Book Reviews and Notices : Verdict on Schacht: A Study in the Problem of Political "Guilt." By EARL R. BECK. (Tallahassee: Florida State University Studies, Number 20. 1955. Pp. 201. $3.50.)
| DOI | 10.1177/106591295600900416 |
| Author | Robert Koehl |
| Date | 01 December 1956 |
| Published date | 01 December 1956 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
1001
the
new
political
institutions
may
work
out
successfully,
but
that there
is
an
equally
good
chance
that
they
may
be
overthrown
either
by
the
revival
of
traditional
tribal
organizations
on
the
one
hand
or
by
the
growth
of
a
Marxist-type
organization
on
the
other.
Dr.
Apter
is
to
be
congratulated
on
his handling
of
a
difficult
subject.
Northwestern
University.
WILLIAM
M.
McGOVERN.
Verdict
on
Schacht:
A
Study
in
the
Problem
of
Political
"Guilt."
By
EARL
R.
BECK.
(Tallahassee:
Florida
State
University
Studies,
Number
20.
1955.
Pp.
201.
$3.50.)
Inasmuch
as
Earl
R.
Beck’s
study
of
Schacht’s
part
in
the
Nazi
era
is
the
most
thorough
and
systematic
to
date,
it
would
be
a
pity
if
it
were
buried
in
the
bowels
of
university
libraries,
as
so
many
University
Studies
are.
Leaving
aside
Schacht’s
career
in
the
twenties
as
the
saviour
of
the
mark,
Beck
opens
with
the
Nazi-Schacht
rapprochement
of
1931.
Step
by
step
the
study
follows
Schacht’s
machinations
within
the
coils
of
the
Nazi
system,
as
he
gradually
became
aware
of
what
he
was
up
against.
Beck
shows
him
tentatively
critical,
continuously
putting
out
feelers
and
pulling
them
in
again,
truly
a
study
in
political
guilt.
The
author
has
gone
to
considerable
trouble
to
get
material
reflecting
the
attitudes
of
all
kinds
of
people
toward
Schacht
at
various
times.
He
has
made
the
fullest
use
of
the
Nuremberg
documents,
of
the
denazification
protocols
on
Schacht,
and
has
a
sizeable
section
on
the
Schacht
cause
célèbre
itself.
It
is
somewhat
surprising
and
regrettable,
therefore,
that
Beck
does
not
succeed
in
drawing
together
the
threads
of
Schacht’s
responsibility
for
some
of
the
faults
of
the
Nazi
era.
Having
identified
these
threads,
he
passes
on
to
a
superficial,
Schachtian-type
defense
of
&dquo;a
man
not
without
honor.&dquo;
Compared
with
Edward
N.
Peterson’s
HjaLmar
Schacht:
For
and
Against
Hither
(Boston,
1954),
Beck’s
work
is
the
more
scholarly
and
careful;
yet
it
is
strangely
less
sound
and
less
perceptive
in
the
larger
view.
University
of
Nebraska.
ROBERT
KOEHL.
Nationalization
and
Industrial
Conflict :
the
Example
of
British
Coal-
Mining.
By
S.
K.
SAXENA.
(The
Hague:
Martinus
Nijhoff.
1955.
Pp.
185.)
This
study
represents
an
effort
to
ascertain
how
the
nationalization
of
the
British
coal
industry
has
affected
the
nature
and
duration
of
industrial
disputes
in
that
industry.
Although
the
various
labor
organizations
which
are
represented
in
the
coal
industry
are
treated,
the
book
in
large
measure
To continue reading
Request your trial