A Song for Hitler: Horst Wessel and the Making of a Nazi Martyr - Couverture souple

Manvell, Roger; Fraenkel, Heinrich

Couverture souple

ISBN 10 : 185367740X ISBN 13 : 9781853677403

Editeur : Greenhill Books, 2007

Synopsis

Traces the life of the most murderous and neurotic Nazi leader Rare material on Himmler from archive sources and interviews with his friends and family Written by two acclaimed Nazi scholars Heinrich Himmler was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel (SS) and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. As founder and officer-in-charge of the Nazi concentration camps and the Einsatzgruppen death squads, Himmler was responsible for implementing the extermination of between 6 and 12 million people. Based on US documents handed over to the German Federal Archives and the testimonies of Himmler's family and staff, this book examines how the unprepossessing pedantic youth grew into the obsessively scrupulous man. His superstitious nature led him to adopt herbalism, astrology, racial purity, eugenic marriage and, finally, Aryan superiority. Himmler constantly sought more power and became head of the Gestapo and Minister of the Interior. By the time he died he was the second most powerful man in Germany and regarded himself as Hitler's natural successor, going so far as to attempt to negotiate independent peace with the Allies. He committed suicide in 1945 shortly after being recognised on the Danish border disguised as a soldier. A month before his death Himmler had made a bizarre attempt to secure the position of 'Minister of Police' in post-war Germany. In this classic study the flawed Nazi leader comes across not as a megalomaniac or sadist - for to the end he remained utterly oblivious of the implications of his actions in terms of human suffering - but as a weak man, too timid to take independent action, but completely possessed by a dangerous dream. In Heinrich Himmler, Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel, co-authors of Doctor Goebbels and Goering (Greenhill Books), have brought together all the known facts about the private life, the activities and beliefs of one of the most sinister of the Nazi leaders.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur

There are no better biographies of Goering, Goebbels and Himmler in existence. **New York Review of Books** Heinrich Himmler was the commander of the SS, and as founder and officer-in-charge of the Nazi concentration camps and the Einsatzgruppen death squads, he was responsible for implementing the extermination of millions of people. By the time he died he was the second-most powerful man in Germany and regarded himself as Hitler's natural successor, going so far as to attempt to negotiate independent peace with the Allies. Based on US documents handed over to the German Federal Archives and the testimonies of Himmler's family and staff, this book examines how a seemingly ordinary boy grew into an obsessive and superstitious man who ventured into herbalism and astrology before finally turning to the science of racial purity and the belief in the superiority of the Aryan race. Filled with insights into Himmler s private life, activities and beliefs, this is an important study of one of the most sinister figures of World War II.

Biographie de l'auteur

ROGER MANVELL (1909 1987) and HEINRICH FRAENKEL (1897 1986) were both critically acclaimed authors, who collaborated on several projects involving the history of Germany s Third Reich. They are best known for their comprehensive biographies of Nazi leaders including Doctor Goebbels, Goering and The Men Who Tried to Kill Hitler.

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Greenhill Books
• Date d'édition: 2007
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 185367740X
• ISBN 13: 9781853677403
• Reliure: Broché
• Nombre de pages: 320
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible