Joachim Fest

Joachim Fest

Joachim Fest was born on December 8th, 1926. Joachim passed away September 11th, 2006 at 79 years old. Joachim Fest was born in Berlin, Germany.

Joachim Fest was best known as a strong-minded and thoughtful individual who enjoyed tackling difficult questions.

Fest spent his childhood during one of the worst times in Germany, at a time when his father insisted on his family retaining their values and opposing the Nazis when everyone else was conforming. As such, Fest was never a conformist, as he took after the moral firmness and courage of his father.

Toward the end of the Second World War, he found himself in a US prisoner of war camp following his conscription into the Wehrmacht. His experiences made him realize the seriousness of history and that even the smallest of choices could have significant consequences.

Fest was known for his willingness to stir debate, a cool wit, and a sharp mind. He loved to challenge conventional interpretations of Nazism and often pushed back against what he called simplistic explanations of the movement. He was convinced that moral failure played the biggest role, aside from political or economic forces.

Fest died in 2006, leaving behind a legacy of commentary and books.

In his debut work, The Face of the Third Reich, Joachim Fest looks into fifteen of the most infamous of the Nazis, including Hess, Hitler, Bormann, Goebbels, Speer, and Himmler, among others.

He shows what these Nazis were like, what they did, their ambitions, their rivalries and personalities, and how these shaped the Nazi state. He also studies groups, including the women, intellectuals, and military officers of the regime.

Joachim argues that the rise of the Third Reich was not only because of power or ideology, but also because of flawed and weak people who mindlessly followed Hitler.

In Inside Hitler’s Bunker, Joachim Fest tells of what happened in 1945 when Hitler moved to his underground bunker with the Allies closing in on Berlin.

He shows how Hitler’s mind and health got worse as he still held onto power and gave strange orders despite defeat being inevitable. As Berlin was crumbling amid all the chaos, starvation, and bombs, Hitler managed to retain a small core of followers who continued to listen to him.

When all hope was lost, Hitler ultimately committed suicide with his loyal followers burning his body so that it would not be taken by the Soviets.

In his 2006 work, Not I, Joachim Fest tells of his childhood, where he grew up in a family that opposed Hitler and the Nazis.

Since he grew up during the 1930s and 1940s, he was present when Hitler rose to power and led Germany toward untold devastation. During that time, his Catholic teacher father opposed the regime, and this led to him losing social standing and his job, too.

Sent to a provincial boarding school, he formed his sense of morality and truth even as he struggled with his father’s convictions. His exposure to the works of Mozart, Schiller, and Goethe instilled in him a love of learning, even as his struggles shaped his work as a commentator, critic, and historian.

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4. Harlan Coben, author of the Myron Bolitar Series.
5. Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.

Joachim Fest: F.A.Q