The ‘…in 100 Objects’ series is an interesting approach to history that combines the familiar with the surprising. The author has selected a broad range of objects that neatly encapsulate the Third Reich. – Highly Recommended
NAME: The Third Reich in 100 Objects, A Material History Of Nazi Germany FILE: R3263 AUTHOR: Roger Moorhouse PUBLISHER: Greenhill Books, Pen & Sword BINDING: hard back PRICE: £25.00 GENRE: Non Fiction SUBJECT: WWII, World War II , World War 2, Second World War, Germany, Weimar Republic, rise of Nazi Party, 1930s, Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe, Kriegs Marine, SS, GESTAPO, Nazi officials, clothing, equipment, civilians, Hitler Youth, SA, rank badges, grenade, Luger ISBN: 1-78438-180-6 PAGES: 258 IMAGE: B3263.jpg BUYNOW: tinyurl.com/y249c3n3 LINKS: DESCRIPTION: The '...in 100 Objects' series is an interesting approach to history that combines the familiar with the surprising. The author has selected a broad range of objects that neatly encapsulate the Third Reich. – Highly Recommended
The text and images combine to make an impressive presentation of the Nazi artefacts. By taking personnel and military objects, together with the political symbols and the evidence of the holocaust, is an essential and obvious choice but there are some obscure images which compliment the well-trodden themes extremely effectively.
Of course readers are likely to wonder why something has not been included or why one item has been selected instead of another with similar purpose. That is inevitable because 100 objects is a very small selection.
One example is where the P-08 Luger pistol was selected in place of the Walther P-38. Certainly the P-08 is most significant during WWI and the P-38 was produced in vast quantities during WWII. The P-38 was also a much more reliable weapon because it was constructed of stampings, pressings and welding to reduce production cost and time. This also removed a vulnerability of the P-08 where its hand-made quality, with very close tollerances, made it very prone to jamming in dust. This reviewer has experienced a P-08 jamming on a firing range in Texas as a result of fine dust blowing across the range.
The P-38 operated reliably in dust, mud and snow. As the war progressed the P-38 was value engineered with deep bluing being replaced by a dull Parkerized finish and moulded plastic grips. The only exceptions were, as with the P-38 presented by Walther to Waffen SS Gruppen Fuhrer Sep Dietrich, where a selected pistol was hand finished and deep blued, presented with a highly polished moulded holster and spare magazine, all marked with the date of manufacture and a common serial number.
Despite the qualities of the P-38, the Luger was an iconic weapon in both World Wars, fully justifying its inclusion in the selected 100 objects.