Guarding Hitler

“A hive of interesting facts and almost unbelievable stories about Adolf Hitler . . . Well worth a look. Well worth a read.” —War History Online Based on intelligence documents, personal testimonies, memoirs, and official histories, including material only declassified in 2010, Guarding Hitler provides the reader with a fascinating inside look at the secret world of Hitler’s security and domestic arrangements. The book focuses in particular on both the official and private life of Hitler during the latter part of the war, at the Wolf’s Lair at Rastenburg, and Hitler’s private residence at Berchtesgaden, the Berghof. Guarding Hitler manages to offer fresh insights into the life and routine of the Führer, and most importantly, the often indiscreet opinions, observations, and activities of the “little people” who surrounded Hitler but whose stories have been overshadowed by the great affairs of state. It covers not only the plots against Hitler’s life but the way security developed as a result. His use of “doubles” is examined as is security while traveling by land or air. As little has been written about the security and domestic life of Adolf Hitler, Guarding Hitler allows the reader to delve deeper into this previously overlooked aspect of the world’s most infamous man. “A fascinating view into the close world Hitler inhabited and which shaped his life and decisions.” —Fire Reviews

This detailed guide to Hitler’s secret Prussian headquarters is fully illustrated with historic photos and rare color images of how it appears today. Set deep in the Masurian woods of northern Poland, formally East Prussia, lies a vast complex of ruined bunkers known as the Wolfsschanze or Wolf’s Lair. This was Hitler’s headquarters for the German attack on the Soviet Union in 1941. It is also where Colonel von Stauffenberg almost killed Hitler in the summer of 1944. Built in under total secrecy, the Wolfsschanze was camouflaged with artificial grass and trees. Drawing on a unique collection of color photographs, Hitler’s Wolfsschanze presents a detailed tour of the 2.5 square mile campus as it appears today—with each building and its purpose identified. Laced with personal accounts of the installation and Hitler’s routines, the Wolfsschanze is brought to life once more. Yet the Wolfsschanze was not the only German military complex in this small part of the Eastern Front. This comprehensive volume also shows and describes the German Army’s headquarters at Mauerwald, the Luftwaffe’s headquarters near the current Russian border, and those of the SS and the Reich Chancellery, both situated near the Wolfsschanze.

A comprehensive examination of Hitler’s military strategies. As Führer of the Third Reich, Hitler was responsible for deciding the German war aims in 1939. As head of the Armed Forces from February 4th, 1938, he was also responsible for the overall Wehrmacht strategy intended to achieve these aims. Hitler: Military Commander examines with impeccable detail Hitler's key military decisions during the Second World War, and assesses how far these decisions were militarily justified in the light of the intelligence available at the time. Perhaps most importantly, it tackles the larger questions of how a non-German former corporal, albeit the holder of the Iron Cross First Class, managed to take personal control of an army with the Prussian traditions of the German army; to appoint, sack, and sentence to death its generals at will, to lead it into a World War it was not prepared for; and to ultimately destroy it. Featuring black-and-white photographs, maps, biographical context, tactical analysis, and more, this new edition of Hitler: Military Commander will give readers the comprehensive overview of Hitler's military decisions and downfall.

Throughout his political life, Adolf Hitler was the subject of numerous assassination plots, some of which were attempted, all of which failed. While a few of these have become well known, particularly the bomb explosions at the Bürgerbräukeller in Munich in 1939 and the Stauffenberg Valkyrie attempt carried out at the Wolfsschanze on 20 July 1944, many others have received far less attention – until now. In this book, John Grehan has examined the known planned or proposed assassination attempts on Hitler, from Chicago to London and from Sweden to the Ukraine – some of which have not previously been presented to the general public by historians. All manner of methods were proposed by those willing to bring Hitler’s life to a premature and sticky end and Hitler was well aware of the danger which lurked potentially around every corner of every road, railway track, every building and even every individual. As a result, an immense, multi-layered security apparatus surrounded the Führer day and night. Despite this, and knowing the risks they faced, many people sought to kill the German leader, and some very nearly did. Yet Hitler survived, often by just a minute or a millimetre, to die ultimately of his own hand. These plots and conspiracies are detailed in this book, along with a unique collection of photographs of many of the proposed or actual assassination locations. All will be revealed in this fascinating compilation of the obscure, the fanciful and the carefully considered attempts to assassinate Hitler.

Studies Hitler's final days in the Fuhrerbunker looking at the Nazi leader's state of mind during the war and the effect if had on his physical state. Berlin, April 1945. After almost six years of war, the end is nigh for the Nazi’s. The Russians are closing in on the German capital and Hitler is holed up in the Fuhrerbunker in the city. There was an eclectic mix of individuals residing in the bunker with Hitler at this time including senior Nazi officers, Hitler’s personal protection squad, soldiers, civilians, children and even a female test pilot but how did they fair at the end? Not all died or were captured. Hitler’s Last Days studies Hitler's final days in the Fuhrerbunker looking at the Nazi leaders' state of mind during the war and the effect if had on his physical state, despite only being 56 at the time of his death it was said by many that he looked somewhat older. But how did Hitler really die? Or did he escape as some evidence has previously suggested? A wealth of diverse research material has been used to create an account that comes from a different angle on a popular WWII story.