The Secretary: Martin Bormann, the Man Who Manipulated Hitler

One of the more interesting behind-the-scenes analyses of exactly how things worked in Nazi Germany, from Hitler's Weimar rise to the last days in the bunker. Most people don't realize how much influence this little-known bureaucrat had, especially in the last few years when he had gathered an amazing amount of influence & power, cleverly easing rivals aside and playing the major Nazi leaders off against each other. At the end, he had near-total control over access to der Fuhrer and was arguably the most powerful man in Germany after Hitler. Truly a remarkable achievement for a bureaucratic little weasel that few Germans had ever heard of, and whose name was rarely even mentioned in newspapers. A fascinating book, thoroughly researched, that also gives a lot of insight into all the Nazi leadership and how they worked with -- but usually against -- each other. I read it once, and immediately began re-reading it. In reading Konrad Heiden's massive 'Der Fuhrer,' I felt that I had finally gotten a real grasp of Hitler's bizarre animus and understood how much brilliance it took to have finagled his way through the Weimar political minefield and actually steal the leadership. Now, with this biography of Bormann's political life, I believe I understand Bormann's rather amazing talents for plotting and gathering power unto himself while gently -- sometimes -- elbowing all others aside. Just as Hitler was in many ways the consummate self-taught political genius of his era, Bormann was one of the most effective self-taught bureaucratic manipulators in history, at the end being perhaps the only one Hitler really trusted. The two were made for each other. This book is, I believe, essential to understanding the Third Reich and how it worked.

Many, even among those who read about Nazism, know nothing of Martin Bormann. He was Hitler's secretary, a shadow figure who fought for years to gain exclusive access to Hitler, nearly succeeding. In the end he perished in the fiery ruins of Berlin, just two days after his boss. Lang does an excellent job of uncovering this man and explaining how he operated behind the scenes. Bormann would play agents off against one another, always making sure he had the last word with Hitler. The biggest loser in all this was usually Rosenberg, a minister serving in the East who was sadly lacking in political smarts. The last pages describe the author's hunt for the remains of Bormann, and the controversy surrounding the issue. Matters were not resolved until the early 70's.

I found Jochen Lang's book about Martin Bormann to be a very good read. He described in accurate detail Martin's rise to power in the Nazi party to become Hitler's indispensible "shadow". Lang describes in excellent detail Martin's beginnings with the Nazi party, his rise, his attempts to eradicate Judaism and Christianity from Germany, his behind-the-scenes manipulation within Hitler's inner circle, and lastly, Martin's death on the Invalidenstrasse bridge in Berlin, May, 1945. The footnotes and appendix are exceptional regarding Martin's death in Berlin. He proves, conclusively, through photomontage of the skull, dental records, and eye witnesses, that the skull exhumed in 1972, was, indeed, that of Martin Bormann. Quite a good book if you can still find it.