World War II Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis, and the West

In this revelatory chronicle of World War II, Laurence Rees, winner of the 2006 British Book Award for History, documents the dramatic and secret deals that helped make the war possible and prompted some of the most crucial decisions made during the conflict. Drawing on material available only since opening of archives in Eastern Europe and Russia, Rees reexamines the key choices made by Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt during the war. And as the truth about Stalin's earlier friendly relationship with the Nazis is laid bare, a devastating and surprising picture of the Soviet leader emerges. The emotional core of the book is the amazing new testimony obtained from nearly a hundred separate witnesses from the period--former Soviet secret policemen, Allied seamen who braved Arctic convoys and Red Army veterans who engaged Germans in hand-to-hand fighting on the Eastern Front. Their dramatic personal experiences make clear in a compelling and fresh way the reasons why the people of Poland, the Baltic states and other European countries simply swapped the rule of one tyrant for another. Rees' ability to weave high politics--the meeting of the Allied leaders at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam--with the dramatic personal experiences of those on the ground who bore the consequences of their decisions is eye opening. World War II Behind Closed Doors will change the way we think about the Second World War. From the Hardcover edition.

Review :
"Rees is vastly well informed about the second world war. His judgments can seldom be faulted...there are many surprises here, and much good detail....The relationship between Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill makes an ugly story, and Rees tells it extraordinarily well." --Sir Max Hastings, author of "Armageddon: The Battle for Germany, 1944-1945" "A thoughtful and thought-provoking introduction to many of the shadier deals of the Second World War...The real virtue of this book lies in its ability to blend the experience of ordinary people into the narrative of public events...memorable in the extreme."-Richard Overy, "Literary Review" "Readers of this book... are in for a shock...This book illuminates many shady corners of Britain's and America's dealings with Stalin and each other. The famous trust between Churchill and Roosevelt is shown to be far from perfect."-Peter Lewis, "Daily Mail ""This splendid book centres on the question of how personality affects historical change. The answer is plain: when all account is taken of structural determinants in history, key individuals played roles that were unique and indispensable."-Ian Kershaw, author of "Hitler, the Germans, and the Final Solution" "From the Hardcover edition." Two books that I have particularly enjoyed and admired recently deal with important aspects of the Second World War, and lie close to my own interests. Laurence Rees's "World War Two Behind Closed Doors: Stalin, the Nazis and the West," BBC Books, London, 2008, is arguably the author's finest book to date and accompanies the gripping television series of the same title. Rees has uncovered new material in Soviet archives, casting fresh light on Stalin's relations with Churchill and Roosevelt and how decisions were taken at the pinnacle of Allied war leadership. There are some unpleasant surprises for admirers of the western leaders whose cynical, dirty dealings with Stalin are exposed. But what choice did they have? An enemy's enemy was a friend. As Churchill himself put it: 'If Hitler invaded Hell, I would at least make a favourable reference to the Devil' -- almost a metaphor for the Soviet Union and its leader. Rees writes in fine style and interweaves into the often dramatic narrative the personal stories, drawn from numerous interviews with contemporaries who paid the price of those decisions and have moving, frequently horrific, experiences to recount. As unholy moral compromises of the western leaders with Stalin's inhumanity are laid bare, the important question which the book raises -- and leaves open -- is whether even the most just war can ever be fought with clean hands. Previously unknown sources also enable Andrew Roberts, in his brilliantly written and fascinating "Masters and Commanders. How Roosevelt, Churchill, Marshall and Alanbrooke Won the War in the West," Penguin, London, 2008, to make an important new contribution to the history of strategy in the SecondWorld War -- a remarkable achievement since, as he tells us, the topic brings up 1.64 million hits on Google. A chance find in the Churchill Archives Centre in Cambridge led him to the contemporary handwritten notes of a minor official in the Cabinet Office, Lawrence Burgis, who illegally retained the detailed record he kept of Cabinet meetings -- accounts far more informative than the bland official minutes. Many other collections of private papers have also been trawled to produce this vivid and impressive story of the relations -- often laden with conflict though of momentous consequence in the strategic decisions that eventually emerged - of four individuals who were crucial to the waging of the war in the West. This splendid book centres on the question of how personality affects historical change. The answer is plain: when all account is taken of structural determinants in history, key individuals played roles that were unique and indispensable. Ian Kirshaw, author of "Hitler Toronto Globe "Book of the Year "From the Hardcover edition."