"Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself": The Mass Suicide of Ordinary Germans in 1945

"Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself": The Mass Suicide of Ordinary Germans in 1945 by Florian Huber

By the end of April 1945 in Germany, the Third Reich had fallen and the invasion was nearly complete. As the Soviet army advanced, horrifying stories spread about the depravity of its soldiers. Many Germans felt there was nothing left but disgrace and despair. Tor tens of thousands of them, it seemed the only option was to choose death -- for themselves and their children. "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" recounts this little-known mass event.

Using diaries, letters, and memoirs, historian and filmmaker Florian Huber traces the euphoria of many ordinary Germans as Hitler restored national pride; their indifference as the Fuhrer's political enemies, Jews, and other minorities began to suffer; and their descent into despair as the war took its terrible toll, especially after the invasion by the Soviet Union. Above all, Huber investigates how suicide became a contagious epidemic as the country collapsed.

Drawing on eyewitness accounts and other primary sources, "Promise Me You'll Shoot Yourself" presents a riveting portrait of a nation in crisis, and sheds light on a shocking and extraordinary episode of postwar Germany.

Little Brown Spark, Hardcover, 1st Edition, 1st Printing, 2015