Hitler

The Memoir of a Nazi Insider Who Turned Against the Fuhrer

De: Ernst Hanfstaengl

Narrado por: Robin Sachs

An intimate friend of Adolf Hitler’s who turned against him during the Nazi rise to power delves into the character of one of history’s most evil dictators.

Of American and German parentage, Ernst Hanfstaengl graduated from Harvard and ran the family business in New York for a dozen years before returning to Germany in 1921. By chance he heard a then little-known Adolf Hitler speaking in a Munich beer hall and, mesmerized by his extraordinary oratorical power, was convinced the man would some day come to power. As Hitler’s fanatical theories and ideas hardened, however, he surrounded himself with rabid extremists such as Goering, Hess, and Goebbels, and Hanfstaengl became estranged from him. But with the Nazi’s major unexpected political triumph in 1930, Hitler became a national figure, and he invited Hanfstaengl to be his foreign press secretary. It is from this unique insider’s position that the author provides a vivid, intimate view of Hitler - with his neuroses, repressions, and growing megalomania - over the next several years.

In 1937, four years after Hitler came to power, relations between Hanfstaengl and the Nazis had deteriorated to such a degree that he was forced to flee for his life, escaping to Switzerland. Here is a portrait of Hitler as you’ve rarely seen him.

©1957, 2011 Ernst Hanfstaengl. Introduction copyright c. 1994, 2011 by John Toland. Afterword copyright c. 1994, 2011 by Egon Hanfstaengl (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

A Surprising Gem

This is the first biography of Hitler that gave me a sense of the man. The author’s years of access from the beginning of his public career through WW2 gave him an unparalleled view of Hitler’s development. Add to this the author’s independence of thought. It makes for an unexpected and fascinating story rich in detail. Hitler emerges as no less a monster but as the expression of a perverse personality. His conclusion: unfettered power was one element that led him to his crimes. The other was that he increasingly surrounded himself with corrupt, delusional characters. The tragedy is that it took so long to bring the apocalypse which ended the destruction which the author saw as inevitable. Also the performance of this audio book was first rate.

Fascinating, personal account of Hitler

I found myself seeing Hitler as a human, a troubled man, that was greatly influenced by evil ideas shared by men who fed his narcissism and insecurities, It also revealed how gap
Hazard much of this movement was, so many mistakes and short sighted view points. But thank God for the weaknesses in leadership, because it lead to their eventual downfall!

The tragedy is, the sickness of this movement grew, and people passively accepted and or participated, because dissenting voices were sen ed. And that silence came at a cost of life that I hope will never come to pass again.

Dishing out the Dirt!

This memoir, written/dictated after the war, of course, is just phenomenal for soap opera dirt dished out page after page without remorse or regret, just brutally up front and mostly honest about the inner workings of the Hitler circle in the early days. He had no need to be cute and dance around the later crimes of the regime as he got out before the war started and apparently didn't regret it, having the stones to go back to Germany to live permanently after the war. He was one smug dude not to be concerned with retribution for dissing Hitler and most of his cronies.

He gives you what you want, so far as he knew it, about Hitler's long argued sexuality, his personality, his oddities, his appeal, his blindness, stubbornness and strengths. It's a heady mix with many, many hilarious incidents, kinda reading like a roadie's memoir touring with a rock and roll band. That being said, Putzi is a creature of his class, a reactionary pseudo aristocrat with more money than sense and a longing for the good ol' days of the Hohenzolllerns. But if he can't have that back, he's happy enough with the Hitler as an artificial sweetener because like all good reactionaries, he's terrified of communists and will shack up with anyone, absolutely anyone, who vows to eliminate them and get back to good old fashioned German values.

There's a dozen or so memoirs, maybe a couple more, from folks who were in the inner circle or very close to him in some regard throughout the history of the Reich and I've read maybe 5 of them so far but this is the best, easily. It wins by landslide!

thinks Hitler was his friend.

dude thought Hitler was his buddy and ignored all evidence to the contrary. was also too interested in Hitlers sexuality. but book was good.

An unique perspective

This is a really unique book. The perspective it offers of the rise of Hitler and the Nazi party is at the same time laughable and deeply disturbing.

the narration is excellently done. It never seemed dry or boring; a true accomplishment for a first person, historical account.

Love Putzi!

i have read many works about hitler. this one is unique! a sane person's view of germany's descent into madness- from the inside!

The garden hose of insight

The rise of Hitler and the Nazi party. I always thought I knew how and why the nazis rose to power, this book provides great, the very best insight to this part of history by someone who was present. Sprinkled with humor, here and there, that made the book a great joy to read.

He contradicts himself a lot

He contradicts things that he himself says at different times in the book, and contradicts what other say about Hitler in their own memoirs. The memoirs of others seem to correlate together while this one seems off. I don't think he knew Hitler as well as he thought he did. He was completely unaware of Hitler's relationship with Eva Braun and tried to contradict what Hitler's medical records state about his health and the state of his genitalia. This book overall doesn't seem very credible, more a compilation of his thoughts and opinions rather than facts.

Excellent look into the rise of Nazism

This is an excellent look into the rise of Nazism. There will be critics of his, rightfully so, yet his point of view is critical in understanding the bigger story.

Differnt View of Hilter

This was one of the most interesting books about Hitler that I have ever read. The writer (Ernst Hanfstaengl) tells about Hitler from a totally different perspective. Ernst Hanfstaengl tells about Hitler's younger. He tells about how Hitler's ideology changed over time and about how Hitler became the cruel man he became. Ernst Hanfstaengl talks about how he and his wife influenced Hitler and about all the other people who influenced Hitler over time, both good and bad. And finally Ernst Hanfstaengl talks about how he no longer has any influence over Hitler and how he has to run to stay alive. This is well written and narrated. I highly recommend.