Erich Ludendorff

The rise and fall of a general Erich Ludendorff (1865-1937) was only one of the youngest of about 475 German generals at the beginning of the First World War, and his position was of little significance even for an officer who had just been promoted to the first rank of general. Moreover, he came from an unknown family and had no connection to influential circles, not even through relatives. Only two years later he was one of the most important men in the German Empire. Today Ludendorff's work is viewed negatively, especially in Germany, but abroad he is appreciated as a great commander of the army. Nevertheless, he did not succeed in averting defeat in 1918; shortly before the end of the war he was dismissed without a word. In 1923 he took part in a coup together with Hitler, but afterwards he became a warner against National Socialism. With his Ludendorff book, the author lays the third, complete one.