- Last Days Of Hitler
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Last days hugh trevor-roper third reich still alive world war days of hitler come to light final days soviet union historical study second world nazi regime hitlers last book written good book book was published days in the bunker bunker for a last hitler in the bunker german. The Last Days of Hitler is an outstanding book that provides a compelling, penetrating look at the last days of the Nazi regime and its maniacal leader. This is a frenetic page-turner, a meticulously researched account of the final months of the ‘Bunker’, the underground structure where the regime’s top brass ensconced themselves during.
Shortly after the end of WWII, British Intelligence officer Hugh Trevor-Roper was given the task to establish the facts of Hitler’s end, and thereby to prevent the growth of a myth. His report, later published as “The Last Days of Hitler”, draws on Allied intelligence’s interrogations of survivors who spent time in the bunker during the last ten days of Hitler’s life. Trevor-Roper organizes his book chronologically, but it’s more a series of character sketches than a strict time line of events.
Critical Review of the Last Days of Hitler
We see a raving, physically broken, nearly insane Hitler contemplating both his heroic death and the complete and intentional destruction of his Reich, while his “flatulent clowns” (as Trevor-Roper calls them), even at this late date scramble to betray their leader, and one another, in their quest for power. Remarkably, each of these “flatulent clowns” considers himself entirely fit to govern a new Germany and expects to retain power after surrendering to the Allies.
But his report- cutting, detailed, and well supported- effectively stifles any thought of a popular revival of Nazism.
Since Nazi officials had burned Adolf Hitler’s body and disposed of the remains at an unknown site just before the Russians took Berlin, it was important to present other evidence of Hitler’s demise. In spite of announcements that Hitler was dead, there were widespread fears and some hopes that he was still alive.
Drawing upon interrogations he and other officials conducted, Trevor-Roper clearly described how Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun came to commit suicide on April 30, 1945, in a private room of his fortified underground bunker in Berlin. Trevor-Roper also showed how Hitler’s last days were the culmination of growing dissolution of the Nazi regime in the last years of the war, with administrative chaos and bitter personal animosities among top Nazi officials.
While Trevor-Roper’s book does pay a lot of attention to those last few days, its overall scope is much broader. It pays a great deal of attention to what was going on outside the bunker and provides fascinating accounts of what was happening to other Nazi leaders, such as Himmler, Goering, Speer, Doenitz, and many others. It also does an excellent job of placing Hitler’s last days within the fuller context of both Nazi and 20th-century German history. Trevor-Roper clearly explains the political intrigue that was going on in the “FuhrerBunker” in the final days.
Even at the end Hitler was continually questioning his aides about a German relief army that was coming to rescue Berlin from the clutches of the Russians. This army in fact had long since surrendered. Hitler’s and Goebbels response to Roosevelt’s death was bizarre to say the least- with the end of the war rapidly approaching they took FDR’s death to be an omen that Germany would soon gain the upper hand and eventually win the war. Himmler’s deluded attempt to negotiate a peace with the western allies and have himself be the new fuhrer showed how out of touch with reality he was.
In fact most of the major players in this book were seriously deficient in the reality department. One of the few rational people in the bunker Fegelin, (Hitler’s brother in law) saw a bad situation and left the bunker and went back to his own house. Unfortunately, he was found by members of Hitler’s guard and was brought back to the bunker where he was eventually shot. Without the sources, Trevor-Roper would of never had been able to write a clear and concise book.
Personal interviews and the acquiring of captured documents were essential for “The Last Days of Hitler” to provide an exact pinpoint on what exactly happened in the bunker from April 20-29, 1945. The interrogation of doctors that treated Hitler help put together his health and physical condition in the final days in the bunker. The use of personal sources like former guards provided the key element into proving that Adolf Hitler did kill himself inside the bunker and finally stopped the myth that he was still alive.
All the sources Trevor-Roper used help him write one of the most fascinating history books ever written. The main point was to establish once and for all that Hitler was dead because his remains had not been found. Although Trevor-Roper was certain that Hitler had committed suicide, he concluded that Hitler’s remains were unlikely to be found. “The Last Days of Hitler” takes you into the Berlin Bunker and gives a feel how it must have been living in the bunker when fighting and bombing was going on above.
