Hitler's Women [Paperback]

Guido Knopp (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2006

In his latest book for Sutton, Guido Knopp turns the spotlight on the leading women of the Third Reich and the role they played in the Nazi regime. To illustrate this theme he has painted vivid pen portraits of six famous women who were all bound up with Hitler's regime: Evan Braun, Hitler's mistress; Magda Goebbels, wife of the Reich Propaganda Minister; Winifred Wagner, grand-daughter of composer Richard Wagner; Leni Riefenstahl, Nazi film director; Zarah Leander, Nazi film star; and the legendary screen goddess Marlene Dietrich. The lives of these women prove how the Nazis envisaged the future of 'German womanhood' and how things looked in reality. Supported by previously unpublished photographs and the words of close friends and colleagues of those portrayed, Knopp brings back to life a generation who, with a few courageous exceptions, succumbed to enticement and violence.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

GUIDO KNOPP was editor of the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and then Chief Foreign Editor of the Welt am Sonntag. Since 1984 he has been Head of History and Current Affairs for ZDF, Germany's second national TV channel. He has written numerous award-winning TV documentaries and best-selling books including Hitler's Hitmen and Hitler's Holocaust. He lives in Germany.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: The History Press (July 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0750944382
• ISBN-13: 978-0750944380
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.5 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: #1,295,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Another pop biography on Hitler, April 7, 2004

By 

Candace Scott (Lake Arrowhead, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

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

Guido Knopp is quite famous in Germany as a pop biographer and filmmaker on Hitler. His many films on the Fuehrer have some merit, but his abilities as an author are limited, to say the least. This effort is not helped by a poor translation. I've read the book in its original German, and it loses quite a bit in the English version.

If you know little about Hitler and women, this might be an enjoyable book, though Knopp (weirdly) focuses mostly on women who had a platonic relationship with him. Eva Braun is the only women profiled who actually consumated her relationship with Hitler. Glaringly absent are a long line of Hitler's lovers: Geli Raubal, Jenny Haug, Suzi Liptauer, Mimi Reiter and others. His chapter on Bayreuth legend Winifred Wagner is the highlight of the book, though he inexplicably doesn't quote from her many, fascinating, interviews about Hitler.

The book is a decidedly mixed bag and for people with a serious background on the epoch, it's something of a waste of time.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rather interesting...., January 12, 2004

By 

irnmtn25 (Colonial Heights, VA) - See all my reviews

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

I just finished this book today, and I must say, it is pretty good. I like the angle of it. The book is basically composed of six "mini-bios" of the prominent women surrounding Hitler during his ascension to power, and throughout the 12 Year Reich.

The most intriguing character in this book was a toss up between Leni Riefenstahl and Winifred Wagner. Both had incredible influence upon Hitler, but I think Winifred had the most personal relationship. I sincerely believe that Hitler would have probably married Winifred eventually if she had not already been betroved. In her bio, you could really sense the personal relationship between the two, and how this played out during the Wagner festivals at Bayreuth during those years.

On the other hand, Hitler's relationship to Riefenstahl was much more on a professional level. Hitler appreciated Leni's artistic value, and used it to his advantage as long as she would let him. Leni Riefenstahl will always have a place among the greatest filmakers that has ever lived. Her genius in filmaking will definitely never be forgotten. If you haven't seen TRIUMPH OF THE WILL...that is a movie you should rent. The sheer emotion of it will have you wanting to see more of her...no translation needed.

As for the other ladies, Knopp treats them just as well, but it seems as if Wagner and Riefenstahl just stood out more. The bio on Marlene Dietrich was especially good, and Zarah Leander also led a pretty interesting life. I had never heard of Leander before reading this book. Magda Goebbels was quite an evil woman, and Eva Braun was just a plain ol' airhead....and my least favorite.

A couple things did stand out in Knopp's assessment. Most of these women were artistic types. Besides Eva Braun, all were either artists, musicians, and/or movie stars. This is quite interesting since Hitler loved art, and aspired to be an artist himself before taking on politics. Also, for women to be so artistic seems a bit contradictory to the Nazi standard of the "perfect Aryan woman", whose job was to produce children for the Reich and remain behind the scenes. None of these ladies fit the blonde haired, blue eyed ideal of the Aryan lady. Eva Braun would be the closest to it, I would imagine, due to her airheaded-ness and physical attributes.

All in all, this was a very interesting and revealing book. Knopp did his research well, and there are extensive notes and quotes throughout. The only complaint is that the quotes within each section that are listed through the text make it somewhat hard to read....and makes your eyes have to skip around the page. Also, the transition has rendered a few places of improper sentence structure or missing words in the text. Other than that, this book is really great....and you should try it! You might like it!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Did Adolph Hitler have a kinder/gentler side?, September 24, 2008

By 

Marvin D. Pipher (Houston, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Hitler's Women (Paperback)

Anyone who knows anything about Adolph Hitler certainly knows that, just before he killed himself, he married Eva Braun; that he was obsessed with Wagnerian music; that Magda Goebbels poisoned her six children then killed herself because she couldn't envision living in a world without Adolph Hitler in it; and that Marlene Dietrich was adamantly opposed to everything Adolph Hitler stood for. But I suspect that even these people know very little, if anything, about Eva Braun, Winifred Wagner, Magda Goebbels, or the other three ladies whose biographies are included in this volume.

I, for one, knew that Hitler married Eva Braun just before they both committed suicide. But I didn't know that she had been his mistress for seventeen years; that he kept her secreted and seldom let her attend state functions, and never in an official capacity; that her relationship with him was known only to his personal staff; or that that relationship may very well have hinged on her resemblance to Hitler's niece, Geli Raubal, who committed suicide some years earlier. Neither did I know that Joseph Goebbels' wife, Magda, said that she loved her husband but would lay down her life for Adolph Hitler. Nor did I know that Hitler was on such intimate terms with Richard Wagner's widow, Winifred, or that he spent a great deal of time at her estate and supported her efforts to keep her deceased husband's music alive. And it came as a surprise to me to learn that, although Hitler's regime tried desperately to coerce Marlene Dietrich into returning to Nazi Germany, Marlene apparently never met Adolph Hitler. And, truth be told, I'd never even heard of Leni Riefenstahl or Zarah Leander.

So, if you'd like to learn a bit about four remarkable women who influenced Adolph Hitler's life, one who despised him with a passion, and a sixth who took that lady's place in Nazi films, then you'll certainly enjoy reading about these fine ladies. And you may conclude that even the worst tyrants might have a kinder/gentler side.