Eight Days in May
How Germany's War Ended
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Eight Days in May
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Narrated by:
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John McLain
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
1st May 1945. The world did not know it yet, but the final week of the Third Reich's existence had begun. Hitler was dead, but the war had still not ended. Everything had both ground to a halt and yet remained agonizingly uncertain.
Volker Ullrich's remarkable book takes the listener into a world torn between hope and terror, violence and peace. Ullrich describes how each day unfolds, with Germany now under a new Führer, Admiral Dönitz, based improbably in the small Baltic town of Flensburg. With Hitler dead, Berlin in ruins and the war undoubtedly lost, the process by which the fighting would end remained horrifyingly unclear. Many major Nazis were still on the loose, wild rumours continued to circulate about a last stand in the Alps and the Western allies falling out with the Soviet Union.
All over Europe, millions of soldiers, prisoners, slave labourers and countless exhausted, grief-stricken and often homeless families watched and waited for the war's end. Eight Days in May is the story of people, in Erich Kästner's striking phrase, stuck in 'the gap between no longer and not yet'.
©2021 Volker Ullrich (P)2021 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
"The last days of the Third Reich have often been told, but seldom with the verve, perception and elegance of Volker Ulrich's rich narrative...an instructive lesson in how societies cope with the devastating reality of a surrender that they grimly await." (Richard Overy, author of The Bombing War)
"A fast-paced, brilliant recounting of the turbulent last days of the Third Reich, with all the energy and chaos of a Jackson Pollock canvas." (Helmut Walser Smith, author of Germany: A Nation in Its Time)
What listeners say about Eight Days in May
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- EJ
- 13-10-21
If Volker Ullrich heard narration he would cringe
The narrator clearly knows nothing of the history of Germany in May 1945. He pronounces names of people and places intolerably. Fuerer is pronounced Foorer and Trudle Junge as Jooner! Arnhem is given as Arnheim! It is a shame as this is an excellent book and gives valuable information on the end of WWII.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Ken P
- 09-03-22
The End of the Nazi Era
Great narration . A story brought to an end, superbly written and spoken via Audible books
We all know the full story of war and defeat and the countless lives lost, but this story does close on the remaining leaders who all met their ends, apart from Albert Speed who seems to come out of the war as some sort of hero. Of course time has taken care of that story as well with his known use of slave labour, which at the time of war's end nothing was really known about his work in the war.
Great epilogue of the war and we'll worth listening to (or reading)
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Stephen R Allen
- 15-05-23
Inappropriate narration
This is a European story. The American narrator would probably bring character to an American history but in this case his accent makes mincemeat of almost every German name be it a place or person.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 22-04-24
I agree with others about the narration
I'm sorry to say that the narration did not meet my expectations, especially as far as pronunciation of German names is concerned ("Gerbils" for Goebbels!). I can forgive the narrator for struggling with a couple of Russian and Polish names, but if the book is about Germany, by a German author... Anyway, the book itself is quite interesting, and I have learned a few new things.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michael Johnson
- 27-02-22
Good book spoiled by terrable narration
Incredibly grating North American reader. sounded like a sort of awful Telly Savalas pastiche. Also included very annoying mispronounciations, e.g. "Arne-haim" rather than Arne-em (or just Arnhem).
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dr. John Grierson
- 15-09-21
Wrong voice
Interesting history well written but the American voice is awful. Too focused on the sound of his voice and not on the words. German names mangled
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7 people found this helpful