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.