It is well-written, compelling, interesting, and emotionally gripping. It tells with much detail and drama, one of the most dramatic events of WWII, the life of Hitler and his followers in the doomed bunker in Berlin. The book does an excellent job in the research of how Hitler spent his last ten days in the bunker having last meetings with his staff; label his successors, and how he prepares to leave earth. “The Last Days of Hitler” provides a great introductory in the subject of Hitler’s last day and provides a ground base for further research.
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Preview — The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-Roper
In September 1945, the fate of Hitler was a complete mystery. He had simply disappeared, missing for four months. The author, a British counter-intelligence officer, was given the task of solving this mystery. His brilliant piece of detective work not only proved that Hitler had killed himself in Berlin, but also produced one of the most fascinating history books ever writ...more
Published 1947 by Macmillan Company
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Apr 27, 2011Eric rated it really liked it · review of another edition
While their foul subject was fresh, the first post-war English historians, in early before the smoke had cleared, smelt the Devil. (Clive James)
I liked reading The Last Days of Hitler (1947) much more than I liked watching Downfall. Trevor-Roper’s reunion of English historical styles—Gibbon’s irony, Strachey’s titter, Carlyle’s bilious verve, if not his love of strongmen and Germany—makes even the flatulent fug of the Führerbunker, its Sardanapalan delirium, enjoyable to read about:
Pacing up and
...more Aug 03, 2017Alexw rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Was commissioned and used as the official British intelligence report of death of Hitler and has stood up to the test of time when Russia released its imprisoned Nazis as was verified by many witnesses. A harrowing account of the madness that happened as the Allies closed in- Highly recommended for history buffs.
Jan 14, 2017David rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
It must be such fun to write about Nazis because you can be an absolute bitch and what's anyone going to say?:
'Himmler himself, everyone is agreed, was an utterly insignificant man, common, pedantic, and mean. ... Hitler himself, in one sense, was not a Nazi, for the doctrines of Nazism, that great system of teutonic nonsense, were to him only a weapon of politics ... but to Himmler they were, every iota of them, the pure Aryan truth. ... With such a narrow pedantry, with such black-letter anti...more
Sep 11, 2011David Bales rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
A brilliant classic, Trevor-Roper's book, first published in 1950 and amended in 1956, (I have the 1962 edition) step by step follows Adolph Hitler's last week in the bunker and provides a pretty good summary of his last ten months as well as all the myths and legends surrounding his death and supposed survival in South America, (nothing credible there). At the end of the Third Reich Hitler was heavily drugged and mostly deranged, insisting that phantom armies would save Germany and blasting the...more
Feb 01, 2018Rose rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Not my usual reading material, this volume filled blanks on two different reading challenges: one for a book published in the year you were born and one for a book about Hitler. This thoroughly researched and well-reasoned examination of Hitler's last days is fascinating, and I appreciate Trevor-Roper's snipes at some of Hitler's compadres. For example, he says that Schellenberg and Schwerin von Krosigk 'form a perfect pair, the Tweedledum and Tweedledum of pretentious German sillines' (139) and...more
Dec 30, 2016Andrew Tollemache rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
A really interesing book considering its over 70 years old and I am tired of reading about WW2. Hugh T-Roper was an MI6 agent sent into Berlin in the Summer of 1945 to figure out WTF happened to Hitler. The war had been over for months and Adolf's ultimate fate was a mystery with the Soviets accusing the West of harboring him or letting him go into exile in Spain. Roper was given the unenviable task of going to Berlin under an assumed name and finding out what happened even though the key peopl...more
Jul 01, 2009R. Rasmussen added it · review of another edition
My current reading of Haffner's The Meaning of Hitler moved me to pick up an audio edition of Trevor-Roper's book today. I first read the book more than 20 years ago, perhaps as many as 30 years ago. I remember a fair amount about Hitler's last days but don't remember much about Trevor-Roper's book. I'm curious to learn whether Haffner's book will give me some fresh insights into Hitler's final days.
