The Arms of Krupp: 1587-1968
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The Arms of Krupp: 1587-1968 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 288 ratings
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In this narrative of extraordinary richness, depth, and authority, America's preeminent biographer/historian explored the German national character as no other writer has done. The Arms of Krupp brings to life Europe's wealthiest, most powerful family, a 400-year German dynasty that developed the world's most technologically advanced weapons, from cannons to submarines to antiaircraft guns; provided arms to generations of German leaders, including the Kaiser and Hitler; operated private concentration camps during the Nazi era; survived conviction at Nuremberg; and wielded enormous influence on the course of world events. William Manchester's galvanizing account of the rise and fall of the Krupp dynasty is history as it should be written - alive with all its terrifying power.

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  1. Listening Length
    48 hours and 14 minutes
  2. Author
    William Manchester
  3. Narrator
    Paul Boehmer
  4. Audible release date
    May 9, 2017
  5. Language
    English
  6. Publisher
    Blackstone Audio, Inc.
  7. ASIN
    B071YGNSNY
  8. Version
    Unabridged
  9. Program Type
    Audiobook
  10. See all details
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Product details

Listening Length 48 hours and 14 minutes
Author William Manchester
Narrator Paul Boehmer
Audible.com Release Date May 09, 2017
Publisher Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Program Type Audiobook
Version Unabridged
Language English
ASIN B071YGNSNY
Best Sellers Rank #70,550 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals)
#37 in World War I History (Audible Books & Originals)
#67 in German History (Audible Books & Originals)
#340 in World War I History (Books)

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
288 global ratings
About the Book
5 Stars
About the Book
A masterwork of history-restored to print and made available for the first time in trade paperback.In this massive, compellingly readable book, America's preeminent biographer/historian brings to life Europe's richest, most powerful family, a 400-year dynasty that developed the world's most technologically advanced weapons (from cannons to submarines to anti-aircraft guns); provided arms to generations of German leaders, including the Kaiser and Hitler; operated private concentration camps during the Nazi era; survived conviction at Nuremberg; and wielded enormous influence on the course of world events. William Manchester's account of the rise and fall of the Krupp dynasty is history as it should be written-alive with all its terrifying power.The Arms of Krupp (1968) is William Manchester's history of the Krupp dynasty, which owned and ran a dominant armaments manufacturing company in Germany. The company was based in Essen. The book presents very readable descriptions of the behavior of the Krupp family and its firm from the Thirty Years' war to the Kaisers, the Weimar Republic, the Nazis, the American occupation, and finally the Bonn government. The book describes how under each regime (except possibly Weimar) the family and firm received favorable treatment. Bizarre facets of families members are presented in detail. The innovative social welfare programs for factory workers are starkly contrasted with the treatment of forced laborers (ostarbeiters, etc.)
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Top reviews from the United States

JH
5.0 out of 5 stars Krupp - An Amazing Story
Reviewed in the United States on December 29, 2013
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I was vaguely aware of the Krupp name mostly in relation to World War I and their siege cannons. But, I had no idea of the true significance of this family run business and dynasty. Reading about Krupp for the first time, I was amazed by their impact on the Franco-Prussian War, the re-armament of Germany after WWI, and Krupp's complicity with the Third Reich and exploitation and murder of Jews and conquered peoples. The history of the Krupp dynasty is definitely a story worth telling and one William Manchester does good job of setting down.

The Arms of Krupp traces the history of the Krupp family from the beginnings in Essen. Manchester pieces together what is known about Arndt Krupp and explains the how grew the family estate by purchasing property during the height of plague outbreak. The family became a cornerstone of Essen participating or leading the local government. But, the Krupps were not always successful. Manchester also relates the life of Friedrich Krupp as he brings the family to the brink of complete ruin. But, Friedrich's obsession to be the great industrialist is transferred to his son Alfred Krupp; and, Alfred is able to put the Krupp name back to the forefront. Alfred builds the family fortune on silverware and railroad wheels. But his pet project cannons will transform the family business into an armaments factory.

The history of Germany and Krupp are intertwined. As you read about Krupp's influence on Prussia and the world, you will learn about the foundations of the country of Germany. Read as a small insignificant power stands up to France, the strongest military around at the time, and beats them decisively in the Franco-Prussian War. Krupp's cannons and Prussian tactics change the military landscape dramatically.

There is little in the book about the first world war. Most of the content during these times is Alfred arming every nation he can, which sometimes leads him into conflict with Kaiser Wilhelm I and II. But the Kaisers embrace Krupp and usually submit to their requests. Kaiser Wilhelm II is so involved with the Krupp company that he supports Friedrich Alfred "Fritz" Krupp when exposed for hiring underage boys for sex. And after Fritz's suicide, Kaiser Wilhelm II selects the husband for Bertha Krupp when she comes of age.

