Requiem for a German Past: A Boyhood among the Nazis

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Summary: GRIPPING PERSPECTIVE ON GERMANY IN 1930-40'S
Review: I took courses in the History of Education under Dr. Herbst (1967-69)and found him to be a very engaging teacher--one of the best I had in graduate school. I knew nothing about his past, except that he was German-born, until I heard of this book. This man has a way with words! In this brief but very compact and vivid memoir, he deals with some of the great dilemmas of life--in any period--,although of course he focuses on the period 1928-1948, his first twenty years. Herbst's memoir reminds me of another memoir of a childhood that can teach us all many valuable lessons (Irving Louis Horowitz, DAYDREAMS AND NIGHTMARES). REQUIEM is profoundly gripping. A must-read (and probably re-read) to help us understand our own times . . .and our own selves.