The Diarists of 1940: An Annus Mirabilis

This book examines the integrity of diary keeping and selects seven major diarists from Germany, Italy and Britain who wrote their diaries as the events of 1940 unfolded. They wrote without the benefit of hindsight, and any additional notes a few of them added later are ignored here unless critical. The volume explores how these people understood what was happening in this critical year as it occurred. A few other diarists are quoted, but the seven chosen have been selected for their importance, namely von Hassell (a German diplomat and anti-Nazi); Ciano, the Italian Foreign Minister (and Mussolini’s son-in-law); Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda chief; Brooke a rising British General of the day responsible for Home Defence; Colville, Secretary to Chamberlain and Churchill (and privy to the inner sanctums); George Orwell, the famous writer; and Klemperer a German academic Jew barely surviving in Dresden. The diarists provide important insights into what people thought at the time as events unfolded, and each chapter is supported by relevant historical data.