But the majority of The Arms of Krupp is dedicated to Gustav and Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach actions after World War I and during World War II. In fact, 5/8 of the book cover this period. For those who think Krupp was blameless during WWII, this book will set the record straight. Gustav almost single handedly planted the seeds of the rearmament of Germany, violating the Treaty of Versailles soon after the war and well before Hitler came to power. They were developing plans for new weapons and operating under shadow companies to allow them to develop weapons. Gustav was not the earliest of supporters for Hitler (Alfried had joined the SS in 1931), but once he provided his backing, he went all the way. Gustav funded Hitler directly and encouraged others to do so as well. Once Hitler was in power, Gustav bent the Krupp company full speed into arms manufacturing.

Gustav was succeeded by his son Alfried as strokes and dementia diminish Gustav's ability to lead the firm. Manchester examines Alfried's childhood, family life, leadership style, and character. He then focuses on Alfried actions showing his guilt in pillaging conquered territories and use of slave labor. Based on this evidence, there could be little doubt that Alfried deserved his place at the hangman noose. However, that was not to be. As Germany's position deteriorates, Alfried is collected as a war criminal. Due to confusion between him and his father, the Allied authorities do not put Alfried on trial until after the first defendants are tried. By the time Alfried is convicted in 1948, political circumstances have changed and Alfried receives a 12 year prison sentence (he only serves 6 years) and forfeiture of property (something that never really happens). Manchester then discusses how Alfried was later freed by a review panel, that did not even consult the original judges or prosecution.

Once Alfried is freed, Manchester details Alfried's renewed control of the firm using Berthold Beitz as his mouthpiece. He discusses Alfried's efforts to avoid selling his coal and steel assets. He also follows Alfried's efforts to drum up new business for the firm. However, Alfried's son Arndt has a complete lack of interest in the business. Manchester explains the firm's financial difficulties with the massive debts and the falling coal prices and demand. Alfried's attempts to save the firm and avoid opening the books, but with Alfried's death and the firm's finances in public view, Firma Friedrich Krupp is dissolved. And so ends Manchester's book. There is no discussion of what the Krupp firm dissolved into, only that it was no more. I would also note that this book rarely focuses on the details of Krupp inventions. Manchester provides enough description to explain their significance, but if you want more depth on this you will have to get that somewhere else.

I visited Villa Hugel, the family estate, recently since I happened to be nearby on a trip. Not surprisingly due to the stigma of World War I and II, there was virtually no display of the armaments that Krupp is most known for. Most of the display is dedicated to peaceful pursuits. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to see it, but if you are in the area and have read the book you might want to check it out.
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James C. Fletcher
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2023
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This is an old book, as in written years ago, and I've read it more than once. I purchased this one as a gift. It is an insightful look into the complexity of corporations and the power of individualism in the trying times of war. Highly recommend the book.
Though delivery of this copy was delayed, I did get it and it was in good condition for a used book. I am totally satisfied with this transaction.
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T. Graczewski
4.0 out of 5 stars All in the Family
Reviewed in the United States on April 13, 2021
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Originally published in 1964, “The Arms of Krupp” has earned the title of a non-fiction classic. Highly readable, the tale William Manchester tells is fascinating and all the more enjoyable for his mordant wit. At over 800 pages in length, however, it is a daunting read and at times can feel overwhelming.

The Krupp steel company shuffled along on the brink of insolvency in the Ruhr Valley town of Essen for several generations before Alfred Krupp (1812-1887) took over the company at the preposterously early age of 14. His father had left him a small foundry with less than ten employees on the verge of bankruptcy. Half a century later Alfred would leave his son, Fritz (1854-1902), the largest industrial enterprise in the resurgent Second Reich with over 20,000 workers and a reputation for excellence known the world over.

It wasn’t easy for Alfred Krupp, the man who would become known as the “Cannon King.” In many ways, as is often the case in business, luck had something to do with it. Through grit and sagacious management, Alfred had grown the Krupp steel works slowly but competently over several decades. Arms had never been their primary product. Rather, Alfred had perfected his process for smelting steel just in time for the surge in demand from the explosive growth of railroads in the 1850s. His patented process for forging seamless railroad wheels would bankroll his entry into the global arms market.

A major theme of “The Arms of Krupp,” somewhat surprisingly, is the stodgy, often blinkered view of the Prussian officer corps when it came to Krupp innovations in artillery. Far from being a truculent partnership in the cooperative development of new machines of death, the military often resisted Krupp’s latest inventions, Manchester argues. For instance, in the 1860s Krupp was promoting steel cannon over brass, which had been the standard since Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo. “[Steel] represented change,” Manchester writes, “and the ossified brass regarded all progress with slit eyes.”

Amazingly, in this reviewer’s opinion, Krupp’s most steadfast opponent was the famed military innovator Albrecht von Roon. It was only after Prussia’s stunning defeat over the French in 1870 – a victory according to many owed largely to the superiority of Krupp steel artillery over the brass cannon of the French manufacturer Schneider – that the Krupp reputation as a world class arms dealer was made. But industrial political relations with Berlin remained strained as Krupp insisted on the right to sell arms broadly on the international market but expected an exclusive relationship with the Prussian military. Indeed, for much of the nineteenth century the Essen-Berlin alliance remained strained.

