Boyd notes that, in 1936, even so astute and well-intentioned an observer as the African-American educator W.

Given the almost universal support of the Nazi regime, and its concomitant rapid collapse, it’s understandable that the German people were conflicted and confused about their loyalties and morals. The picture is never black and white and even in a relatively small village there a multiple and nuanced responses to these questions. Julia Boyd now focuses on Oberstdorf, southernmost village in Germany over the 12 years of Nazi rule.Although Oberstdorf escaped the physical destruction caused by the war, its residents suffered significantly. As Hitler consolidated his power, the regime's impact on the lives of ordinary people was pervasive and corrupting, imposing strict control over daily life, and marginalising and persecuting minority groups.

It is provides a unique perspective as most literature on the Third Reich looks at its rise from an urban perspective, and also does not go into the same level of detail regarding people's lived experiences of this period as Boyd does. Also included are the eyewitness accounts of the 99th mountain troops divisions - young, experienced climbers and skiers from Oberstdorf, - men used to harsh outdoor activities.

Obersdorf is one of the most famous places in Bavaria owing to ski jumping competitions and magnificent scenery for tourists to admire both in summer and winter.

Still, for such a rural community the inhabitants were outward-looking and knew that their prosperity depended upon strangers. Of course, there were many Germans who, for various reasons, embraced the novel, evil ideology of their leader. Instructively, for the British reader, the village had minimal interactions with Britain in both peace and war. However, for the most part I had some trouble following who was who, despite the list of townspeople at the back of the book, and this kept me from getting too emotionally invested. narfna on “What the stories never said: at the end of the day, if a man wants to kill you, he kills you.Elbrus, the highest mountain in Russia and Europe, by members of the Wehrmacht’s mountain division, was a publicity stunt and seems to be included in this book simply because three of the climbers were from Oberstdorf.