The S.S. Officer's Armchair

Uncovering the Hidden Life of a Nazi

De: Daniel Lee

Narrado por: Alex Wyndham

Based on documents discovered concealed within a simple chair for seventy years, this gripping investigation into the life of a single S.S. officer during World War Two encapsulates the tragic experience of a generation of Europeans


One night at a dinner party in Florence, historian Daniel Lee was told about a remarkable discovery. An upholsterer in Amsterdam had found a bundle of swastika-covered documents inside the cushion of an armchair he was repairing. They belonged to Dr. Robert Griesinger, a lawyer from Stuttgart, who joined the S.S. and worked at the Reich's Ministry of Economics and Labor in Nazi-occupied Prague during the war. An expert in the history of the Holocaust, Lee was fascinated to know more about this man--and how his most precious documents ended up hidden inside a chair, hundreds of miles from Prague and Stuttgart.

In The S.S. Officer's Armchair, Lee weaves detection with biography to tell an astonishing narrative of ambition and intimacy in the Third Reich. He uncovers Griesinger's American back-story--his father was born in New Orleans and the family had ties to the plantations and music halls of nineteenth century Louisiana. As Lee follows the footsteps of a rank and file Nazi official seventy years later, and chronicles what became of him and his family at the war's end, Griesinger's role in Nazi crimes comes into focus. When Lee stumbles on an unforeseen connection between Griesinger and the murder of his own relatives in the Holocaust, he must grapple with potent questions about blame, manipulation, and responsibility.

The S.S. Officer's Armchair is an enthralling detective story and a reconsideration of daily life in the Third Reich. It provides a window into the lives of Hitler's millions of nameless followers and into the mechanisms through which ordinary people enacted history's most extraordinary atrocity.

Reseñas de la Crítica

LitHub, "13 New Books to Look Out For This Week"

"The S.S. Officer's Armchair is an extraordinary book that lingers in the memory long after you've read the final page. I became totally engrossed in Daniel Lee's investigations to discover the story behind long hidden Nazi documents. In uncovering the life of an disconcertingly outwardly ordinary man who became an SS Officer, the atrocity of the Holocaust--and those who supported, facilitated, or chose to ignore what was happening all around them--becomes even more shocking."—The Rt Honorable Baroness Smith of Basildon

"In Daniel Lee's The S.S. Officer's Armchair, the story of an utterly obscure and 'ordinary' S.S. officer--recovered through extraordinary research--is embedded in the illuminating context of upper-middle-class German society and family life in the first half of the twentieth century. The result is a fascinating combination of social history, family drama, and ingenious detective work."
—Christopher R. Browning, Frank Porter Graham professor of history emeritus, University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill, andauthor of Ordinary Men

"Beginning with his discovery of a cache of papers sewed, inexplicably, into an old armchair, Daniel Lee traces the life of an ordinary though far from insignificant Nazi bureaucrat, showing, as his story slides into horror, that there is no such thing as an armchair Nazi. His interviews with the surviving children and grandchildren add a poignant postscript to this powerful investigation of the war between memory and oblivion."—Alice Kaplan,Sterling professor of French at YaleUniversity and author of Looking for the Stranger

"Many of the most horrific acts against humanity during the Holocaust were carried out by the untold thousands of low-level, virtually-unknown civil servants, who facilitated the worst deeds of the Nazi enterprise without ever getting their own hands dirty. In this brilliantly researched story of one such 'ordinary Nazi,' Daniel Lee illuminates the whole."—Martha Weinman Lear, author of Heartsounds and Where Did I LeaveMy Glasses?

