Crimes and Mercies: The Fate of German Civilians Under Allied Occupation, 1944-1950

by James Bacque

Book Overview

More than 9 million Germans died as a result of deliberate Allied starvation and expulsion policies after World War II--one quarter of the country was annexed, and about 15 million people expelled in the largest act of ethnic cleansing the world has ever known. Over 2 million of these alone, including countless children, died on the road or in concentration camps in Poland and elsewhere. That these deaths occurred at all is still being denied by Western...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0889225672
• ISBN13: 9780889225671
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: Talonbooks
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A Powerful Book

In this powerful new book, Canadian historian James Bacque presents detailed evidence, much of it newly uncovered, to show that some nine million Germans died as a result of Allied starvation and expulsion policies in the first five years after the Second World War -- a total far greater than the long-accepted figures. These deaths are still being concealed and denied, writes Bacque, especially by American and British authorities. Crimes and Mercies -- a handsome hardcover work, illustrated and well-referenced -- is a devastating indictment of Allied, and especially American, occupation policy in defeated postwar Germany. Nearly 15 million Germans fled or were brutally expelled in the greatest act of "ethnic cleansing" in history, a human catastrophe in which some two million were killed or otherwise perished. Then, under the notorious "Morgenthau Plan" and its successor policies, the Allies carried out a massive looting of Germany, and even prevented German civilians from growing enough food to feed themselves. Bacque shows, for example, that General Eisenhower, in violation of the Geneva Convention, in May 1945 forbade German civilians to take food to prisoners starving to death in American camps. He threatened the death penalty for anyone feeding prisoners. Bacque also describes the terrors of the postwar camps in Poland where children and other German civilians lost their lives. Written with fervor, compassion and humanity, and making use of never-before cited records in Moscow archives, James Bacque exposes a little-known but important chapter of 20th century history. He builds upon the revelations of his startling 1989 study, Other Losses, which presented evidence to show that hundreds of thousands of German prisoners of war died as a result of cruel and illegal mistreatment by American, British and French authorities. American historian Alfred M. de Zayas, author of Nemesis at Potsdam and The German Expellees, provides a valuable foreword

No one, single group has a monopoly on Evil or Madness

Excellent book. Extremely well researched. I have always been interested in East Prussia from having read a lot on the Teutonic Knights. Suddenly in 1945 a 700-year-old German land ceased to exist -- what happened to all of it's people? And what happened to the vanquished men and women that Hitler so cruelly led down the dark path of death and destruction? Bacque sheds some very important light in this work and provides a good starting point to find out more. I must say, Seth's statements below in his review are very disturbing, almost as disturbing as many of Hitler's statements in "Mein Kampf". People like Seth would do well to imagine this scenario, no matter how unlikely: The war in Iraq has a reversal of fortune and the Americans are driven out...an Iraqi paratroop battalion lands in Tuscon and goes to his home, they seize his family and prepare to kill them, calling it "justice" and "due revenge"...what does he do? Does he say, "go ahead and kill them,they should get what they deserve"? NO. He says something like "hey I didn't vote for the current President and even if I did that doesn't mean I agree with the war in Iraq, my leaders didn't ask me personally, so don't take revenge on me and my family." There were many Germans that despised the Nazi government, but fear of retribution in a police state like that kept them from acting. The famous close-call bomb plot to kill Hitler was planned and carried out by, guess who?...a German, and lots of other Germans along with him. When that smoke cleared Hitler had put to death about 1000 Germans (soldiers and citizens alike) he believed to be involved. Make no mistake, the Holocaust was the most heinous collective act ever carried out against a civilian population and heads a long list that includes the Crusades, the Hundred Years War, and the "Trail of Tears". We should NEVER forget, but not to the exclusion of remembering so many countless others that were victims of the evil men do to men. Read a book on the Holocaust and shed a tear for little 9-year-old Lena Weitzman who died in a gas chamber..then read this book and shed a tear for little 9-year-old Anna Richter who was shot in the head by a vengeful Soviet soldier. If you can shed a tear for one but not the other, then the humanity you were born with has deserted you -- and has left you an empty, bitter, waste of a life. Hate destroys from the inside out as well.

Everyone should read this book

My Grandparents were expelled from their home because of the Potsdam treaty. My grandfather's sister was sent to a Soviet work camp. I have other relatives that were not so lucky. When WWII history is discussed, all we hear about is the holocaust. The holocaust should never be forgotten, but if nobody reads this book, what happened to the Germans will never be remembered. This book will provide an eye opening account of what happened to German civilians after WWII, a subject that is obvlivious to the majority of the American population. As far as the "top reader" Seth is concerned. If you complain about feeling like a "villan" while reading this book, now you know how all Germans and German-Americans feel when a new holocaust book, tv movie, or film is relased and the blame is placed squarely on the shoulders of the German people, not the Nazi government. I cannot express the anger I felt while reading his review. I really feel sorry for somebody that callous and ignorant. So, hey Seth, there's my name and address, look me up, and we'll have a little chat.

"Those who forget history are condemned to repeat it."

An extraordinary book. It tells two of the most extraordinary stories of the 20th century simultaneously. Neither has been told before. One is the story of a great hero - Herbert Hoover, not J. Edgar the FBI boss, but a multimillionaire humanitarian whose courage, outspokenness, persistence and dedication saved literally tens of millions of people from starvation after the first world war and then after the second. And it's the story of why we never hear about this. General Eisenhower, war "hero" and later US president, of whom we have all heard, persued a deliberate policy of preventing available food aid into Germany between 1945-49. Laws preventing immigration turned the country into a prison. As Bacque revealed in earlier book OTHER LOSSES, millions of disarmed soldiers died in prison camps; further more, Bacque tells the story of the suffering of civilians, dying from starvation. It is a part of living memory that times were extraordinarily hard, but Bacque's research has enabled an estimate of the scale for the first time: at least 9 million. He has found the documents which trace the decisions leading to this second holocaust, leading back to Eisenhower and his advisors. It is a courageous act for a man aged more than 70 accuse a war hero and president of being commiting atrocities. Bacques thoughts on collective are thought provocing. It's a sign of the times that a book like this is out of print. By it before it becomes a historical document in itself. Read it and tell people. It's relevant to today.

Learn about the US Occupation of Germany

This is a first rate book, well researched, well documented and well indexed (which is often the best proof of godo research).The USA, as part of our policy, starved 1M German POWs and 10M German civilians after WWII. But Truman reversed the policies of FDR and Morgenthau. So, by 1946, the USA, under Hoover (yes, the former president and the one who lead the food aid to the Beligans during WWI), was attempting to reverse the horrors of FDR and Ike's policies.The numbers are sound. Backed up by our own occupation government census numbers. Americans did object. Ambassador Murphy, a number of senators. As was pointed out by one US officer: "the only difference between the US and the Nazis was the color of the uniform."How many GIs will admit today what they did? Have you heard one?