They felt that way because Hitler was such an anomalous character. Certainly the British ambassador to Germany also felt that way. LARSON: Well, that was a fairly commonly held opinion, especially among the diplomats who were actually operating in Berlin. GROSS: Well, the way you describe it, the view in the State Department, when William Dodd became the first ambassador to Nazi Germany, was that Hitler wouldn't last long. It was like: What was that like to have met these people, when you didn't know how all this would turn out? We, of course, all have the power of hindsight in our arsenal, but he didn't What would that have been like as this darkness fell over Germany? This little flame was sort of lit in my imagination. I started reading, was immediately engrossed, loved it, and the thing that really appealed to me, that really lit my imagination, was this idea that Shirer was actually there. I saw "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" by William Shirer, and I thought, OK, that's always been on my life to read. I'm afraid most of the good things in my life have come by accident. My last three books were set more or less in the Gilded Age, which is a period that I adore.īut this idea essentially came to me by accident. LARSON: Well, I'll tell you, this is an idea that just sort of surprised me, actually. Why did you want to write about the rise of Hitler through the eyes of Ambassador William Dodd and his daughter? Terry spoke to Erik Larson last May, when "In the Garden of Beasts" was released in hardcover.Įrik Larson, welcome back to FRESH AIR.
#LARSON I GUESS YOU COULD CALL ME THE LATE BIRD SERIAL#
Dodd, his wife Mattie and their daughter Martha arrived in Berlin in 1933, a few months after Hitler was sworn in as chancellor.ĮRIK LARSON: They remained there for four and a half years, but Larson says he focused on their first year because it coincided with Hitler's ascent from chancellor to absolute tyrant, when everything hung in the balance, and nothing was certain.ĭAVIES: Larson is also the author of "Devil in the White City," about a serial killer who lured his victims to the World's Fair in Chicago in 1893. The book, now out in paperback, tells the story of William Dodd, who was appointed by President Franklin Roosevelt to serve as the first American ambassador to Nazi Germany. His book, "In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin," asks the question: Why did it take so long to recognize the real danger posed by Hitler and his regime?
We're going to listen to Terry's interview with journalist and author Erik Larson.
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