Book Review: My Opposition: The Diary of Friederich Kellner; A German Against the Third Reich

My Opposition: The Diary of Friedrich Kellner: A German Against the Third Reich, edited by Robert Scott Kellner. Cambridge University Press

This book is a secret, lengthy, diary written during WWII by the German social democrat, Friedrich Kellner. In his diary, which spans the time between September 1, 1939, with Hitler invasion of Poland, and May 17, 1945, Kellner describes his life within Nazi Germany.  Kellner gave his diary, in 1968, to his grandson, Robert Scott Kellner, and asked that he translate his voluminous diary and give it to the public.

More about Friedrich Kellner and this book: He was a justice inspector in the Mainz courthouse from 1903 until almost 1933. During WWI he served as an infantry sergeant in the German army and when the war ended, he became a political activist who crusaded against the Nazis before they came to power.  Kellner, because of his fear of reprisals for opposition to the Nazis moved to Hesse where he began  to work as administration manager of the courthouse.  He wrote his diary in secret.

The title of his diary, My Opposition, (Mein Widerstand) was in direct response to Hitler’s My Struggle (Mein Kampf.) The main focus of his diary was not to relate personal struggles, although there is glimpse of these, but to dissect the unwise decisions Germans made after WWI with their election of Adolf Hitler and placing the National Socialists into power. He also criticized the leaders and citizens of other nations who he felt remained apathetic to clear evidence that the leaders of Germany, Japan, and Italy were conspiring to consume the entire world.

Kellner was also critical of the reluctance of America and England to step into the fray. He stated that the German people could not be brought to their senses with less than war…words were not working… This book offers great insight into what life under the Nazi regime meant for Germany……Carol

Carol Duff, MSN, BA, RN

Carol graduated from Riverside White Cross School of Nursing in Columbus, Ohio and received her diploma as a registered nurse. She attended Bowling Green State University where she received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History and Literature. She attended the University of Toledo, College of Nursing, and received a Master’s of Nursing Science Degree as an Educator.

She has traveled extensively, is a photographer, and writes on medical issues. Carol has three children RJ, Katherine, and Stephen – one daughter-in-law; Katie – two granddaughters; Isabella Marianna and Zoe Olivia – and one grandson, Alexander Paul. She also shares her life with her husband Gordon Duff, many cats, and two rescues.

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