An Unofficial 'The MeatEater Podcast' Reading List

620. The Nazis at War: Hitler Strikes West (Part 1)

November 24, 2025

Description

What was Adolf Hitler’s next move, after occupying Czechoslovakia in March 1939, and brutally invading Poland that September? Why did the Allies fail to act, despite the Nazis shocking offensive?...
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Books Referenced

The War in the West, Germany Ascendant, 1939 to 1941

Author: James Holland

Context:

Explicitly mentioned as 'a book by James Holland' when discussing the French advance to the Siegfried Line and their retreat in the face of minimal German resistance

Mein Kampf

Author: Adolf Hitler

Context:

Referenced when discussing Hitler's worldview, specifically his 1925 statement that 'the life of man is a dreadful struggle for existence'

The Third Reich Trilogy

Author: Richard Evans

Context:

Referred to as 'his great book on the Nazis' when discussing Georg Elzer as an example of ordinary Germans in the 1930s; Evans uses Elzer because he was not very political

Hitler (biography)

Author: Ian Kershaw

Context:

Multiple references to Kershaw's two-volume Hitler biography throughout the episode, including his characterization of Brauchitsch as 'spineless,' his concept of 'working towards the Fuhrer,' and his analysis of Hitler's popularity

Berlin Diary / The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich

Author: William L. Shirer

Context:

Described as 'a really good source on the Third Reich in the early years of the war' - referring to the American correspondent's diary written while he was present in Germany