After many interruptions, I've finally finished Trevor-Roper's book. It's not quite what I rememb...more
Dec 28, 2018
Tatiana Valada rated it
it was ok · review of another edition
Shelves: 2-stars, read-in-english, european-authors
I had a lot of troubles reading this. If I haven't skiped part of the first 3 chapters I wouldn't have finished this book. It ended up been more about all the people involved with Hitler (even if they only interacted a couple of times with him) than about Hitler himself. Eventually I ended up learning some interesting facts but it was an exaustive reading. What annoyed me the most was the first two sections of the book - the preface & introdution of other editions - dedicated to add more fac...more
May 03, 2018Lysergius rated it really liked it · review of another edition
A fascinating account of the events during the last days in 'the monkey house' of Hitler's bunker in Berlin in 1945. The final days of the Third Reich are documented with precision and clarity, based on first hand accounts and surviving documentation. An important text which underlines the insanity of the end of the war in Europe.
Jul 28, 2012
Owen rated it
really liked it · review of another edition
Shelves: ww2, military-history, non-fiction, berlin
The English historian Hugh Trevor-Roper takes us down into the depths of the Fürherbunker for a last look around after the fall of Berlin. Reconstituting the final weeks, he takes us into the pit in which Hitler finally withdrew, after having lived much of the war in a series of other bunkers (or lairs) on the different fronts. All the ordinary comings and goings of the (mostly) elite Nazis with, in some cases, their spouses and children, and the occasional dentist, serve to remind us of the ban...more
Jan 08, 2010Ugh rated it really liked it · review of another edition
The conclusions of what is surely THE definitive investigation into the demise of Hitler - that conducted by the author at the behest of the Four Power Intelligence Committee in 1945. This is not conjecture or self-indulgent fantasy, but a clear enunciation of the facts as they can best be established, with the necessary caveats and considerations blatantly laid bare. But not just the facts: the spurious alternatives too, along with well-researched and authoritative descriptions of events and ke...more
This author did NOT think much of the Nazi inner circle. 'Ninny's, simple minded, childish'. His words, not mine. He explored the psychological mind set more than the facts. I didn't learn much new, but it was interesting how they thought. Excellent research.
Dec 03, 2007Nick Black rated it liked it · review of another edition
Last Days Of Hitler
Incredibly detailed and only a little less dry, it ties up the loose ends left in Shirer's otherwise complete history. The insanity of Berlin, 1945 flummoxes quickly upon first gazing into this (commissioned) volume.
May 07, 2018Mark rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
In 1945, Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton (1914 - 2003) was asked by British Intelligence to find out what happened to Adolph Hitler. Hitler’s bunker under the Reich Chancellory in Berlin was overrun by the Soviets, and probably owing to Stalin’s peculiarities, various misleading accounts of the whereabouts and nature of Hitler’s remains had been promulgated as Soviet propaganda. Trevor-Roper, a professor of History at Oxford and an officer in the Radio Security Service during t...more
Apr 11, 2019Jacob rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
This book is a very in-depth look at the last few months of the Third Reich. As Berlin burned, there were a lot of things going through the minds of the nefarious leaders of the Reich, and none of them was about the welfare of the German people. Using first hand interviews with Reich figures long since dead, as well as personal diaries, reports, and second hand accounts, Mr. Roper paints the ugly and complicated picture of an empire in demise, and it's leaders' power-grabbing moves until the end...more
Jul 10, 2018Eve rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Overall, a very well-done piece of historical inquiry that illuminated the fairly unknown (to me) history of the end of the Third Reich.
Trevor-Roper's prose is, at times, ingenious, and he weaves a narrative of these events leaving no mercy for people and actions he finds contemptible. But I must admit that parts of this book were very hard to get through, as they focussed so much on particular people and their roles and lost the sense of an overall narrative.
