Overview

This is a truly unique account of Nazi Germany at war and of one man's struggle against totalitarianism. A mid-level official in a provincial town, Friedrich Kellner kept a secret diary from 1939 to 1945, risking his life to record Germany's path to dictatorship and genocide, and to protest his countrymen's complicity in the regime's brutalities. Just one month into the war he notes how soldiers on leave spoke openly about the extermination of the Jews and the murder of POWs, while he also documents the Gestapo's merciless rule at home from euthanasia campaigns against the handicapped and mentally ill to the execution of anyone found listening to foreign broadcasts. This essential testimony of everyday life under the Third Reich is accompanied by a foreword by Alan Steinweis and the remarkable story of how the diary was brought to light by Robert Scott Kellner, Friedrich's grandson.

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9781108418294

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Reviews

'What is it like to be an isolated democrat in a highly popular dicatorship? This wartime diary will tell you. Just how this keenly observed book came to be published is an extraordinary story for itself. And Friedrich Kellner's day-to-day encounters with enthusiastic, gullible Hitler supporters in his hometown reveal a morally steadfast, but basically lonely German citizen whose perspective is bracing, incisive, and still pertinent to our times.' Peter Fritzsche, University of Illinois 'An important piece of historical literature … this book has vital things to say not just about the history of the war but what it was to be a decent human being and yet be forced to live through terrible times.' Laurence Rees, Daily Telegraph 'A remarkable testament … Reading it is a reminder that not all Germans under the Third Reich were Nazis; some at least managed to retain a sense of decency and human values.' Richard J. Evans, Guardian 'Deftly compiled and expertly edited by Robert Scott Kellner, My Opposition: The Diary of Friedrich Kellner – A German against the Third Reich is a truly unique and impressively informative account of Nazi Germany at war and of one man's struggle against totalitarianism. An absolutely essential and unreservedly recommended addition to both community and academic library World War II History collections and supplemental studies reading lists …' Micah Andrew, Midwest Book Review '[Kellner] berates Germans for their blind gullibility, incorporating newspaper propaganda and detailing daily life, his diary like someone to confide in: its existence, an act of stirring, quiet defiance.' Steven Carroll, Sydney Morning Herald 'Reveals to devastating effect just how very much the average German citizen did know – even near the beginning of the Second World War – about Hitler's genocidal madness.' Jane Warren, Daily Express 'Kellner's diary is a necessary cornerstone addition to the vast WWII library.' David Hendricks, San Antonio Express-News 'Should My Opposition be on everyone's reading list, even if uncomfortable? Yes!' Jerry Klinger, The San Diego Jewish News 'What is extraordinary is how well-informed Kellner is about geography in general and the detail of the progress of the war, in both Europe and Asia, in particular.' Jill Stephenson, European History Quarterly

Advance praise: 'What is it like to be an isolated democrat in a highly popular dicatorship? This wartime diary will tell you. Just how this keenly observed book came to be published is an extraordinary story for itself. And Friedrich Kellner's day-to-day encounters with enthusiastic, gullible Hitler supporters in his hometown reveal a morally steadfast, but basically lonely German citizen whose perspective is bracing, incisive, and still pertinent to our times.' Peter Fritzsche, University of Illinois

Advance praise: 'What is it like to be an isolated democrat in a highly popular dictatorship? This wartime diary will tell you. Just how this keenly observed book came to be published is an extraordinary story for itself. And Friedrich Kellner's day-to-day encounters with enthusiastic, gullible Hitler supporters in his hometown reveal a morally steadfast, but basically lonely German citizen whose perspective is bracing, incisive, and still pertinent to our times.' Peter Fritzsche, University of Illinois

Author Information

Robert Scott Kellner discovered his grandfather's diary in 1960 and has worked tirelessly to bring it to the attention of the world through exhibits at the Dwight Eisenhower and George H. W. Bush Presidential Libraries, a documentary film screened at the United Nations, and the publication of a complete edition of the diary in German and abridgments in Russian and Polish.

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