In the Garden of Beasts

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler’s Berlin by Erik Larson is a non-fiction book published in 2011. It recounts the early years of Germany's Nazi regime from the perspective of the American ambassador, William Dodd, and his family. In Berlin, the family watches with growing horror as Hitler increases his dictatorial control over Germany, rearms the country in preparation for war, and conducts a national campaign of violent abuse against German Jews.

At first, Ambassador William Dodd is more concerned about trimming wasteful embassy spending and getting Germany to pay its old war debts, but soon he realizes that the real problem is Hitler and the Nazis. Their brutality violates the rules of civil governance, and their rearming of Germany flies in the face of international treaties. Signs of a coming war are everywhere, but few in America will listen to Dodd’s warnings.

Caught in a world where they can speak about, but not influence, events, the Dodds spend their time attending lavish diplomatic functions, enjoying late-night parties, and living in a luxurious mansion. Daughter Martha, an adventurous young woman, joins Berlin’s social whirl, discusses politics with famous correspondents, and dates powerful government officials. Soon enough, Martha becomes disenchanted with the Nazis’ ways and tries to take steps against them.

In the Garden of Beasts contains 55 chapters divided into seven sections. Part 1, “Into the Wood,” describes how Dodd, a noted professor of history, backs into the role of ambassador to Germany hoping that it will give him time to finish writing his book on the American South. He and his wife bring their two grown children to Berlin in the summer of 1933.

Part 2, “House Hunting in the Third Reich,” details the Dodd family’s search for a place to live against the background of Nazi attacks on German Jews, abuses ignored or disbelieved by most foreign diplomats. The Dodds move into a fine mansion across the street from Berlin’s great public park called the “Tiergarten,”  which means “the garden of beasts.” The mansion’s owner is a Jewish banker who lives upstairs and hopes that the American ambassador’s presence will dissuade the authorities from breaking in and arresting him.

In Part 3, “Lucifer in the Garden,” young Martha becomes intimate with Rudolf Diels, commander of the Gestapo, the secret police. Diels approaches his work with ruthless efficiency, yet he begins to doubt his efforts and soon finds his life in danger from fanatical Nazis eager to replace him. Martha then takes up with a Soviet diplomat, Boris Winogradov, who tries to steer her away from the Nazis and toward his Marxist ideals. Meanwhile, the German government passes more anti-Jewish laws, Nazis beat foreign visitors for failing to salute, and Hitler begins to rearm Germany in defiance of international treaties.

“How the Skeleton Aches,” Part 4, delves into the Reichstag arson trial, during which the Nazis try to convict several Communists for burning the parliament building. In November 1933, Hitler arranges a national election where only Nazis can run for office. Germany passes more laws that restrict Jewish participation in society. Dodd spars with State Department officials who want to oust him for his reformist ways.

Part 5, “Disquiet,” presents the increasing tension between Hitler and one of his top adjutants, Ernst Röhm, who is the captain of Hitler's private army, the Storm Troopers. The American Jewish Congress holds a mock trial of Hitler in New York, angering the Germans. Diels again gets into deadly political trouble and barely escapes, transferring from the Gestapo to commissioner of Cologne. Paranoia builds among Berliners; Dodd takes a much-needed vacation in America.

In Part 6, “Berlin at Dusk,” Martha’s sympathies shift and she becomes more involved in a left-wing group that holds regular salons where participants exchange forbidden ideas. Hermann Göring shows off his ersatz medieval estate. The vice-chancellor speaks out against Nazi excesses, and Hitler prepares a drastic reply.

Part 7, “When Everything Changed,” describes the sudden horrors of the July 1934 “Night of the Long Knives” when Hitler’s men arrest and execute hundreds of people that Hitler believes are plotting against him. Part 7 also provides a glimpse into the final years of Dodd’s ambassadorship, how Hitler’s maneuvers give Germany control of Austria and Czechoslovakia, and how Europe inches closer to war.

Written like a thriller, In the Garden of Beasts is based entirely on historical records, its dialogue pulled from memoirs and letters. The book contains numerous photos, extensive notes with annotations, and a bibliography.