If you're not familiar with the ke...more
Mar 26, 2019Douglas rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
The extraordinarily high quality of this book reflects the convergence of many factors: a fascinating subject matter, careful and erudite scholarship, efficient but elegant prose, and a delightfully acerbic wit. The result of an Allied investigation into whether Hitler was, in fact, dead, the book transcends this original purpose to become a portrait of the personalities of the Nazi leadership as it went into terminal decline. A footnote, describing Rudolph Hess' mission to Scotland as being 'pu...more
Jan 13, 2018Alec Moody rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
I would thoroughly recommend this book, even if you have no interest in World War 2. The author was asked to investigate the whereabouts of Hitler just weeks after the war ended, interviewed most the witnesses to events and s well placed to detail the happenings and those last weeks and days.
It is a fascinating insight to the minds of the men whose names are imprinted into history and yet, as I read this book, I realised how little I knew about them. It is also chilling to see the hold Hitler ha...more
Mar 10, 2019Tony rated it liked it · review of another edition
There was an article about this in the latest edition of Slightly Foxed. Though it's 70 years since it was originally published, as the book version of the report Trevor-Roper had been commissioned to write in 1945 for British Intelligence about the mystery of what had happened to Hitler in the last days of the Second World War, it is still a classic account, which has remained in print ever since it was published.
An important read about the insanity of the Nazi regime. It's still a mystery how...more
Mar 27, 2019James Kemp rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
The Last Days of Hitler is a very well researched and near contemporary report on the last three weeks or so of the nazi regime. Hugh Trevor-Roper interviewed most of the survivors from the Hitler bunker (all the ones that fell into British or US hands, and some of the ones that the Soviets captured). He also had access to material captured in the bunker and elsewhere.
It's a pretty interesting tale, showing the slow disintegration of the nazi state and the reluctance of some of the key players...more
Jan 02, 2019Peter rated it liked it · review of another edition
A pioneering book that is still important although it has been somewhat superseded by more recent books and revelations from the Russian archives. The author made a convincing case for Hitler’s death in the bunker without benefit of any Russian cooperation only a couple years after the end of the war. Quite an impressive feat.
Mar 25, 2019Mark rated it liked it · review of another edition
Very interesting, but if you haven't studied and read much about Hitler, this book would be kind of confusing.
Apr 01, 2019John Ryan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Still reads like it was written recently and not just after the events happened. How could someone with this command of his subject have fallen for the faked Hitler Diaries?
Dec 17, 2018Stan Fleetwood rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Jun 02, 2019Andrew rated it liked it · review of another edition
Valuable insights into the close of the Third Reich
Last Days Of Hitler Movie
Dec 28, 2016Saman Perera rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Remarkable historical story telling. Not much has changed since the original story was told ...
Mar 11, 2017Kevin Coaker rated it really liked it · review of another edition
Atmospheric, claustrophobic account of Hitler's final weeks in the Berlin bunker. What started as a forensic, detailed investigation to prove Hitler died, results in an excellent portrayal of a paranoid man's impending death and the grovelling cabal. The Downfall rages are all here, but perhaps creepily he comes across not as mad but merely deluded.
Feb 17, 2018Dean Jenkins rated it really liked it · review of another edition
With the dissemination of Soviet propaganda at the close of the Second World War suggesting Hitler had been smuggled alive and well to the West, Trevor-Roper was tasked with dispelling such claims by investigating Hitler’s demise. The Last Days of Hitler is the published outcome of his findings and its as captivating as its premise suggests...although the introduction and discussion of scholarship since its original publication will need skipping if you want to avoid major spoilers.
Hitler’s fina...more
Mar 12, 2017Kevin A. rated it it was amazing · review of another edition
Hugh Trevor-Roper's classic account of the final six months or so of Hitler's life is both thorough and thoughtful. Considering the first edition came out in 1946, it has held up extremely well, not only in its particulars but in its broader discussion of the nature and character of Nazism and dictatorship.
Feb 17, 2017William rated it really liked it · review of another edition
An exceptional review and recreation of the final days of Nazi Germany, centered on the major players. Trevor-Roper composed this literate and elegant (and largely very accurate) work just a few years after the events, and it still stand up well to the scrutiny of today.
And, of course, I enjoy any work like this that can work in a reference to Nicolas Boileau!
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Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, FBA, was an English historian of early modern Britain and Nazi Germany. He was Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford.
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