Emmel #8A

Gollancz, Victor. In Darkest Germany. Hinsdale, IL: Henry Regnery Co., 1947.

Victor Gollancz wrote In Darkest Germany after a trip to the British Occupation Zone in October
and November of 1947. The majority of the work is made of articles and letters that he wrote during his
trip with the addition of some additional commentary that he wrote specifically for publication. The book
also contains 144 photographs that he took documenting conditions in Germany. There is no other
documentation since this is a firsthand account. It is important to note that Gollancz is recording the
situation through his own filter which is that of a socialist. However, in many ways this is irrelevant in
many ways to the truth of the reality that he records. It is very difficult to argue with pictures.
Gollancz's purpose in writing the book is to inform the public of the horror of the true conditions
in Germany almost two years after the end of WW2. He starts with a chapter devoted to food and health.
While the standard British diet at the time was approximately 3,000 calories a day, the German workers,
not to mention children or other non-laborers such as non-working mothers and the elderly, were expected
to survive on a dirt in the neighborhood of 1,800 calories a day. However, due to shortages and lack of
supplies, the true intake was much less, closer to the order of 1200-1300 calories a day. Inadequate
nutrition was also lowering the overall health of people in Germany and diseases such as tuberculosis
were on the rise.
Gollancz goes on to describe the lack of material goods and essentials such as shoes, housing,
clothing and others. However, the most chilling chapter in the book deals with the education of Germany.
Gollancz coined a phrase totalitarian democracy that he used to indicate that the denazification of
Germany was producing a generation of people that saw democracy in negative terms and without true
freedom. This occurred because the people's mind were molded and censored to look only at the
democratic process as practiced in the west but not in any other way.