The Arms of Krupp

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.)

Criticism

Time Magazine gave the book a mixed review saying

"The result is an often flawed, some times naive but largely fascinating chronicle whose inflated pretensions as a work of real scholarship are punctured by swarms of errors. As a work of history, the book is marred, too, by an overwrought style and an unbecomingly snide use of irony. Manchester is not fond of the Germans, and he caricatures them either as superefficient and slavishly obedient or as a folk barely removed from dwarfs and dragons, blood feuds and bags of tainted gold."

References

• Horne, Alistair. New York Times Book Review (11/24/1968)