The Last Days of Hitler

Rating:
Summary: One of the Authoritative Works on the Topic
Review: A scholarly & well-researched book written by Trevor-Roper who was then a British intelligence officer. Note that this is the 6th edition and there is a 7th edition available in the UK. The reader should also be aware that each edition builds on and revises some of older ones contents, including superseding some portions completely. Readers should also check out "The Death of Hitler" by Ada Petrova.

Rating:
Summary: One of the Authoritative Works on the Topic
Review: A scholarly & well-researched book written by Trevor-Roper who was then a British intelligence officer. Note that this is the 6th edition and there is a 7th edition available in the UK. The reader should also be aware that each edition builds on and revises some of older ones contents, including superseding some portions completely. Readers should also check out "The Death of Hitler" by Ada Petrova.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Historical Classic
Review: A very good book for those interested in the end of Hitler and the collapse of the Third Reich. This book is generally regarded as the definitive history of that period and deservedly so.

The political intrigue that was going on in the "FueherBunker" was almost humorous. Even at the end Hitler was continually questioning his aides about a German relief army that was coming to rescue Berlin from the clutches of the Russians. This army in fact had long since surrendered! Hitler's and Goebbels response to Roosevelt's death was bizarre to say the least-with the end of the war rapidly approaching they took FDR's death to be an omen that Germany would soon gain the upper hand and eventually win the war! All this with the noose of the Soviet army closing around Berlin! Himmler's deluded attempt to negotiate a peace with the western allies and have himself be the new fuerher showed how out of touch with reality he was. In fact most of the major players in this book were seriously deficient in the reality department. One of the few rational people in the bunker (Fegelin, Hitler's brother in law) saw a bad situation and left the bunker and went back to his own house. Unfortunately, he was found by members of Hitlers guard and was brought back to the bunker where he was eventually shot.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in the death of Hitler and the fall of the Third Reich. Others may disagree but I found the book to be well researched and well written. This book remains a classic more than fifty years after it was written.

Rating:
Summary: Solidly researched
Review: The author of this book, Hugh Trevor-Roper, embarrassed himself and sullied his reputation in 1983 when he was the only major historian to vouch for the accuracy of the fake "Hitler diaries." But in 1947, when he wrote this book, he was a younger, more cogent and wiser man.

What makes this book interesting is that it is factual, diligently researched and Roper also relied upon dozens of interviews with Hitler's intimates. Trevor-Roper was methodical in his questioning, and he incorporates the recollections of Hitler's inner circle throughout the narrative.

Though it's 50 years old, this book has stood up quite well and it's a mini classic in its genre.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic - in both the good and bad sense.
Review: The chief impediment to this literate and interesting overview of the last few weeks of life in the bunker with the surrounded, embattled, and doomed denizens of the Third Reich is the fact that it was written so soon after the end of the war itself, and therefore had no access to the vast array of material that has since come to light regarding Hitler's last days. Thus, unlike either John Toland's "The Last Hundred Days" or Cornelius Ryan's "The Last Battle", it does not take advantage of the incredible store of archives that became available in the decades that have followed its publication in the late 1940s.

Moreover, it cannot use the kinds of secret data now coming to light within the former Soviet Union which contemporary authors like Ian Kershaw use so effectively in retelling the story in books like "Hitler: Nemesis". Still, this is a wonderful book, one that is both immensely readable and marvelously entertaining. At times it is almost comical, with the nazi High Command being so estranged and cut off from the outside world that their conversations seem bizarre and surreal. Even at the end Hitler hoped for rescue from armies long since defeated and destroyed by the marauding Russians, who were angrily raping, pillaging, and murdering their way across the cityscapes above.

In the end we see just how perverted, committed, and maniacal the embattled Nazis are, with few of them even opting for survival in a post-Nazi world. Not only Hitler but also several of his closest associates chose suicide over capture or escape. Only Bormann and some of his underlings seem to have a realistic notion of what surrounds them, and only they seem willing to risk capture and death to escape to safety in the chaos that was raging all around the bunker in the streets and buildings of besieged Berlin.

