With Hitler to the End

The Memoirs of Hitler's Valet

De: Heinz Linge

Narrado por: Jim Frangione

Heinz Linge worked with Adolf Hitler for a 10 year period from 1935 until the Fuhrer's death in the Berlin bunker in May 1945. He was one of the last to leave the bunker and was responsible for guarding the door while Hitler killed himself. During his years of service, Linge was responsible for all aspects of Hitler's household and was constantly by his side. He claims that only Eva Braun stood closer to Hitler over these years. Through a host of anecdotes and observations, Linge recounts the daily routine in Hitler's household; his eating habits, his foibles, his preferences, his sense of humour, and his private life with Eva Braun. In fact, Linge believed Hitler's closest companion was his dog, Blondi. After the war Linge said in an interview, "it was easier for him to sign a death warrant for an officer on the front than to swallow bad news about the health of his dog"

Linge also charts the changes in Hitler's character during the period of his service, and the latter's fading health from around 1942. During his last days, Hitler's right eye began to hurt intensely and Linge was responsible for administering cocaine drops to kill the pain. In a number of instances - such as with the Stauffenberg bomb plot of July 1944 - Linge gives an excellent eyewitness account of events. He also gives thumbnail profiles of the prominent members of Hitler's "court": Hess, Speer, Bormann, and Ribbentrop amongst them. Though Linge held an SS rank, he claims not to have been a Nazi Party member. His profile of Hitler is not blindly uncritical, but it is nonetheless affectionate. The Hitler that emerges is a multifaceted individual: unpredictable and demanding, but not of an otherwise unpleasant nature.

©1980 F.A. Herbig Verlagsbuchhandlung GmbH. Translation c. Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2009. United Kingdom edition c. Pen & Sword Books Ltd, 2009. North America edition c. Skyhorse Publishing, 2009 (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

One of the best books of HiTLER’S LAST DAYS

THIS ACCOUNT IS SO Clear and concise. Also so totally believable. Also narration is the best.

Insight into One of Hitler's Unrepentant Dullards

If you could sum up With Hitler to the End in three words, what would they be?

The story of your typical unrepentant Nazi...one who is a racist, babbling on about things he knows nothing about and holding himself up as a more important figure that he was. This guy was Hitler's valet, not a soldier, not a general and not a politician. He should just stick to telling his experience as a valet.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Performance was good, nothing to complain about.

Any additional comments?

This guy was in charge of making sure Hitler's underwear was folded correctly and that he had enough socks...I don't care to hear his rantings on how the War was managed by the Generals and Hitler and what he would have done better. I don't need to hear his racism. I don't need to or want to hear his Nazi propaganda. What's interesting to hear (and what I wish there was more of in this book) is his experience being intimately close to and the day to day interactions with Hitler from 1935 till the end in 1945.

The book does well about 2/3 of the time, when Linge is sticking to what he knows (service as a valet). The book is awful when Linge tries to lecture on things he knows nothing about - being a soldier, military tactics, military operations, when he tries to describe "coward" generals, when he praises the genius of and his thoughts on the infallibility of Hitler.

Books Like This Are Important...

Though clearly it does not serve as an unbiased historical document, the rightly titled With Hitler To The End shows us that Hitler was not an otherworldly demon, but rather a human being, consumed by a demented Weltanschauung much his own making and how those close to him were able to see the man without acknowledging the madness. This book is as much about Linge as it is about Hitler, the man who proudly served his "Boss," proudly burned and interred his body, and proudly upheld his name after most of the free world uttered it as a curse. It is about their relationship, something on which Linge sets all his reputation, unflinching in his defense of the leader he revered and served. This book stands well with other Audible offerings that take a closer look at the personal side of those connected with the Third Reich, namely The Nazi and the Psychiatrist, Hanns & Rudolf, and Hitler's Furies.

A behind-the-scenes look at HItler.

What did you love best about With Hitler to the End?

I liked learning about the basic personality details of Hitler and his inner circle. There's much that I never knew before.

What was one of the most memorable moments of With Hitler to the End?

What stood out was Linge's devotion and loyalty to Hitler. Even against his better judgment, he did what was asked.

Any additional comments?

This is a look at Hitler's life from the perspective of his personal assistant. It's very interesting, although I have to take some stories with a grain of salt. Although wordy at times, I would recommend this book to other history buffs.

One of the best books about A.H. and the man closest to him, literally.

I feel like most books by the men and women of Hitler’s inner circle are partially untruthful and make a caricature of him, probably written under duress from the Allies. Heinz’s book seems more realistic and humanizes his ‘Fuhrer’, which is way more interesting to me than “Hitler Evil”, “Bad bad mustache man”, etc. We know, we get it, we’ve propagandized to death. But I really enjoyed listening to his time with Adolph from the beginning to the end, from his strange ways to some more lighthearted moments, and physically taking care of him after the failed Von Stauffenberg assassination attempt. It’s worth a listen if you like anything WW2 or Hitler related.

Interesting

Obviously if you read the summary of this book you should go into it having a very good idea of what you'll be hearing.

As you might guess from someone that was with Hitler day in and day out he provides you with a more personal look dictator and does make him more human. This is not a negative to me since I know the point of view, it's just an interesting take on an extremely evil man. You must be able to deal with history from all angles for it to make sense and so you know how to keep things like Hitler from happening again.

The book starts off pretty slow and doesn't really hit a stride until half way through, but some parts (mainly towards the end) of it I found extremely interesting. Being a fairly short book I'd say someone that has read a good amount of WWII books might get a couple of hours of entertainment from this book.

The reader does a good job and has the proper tone for the content.

I really wish this book was mainly focused on 1944 and beyond since I found that part to be about 10x more interesting than the beginning of the book since there was very little new in that part. But then later half of the book was good enough for me to give it 4 stars overall -- maybe more like 3.9 if that was an option.

Very informative Inside information

This was an informative book on the inside workings of Hitler from the 30's until Hitlers end as Linge lit the match after Hitlers suicide. It is not about war strategy or Hitlers global plans, but more about the top Nazi's interaction with Hitler and one another. He indicated that Hitler likely knew Hess planned to go to England, and likely consented. The meetings between Himmler and Hitler were only between them thus hiding the genocide from as many as possible. He provides details of Bormann, Goebbels, Speer, Himmler, Goring and Ava Braun.

Fascinating, but wanted more

Any additional comments?

Interesting tidbits about the man behind the monster image, details of which are rarely told and rarely understood. You won't find a person closer to Hitler than Linge who survived to tell this tale. That said, it should have been twice as long and told twice as much.

Excellent book!

Very well written! The way he explains and goes into detail is very well done, he verifies other things have been written and said about Hitler as well excellent read!

Find it hard to believe

Not sure I believe that the author was this personally close to Hitler thoughts