Defying Hitler

“Gripping . . . manages to keep you guessing what some of the outcomes might be, despite our overall knowledge of Germany’s ultimate fate. . . . [Defying Hitler] reminds us all that good people can dare to stand and fight evil and powerful regimes regardless of the odds.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“The question was often asked amid the ruins of the Third Reich: why did the Germans fight on for so long when all was lost? Those liberated from concentration camps knew the answer. Terror, mass murder, ruthless and barbaric persecution—all opposition had been mercilessly quashed. In Defying Hitler, Gordon Thomas and Greg Lewis show in chilling and vivid detail just how courageous were those who dared to defy Hitler. A terrifying and timely account of resistance in the face of the greatest of evils.”—Alex Kershaw, New York Times bestselling author of Against All Odds and The First Wave

“Were the Germans of the 1930s and ’40s ‘Hitler’s Willing Executioners,’ in Daniel Jonah Goldhagen’s memorable phrase? This important book offers alternative profiles in courage—portraits of the ordinary men and women who resisted Hitler, aided Jews and spied for the Allies during the dark days of World War II.”—Newsday

“Stirring.”—USA Today

“Fascinating.”—New York Post

“[A] well-researched volume that drills into the darkness to examine the lives of those within the Third Reich who actively defied Hitler’s orders from 1933 to 1945, chronicling the major resistance movements such as the White Rose movement and Valkyrie plots as well as lesser-known subversions within the military intelligence circles. . . . Highly recommended for those wishing to comprehend life in Nazi Germany and what courage it took not to surrender to authority. This masterful work will best serve general audiences and historians alike.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“This carefully researched book challenges the myth that the German people were virtually unanimous in support of Hitler. . . . Defying Hitler is filled with almost unbearable suspense and drama.”—Booklist (starred review)

“An engrossing and accessible history of Germans who risked, and mostly lost, their lives opposing the Nazi regime . . . An informative counterpoint to accounts of widespread German complicity with the Holocaust.”—Publishers Weekly

“A deeply researched work that passionately challenges the popular myth that ‘the German people followed Hitler as if as one mass, mesmerized like the children of Hamelin by the Pied Piper.'”—Kirkus Reviews