Rating: 
Summary: Engaging and rewarding
Review: Unlike many books on this subject, the Leberts do not fall into the ponderous trap of attempting to be definitive or all things to all people. I stumbled across this remarkable book by accident. Posner's book 'Hitler's Children' was interesting, and is a more exhaustive look at the topic, but Lebert's book is somehow more emotional and accessible. Perhaps it is the lighter touch or the fact that it was written by Germans but it stayed in my mind much longer. Based on a series of articles his father wrote in 1959, the son meets with those who will speak with him and explores his own feelings about his father's role in the war, his identity as a German, and the reaction modern day Germany has to it's war past. While there are tidbits of information (I had no idea there was a charity set up to support former Nazi leaders and staff or that so many of them entered the postwar government so cleanly) the real value of this book is the human one. How rare it is to find a father and son so willing to face the possiblities of their post-war life having been stunningly different and how refreshing to find them willing to allow that experience had an effect on their interviews. The portraits of the Nazikinder then and now are done with great appeal. This is a subject too emotional to ever truly be objective about, but the willingness of the Lebert's to try and their look at where they fail does thenm credit. This is a popular history in the best sense of the phrase that will leave you with a great deal to think about regarding modern Germany and the way the world views these heirs. If many of them have seemed to fall into their father's paths, was it inevitable? Is our own denial to the unique challenge they faced culpable? (If understandable). Is the current rise in their views tied to these things? A great read for the casual and a thought provoker for the more involved. This book deserves a wider audience.
Rating: 
Summary: Nothing new
Review: While it is commendable of Mr. Lebert to continue the conscientious work of his father, it simply does not have enough new information to make a good read. How surprising is it to know that most of the children loved their Nazi parents while not necessarily enthusiastic about the war crimes they committed? or to find that there are indeed some who did show Nazi tendencies themselves? or to find that some children claim that their parents were unjustly accused, or at least, overly accused? Is it surprising this generation tends to keep a low profile? Or that they are bitter from this negative association and treatment during the Nuremberg trials, etc? The dialogues from interviews are mundane and offer little new insight. The one important success the author did manage to achieve, is a fairly good personality depiction of the offspring, which sadly but not surprisingly, evokes little warmth or charm. Also of interest would be the treatment of the Nazis and their families after the war and during the trials, etc. There are some black and white photographs interspersed through the pages, but no list of them are included. Also their inclusion is not consistent. He had a few of some people mentioned, and none of others, which he could have easily acquired, I found them online with little effort. Typical of irresponsible journalism, he includes no bibliography and the snappy titles of the chapters are a lot more interesting than the text which they head.
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