Georgetown Book Shop

w w w . w e n e v e r k n e w . n e t

Click on any any image for larger picture and descriptions.
WATERMARKS DO NOT APPEAR ON THE PRINTED POSTERS

Welcome to www.weneverknew.net. This site is associated with the Georgetown Book Shop in Bethesda, Maryland. Any comments, criticisms, or suggestions should be directed to Andy Moursund at georgetownbookshop@yahoo.com.

How much was known about Hitler before he came into power? How much was on the record about the nature of the Nazi regime in its early days? How pervasive was its anti-Semitism, and how much of that was documented long before the outbreak of the war? What was known about Hitler's dreams of conquest? Was the Holocaust foreseeable?

A common answer to all these questions has often been "We never knew....," as if somehow the entire history of the Third Reich took place on a distant planet, unknown and unknowable.

The object of "We Never Knew" is to present a chronological account, in graphic form, of what we knew, and when we knew it. For illustration, we have chosen images off of book jackets from 1932 to 1943, taken from our own private collection. These are supplemented by a few posters and pamphlet covers from the same time frame. Most of the books were by widely respected (or at least widely known) authors, and were readily available to the English-speaking public at least. Some were international best sellers with a distribution of a million or more. Most of them were widely reviewed in the mainstream press. Just look at the sheer number of these images, and the steady, year-by-year drumbeat of warnings and exaltations: Three from 1932; three from 1933; five from 1934; three from 1935; three from 1936; one from 1937; six from 1938; six from 1939; one from 1940; one from 1941; one from 1942; and two from 1943. Only space considerations prevent us from showing many more. We did know what was going on.

Now take a closer look at some of the individual images. The Dorothy Thompson book, "I Saw Hitler," for example. Thompson, perhaps the most widely read American columnist of the 1930's, interviewed Hitler before his ascension to power, and here is what the future Fuehrer proclaimed to the world in a book published in 1932: "The world belongs to the nordics…all that is not race, is dross." No weasel words there. Or consider the documentary book, "The Yellow Spot," whose jacket fairly screamed, "The Extermination of the Jews in Germany. The First Complete Documentary Study." This in 1936, when Hitler's dreams of conquest could have been aborted with relative ease. Or to take one of the Nazi images, look at the terror on the faces which are depicted on the 1938 post-Anchluss Austrian poster, "Time to Get Out," which was part of the infamous, blood libelous exhibition, "The Eternal Jew." Seen by millions of "good" Austrians and Germans. And also written up in the western press, including LIFE magazine, with a circulation of well over a million. No, we couldn't have known.

Ideally, we would like to see "We Never Knew" in whatever locations may be best for furthering discussion of its contents. The most appropriate setting would be the classroom. While knowledge of the Nazi era is widespread among those who lived through it, and to scholars and well-informed people of all generations, this is not at all the case among the general population. Memories are short, and curiosity is uncommon. It was all so long ago.

To do our modest part to counter this, we fervently hope that our little poster will attract itself to a few farsighted teachers, who might use it as a springboard for discussion: How did this happen? Why? Why didn't someone do something? What would I have done? What could I have done? What can one person ever do? Is all this just "history?" What, if anything, do these events mean to us today? Questions worth asking. But if you or your teachers don't ask them, who will?

This poster measures 13" x 19", and it is printed on archival paper, using archival inks. It sells for $25.00, but there is a 40% discount for teachers intending to use it in their classrooms, and a 40% discount for retailers with a current resale number. Teachers and retailers please contact Andy Moursund at georgetownbookshop@yahoo.com before ordering. The minimum order for retailers is 3 copies. All individual images depicted on the poster are also available themselves in the 13" x 19" size, at the same price, and on the same terms as the combined images poster. You may see larger versions of these individual images by simply clicking on the pictures in the margins of this page. A brief text will accompany each image. The watermarks will not, of course, appear on any of the posters themselves.

Please allow two weeks for U.S. delivery, as these posters are individually produced to the highest possible standards, which takes a certain amount of time. We accept either checks, money orders, VISA, Mastercard, and American Express. Please include $4.00 per order (not per poster) within the continental U.S. or $20.00 per order outside the United States. Maryland residents without a tax-exempt number please add 5% sales tax. We ship all orders by UPS Ground Service inside the U.S. and by USPS Airmail Parcel Post overseas. The posters are rolled in heavy duty cardboard tubes for protection. Do not fold or bend the posters, as they are printed on heavy duty archival paper.

In addition to the posters you see here, we have hundreds of historical and other images available on our main website, www.georgetownbookshop.com. While many images on our book shop website are of a far more lighthearted, or even lampoonish nature than you will see on the site you are now viewing, there are also scores of posters in a more serious vein. Among these are many images dealing with late nineteenth and early twentieth century American immigration themes. These are worthy of classroom discussion themselves, as they depict and agitate on the same questions we argue about today---assimilation vs. non-assimilation, liberal vs. restrictive immigration laws, etc. You can view all of these images at www.georgetownbookshop.com. New images are added on an ongoing basis. The thumbnail images you see there can be clicked on and blown up to give you a clearer view of each poster. The watermarks will not, of course, be on the actual posters. And all small print is clearly visible on the 13" x 19" version. These also sell for $25.00 per poster, but there is a quantity discount scheme which is explained on the site.

You can also view larger sized versions of the individual images contained in "We Never Knew" simply by clicking on the desired image as viewed in the margins of this page. Along with these enlarged images will be brief descriptions of each one.

Some of the depicted books, by the way, may be purchased from various dealers through www.abebooks.com, which is the best site on the internet for obtaining used and out-of-print books. Once on the site, click on the "Advanced Search" category and just enter the name of the book, etc. Unfortunately, many of the earlier books can only be seen in select libraries, and if obtainable at all are in very short (and often quite expensive) supply.

Inquiries about large orders, or any other questions, may be addressed to Andy Moursund at georgetownbookshop@yahoo.com.

The Georgetown Book Shop, located in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, at 4710 Bethesda Avenue, just a 5 minute walk from the Bethesda Metro stop, is a used book shop nationally known for the quality and condition of its stock, particularly history, art, and photography. We opened in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington in 1984, moved to Bethesda in 1989, and have been in our present location since May of 2003. Since we offer but a tiny fraction of our material over the internet at our homepage on www.abebooks.com, a visit to the shop is strongly recommended. Our secondhand history selection is the finest in the Washington area, with a particular emphasis on the 1933-45 period, in both its political and military aspects. We should add that our prices are nearly always below what you might find on the internet. In addition to books, we also have over twice as many posters on display in the shop as we have on our website. Our hours are 10 to 6, seven days a week, with extended Friday and Saturday evening hours most of the time. Our phone number is (301) 907-6923. The e-mail address is georgetownbookshop@yahoo.com. The owner is Andy Moursund. Any inquiries about the posters or the shop should be directed to him.