THE UPSTARTS – The German Middle Class Under Hitler

A self-made man from the provinces has big plans during the Third Reich. The family owns a cement factory and a winery. Soon, the family business becomes involved in building the West Wall and sets up a labor camp on the factory grounds, while the winery supplies wine to the guards of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. These dealings are only possible through close personal connections and networks, both locally and reaching up to the Nazi leadership. In this system, the five children of the patriarch become perpetrators and victims in their own ways.

The author, the great-granddaughter of the company founder, investigates this growing discomfort, searching through archives for evidence of long-suppressed truths – and she finds it. It becomes clear that, in this 2,500-person village in Rheinhessen, the conflicts of the era come into sharp focus. Christina Strunck not only tells the story of her family but also provides a microhistory of a community. Through this case study, she sheds light on the often-overlooked role of the German middle class in the Third Reich.