Cover Image: The SS Officer's Armchair

The SS Officer's Armchair

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Member Reviews

This was a potentially fascinating historical book, about the life of SS Officer Robert Griesinger, whose documents were found hidden in a chair many years after his death. Described as "a gripping account" I am afraid I did not find it particularly gripping, rather dull, overly detailed and tedious in places. I had fully expected to hate Griesinger, for obvious war-related reasons, however I ended up feeling sorry for him, which was clearly not the author's intended aim for his readers. I felt that the book focussed far too much on his family instead of the man himself, and was therefore underwhelming as a result.

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I had this book on my Kindle and in the interests of reading more non-fiction I thought I would give it a go. My knowledge of history and WW2 is very poor so I wasn’t sure what I would think about this book.

The author, Daniel Lee, is a WW2 historian. He is given papers which were discovered in an armchair. The papers belonged to Robert Griesinger who was part of the SS. Daniel begins to research Griesinger and contacts many members of his family.

I found it was a bit difficult to keep track of everyone and how they’re connected as so many people are referred to throughout the book. Reading on my kindle, I found it tricky to refer to the notes as they’re at the back of the book. If you had a physical book I think this would be easier to do.

The book includes many photos and this gives you more of a sense of the people involved. It also breaks up the text a bit.

To begin with I found the book surprisingly readable, but then it got a bit dry for me. I didn’t want to pick it up and read it.

I think this book would be more suited to those with an interest in history, particularly WW2. The book is clearly well researched and the author has put a lot of time and effort into it.

Not a bad book, just not really for me.

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This book was difficult to read and I did not finish it unfortunately. I will try again maybe next year.

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Very historical and very well researched and written, but I struggled to get in to it and it wasn’t exactly as I thought it would be, still a worthwhile read but quite hard going.

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Well researched, well written but I struggled with this book and had to keep putting down and picking up again.

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I thought, going into this, it was going to be a book about...well, not this.
As has been discovered over the years, officers of various armies, but most notably German and Russian to date, used to store papers in their chairs to hide them.
This novel follows an anonymous but meticulously researched novel, almost written like a detective style piece, that outlines the job of what must have been one of an army of nameless civil servants, officers and staff. It puts a whole new spin on how things actually run. It's kinda obvious when you think about it, but chilling too. That so many people were involved in the deaths of so many other people, and while their hand wasn't on the actual 'trigger' as it were, they were still involved in some way. A lot to consider, a lot to think about, a well written and researched book.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.
4.5 stars

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This is stellar research, but i struggled with this being a little dull.

This book is a huge contribution to history about the Nazi's, but it wasn't a gripping read and it took me quite some time to get through this. I'd recommend this to readers who have a real passion about historical events or want to read about WW2 in particular.

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Found this book disappointing in the sense that, everything the book covers is already laid out for the reader in the introduction and foreword, and as such, it's only if you're really interested in the nitty gritty of the process of finding all this information does the full (actually very long!) read become remotely interesting. As such, it was a bit meh at being captivating and really a page-turner

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A fascinating read. I enjoyed how the story unfolded in this one. The author has certainly researched this well. A captivating read,

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Thank you to netgalley right a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The fact that this story started with a second hand chair really fascinated me.

The account traces the life of Dr Robert Greisinger, a German lawyer who was also a SS Officer and Nazi.

It was interesting as a reader to learn about ordinary Germans like Dr Greisinger in World War II and their life afterwards.

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This book took me a little while to get into but I’m so glad I persevered. Was really good to follow the story over time and distance, meeting the people shaped by the findings in an inconspicuous chair! How much of this history has been destroyed? A good insight in to, from a UK citizens point of view, the ‘other side’. Thank you for bringing this story to us and giving us a glimpse of what, when and why these things happened at all.