"...[A] fascinating true-life detective story, as the author engagingly chronicles his searches in archives and interviews with elderly survivors."—Kirkus Reviews

"...[R]ichly detailed and eloquent... even those well-versed in the history of the Holocaust will learn something new."—Publishers Weekly

"Beautiful and gripping, it unfolds like a detective story as an obscured past emerges into the light."—Hadley Freeman, author of House of Glass: The Story and Secrets of a Twentieth-Century Jewish Family

People Make Choices That Have Repercussions

A very interesting and well read story about the life of a man that chose a career and a political party in Germany between the end of World War I and prior to the beginning of World War II. I found the details about this man’s family, friends ,professional contacts ,and the decisions he made while interacting with them illustrative of his personality. Not all evil people look like monsters.

A Thorough and Engaging Hunt for a HIdden Past

Daniel Lee’s The S.S. Officer's Armchair offers a fascinating dive into the clandestine life of a Nazi officer uncovered through the most unexpected of artifacts—an old armchair. The author’s detailed research shines through, as he painstakingly traces clues and documents to piece together the officer’s hidden history. In doing so, Lee sheds light on both the larger Nazi hierarchy and the personal motivations that drove men to commit atrocities.

The result is a well-written investigation that moves along at a solid pace. It’s as much a detective story as it is a historical narrative, with each new discovery adding a layer of complexity. At times, the focus can feel a bit diffuse when Lee delves into side stories or broader historical context, but for the most part, the level of detail serves to enrich the reader’s understanding of how a seemingly ordinary piece of furniture could spark an entire inquiry into one man’s buried past.

I listened to the audiobook narrated by Alex Wyndham, whose clear and engaging delivery held my attention throughout. He balances the investigative tone with the somber realities of the subject matter, making for an absorbing listen.

If you’re intrigued by hidden histories, detective-like pursuits into the past, or untold stories of World War II, The S.S. Officer’s Armchair is well worth your time. It brings to life a corner of Nazi history most people have never heard of, showing how even the most mundane objects can reveal extraordinary—and sometimes chilling—secrets.

This book leave me wanting more

In my view this book should be required reading for anyone interested in the history of the History of Nazi Germany. Well we all know about Hitler and his inner circle this is the first book that I found that examines the life of a low level SS officer without men such as Robert Griesinger the subject of the Book the Nazi state could not have existed without the willing participation of a large number of people, cogs in the machine as it wereHopefully more scholarship will be done on every day life and the third Rike

Fascinating!

History as presented in this book of an ordinary overlooked member of SS, reminds us of the evil pervasive in all facets of the Nazi war efforts. Wish there were more historical records of the “ordinary” soldiers to get a broader perspective on how this evil happened and could happen again.

Well Researched and Easy Listening

This book is chock full of details about WW II that are fascinating. I thought I had read it all!
It is not a rehash of Nazi persecution but instead a fascinating deep dive into one man’s story. His place in history is horrifically problematic, but the author does a great job of placing this “desk murderer” in time and place.

What a mystery solved!

The author does a masterful job of sleuthing the origins and identity of the person to whom the papers belonged. Who would imagine that such papers would years later be found under upholstery? Griesinger seemed an "ordinary German" who was opportunistic in joining the S.S. I learned that those who served as he did didn't wear the uniform every day like those who were in combat so perhaps it was easier for them to be more ordinary. Though it would seem Griesinger wasn't involved in the Holocaust the author demonstrates how such people could be considered "desk murders" by their ability to issues order. This is a must read for those who like this genre.

Narrator Ruined Experience

This book has a great deal of information and interest for those trying to understand the everyday German and workaday Nazi in Germany. However, the narrator has made it very hard to listen. His tone never changes—no inflections and an insistent tone in every sentence. I want to hear this book, but I just can’t get through it.

An important message, not entirely compelling

A moderately interesting account which works to belie the notion of the guiltless functionary, working in the evil machine. Both historically and in these times, it's important to keep all cogs accountable for their roles, and rip away any plausible deniability. However, I'm not sure the scope of this particular story could expand beyond a serialized magazine expose. Stretching to an 8 hour book seemed a bit much.

Fascinating story

Daniel takes you on an exciting journey to investigate the owner of the armchair's contents.

interesting

easy listen, well written, really well documented, but most important a statement on the average Nazi there were so many!