Mixed Mental Arts

In the wake of World War II, as the world discovered the full extent of the atrocities committed by the NAZIs, the German people struggled to make sense of their place in the world. Ruined, occupied and reviled, they had every reason to give up all hope. In his most recent book, The Temptation of Despair, Professor Werner Sollors examines contemporary records from the time to understand how they coped. In the process, he shows a side of World War II that is not often discussed.Today, we regard World War II as a morally clear war but well into 1941 the American people continued to oppose direct involvement. Even after the war, General Eisenhower said "We are told that the American soldier does not know what he was fighting for.” It was only with the discovery of the concentration camps that the American soldier would, as Eisenhower went on to explain, know "what he is fighting against.” World War II stands out in the American psyche as the good war. A war in which good guys fought against pure evil and everyon