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The Garden of Beasts is a non-fiction book published in 2011. It’s about the American ambassador to Germany during Hitler’s rise to power and his family’s experience living in Berlin at that time. The family watches as Hitler becomes more powerful, rearms Germany for war, and treats German Jews horribly.

Ambassador William Dodd is initially more concerned about cutting down on useless spending at the embassy and getting Germany to pay its old war debts. However, he soon realizes that the real problem is Hitler and his Nazis. They are breaking laws in a number of ways by being so brutal, which violates civil governance rules. Also, their rearming of Germany goes against international treaties. Yet few people in America will listen to Dodd’s warnings because they think he’s exaggerating or overreacting.

The Dodds, a wealthy family living in Berlin, are caught between two worlds. On one hand, they can’t influence the events happening around them—they just have to watch from the sidelines and attend lavish diplomatic functions. However, on the other hand, they get to enjoy late-night parties and live in a luxurious mansion. Their daughter Martha is an adventurous young woman who joins Berlin’s social whirl by discussing politics with famous correspondents and dating powerful government officials. She soon becomes disenchanted with Nazi ways and tries to take steps against them.

In the Garden of Beasts is a book that tells the story of William E. Dodd, an American ambassador to Germany in 1933. He was initially reluctant to accept his appointment as ambassador but did so because he thought it would give him time to finish writing his book on the South. When he and his family arrived in Berlin, they were shocked by what they saw—the rise of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party and its influence over ordinary Germans.

Part 2, “House Hunting in the Third Reich,” details the Dodd family’s search for a place to live against the background of Nazi attacks on German Jews. The Nazis are attacking Jewish people and abusing them. However, most diplomats ignore these abuses or disbelieve them; they think that Germany is doing something good by treating Jews this way. Meanwhile, the Dodds move into a fine mansion across from Berlin’s great public park called Tiergarten (which means “the garden of beasts”). The owner is a Jewish banker who lives upstairs and hopes that having an ambassador as his neighbor will prevent him from being arrested by authorities.

In the third part, young Martha becomes involved with Rudolf Diels, commander of the Gestapo. He is very efficient at his job but begins to have doubts about it and ends up in danger from Nazis eager to replace him. Martha then takes up with a Soviet diplomat named Boris Winogradov who tries to steer her away from the Nazis and toward his Marxist ideals. Meanwhile, Germany passes more anti-Jewish laws while Hitler begins rearming Germany in defiance of international treaties.

This passage is about the fourth part of a book called “How the Skeleton Aches.” It discusses a trial in which Nazis try to convict Communists for burning down parliament. The author also mentions that Germany held elections where only Nazis can run for office, and passed laws restricting Jewish participation in society.

Part 5, “Disquiet”, shows how Hitler’s relationship with Ernst Rohm deteriorates. The American Jewish Congress holds a mock trial of Hitler in New York, angering the Germans. Diels gets into trouble again and is transferred from the Gestapo to commissioner of Cologne. Paranoia builds among Berliners; Dodd takes a vacation in America.