The Fall of Berlin - Tapa dura

This is the story of Berlin, the city that became the Nazi's capital and their last ditch. It begins with the 1936 Olympics where Berlin is the showcase for the 1000-year Reich. The fortunes of Berlin are viewed from their heights to their nadir during the battle for Berlin in 1945. There is an overview of Berlin's history as garrison town for the Prussian kings' and its culture. With the approach of war Berlin is at the hub of the Nazi war machine - a vast military and industrial complex. Repression gets worse, culminating in Kristallnacht with attacks on Jews. The troops depart for Poland and the world is at war. Berlin becomes the prime target for Allied bombers, who pour high explosive onto its streets. Memories from survivors tell what it was like below the streets and of the flak towers during the four-year pounding. From the east the vast Russian juggernaut ploughed on, exacting vengeance for the invasion of the USSR. In the final battle at least 300,000 Soviet soldiers and an untold number of German defenders died. The book culminates in a description of the desperate fighting by the remnants of Hitler's armies in their attempt to hold back the "barbarians from the east".