Publisher's Weekly Review
Historian Milton (Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy) captures in this immersive account the drama and intrigue of Berlin in the immediate aftermath of WWII. At the 1945 Yalta conference, Berlin was divided into three zones of occupation to be controlled by the U.S., Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. However, the border of Soviet-controlled East Germany was drawn 110 miles west of Berlin, which meant that the American and British sectors of the city would be surrounded by the Red Army. The Allies hoped that any difficulties could be overcome by diplomacy, but problems arose from the beginning. Soviet troops entered Berlin first and began a program of rape, violence, and plunder; by the time the Allies were allowed in, the Russians had looted everything of value from the Western sectors. Milton notes that the basic ration card providing Berliners with only 1,504 calories per day was known as the "death card," and documents high-level Soviet defections that brought to light Russian infiltration of U.S. and British atomic research programs, Stalin's rigging of local elections, the kidnapping of German scientists by the Soviets, the diplomatic tensions leading up to the 1948--1949 Soviet blockade of the city's western half, and the resulting airlift that helped bring the siege to an end. Full of vivid details and intriguing personalities, this is a page-turning chronicle of a noteworthy period in world history. (July)
Kirkus Review
An account of the stormy Allied-Soviet relations in Berlin after Germany's 1945 surrender. Most histories of this period emphasize Allied leaders (Truman, Churchill, Stalin) or generals (Eisenhower, Montgomery). In his latest World War II history, however, Milton moves down the hierarchy to focus on Berlin's four military governors, especially American colonel Frank Howley and his bitter rival, Soviet general Alexander Kotikov. A civil affairs specialist, Howley impressed superiors in governing and feeding Cherbourg and then Paris before he was promoted to command the American sector of Berlin. On June 17, 1945, his unit moved toward Berlin only to be stopped and harassed at the border of Soviet-occupied Germany. It was not until July 1 that he entered a city stripped bare after two months of Soviet looting, with communists in control of the police as well as road and rail traffic. Howley arrived with written orders to cooperate; however, confronted with Soviet policy aimed at expelling the three Western occupiers, he disobeyed. It helped that, unlike his British and French colleagues, he was both pugnacious and enterprising. Milton devotes two-thirds of the book to shouting matches, political skulduggery, and violent confrontation that might be called "comic-opera" if it weren't for the Soviet willingness to engage in kidnapping, sabotage, and murder. Perhaps the high note was the 1946 Berlin city council election. Free elections were never a Soviet strength, but they deluged the electorate with food, privileges, propaganda, and promises only to be horrified at their landslide defeat with less than 20% of the vote. Finally exasperated, in 1948 they cut off all supplies, resulting in the iconic Berlin airlift. Many popular histories treat that operation as a dazzling triumph, but Milton's detailed account reveals that Berliners starved and suffered intensely before Stalin called off the Soviet blockade. The author ends in 1949, with Berlin firmly divided, an outcome acceptable to the West but a persistent drain on the Soviet Union that ultimately contributed to its collapse. Entertaining if unedifying fireworks in postwar Berlin. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Recognizing that Berlin was a center of attention throughout the Cold War, historian Milton (Soldier, Sailor, Frogman, Spy) enlightens both avid readers and practicing historians with sketches of the foreign military leaders who, from 1945 to 1949, presided over occupied Berlin's four sectors and interacted with each other and their countries' commanders in Germany. These lesser-known figures include American colonel Frank "Howlin' Mad" Howley; Soviet military commander Alexander Kotikov; British general Brian Robertson; and French general Charles Lançon, among others. Expertly employing candid vignettes, Milton also recognizes the roles played by U.S. air force officers William Tunner and Curtis LeMay during World War II, as well as the influence of Soviet general Georgy Zhukov. Although the Cold War ended in 1991, it still influences the relationship between Russia and the United States, Milton deftly argues. VERDICT Weaving together archival transcripts and an incredible array of secondary sources, this book satisfies on many levels and will engage fans of military history, as well as readers looking for fresh takes on World War II. As in his previous books, Milton's writing here is accessible and holds readers' attention from start to finish.--Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Lib. of Congress, Washington, DC
