The Sound of Hunger: One German family's chronicle of the chivalry, politics, lies, murder and aftermath of war
Language: English
Published by - -, 2018
- Hardcover
- Used

Seller: Bahamut Media, Reading, United KingdomBahamut Media
AbeBooks seller since August 15, 2012
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 3.45
Quantity: 2 available
Add to basketItem description from seller
This book is in very good condition and will be shipped within 24 hours of ordering. The cover may have some limited signs of wear but the pages are clean, intact and the spine remains undamaged. This book has clearly been well maintained and looked after thus far. Money back guarantee if you are not satisfied. See all our books here, order more than 1 book and get discounted shipping.
Seller Inventory # 6545-9781911604419
- Title
- The Sound of Hunger: One German family's chronicle of the chivalry, politics, lies, murder and aftermath of war
- Author
- -
- Publisher
- - -
- Publication year
- 2018
- Condition
- Very Good
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Language
- English
- ISBN 10
- 1911604414
- ISBN 13
- 9781911604419
Sound of Hunger is a true story that centres on two German brothers, Erich and Georg Gerth, u-boat commanders, and the First Word War and its aftermath. The Gerths’ lives and careers as navy officers are set against the military, political and social environment of their times. Carefully-nurtured myths of national innocence and guilt are uncovered; discrediting truths and war crimes of both the Allies and Germany are brought into the limelight. This is not conventional history, but a personal view of the events that were integral to the Gerth brothers, to see how they were changed by what they heard, were taught and experienced. Sound of Hunger is unashamedly intimate in selection, perhaps eccentric in places; a personal journey that explains what was newly-found, how it was investigated and understood. Whatever you think you know about this war, be prepared to challenge your beliefs.
The book takes its title from the thrust of the war, not in the trenches, but in the deliberate attempts by both sides to starve each other’s civilian populations. The damage to Germany’s children was generational as food shortages were deliberately extended by the Allies to force Germany to a debilitating peace.
The brothers were born in booming Berlin in the 1880s, their father dying when they were young. Their mother sacrificed to see them through one of Berlin’s most prestigious secondary schools and paid their considerable fees as cadets. In the burgeoning naval fleet, they were of the lowest social class allowed into this elite new force. Their careers were exciting, extracted from German archives: spying in South America, bombardment of the English coast, sea battles, torpedoed and mined ships, and desperate survivals. One, as a French prisoner of war for over two years, made daring escape attempts, the other scuttling his boat in the Mediterranean amid collapsing Austrian armies. Remarkable contacts tumble from the pages, villains and heroes, the Kaiser, Alfred von Tirpitz, family-friend Wilhelm Canaris, Karl Dönitz, the Red Baron, Adolf Hitler.
The Gerths’ personal decisions are interwoven with Germany’s bid for world power, naval training, the founding of the Flanders u-boat bases, the importance of the Baltic and the Mediterranean, the economic blockade of Germany and its devastating effects on European neutral countries, unfettered submarine warfare, prison camps, Britain’s virulent propaganda designed to drag America into the conflict, and the German collapse.
The story does not end well. The brothers return to Germany and the post-war fight to the death between a new socialist republic, a murderous officer corps and the Spartacist revolution. The Gerths are forced to take sides. One becomes a philosopher and a businessman, seeking mental refuge. The other marries a countess and is swept into extreme right-wing politics: manning the barricades, the murder of communist leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, covertly preparing the second u-boat fleet for the next war. Canaris is everywhere scheming. Close family contacts are developed with Europe’s Catholic hierarchy, even to Eugenio Pacelli, the pope-to-be, the Spanish royal family, and with elite Paris society, in a very public attempt to rouse religious sentiment against a second world war. Everything falls apart. The German President and Foreign Minister together act with Rudolf Hess to ruin one of the brothers. Heinrich Himmler moves to take over of the legendary Ufa film studios, beggaring another family member. The family’s Jewish connections are disclosed: it is a time of forged passports, concentration camps, attempted flight to South America; and children hidden in Roman convents. The Gestapo steps in. One brother dies in poignant and lurid circumstances, the other becomes a recluse after watching the ruins of his family home and business, flattened by British carpet bombing of a demilitarised town."Synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author
"About the title" may belong to another edition of this title.
Bahamut Media
Reading, United Kingdom
AbeBooks seller since August 15, 2012
Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
| Item | 4 to 15 business days | 4 to 15 business days |
|---|---|---|
| First item | £ 6.98 | £ 6.98 |
Payment methods
Seller's business information
WRAP Ltd
Unit 4, 119 Loverock Rd
Reading, United Kingdom RG30 1DZ
Terms of sale
We guarantee the condition of every book as it's described
on the Abebooks web sites. If you're dissatisfied with your
purchase (Incorrect Book/Not as Described/Damaged) or if the
order hasn't arrived, you're eligible for a refund within 30
days of the estimated delivery date. If you've changed your
mind about a book that you've ordered, please use the Ask
bookseller a question link to contact us and we'll respond
within 2 business days.
Right of withdrawal
If you are a consumer you can withdraw from the contract in accordance with the following. Consumer means any natural person who is acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business, craft or profession.
Information regarding the right of withdrawal
Statutory right to withdraw
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.
The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last good or the last lot or piece.
To exercise the right of withdrawal, electronically fill in and submit a clear statement on our website, under "My Purchases" in "My Account". We will communicate to you an acknowledgement of receipt of such a withdrawal on a durable medium (e.g. by e-mail) without delay.
To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.
Effects of withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (except for the supplementary costs arising if you chose a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us).
We may make a deduction from the reimbursement for loss in value of any goods supplied, if the loss is the result of unnecessary handling by you.
We will make the reimbursement without undue delay, and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract.
We will make the reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.
We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back, or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.
You shall send back the goods or hand them over to Bahamut Media, Wallingford, United Kingdom, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods. You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.
Exceptions to the right of withdrawal
The right of withdrawal does not apply to:
- The delivery of newspapers, journals or magazines with the exception of subscription contracts; and
- The supply of digital content which is not supplied on a tangible medium (e.g. on a CD or DVD) if you accepted when you placed your order that we could start to deliver it, and that you could not withdraw once delivery had started.
Shipping terms
All books will normally be shipped within 1 working day of being ordered. We provide the best shipping rates we can to each country and you can rest assured that if you are not happy with anything you receive, you have a 100% money-back guarantee with us.