The Conquerors: Roosevelt, Truman and the Destruction of Hitler’s Germany, 1941-1945 has a misleading title. The book has a semi-interesting tale to tell about the debate within the American corridors of power about what to do with Germany after the war was won. Roosevelt, clearly, is a central character in that debate, but Truman, in this telling, is peripheral. Despite the title, the author, Michael Beschloss, focuses on Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, who urged a punitive future for Germany.
What happened to the Morgenthau plan? Well, do the words “Marshall Plan” mean anything to you? Morgenthau’s arguments didn’t prevail, and Germany recovered from the devastation of losing the war and 40+ years of division between East and West to become the third-largest economy in the world, according to a Wall Street Journal article I read last week (even if things aren’t rosy on the economic front there now). I guess Morgenthau in the title wouldn’t have sold many books.
The writing is tolerable. However, Beschloss is so proud of his research that he overuses direct quotes, to the detriment of his narrative. The “you are there” style didn’t bring me anywhere close. In the preface, Beschloss notes that he started this book in 1992, and then put The Conquerors aside for several years to work on other projects. The author’s excitement about the additional historical archives made available due to the extra time didn’t pay off in a better history for this reader.
(Peter, thanks for the book all the same. It didn’t make any life lists, but I did learn some things, despite my overall disappointment.)