The Hitler Book: The Secret Dossier Prepared for Stalin from the Interrogations of Otto Guensche and Heinze Linge, Hitler's Closest Personal Aides

I couldn't put this book down and was disappointed when I finished it!It's mandatory reading for all WW2 buffs as the insight it provides into the personal lives of Hitler and other top Nazis in the Third Reich is invaluable. I found it riveting as it described Hitler's personal foibles,his descent into paranoia and detachment from reality while his lackeys around him continued to pander to his gigantic ego and self-delusion.It depicts a world gone mad and rampant evil. Hitler's callous diregard for the lives of his soldiers and those of German civilians caught up in the horror that was 1945 Berlin stuns the imagination. Equally disturbing is Stalin's prurient fascination with his Fascist counterpart. This is a superb book and of great value to the keen historian who wants more than just facts and dates.

and the beasts shall reign over the earth." Of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's many obsessions with enemies real and imagined his staggering obsession with Adolf Hitler seems to be one that was entirely justified by history. Between the commencement of the Nazi invasion of June, 1941 and the fall of Berlin in May, 1945 destruction and darkness reigned over the eastern front in an unimaginably bloody war. Stalin's obsession survived the `apparent' suicide of Hitler on April 30, 1945. I emphasize apparent because Stalin did not believe the initial reports of Hitler's death. "The Hitler Book: The Secret Dossier Prepared for Stalin From the Interrogations of Hitler's Personal Aides" was one result of that obsession. Two of Hitler's top aides, SS officers Otto Guensche and Heinz Linge, were captured by the Red Army. Once their role as top, loyal aides to Hitler became clear they were transferred to Moscow. They were kept prisoner there for ten years. During their captivity they were interrogated repeatedly by the NKVD (later known as the KGB) on Hitler's life and times. The resulting dossier was presented for Stalin's eyes only (although it was, apparently, read by other top members of the Politburo) and then locked in the NKVD's archives. The Dossier was `discovered by German historian and researcher Matthias Uhl after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Uhl, along with co-editor Henrik Eberle, annotated the Dossier and it has now been translated into English. It is an extraordinarily riveting inside look at `the heart of darkness'. The Hitler Book is set out in chronological order. It is a straightforward narrative of Hitler's life from the time he assumed power in 1933 until his death. Both Guensche and Linge were trusted aides to Hitler and even though they were not confidants they had daily access to Hitler for almost twelve years. I wouldn't say there is anything particularly new revealed here. Hitler's reign of terror is well documented. However, the Hitler Book does provide an insider's look at life in the eye of the storm that adds substantially to our body of knowledge of the Third Reich. We read about Hitler's vaunted rages but also see the petty and often vicious jostling for power amongst the members of the Court of the Nazi Tsar. The mixture of sycophancy and deviousness has a powerful effect on readers who may have, like me, often wondered about the nature of people capable of performing the most heinous acts. Hannah Arendt wrote, in covering the Eichmann trial, about the banality of evil, and that banality is also apparent here. Hitler's musical tastes and the often vacuous conversations with Eva Braun and her coterie come to mind in this context. The book grows more detailed as the tide of war begins to turn at Stalingrad. By the time we get to Hitler's last months in his Berlin bunker the atmosphere becomes increasingly claustrophobic and chaotic as Hitler's life and the life of those in the bunker becomes dominate

This is definitely a fascinating work, in addition to being surprisingly readable. You will learn A LOT! However, the nature of the book is such that not everything the authors' wrote was accurate, and this book is better read by people already well-versed in WWII history. If you are knowledgable about WWII, and Hitler in particular, this is a "must read" if you want to remain on top of your game. Make sure to read the Editors' afterword.

Not a story, but more like a long, well-written history paper based on the forced testimony of two of Hitler's closest aids and written from the Russian point of view (corroded somewhat because it was meant for Stalin's eyes). At the end of the war, the Russians grabbed two of Hitlers lower level assistants; one was a butler and one was an adjutant; and forced them to tell them everything they knew about life with Hitler. The book is even better because the writters help ensure historical integrity by describing why and why not they might have been telling the truth to their Russian captors.

Hitler: a dictator whose principles affected everyone, a man who played a role in and influenced over 20 years of history - who could know more details about him than his personal aide and his man servant? They were captured by the Russians and taken to Moscow where they were made to pass on their extensive and detailed knowledge in order to satisfy Stalin's interest in Hitler. They were interrogated until 1949, giving their statements a high measure of authenticity, every detail having been extracted. Henrik Eberle's historical insights and Matthias Uhl's translatory technique bring this document alive. The full and detailed epilogue helps to eliminate any possible misunderstandings. This book's many layers are the key to what makes it such a fascinating read. On the one hand, one reads the history the captured Nazis imparted to the Russians, whilst reading the footnotes containing today's historical perspective. On the other hand, one can also read the documents which were laid before Stalin following the interrogations, another dictator hoping to gain insight into his arch-enemy. Psychological and historic fact stand side by side. A thorough work, spiced with numerous illustrations and notes. A book of great intellectual value - I recommend it highly.