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Barbarossa
- How Hitler Lost the War
- Narrated by: Jonathan Dimbleby
- Length: 22 hrs and 39 mins
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Barbarossa
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Publisher's Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of Russia in June 1941, aimed at nothing less than a war of extermination to annihilate Soviet communism, liquidate the Jews and create Lebensraum for the German master race. But it led to the destruction of the Third Reich, and was cataclysmic for Germany with millions of men killed, wounded or registered as missing in action. It was this colossal mistake—rather than any action in Western Europe—that lost Hitler the Second World War.
Drawing on hitherto unseen archival material, including previously untranslated Russian sources, Jonathan Dimbleby puts Barbarossa in its proper place in history for the first time. From its origins in the ashes of the First World War to its impact on post-war Europe, and covering the military, political and diplomatic story from all sides, he paints a full and vivid picture of this monumental campaign whose full nature and impact has remained unexplored.
At the heart of the narrative, written in Dimbleby's usual gripping style, are compelling descriptions of the leaders who made the crucial decisions, of the men and women who fought on the front lines, of the soldiers who committed heinous crimes on an unparalleled scale and of those who were killed when the Holocaust began. Hitler's fatal gamble had the most terrifying of consequences.
Written with authority and humanity, Barbarossa is a masterwork that transforms our understanding of the Second World War and of the twentieth century.
What listeners say about Barbarossa
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- James Deagan
- 07-04-2022
Engaging
A harrowing account of the 1941 campaign in Russia. It engages the reader with a wonderful balance of facts and narrative.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Luke Reid
- 16-08-2023
An outstanding account
An excellent account of a vitally important operation expertly read. A pleasure to listen to.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ELIZABETH
- 30-07-2022
Enthralling
If you are put off by the length of this tale (22 hours) don't be. It is gripping from the word go. Dimbleby is a master of providing a sweep of events as they occurred and the minutae of individuals involved. He does not draw back from recounting some of the horrors taking place but does not dwell upon them. We follow the key perpetrators and sad victims from day to day, and sometimes from hour to hour but the tension is never relieved. If you want to know why Hitler worried too much about Bonaparte instead of ignoring him, or why the Anzacs may have saved the world then this is a must read.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael Reeves
- 27-02-2023
Comprehensive Easy Listening
This is a comprehensive history of the attack on the Soviet Union by the Nazi’s in 1941. The narrator paints a vivid picture of the horror & hardship endured by all soldiers and civilians involved and gives insight into the mindset of the leaders. A thoroughly enlightening listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-08-2021
An enthralling work
It's a fortunate writer indeed, who can pen such a great work, and read it himself in such exemplary fashion.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 12-02-2023
Very well researched and read
Very well researched and read - I learnt a lot of things about the war that I would never have known
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 14-06-2024
Compelling and detailed
Thoroughly interesting listen, super well read. Perfectly balances detail and nuance with a compelling narrative thread.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Greg Hazell
- 16-01-2022
Sobering, vivid and enthralling
An excellent account of the strategic, operational and human experience of Operation Barbarossa as a critical element of the Second World War and it’s aftermath.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Brenton
- 25-02-2023
Enthralling brilliance
A concise & very well delivered historical work of significance. A wonderful reference to be kept and shared.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Dr Kit Candlin
- 16-08-2023
A silly book, ill conceived
This book was a disappointment . Well read and in some places good but overall it was a mess. It should have been called ‘a British take on army group centre for the first six months with some general comments about World War Two ‘. Part one was terrible, for some reason dimbelby thought we needed a pedestrian history of hitlers rise to power and a bunch of irrelevant stuff about Britain. There was no attempt to explain why and for what reasons this campaign was fought. Why lebensraum , why the east? Where did this idea come from - nothing on east Prussian imperialism into the Baltic states no mention of 19th century Volga Germans or other German ideas about the east. It really was an Anglo centric big man history with occasional mentions of ordinary folk. Crazy and very tangential digressions into the general history of ww2 taking up way too much word count. How can you write a history of Barbarossa and ignore army group north and south? Just weird. No mention of Soviet women or even drugs like pervitin and other details wholly missing . This is not a good history - it needed to be three volumes at the rate dimbleby was going but then he stopped after just six months and wrapped it up as a done deal.
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