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This is an interesting account of the research carried out by the author, Daniel Lee, an academic historian, following a chance chat, at a party, with a doctoral student, during which she relates a curious incident that followed her purchase of an old armchair. She tells him how, following the discovery of a sheaf of documents stuffed into its seat, an outraged Dutch furniture repairer refused to carry out some minor restoration work. The reason being; the papers belonged to a Nazi SS officer. Lee, whose specialist period is the Second World War, is intrigued. When asked if the documents might be of interest, he jumps at the opportunity.

They appear to include genuine evidence of the SS officer’s identity, which sets Lee off on a search for the man’s history. The resulting book provides, insights into both, the bureaucratic minutia of the Nazi state, and how the process of historical research, considering the difficulty in obtaining bone-fide primary and secondary sources, proceeds. But part of its fascination lies in discovering, potentially, how an ordinary German, albeit, with SS rank, fitted into the bureaucratic machinery responsible for implementing Heidrich’s ‘Final Solution: what makes a seemingly everyday family man, at home, participate in a system of mass murder, at work?

Of course, there is much conjecture. His surviving children were very young during the war, so how much weight can be given to their recollections? Nevertheless, it is an intriguing and well-written story, providing important insights into what, when and how much was known by ‘ordinary’ Germans, and the desensitizing reality of life in the Third Reich.

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Although the synopsis for this book looked very interesting sadly I was unable to get to grips with it despite a number of attempts.

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Reverting back and back into history of a repugnant German man's history, our investigator surprises even the descent family of this SS officer. I was drawn in too .. the theme of the ordinary man/ bureaucrat signing up to evil despite family and children himself .. is compelling and naturally timely. The natural curiosity of the journalist is matched by us, his readers .. very skilfully done

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The SS Officer's Armchair
In Search of a Hidden Life
by Daniel Lee
Random House UK
Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, for this review copy. This is my unbiased review of the author's work and style. If you want plot lines and spoilers, please see the publisher's blurb and other reviewers' reports.
My apologies for this late review the author and the publisher could expect more diligence on my part and would have got it but for covid-19 and a defunct computer.
Daniel Lee’s book is, in my opinion what history, especially relatively recent history, is all about. His impeccable research and ability to dig out the essence of his protagonist’s life and service to the Third Reich shows what a good and believable historian he is.
I would recommend everyone to read this epic journey. The insight it gives regarding the citizens of Europe and the Nazi regime under which they lived and the reluctance for those who knew what was happening or had happened to tell their own progeny shows why it has taken so long for the truths big and small to be comprehended.
Five stars all the way.

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It took me a while to getting around to reading this book from the time it was on my shelf. Not because I didn't want to read it but just because I think one needs to be in the right frame of mind to be ready to tackle such a subject as contained within. The writer has clearly done extensive research and given us a book which is not only contains a mystery but also a huge slice of history. We need to remember as we read that it is easy to be critical of actions taken with our hindsight of looking with our future knowledge. Descisions made back then when the indoctrination and call for obedience to authority was expected, are not those we would choose today but we are not living in those times. This book should make you think, not only about the past but also about how we make descisions today.

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The fact that this fascinating story started with a second hand chair is amazing. In The SS Officer's Armchair, Daniel Lee traces the life of Dr Robert Greisinger, an ordinary, middle class German lawyer who was also a SS Officer and Nazi. The story looks at the uncomfortable truth of the involvement of "ordinary Germans" like Dr Greisinger in World War II and how post war Germany dealt with them, especially their own families. It also gives the reader an insight in to how Nazi Germany established itself which again isn't often included in books like this.

A really insightful and well written story.

I was given a copy of The SS Officer's Armchair by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

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A bit hard to get into but an interesting read all the same.
Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book

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I really enjoyed this book and it was very different from the books I normally read. It was nice to branch out to something different! Thank you netgalley for the opportunity to read this title in exchange for a review.

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Thank you to Netgalley and Random House UK, Vintage Publishing.

5 star read- This was an excellent interesting and informative read, i really enjoyed it so much, i recommend to all who like this sort of genre of book, and if you like world war 2.- such a facinating read too, if you want to read this or if this is on your watchlist or tbr then you must do you will not regret it.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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