In the nonfiction book In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson, a historian becomes an ambassador in the key formational years of 1933-1937 in Hitler’s regime. He has many opponents but he stands strong to his Jeffersonian beliefs. His daughter comes along and those two are the center of the story.
To begin with, the story starts with Dodd, a University of Chicago professor. He becomes an ambassador in Berlin after many others turned the offer down. He brings his wife and invites his adult son and daughter, Bill and Martha. The primary goal of the United States was to get investors repaid, Dodd found this an uninteresting pursuit and didn’t sympathise with the rich investors. They got to Germany on July 13, 1933 and their initial impressions of Berlin were very high. During his years as ambassador, some members of the Department of State and other found him constantly annoying for not following embassy customs. They also didn’t like him because he abstained from party rallies and other events, Dodd thought if he attended them it would be seen as an endorsement of the Nazi party. They also disliked him because he criticized the extravagant parties, and fancy suiting most other ambassadors had. These people eventually got him out of the embassy. Throughout the book, the persecution of the …show more content…
There are so many people that are part of the story, but I am unable to cover them. At the end, there is no happy ending, no hero, just a story. I recommend this to anybody interested in the Nazi regime. It shows the rise of a dictator through the lense of an outsider. Erik does a great job putting a lot of detail in without overburdening the reader. This true story of Dodd, his daughter, and the many others is one of a broad scope. It shows how powerful Hitler becomes, and how fruitless it is being an ambassador
To begin with, the story starts with Dodd, a University of Chicago professor. He becomes an ambassador in Berlin after many others turned the offer down. He brings his wife and invites his adult son and daughter, Bill and Martha. The primary goal of the United States was to get investors repaid, Dodd found this an uninteresting pursuit and didn’t sympathise with the rich investors. They got to Germany on July 13, 1933 and their initial impressions of Berlin were very high. During his years as ambassador, some members of the Department of State and other found him constantly annoying for not following embassy customs. They also didn’t like him because he abstained from party rallies and other events, Dodd thought if he attended them it would be seen as an endorsement of the Nazi party. They also disliked him because he criticized the extravagant parties, and fancy suiting most other ambassadors had. These people eventually got him out of the embassy. Throughout the book, the persecution of the …show more content…
There are so many people that are part of the story, but I am unable to cover them. At the end, there is no happy ending, no hero, just a story. I recommend this to anybody interested in the Nazi regime. It shows the rise of a dictator through the lense of an outsider. Erik does a great job putting a lot of detail in without overburdening the reader. This true story of Dodd, his daughter, and the many others is one of a broad scope. It shows how powerful Hitler becomes, and how fruitless it is being an ambassador