Review: Erik Larson's “In the Garden of Beasts"

Erik Larson's “In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin” I had read his most famous work, “The Devil in the White City”, a couple of years ago, at the recommendation of a friend, and was quite taken by the vivid descriptions of old Chicago and the preparations of the World's Fair, as well as of Dr. H.H. Holmes, who was probably America's first serial killer, shortly after the time of Jack the Ripper in London. I even got a chance to visit some of the few sites remaining in Chicago from that era – well, really only one building exists from that World Fair, and the other site is a replica of the Statue of the Republic.

So, when I was in the store on November 8^th, the day that Stephen King's new novel “11/22/63” came out, I happened to see a book with a cover that reminded me of “The Devil in the White City”, and did a double take. It was not the same picture, of course. This one was of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, and had numerous Nazi flags surrounding it. One thing that was the same, however, was the name of the author – Erik Larson. So, although I had not been expecting to get any other book, I instinctively decided to pick it up.

I was glad I did. As a fan of history, it seems that Erik Larson's books really vividly breathe life into past events that might otherwise seem remote or distant, and thus surreal. This book was no exception. The thing is, the events of that era, of World War II in general and the monumental events of such epic proportions that maps would never be the same afterwards, and of Nazi Germany in particular and the Holocaust as a whole, seem sometimes so far removed from our world presently, from our reality, that they seem almost prescripted. An unusual period in history, but one that seems somehow isolated and remote. I would watch the footage of soldiers goose-stepping in lock step, marching past Hitler, or of wildly enthusiastic throngs of people in some mass gathering in Nuremberg, all straight arm saluting their Fuhrer, and of a world where the Nazi banner with the swastika in the middle draped over anything and everything that would not run away, and it seemed an entirely different reality. Almost, it feels like such things could never happen and, even if they did, that it was such an isolated event in history, that it could never happen again, that there was something about the people involved that set them apart, and that such a chapter in history was unexplainable and would forever retain a mysterious element about it. That, in short, it could never fully be understood so that average people who did not actually live through these events, people such as myself, would never be able to understand or appreciate that these events did occur, and that there were reasons for it.

Yet, once again, Erik Larson was able to do such a phenomenal job in writing this wonderful work, and allows history to come alive. As a reader, I felt almost like I was visiting Berlin, but not modern day Berlin, but rather Berlin as it would have been way back in 1933 and 1934, in what was then still the early days of Hitler's rule, when it was not at all certain that he was solidly in control of Germany, let alone destined to rule it with an infamously iron fist, and who would soon lead his country to war and conquest of most of Europe and much of North Africa, only to eventually have everything collapse, and leave it to rubble. Hitler boasted that he was building an empire that would last, his infamous “Thousand Year Reich”. Obviously, that did not happen, yet the extent that his skewed vision took a hold over an entire country seems somehow unbelievable upon reflection. Again, the images of police holding back Germans thrilled to see their Fuhrer in person, and reciting the Hitler Oath, just seems exclusively the domain of the past – and of a past that is not particularly related to the present as we know it anymore.

Erik Larson humanizes history, and he is successful in this work, as well. His accounts are of Berlin on a day to day basis, and almost passingly describes the changes that would become the defining images of Nazi Germany: the rising tide of official anti-Semitism that would drown the country in hatred, the not so slow build up of arms, the real life political concerns and rivalries and coups and mass executions that would allow eventually Hitler to rise to ultimate power, the signs of a people's loyalty, forced or otherwise, such as the Hitler Salute. He vividly describes the changes so that you can recognize them, knowing just how pervasive they would become, and how completely they would take over Germany. He reminds us that Hitler's rise, although infamous now in hindsight, was certainly not inevitable as it may seem to us now.

The American family that he focuses on are the Dodds, the new American diplomats at the behest of Franklin D. Roosevelt. William Dodd is a man who receives this distinction, nut who is actually looking elsewhere, occupied by other pursuits of greatness. The situation in Berlin, however, forces him to wake up and open his eyes, and he begins to see reality more clearly, becoming one of the very few to warn about the real threat that this new Germany poses to the world. Not taken seriously, and himself plagued by the realities of modern politics and power games, Dodd nonetheless remained a steady voice sounding the alarm of Hitler's real threat to world peace, at a time when others scoffed at him, or assumed that he was either exaggerating, or did not understand. History, however, proves that he understood only all too well.

Larson also focuses on Martha Dodd, the new ambassador's daughter, who seems initially rather taken by this “new Germany” and gets involved in affairs with all sorts of high ranking Nazis and other men of power and prestige at the time.

This is not a work of fiction, and indeed, we know the end result of most of the events that Larson describes in this book. Yet, he allows us to catch a glimpse of the world as it was then, when these huge events that we have known about all of our lives had not yet happened, and thus shows that these events were anything but predestined. Larson describes the slow and torturous turn towards these events that allowed the war and the Holocaust to eventually become the reality. He once again brings history to life, albeit a dark chapter of history, to be sure. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to better understand these events that would in time play a huge role in shaping not only the fate of Europe at the time, but indeed, would shape and inform our modern world presently. Much like with “The Devil in the White City”, Larson's most recent work shows a world much like our own, with many of the same concerns and situations that we feel so wrapped up in. The world back then is remarkably similar to the one that exists now, although it is easy to lose sight of that sometimes, and see it, as I admittedly saw it for too long, as somehow isolated and just “different”. It is this very real nature of things as they were, and as they are, that makes this a haunting work, because the situations and mindsets that he describes are only all too real, and many of the decisions and maneuvers are not only understandable to the reader, but in fact remind the reader that the world has indeed not changed nearly as much as perhaps we are led to believe. Like the saying goes, “the more things change, the more they stay the same”.

A very enjoyable read. Larson is one of the few authors that I can honestly say, I have not yet read a bad book of his. After reading this, in fact, I am not even entirely sure that he would be capable of writing a bad book! Highly recommended!