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The Unwritten Order: Hitler's Role in the Final Solution (History of Nazism)

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I bought this book as a follow-up on the David Irving-Deborah Lipstadt trial. Professor Lipstadt listed it, I believe, in the bibliography of her book on that same trial. Longerich was called as a special witness, along with Robert Jan Van Pelt. This book, to me, as a student of the Holocaust, is amazing.

There is NO single document in which Hitler orders the Final Solution. Deniers use that to say that Hitler did not know about the Final Solution and even tried to stop it. Dr. Longerich traces the long, fragmented, documentary route of Hitler's thought on the subject and how the Third Reich functioned to prove beyond a doubt that Hitler did indeed know and was definitely in charge.

This book will clear up any doubt that one might have on the subject. Along with this book, I would recommend to the serious student of Holocaust Studies the following:
1)The Holocaust on Trial by Guttenplan
2) History of Trial by Lipstadt
3) Lying About History by Evans
All this will give the reader a more complete picture of the responsibility of the Historian to report history in an objective way.

Peter Longerich's well researched and clearly written study, The Unwritten Order: Hitler's Role in the Final Solution, is a highly readable, scholarly work setting forth the direct evidence of Hitler's pivotal role in the genesis of the Holocaust. Longerich makes clear that Hitler's role was central, despite there being no written order. As head of the German state, because of fear of international repercussions, and due to considerations of German public reaction, Hitler maintained his distance and silence regarding his direct role in the top secret project of the destruction of the European Jews. This has led to postwar controversies about the degree of Hitler's knowledge and approval of the annihilation of the European Jews. The purpose of Longerich's work is to show that, despite stringent efforts and much burning of documents at the end of the war, there is ample evidence to demonstrate conclusively that Hitler was well aware of the Holocaust and that it happened in consequence of his direct wishes.
Longerich's book is more than a satisfactory introduction to this important subject. But, for those wishing to learn more about Hitler and the Holocaust, several other serious studies should be read: Christopher Browning, The Origins of the Final Solution; Gerald Fleming, Hitler and the Final Solution, Philippe Burrin, Hitler and the Jews, and the relevant chapters of Ian Kershaw's two volume biography of Hitler. These books are all carefully researched and written by competent and renowned professional historians specializing in the Holocaust, Hitler, and Third Reich history.