Hitler's Henchmen [Paperback]

Guido Knopp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005

Josef Goebbels, Hermann Goring, Heinrich Himmler, Rudolph Hess, Albert Speer and Karl Donitz. These were the men who smoothed Adolf Hitler's path to power and became the perpetrators of a reign of terror unparalleled in history. They were the supporters and executives at Hitler's regime, carrying out his orders with deadly efficency. This radical new assessment of power under the swastika reveals many unknown facts and gives a unique but disturbing glimpse behind the scenes of the Nazi state.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

These six psychological portraits of high-ranking Nazi officials offer insight not only into some of Hitler's closest associates, but into the wartime psyche of the German people. Along with a team of researchers, German TV journalist Knopp spent nearly two decades interviewing those who knew such top Nazis as Field Marshal Hermann G?ring, propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels and Hitler deputy Rudolf Hess. The composites that emerge are similar to those presented by scholars. Goebbels is described as an obsessive ladies' man, G?ring as an overweight morphine addict. Knopp's portrayals will be informative and easy to read, however, for those unfamiliar with these figures. There is nothing about these "henchmen" that would have predicted success. As Knopp writes of SS and Gestapo chief Heinrich Himmler: "His odd-seeming fascination with the occult, his superstition, his passion for herbal remedies, would not have extended beyond his own backyard had there been no Third Reich." It is their very lack of distinction, their ordinariness in many ways, that ultimately seeps through in this devastating group portrait. For instance, a few of the six Nazi leaders described here, like so many of their countrymen, were WWI veterans who were unable to come to grips with Germany's defeat in that conflict and turned to anti-Semitism as an explanation. Some were seduced by Hitler's charisma. Others, like Nazi chief architect Albert Speer, simply saw a chance to make their careers. Those looking for an introduction to Hitler's regime will find Knopp's account more than satisfactory as a jumping-off point.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: The History Press (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750937815
• ISBN-13: 978-0750937818
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #437,841 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A Bizarre Work of History, April 30, 2003

By 

Brian D. Rubendall (Oakton, VA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hitler's Henchman (Hardcover)

Guido Knopp's "Hitler's Henchmen" is really a multiple biography of the six men the author identifies as the German dictator's most important disciples: Herman Goering, Heinrich Himmler, Joseph Goebbles, Albert Speer, Rudolf Hess and Admiral Karl Doenitz. In Knopp's chosen lineup lies the first problem. Most students of The Third Reich would certainly place Hitler's Chief of Staff Martin Boorman and SS Security Chief Reinhard Heydrich well above the ineffectual Hess or the plodding Doenitz in terms of their importance to the Nazi regime. Ignoring those two vital figures is a serious flaw in the book.

The second problem is the book's configuartion. Not witstanding the fact that a few chapters is not nearly enough space to adequately explain the lives and roles of any of these individuals, Knopp provides pages of direct quotes from and about each one, interspersed at random throughout the narrative. He also makes the fatal mistake in such an introductory work of assuming the reader is already intimately familiar with the overall history of Nazi Germany, referring to larger events without attributing dates or in what sequence they occurred. All of this left me wondering exactly who the intended audience was for this work? Nazi scholars won't learn anything they didn't already know, while casual readers are likely to find themselves hopelessly confused.

Overall, "Hitler's Henchmen" is not a well written work of history, even allowing for the fact that it was translated from German into English.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Firebrands, Enforcers and Architects., August 13, 2001

By 

John Barry Kenyon - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitler's Henchman (Hardcover)

Guido Knopp has given us six psychologial pen portraits (not biographies) of leaders of the Third Reich - Goebbels, Goring, Himmler, Hess, Speer and Donitz. He will have no truck with the argument that Hitler was a weak, lazy or disinterested dictator. Rather, the henchmen portrayed in this book took their orders directly from the fuhrer. Knopp writes, "The Reich's murderous existence depended solely on him. Without him, it became a ship of the dead." Although the author has included some new material from British and Russian archives, the analysis of the characters does not break a lot of new ground (how could it?) although this reviewer was interested in Knopp's account that Speer may have returned to the Berlin bunker in late April 1945 to dissuade Hitler from appointing him as successor. The author's strength lies in putting these nazi leaders properly in context. He shows up very well the inconsistencies in Himmler's character which made him both a yes man and, ultimately, a traitor. Donitz by contrast was made of sterner stuff - he went on fighting for supplies and raw materials long after there was anything to distribute. If you want a summary of what made these men tick, interspersed with wry contemporary comments from their colleagues, Knopp's book is well worth studying. When Goring told Hitler in 1939, "We've got to stop going for broke," Hitler replied, "All my life I've gone for broke." Those few words aptly sum up the leadership problem of the Third Reich.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hitler's Henchmen, April 29, 2002

By 

"delusions_17" (Menominee, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Hitler's Henchman (Hardcover)

I'm only on the 3rd chapter, but from what I've read so far this book is well written. I'm only 17 and I don't know much about that era besides the war. because my history books never said anything thing about these men. It gave me an insight on what went on nazi Germany. When I started reading this book I thought that Hitler was the behind everything. I didn't even know these people existed. This book is giving me a psychology and history lesson.

Keep up the good work. Guido Knopp