The Hidden Nazi

The Untold Story of America’s Deal with the Devil

By: Dean Reuter, Colm Lowery, Keith Chester

Narrated by: Traber Burns

Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's Summary

He's the worst Nazi war criminal you've never heard of

Sidekick to SS Chief Heinrich Himmler and supervisor of Nazi rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, General Hans Kammler was responsible for the construction of Hitler's slave labor sites and concentration camps. He personally altered the design of Auschwitz to increase crowding, ensuring that epidemic diseases would complement the work of the gas chambers. 

Why has the world forgotten this monster? Kammler was declared dead after the war. But the aide who testified to Kammler's supposed "suicide" never produced the general's dog tags or any other proof of death. 

Dean Reuter, Colm Lowery, and Keith Chester have spent decades on the trail of the elusive Kammler, uncovering documents unseen since the 1940s and visiting the purported site of Kammler's death, now in the Czech Republic. 

Their astonishing discovery: US government documents prove that Hans Kammler was in American custody for months after the war - well after his officially declared suicide. 

And what happened to him after that? Kammler was kept out of public view, never indicted or tried, but to what end? Did he cooperate with Nuremberg prosecutors investigating Nazi war crimes? Was he protected so the United States could benefit from his intimate knowledge of the Nazi rocket program and Germany's secret weapons? 

The Hidden Nazi is true history more harrowing - and shocking - than the most thrilling fiction. 

©2019 Dean Reuter, Dr. Colm Lowery, and Keith Chester (P)2019 Blackstone Publishing

10 minutes of content hidden in a 12+ hour book

This is the book for you if you want to know:

* What the author likes for breakfast
* What type of computer and Internet service the author has
* When and why the author prefers to take public transportation
* What the author listens to while jogging
* How the author likes to exchange documents
* How the author likes to format e-mail messages

Are these people paid by the word? I want my time back!

If you want to learn how the author wrote the book this is for you!

The author of this book takes entirely too much time telling you about the process of writing this book. I wanted to learn about the subject of the book. I have no interest in learning about the types of dogs his friends have and places the authors friends live in. The author repeats himself often in strays from the subject far too much for this to be an interesting book.

written by historical amateur's

this book is utterly ridiculous. I think the best way to describe it is by putting it in the same category as those so-called "historians" whom claim that Hitler escaped his Berlin bunker. Even worse, the "evidence" the author uses to prove his points can easily be debunked by the average WW2 enthusiast I advise you not waste your time with this book.

Thoroughly boring

Written and read like a bad fiction spy novel. Full of idle speculation. Remind me of the bad conspiracy theory shows on history channel.

Written by Lieutenant Columbo?

This title may have some facts and insights unknown until its publication. Unfortunately, the author writes way too much about himself and his research. (There are multiple authors listed. For purposes of this review, the singular will be used.)

How many times must the author tell the reader while he was interviewing the old man that he said, "Just one more question"? I fully expected Columbo to jump out of the closet to say, "Just one more thing, sir."

The book is about half "Hidden Nazi" and about half the author's pursuit and feelings about what was learned.

This title could be saved. It needs a good editor, and some judicious pruning.

1) Remove the references to self. Besides being distracting and annoying, it is egotistical. Does the author believe he is the only person who is shocked upon hearing a retelling of an SS Officer shooting a toddler?

2) Edit what is left. Eliminate the repetition of uninformative jargon; "the wife looked, the wife moved, the wife seemed."

3) Organize the book in chronological order of the subject. If a scholarly presentation is desired, add footnotes to reference where and how a particular fact was obtained.

4) A Forward or Afterword may be included to explain how the author found his facts, but keep it out of the main story. If a movie star has brilliant white teeth in a movie, no one wants to know what brand of toothpaste she uses.

I hope this title gets updated.

Why would America let evil personified walk away?

This book grips the listener at three levels. One, three friends solving a 70-year old historical mystery – in the buddy cop tradition. Two, solving the mystery itself. A mystery where the clues come not in mysterious bloodstains or conveniently dropped matchboxes, but from meticulous review of reams of paper that the government neglected to destroy, redact, or withhold. And three, their quarry. A hideously cruel sadistic man who is the administrative counterpart of Werner Van Braun.

As someone who has read World War II books since 1985, this book had me sitting in the car after I got home, ears flapping to find out what happened next.

The book is a series of unforgettable vignettes:
• Will the Nazi’s ill son see the author?
• A fatherly Holocaust survivor who can describe unspeakable horror matter of factly;
• A loaf of bread tossed into the snow to see if a starving man would go for it, and murdering him if he does;
• Comparing dry sounding memoranda from US Army intelligence that give the listener the chilling realization that they had their man and let him vanish – but why?
• An unexpected package from the FBI;
• What did the Nazi have that was so valuable? Why hide him even from British allies?
• Walking to the spot where the Nazi reportedly shot himself.

