Book Reviews and Notices : The Rome-Berlin Axis. BY ELIZABETH WISKEMANN. (New York and London: Oxford University Press. 1949. Pp. xvi, 376. $5.00.)
| DOI | 10.1177/106591294900200422 |
| Date | 01 December 1949 |
| Author | U.G. Dubach |
| Published date | 01 December 1949 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
640
The
Rome-Berlin
Axis.
BY
ELIZABETH
WISKEMANN.
(New
York
and
London:
Oxford
University
Press.
1949.
Pp.
xvi,
376.
$5.00.)
The
author’s
residence
in
Europe
during
much
of
the
period
covered
by
the
book
gave
unusual
opportunity
not
only
to
collect
material
but
also
to
gain
the
&dquo;feel&dquo;
of
the
countries
involved.
In
a
splendid
way
she
tells
the
story
of
the
two
dictators
throughout
the
period
of
the
Axis.
She
goes
into
great
detail,
step
by
step,
country
by
country,
mentioning
innum-
erable
characters,
but
maintains
keen
interest
to
the
end.
In
the
beginning
she
pictures
Hitler
coming
to
Mussolini
with
evident
embarrassment;
then
Hitler
grows
in
power
until
Mussolini
becomes
his
subservient
tool.
Italian
officials
who
do
not
follow
the
Hitler
line
are
dropped
or
moved
to
positions
in
which
their
views
on
such
matters
have
no
significance.
The
balancing
of
events
by
Hitler
in
the
taking
of
Austria,
Czechoslovakia,
Poland,
and
almost
all
of
western
Europe
-
the
period
of,
supremacy
-
and
the
turn
of
affairs
leading
to
the
final
extinction
of
both
dictators
are
graphically
portrayed.
There
is
less
detail
in
the
final
chapters
-
perhaps
properly.
The
struggle
for
control
of
Spain
and
the
Balkans
receives
adequate
attention
throughout
the
book.
The
lack
of
support
for
the
Axis
by
rank
and
file
Italians,
as
well
as
the
offensive-
ness
of
Hitler’s
ruthlessness
to
their
moral
principles,
is
evident.
There
is
no
such
suggestion
about
the
German
people.
One
chapter
is
devoted
to
the
efforts
of
the
United
States
to
maintain
peace
through
the
visit
of
Sumner
Welles
to
the
four
major
capitals
during
1940
-
this
without
compliment
to
him
or
the
United
States.
The
book
is
well
documented.
The
author
provides
an
excellent
and
detailed
index
of
persons,
subjects
and
places.
Without
doubt
this
book
makes
an
important
permanent
contribution
to
the
history
of
the
nerind
dominnted
hv
the
Axis.
U.
G.
DUBACH.
Lewis
and
Clark
College.
An
Encyclopedia
of
World
History.
COMPILED
AND
EDITED
BY
WILLIAM
L.
LANGER.
(Boston:
Houghton
Mifflin
Company.
1948.
Revised
edi-
tion.
Pp.
xlvi,
1270.
$7.50.)
Historians
and
political
scientists
are
well
acquainted
with
this
work
in
its
1940
edition.
World
War
II
made
the
revision
necessary.
Thirty,
six
pages
of
material
were
added,
treating
of
the
political
and
interna-
tional
affairs
from
1939
to
1945
and
of
the
various
military
campaigns.
Five
maps
illustrate
the
war
in
its
global
extent.
At
the
beginning
of
the
book
ten
pages
are
devoted
to
a
list
of
events
from
August
1,
1945
to
July
31,
1946.
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