Inside Hitler's Greece
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The Experience of Occupation, 1941-44
Mark Mazower
Out of Print
"Mazower's crisp, dramatic presentation of all aspects of life in occupied Greece is a model of clarity and compactness. The politics of occupation, collaboration, resistance, and plain survival are elaborated in vivid detail. There is a brightness of vision in this work, which is as unyielding and unsentimental as the craggy beauty of Greece."—Ivo Banac
"One of the very best books in any language, to have been written on wartime Greece. Indeed . . . one of the most significant books to have been written on modern Greece as a whole."—Richard Clogg
"His documentation is overwhelming. . . . A grinding, horrific experience, intimately explored."—Kirkus Reviews
"Fascinating. . . . [Mazower] succeeds in getting under the skin of the occupation. . . . [This book] conjures up, in vivid detail, life under an occupation that had shattered old certainties and replaced them with painful choices, cynical compromises and hopes undercut by the daily death toll."—Mark Almond, The Times (London)
"[An] important book, . . . sharply focused."—C.M. Woodhouse, Times Literary Supplement
"[Mazower's] elegant prose and meticulous eye for detail cut to the heart of the nature and effects of the occupation on Greek society and political life. . . . With its rich historical detail, vivid accounts, its sheer scope and perceptiveness, it is a must for the professional historian, and an eye-opener for the interested general reader."—Spyros Economides, The European
"[A] notable study . . . the first of its kind in English."—Publishers Weekly
"Using the vast German military archive, Mazower draws a vivid picture of the German occupier's mind and actions. . . . Mazower's arguments are always fair."—Richard Eder, Los Angeles Times Book Review
"Mark Mazower's account of the Italo-German seizure of Greece . . . should make sense to anyone with a feel for truthful documentation. . . . An objective study."—Nigel Spivey, Financial Times
"One is glad to have [this book]. Mazower writes without fuss and takes analysis easily in the stride of his narrative."—Colin Richmond, Jane's Intelligence Review
"A vivid and penetrating insight into the political and military confusion of the period. . . . [Mazower's] understanding and grasp of this often contentious area of history has been well served by the fluency with which he relates it. It is a very well-written, readable and often moving book."—Imogen Grundon, Literary Review
"[A] sensitive, illuminating and richly textured account of painful, complex experience."—Richard Overy, The Observer
"A well-researched and riveting study of life under Nazi occupation; and essential addition to any modern history collection."—Elizabeth Shostak, Wilson Library Bulletin
"Already acknowledged (the British edition) as one of the best books on modern Greece, this finely produced study surveys in depth the vicissitudes of WWII in modern Greece. . . . This book, whose scholarship is exceeded perhaps only by its elegant style, is a sine qua non for anyone interested in WWII in general and modern Greece in particular. Highly recommended for all libraries."—Choice
"A terrific read. . . . A remarkable achievement, one of those rare works of history which no reader will soon forget. It combines analysis and narrative in unobtrusive and elegant ways and makes a major contribution to our understanding of modern Greece. There is nothing remotely like it in English or any other language. It makes an important contribution to our understanding of the Second World War as a social reality."—Jonathan Steinberg, Bulletin of Judeo-Greek Studies
"A stupendous feat of personal and original research. . . . He has digested this heterogeneous material so thoroughly that his book is eminently readable. . . . A masterpiece of exposition."—N. G. L. Hammond, Anglo-Hellenic Review
"A superb book on the horrors afflicting wartime Greece. . . . [Mazower] has done vast archival research and emerged with a gripping, readable and human account, setting every moment of a tragic period in appropriate context. . . . Richly illustrated and made more valuable by judgments explicitly relevant to the history of World War II."—Fritz Stern, Foreign Affairs
"This outstanding study provides a detailed, sensitive, and complex view of Greece under Italian and German occupation. . . . A major contribution to the growing literature on the impact of war and occupation on European society. . . . A wonderful achievement; it may tell us more than we would like to know about human folly and brutality."—Omer Bartov, The Historian
"A well-conceived study and invaluable resource for scholars seeking insights into the conditions of life in and popular responses to wartime occupation with its accompanying hardships and brutalities. . . . Mazower's 'bottom up' approach, with its emphasis on social and economic conditions in occupied Greece and its comprehensive treatment of them, makes his study one of the most important additions to Greek historiography in recent years."—S. Victor Papacosma, American Historical Review
"Fascinating. . . . [Mazower] succeeds in getting under the skin of the occupation. . . . [This book] conjures up, in vivid detail, life under an occupation that had shattered old certainties and replaced them with painful choices, cynical compromises and hopes undercut by the daily death toll."—Mark Almond, The Times (London)
"This is the first thorough account in English of almost every aspect of life in Axis-occupied Greece. It draws on a mass of material, including Greek wartime newspapers and German military archives. All of this is absorbed into a highly readable narrative and illustrated with sometimes heartbreaking contemporary photographs."—Noel Malcolm, The Sunday Telegraph
"Mark Mazower's book is crisp, clear, and learned; and the analysis he offers of the transformation of Greek society under the hammer blows of conquest, famine, mounting civil violence, and Nazi mismanagement is masterly. . . . No one has told the story so well before, and . . . this book clearly supersedes all earlier accounts of the occupation years."—William H. McNeill, Journal of Modern History
"Mark Mazower's compelling and scholarly account of the occupation of Greece by the axis is doubly invaluable. . .Dr. Mazower's study of occupied Greece is based on an impressive range of archival and secondary sources in several languages. It is not only both comprehensive and readable but also topical."—Tim Kirk
"Mazower's book is a stupendous achievement and a work of immaculate scholarship."—History Today
"The book's focus on the experiences of everyday life in extreme circumstances gives it an immediacy and emotional impact that few readers will be able to ignore to forget. Mazower wears his scholarship lightly and writes without jargon, with detachment and yet with passion; readers will find themselves responding similarly."—Margaret E. Kenna, Ethnic & Racial Studies
"Mazower's work is to be highly commended. . . . This is a book which deserves the widest readership possible."—Martyn Housden, British Journal of Holocaust Education
"Scholarly in its use of sources, yet rich in feeling and full of vivid descriptions. The account of tens of thousands of people starving to death is harrowing and appalling; the civil insurrection which followed and the ensuing acts of brutality on both sides are presented with equal pathos."—Max Davidson, Daily Telegraph
"A book of great interest and originality. . . . Altogether this volume provides us with a refreshing exercise in revisionist history."—M.R.D. Foot, Slavonic Review
"Based on a wealth of archival sources, with a balanced tone, and sound in its conclusions, Mazower's book is important for understanding the dynamics of wartime occupation, not only in Greece but throughout Europe, and the ways in which it shattered old certainties and replaced them with fragile hopes that largely fell victim to daily violence and cynical postwar compromises."—Stephen G. Fritz, German Studies Review
Publication Date: November 24, 1993