmler.

As Hitler prepared for his own suicide, he was surrounded by loyal followers, some of whom chose to die with him, while others desperately tried to escape the doomed city. Best narrates the downfall of key figures in the Nazi regime, including Joseph Göbbels, as well as other high-ranking officials like Martin Bormann and Heinrich Himmler. In the garden of the Chancellery, the propaganda minister Göbbels and his spouse concluded their existence by first making certain that their six children had been lethally poisoned. The especially unsettling details encompass the demise of the children and the mother's eerie calmness, as she played solitaire waiting for her spouse to come back.

Bormann, who served as Hitler's personal secretary, attempted to flee Berlin but is generally thought to have committed suicide while trying to escape the advancing Russian troops. The macabre find of his cranium, which bore evidence of a cyanide capsule lodged in its dental work, validated the previously held suspicions. The SS leader Himmler was deeply involved in negotiations with the Western Allies, aiming to strike a peace agreement that would ensure his own protection. The alliance of nations rebuffed his efforts to work with Admiral Dönitz's recently formed government after his actions were exposed in the press. He ended his life after being captured by British troops.

Practical Tips

• Create a personal loyalty assessment to gauge how your actions affect your relationships. On a scale from 1 to 10, rate how loyal you believe you are to your friends, family, and colleagues, and ask them to do the same for you. This can highlight discrepancies between perceived and actual loyalty, prompting discussions on expectations and how to strengthen these bonds.
• Create a personal code of ethics to guide your decisions, inspired by the...

Five Days That Shocked the World Summary The concluding segment of the conflict and the liberation of prisoners from concentration camps profoundly affected the lives of both civilians and detainees.

The story shifts to a more intimate viewpoint, chronicling the experiences of ordinary people and prisoners while the world gradually became aware of the horrors perpetrated in Nazi concentration camps as the war neared its end.

The horrific acts uncovered in the Nazi detention facilities, including Dachau and others.

Upon uncovering the Nazi concentration camps, the Allied forces revealed the full extent of the horrific acts perpetrated under Nazi governance. This part of the book explores the appalling conditions and instances of cruelty uncovered within facilities like Belsen, highlighting the shock and horror experienced by the first onlookers and their following efforts to aid and liberate the survivors.

Accounts describing the deplorable conditions and atrocities.

Best offers a detailed description of the horrific circumstances the Allied forces encountered when they reached the camps, illustrating the intense distress and cruelty that defined these locations through firsthand narratives. The overwhelming magnitude of mortality, the omnipresent odor of decomposition, and the skeletal individuals fighting to live or resignedly anticipating their end, all...

Five Days That Shocked the World Summary The advancement of the forces from the Allied coalition entailed complex discussions and shifts in authority among the heads of the Allied and Axis countries.

The passage explores the final stages of the Allied advance, Germany's surrender, and the high-level discussions that took place between the leaders of the Allied and Axis forces as the conflict neared its end.

The Soviet troops were engaged in a scarcely veiled race to reach Berlin before anyone else.

In the final stages of the conflict, the Western Allies and Soviet forces were intensely vying for control of Berlin, which symbolized the collapse of the Nazi regime's stronghold. The story explores the fierce battle for control over the Reichstag, marking the final stage of the Soviet troops' conquest of Berlin.

The fierce battle reached its peak when the Soviet banner was raised above the Reichstag.

The battle for dominance in Berlin was marked by fierce and devastating conflicts, with each faction clinging stubbornly to every piece of land, fighting with the desperation of those who knew their chances were slipping away. Russian forces engaged in intense battles to capture the German Parliament, moving through a maze of devastation and hostile defenses, before victoriously raising their flag over the Reichstag.

Best illustrates the intensity of the battle,...