Approaching Storm: One Woman's Story of Germany 1934-1958

This memoir provides a unique cross section of life in Nazi Germany before the war. The author presents the stories of the things she saw and the people she met while staying in Germany in an engaging and unbiased manner. The stories are unusual in content, from the life in of forest tenders to an account of how the citizens of one city keep their town green by watering vine roots in their basements. The author doesn't try to tell you how to think, she merely presents the evidence as she saw it. And that evidence is a valuable clue to understanding how the German people could support a regime that proved to be as violent and hateful as the Nazi government was. This is one of my favorite accounts of the time period, and is one of the most memorable books I've ever read.