Hitler's War: World War II as Portrayed by Signal, the International Nazi Propaganda Magazine
STARRED REVIEW"Modeled after Picture Post in Britain and Life and National Geographic in the United States, Signal magazine was Nazi ­Germany's most successful wartime propaganda publication; its peak circulation reached 2.5 million copies per issue. This chronicle of the magazine's life span, which mirrors that of the Third Reich (April 1940â??March 1945), ­offers a fascinatingly rich and detailed German civilianâ??centric account and viewpoint of the war, world, and culture. In both full pages and snippets clipped from the publication, every front of the spectacle of war and the German perspective is examined and framed chronologicallyâ??the battles and conquests, articles, ads, graphics, human-interest stories, and entertainment/society coverageâ??with that selective intonation and controlled word choice we've become fascinated with in propaganda and that no doubt propels its enduring intrigue. Owing dually to the effective production value of the publication and Harwood's (The Secret History of Freemasonry) deft presentation of the material, though the story is understood (and it's impossible not to measure the text retrospectively, knowingly aware of the gravity and sensational delusion), this book feels immediate and intimate. ­VERDICT Carrying an organic empirical quality rarely facilitated by a historical text, this rich and fascinating study is for World War II enthusiasts, historians, socioculturalists, and journalists." â?? Library Journal