Fritz Krupp inherited an industrial behemoth and then expanded the enterprise beyond anyone’s dreams. He was, Manchester writes, “the most successful, baffling, charming, repulsive and most enigmatic of all the Krupps.” He was also a notorious homosexual with a preference for young Italian boys. The ensuing scandal would lead to his suicide. But before his untimely death in 1902 he had galvanized the relationship between the House of Krupp and the House of the Hohenzollern. He got on fabulously with the new Kaiser, Wilhem II, who Manchester characterizes as an “irresponsible, pompous, impulsive popinjay.” The Essen-Berlin alliance was firmly established. Indeed, Manchester claims that the Hohenzollern without Krupp behind them was “a house of cards.”

The next in line was Kustav Krupp von Bohlen und Holbach, the husband of Fritz’s eldest daughter Bertha. They were married in 1908 and, contrary to tradition, he took her name. A cheerless martinet and former diplomat, Manchester claims, “It is in fact doubtful that he entertained a single original thought in his entire life.” If unimaginative, he was certainly not uncommitted. Even more than his predecessor, Gustav ensured that the Krupp works were welded to the German military. At the height of World War I, Krupp was employing over 150,000 men and was churning out 9 million shells and 3,000 cannon each MONTH. The massive Krupp 420 howitzers decimated the supposedly impregnable defenses of Liege. The Kaiser was more than satisfied with his arms maker in Essen.

Even more consequential to the overall story, Gustav was committed to rearmament after the war and collaborated with the General Hans von Seekt in circumventing the restrictions of Versailles. The Krupp family came late to the National Socialist party, but when they came they did so with gusto. The alliance between Hitler and Krupp was tight and consequential. Hitler bestowed special privileges upon the Krupp works and the Krupp works bestowed upon Hitler the war machines necessary to fulfill his destiny. The story of that relationship, first with Gustav and then, after his retirement in 1943, with his son, Alfried, takes up half of the book, a total of 400 pages. Indeed, the narrative becomes overwhelming. The great surprise is that the backward, “inferior” Slavs of the Soviet Union would outpace Krupp in terms of both quantity and quality during the war. Soviet weapons designed and manufacture was something of a miracle, according to Manchester.

The last quarter of the book deals with the fate of Alfried Krupp, convicted of war crimes and stripped of his property at Nuremberg, only to be pardoned by American proconsul in Germany, John J. McCloy. Manchester sees the clemency as a miscarriage of justice. “If you were to say that Krupp was not guilty, it would be as true to say that there had been no Auschwitz fuse factory, no company concentration camps, no Rothschild gassed, no basement torture cage, no infant corpses, no slain, no crime, no war.” Yet, Alfried emerged from the Landsberg prison in 1951 a free and very rich man – and a national hero.

In closing, “The Arms of Krupp” isn’t for everyone. While readable and at times brilliant, it is, in the end, excessive and stilted. Manchester is no fan of the Germans in general and, most of all, is appalled at the clemency shown to Alfried after the Second World War. The general reader should probably avoid this tome, but for those with a deep interest in German history and particularly the Nazi military-industrial complex it is not to be missed.
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Search for Truth
5.0 out of 5 stars The Arms industry creates war to enslave the masses
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2020
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This is a very informative book if one wants to see the power behind the power.
The arms industry can and does arm people to increase profits and to promote wars on peaceful unsuspecting people all over the world.
Not only that but Alfried Krupp a known pedophile withe title Canon fuhrer, who tortured people in freezing cold weather by putting them in steel boxes and having cold water thrown on them was put in prison for only a short time.
General John McCloy from the USA had him sprung to fight the cold war.
That war was fought to keep America and the whole world in a state of terror so they would not only be willing to give up freedoms for piece, but also so the arms industry could continue to make it's I'll gotten gains off of we the people.
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Top reviews from other countries

James S. Mclean
5.0 out of 5 stars A well-researched, important document, essential for anyone interested in modern history.
Reviewed in Canada on March 29, 2022
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The book is long and detailed but chock-full of valuable, essential information. The author did a monumental job and the reader has an obligation to read, digest and consider every word. I learned a great deal.
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Harrison
5.0 out of 5 stars Really tells the story of the Krupp dynasty well.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 1, 2022
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I bought this because my Grandfather lent the same to me several years ago and I wanted to read it again. It gives enough technical detail to make it interesting to somebody who understands metallurgy and modern European history fairly well whilst also making it easy to understand for somebody who just enjoys history but finds all the metallurgy to be confusing. Doesn’t just delve into the armament business, but also who the Krupp family was and how they lived through the centuries
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Laurene
5.0 out of 5 stars love it
Reviewed in Australia on September 1, 2023
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prompt delivery, in great condition. thank you
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Kat3
5.0 out of 5 stars William Manchester's compelling story on the Krupp steel barons of the Rhineland in Germany.
Reviewed in Germany on March 20, 2017
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One of my favourite books! The story of the Krupp family dynasty steel barons from their humble beginnings. Most interesting was the part on the eccentric Alfred Krupp. The stories made me laugh out loud! There are many photos dispersed throughout the book too. William Manchester is a gifted storyteller who uses many primary sources such as personal letters to tell this tale. It is a must read.
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GATTU
5.0 out of 5 stars lNFORMATIVE
Reviewed in India on September 27, 2016
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Verywellwritten.Interesting.
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