This book is the final rebuttal to those who think that there is little remaining to be learnt about World War II aside from crank theories. The prevailing version of history is correct, but it has barely begun to scratch the surface. Nazi Germany was an intricate machine. And this book shows that we’ve just started to grapple with its most complex parts.

Here’s to the next book in the same vein.

Outstanding book — reads like a novel

This book is very well written, well read, and riveting and persuasive. Highly recommend it.

Incredible US Intel collaboration with Nazis

Though focusing on Kemmler, this tells unbelievable, but true, story of how segments of the US bureaucracy of the time, subverted our own values and laws, to gain knowledge and expertise from Nazi war criminals.
The facts of what the Nazi killers are difficult to hear, hard to digest, and impossible to understand, even though already well-known to me.
But the facts alone don't make for 5-star reading. While well-done. the organization, composition, and telling of the history comes across as disorganized & less than the compelling and riveting read it could be. If the facts were novelized or written into a Hollywood movie script, it could, in fact, be among the most exciting of tales. As it stands. it reads more like a dry college history textbook. Still well worth getting through, however.

We didn't need the Nazis to build the A-bomb

Interesting but again...it never happened, that the Nazis were able to build the bomb. Many experts say the Nazis weren't that close. Van Braun isn't to blame except for being brilliant and ambitious. He didn't use slave labor here, and if our Govt didn't care then help me understand why I should. After all, we were pretty good at killing anyone who got in our way, how sadistic and cruel is that?

Lol prejudicial

Lyes when he did not like the real truth. A polish worker cut the wires. However their Jewishness did not allow for that. However, the killing of Jews by Poland and other countriesUKRAINE all love killing Jews. But when one saved thousand he did not say so lol. When hate ends then we can have peace. That means let the eu, r u s s is and Iran and china and Islam need to die before we have peace!

Fascinating and well researched.

A detailed insight into an escapee war criminal that was said to be dead. A well-written book bringing intelligence to life.

The narration was awful!

The content of this book is interesting and horrific but the narration spoiled it for me. Several times I almost gave up on it.

The pronunciation of the German names and words was appalling and one of the co-authors name was constantly mispronounced as Column not Colm.

I would suggest you read the printed book if you are interested in it.

Terrible!!

Its "a" typical US "lets surmise" about history. To the point its so jumbled up that I have absolutely no doubt that this is how so many US citizens believe history is. Its a terrible book. Yes, lots of research but the authors are "wanting" the story true. I listened until the end credits when i just lost the will to listen any further. As a story... Its fine. As a history? Its full of holes.

narrator is awful

Its a fascinating topic and interesting but the narrator makes it hard to focus and appreciate the content.

Not so good

Poorly read and written. Sounds like a Clive Cussler novel. Whilst the story is interesting, we don't need to know all about the author's feelings. The story has been passed out with a lot of unnecessary filler. Stick to the facts, they are the most interesting part. The narrator's style is not suited to a book of this sort.

Not a history

Nor is it an adventure story of discovery and exploration but through the use of weasel words such as might have, could have, may, to describe suppositions quickly progresses into enshrining these into facts.
The frequently used ‘allies’ wants and desires is clearly not defined or qualified. I don’t believe Saudi Arabia or Canada or Australia or New Zealand were in any way considered when discussing ‘the allies’ - it was always obvious that Russia despite doing more and suffering more to defeat the Nazis wasn’t considered one of the allies despite all the evidence and contemporary evidence to the contrary.
The authors have chosen to be morally outraged by the Nazis and rightly so but have decided to not question the immorality of the US in helping and using Nazis- sometimes glossed over as allies although it doesn’t mention any other of the allies doing anything similar except the Russians whom they have chosen not to be allies.
I took particular exception to barging into the sick room of a man in his 70’s to question him about a father that he barely knew. This might have been more acceptable if he had done the same to the children and grandchildren of the Americans who knowingly and willingly protected, paid and provided cover for these Nazis- why were they not subjected to similar vile behaviour.
Intermingled with the narrative is the tiresome details of how the principal(although unprincipled) writer was doing all the time and what he was thinking and imagining, the weather conditions, his commute etc
The conclusion is that the Americans (although not all of them) were as immoral or amoral as the Russians if not more so but that is never stated nor is any discussion of the morality about whether the shielding and protecting of war criminals is as great or lesser crime than the people who oversaw the crimes.

Very interesting

very interesting book whiles away the miles. I had no idea who he was

Exceptional story about the cover up by the USA

About how the USA helped Nazis escape war trials and still refuses to reveal any information of the cover up.

Very speculative

The story is interesting enough, but the speculative elements makes it hard to take seriously. The verified facts are interesting enough on their own, it's sad they went in to borderline conspiracy theory territory.

Somewhat Interesting

This is an ok listen. The Nazi story is always interesting. However the missing Nazi seemed ultimately to be missing the central guy. They never did know where he went! After 1946 the trail went cold.
I was not convinced by the diversion onto a Nazi Nuclear Bomb. I thought it a diversion and implausible.