Overview

"What if you found out that your grandfather had been a Nazi SS officer? This is the confession that Martin Davidson received from his mother upon the death of demanding, magnetic grandfather Bruno Langbehn. The Perfect Nazi is Davidson's exploration of his family's darkest secret. As Davidson dove into his research, drawing on an astonishing cache of personal documents as well as eyewitness accounts of this historical period, he learned that Bruno's story moved lock-step in time with the rise and fall of the Nazi party: from his upbringing in a fiercely military environment amid the aftermath of World War I, to his joining the Nazi party in 1926 at the age of nineteen, more than six years before Hitler came to power, to his postwar involvement with the Werewolves, the gang of SS stalwarts who vowed to keep on after the defeat of Nazism. Davidson realized that his grandfather was in many ways the ""perfect Nazi,"" his individual experiences emblematic of the generation of Germans who would plunge the world into such darkness. But he also realized that every fact he uncovered was a terrible truth he himself would have to come to terms with..."

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A fascinating and extraordinary journey into the heart of Nazism. <br>-- Ben Macintyre, Author Of Agent Zigzag And Operation Mincemeat <br> Martin Davidson has done a brave thing: he has confronted and revealed his own family's Nazi past. The result is absorbing, highly readable and painstakingly researched. <br>-- Niall Ferguson <br> The utterly compelling account of what it's like to discover that your grandfather was a ruthless officer in Hitler's SS. <br>-- Philip Kerr <br> The Perfect Nazi is a terrific piece of writing, shedding light on how ordinary Germans abetted the Nazi terror and how in later years all was conveniently forgotten. <br>-- David Cesarani, Author Of Eichmann: His Life And Crimes <br> A fascinating and compelling account. This is an important book for anyone interested in the moral climate which led to the Holocaust and the other crimes of the Third Reich. <br>-- Adrian Weale Evening Standard (UK) <br> A riveting narrative that brings a fresh

Author Information

Martin Davidson is the commissioning editor for history and business programs at the BBC. He has two degrees from Oxford University. As a filmmaker specializing in historical and cultural subjects, he has produced and directed many documentaries for the BBC, A&E, and the History Channel. He lives in Oxford, England, with his family.

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