This is a terrific book, one that in spite of its shortcomings should be read by all serious students of the Second World War. Given the fact that it was written so soon after the end of the war itself, the author was able to interview many of the surviving principles before they disappeared into the dustbin of obscurity, and to take advantage of the times in effectively using contemporary memories and archives before they were forgotten or misplaced. In reading it one becomes much more aware of the ways in which time is of the essence in historical study, both in terms of how the author was both given an advantage based on his rapid response to the event in question, but also in terms of how he was hampered by not having access to materials and archives that have since come to light. I strongly recommend this book. Enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: This is the end, my only friends....
Review: The review title is actually a quote from The Doors, but it is quite appropriate here to describe Hitler's last few days in the bunker as he says goodbye to his secretaries. HTR's book is very good. Initially, I believed the book was going to described Hitler's last days in the bunker on a day-by-day basis. This occurs only in the last half of the book. The first half deals with Hitler's court (Speer, Himmler, Bormann, Goebbels, Goering, Schellenberg, et.al.) and how they were handling the last days of the war. The last half of the book describes Hitler's last few days - his denunciation of Goering; his final betrayal by Himmler; Hitler's acceptance of the end; his suicide - all make for a very surreal ending when HTR describes Himmler's silly staff meetings just two days before the war's end - incredible. I read the 1947 version so there are a few suppositions which, actually, turn out to be correct - about Bormann's probable death at the Wiedenammer bridge - about Hitler's death and his capture of the ashes by the Russians. Great book.

Rating:
Summary: Good for the Beginner
Review: This book had no real new insights or news, but would be good for someone who hasnt read alot about Hitler or the era. It covers somebasic events quite well, but it is all things told in every story about the war. So, if its your first look into the WW2 ordeal, I recommend it. However, if you have read or seen a few good documentarys about it, it will be review.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic - in both the good and bad sense.
Review: This book is a classic in two senses. On the good side, it is well-written, compelling, interesting, and emotionally gripping. It tells - with much detail and drama - one of the most dramatic events of WWII, the life of Hitler and his followers in the doomed bunker in Berlin. This is why it is still read today.

On the bad side, it had been written very shortly after the war, so it is naturally dated and inaccurate in certain issues - although not on any very important issues, and not due to the author's fault or lack of research. Rather, it is due to the fact that new material had come to light since then, especially since the opening of the Soviet archives after the collapse of the soviet union.

It is, in a sentence, a good starting point for anybody interested in the subject of Hitler's last days. Trevor-Roper's description of the main events have by and large stood the test of time and further research. Once you read this highly readable and important book, you can move on to books that include more recent rsearch, e.g. Toland's THE LAST 100 DAYS or Joachim Fest's HITLER - NEMESIS.

Rating:
Summary: This is the end, my only friends....
Review: This is a historically accurate book of the last days of Adolph Hitler the German dictator. Despite its accuracy the book has had a slightly mischievous effect. The reason for this is that after the war most senior members of the German government and military tried to shed their own responsability for the many crimes of the time by saying that Hitler was soley responsible. Part of the tactics used were to play heavily on the irrational aspects of Hitlers character and to focus on his rages and statements made by him at times of crisis.

The reality of German life was somewhat different. The military and most of the more affluent classes were glad to see and end to democracy and an attempt to build Germany into a strong power. The ending of the rule of law and the establisment of a police state did not lead many to losing sleep.

Roper fell into the trap of accepting the exculpatory view put out by the Germans and his portrait of Hitler focuses on a small set of events which give a false picture of the man. (Not to suggest that he was a particularly pleasant or good, but rather to be an effective politician one has to be a little above a rambling mental patient.)

Rating:
Summary: A Well Wrote Book
Review: This was a well wrote and researched book. The Last Days of Hitler takes you into the the Berlin Bunker and gives a feel how it must have been living in the bunker when fighting and bombing was going on above. The book does an excellent job in the research of how Hitler spent his last 10 days in the bunker having last meetings with his staff, label his secessors, and how he prepares to leave earth. This book I would recommend to anyone who enjoys reading about famous people, history, or about World War II.