The Last Days of Hitler by Hugh Trevor-Roper (PDF)

Description

The classic account of Hitler’s fall from power, first published in 1947, reissued with a striking new coverIn September 1945 the fate of Adolf Hitler was a complete mystery. He had simply disappeared, and had been missing for four months. Hugh Trevor-Roper, an intelligence officer, was given the task of solving the mystery. His brilliant piece of detective work not only proved finally that Hitler had killed himself in Berlin, but also produced one of the most fascinating history books ever written. This is the extraordinary story of those last days of the Thousand Year Reich in the Berlin Bunker. Besieged in the shattered capital, but still dominating the remains of his court, Hitler reiterated the original alternative of Nazism: either total victory or annihilation. This book is the record of that carefully prepared, ceremonious finale to a terrible chapter of history.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: About the Author Hugh Trevor Roper (1914–2003) was one of the most famous historians of his generation. His books include Archbishop Laud, A Hidden Life, The Last Days of Hitler, The Reformation and Social Change, Princes and Artists, and Renaissance Essays.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐Excellent book. A couple of points: the preface (1995) and introduction (1955) are presented in the wrong order…… you should read the introduction first. Also, first read the main book, then after that the preface and introduction. Because the preface and introduction answer questions that’ll only occur to you when reading the main book. Reading them first kinda spoils the fun!An additional point: the author is hilariously sarcastic and derisive of the characters described in this book!

⭐THE LAST DAYS OF HITLER is one of those books I have been intending to read for a number of years. It fully met my expectations. Trevor-Roper was asked by the head of Counter-Intelligence in the British zone of Berlin to determine what exactly happened to Hitler. He filed his report and then wrote this book. It was such a commercial success that HT-R purchased a Bentley with his royalties. The Bentley was well-deserved because the book is superb.Its strengths derive from multiple sources. First, it is an excellent piece of historiography, meticulously researched through both documents and first-hand testimony. Second, it draws on the most successful dimensions of fiction—a pile-driver plot, an excellent sense of setting, powerful themes and, most obviously, a fascinating cast of characters, only one of whom escapes with any praise: Albert Speer.First and foremost, this is court drama, even though the court is a bunker fifty feet below ground. To the now-ravaged, trembling Hitler come supplicants and toadies. HT-R describes them, analyses them, evaluates them, and, in general, finds them wanting in dramatic ways.When I was in college the English teachers were always contemptuous of the prose of their History colleagues. HT-R writes spectacular prose and that prose is successful for two reasons (accompanied by standard rhetorical flourishes); he is a broadly educated man with a very wide frame of reference and he pulls no punches when he is describing hollow men and self-serving imbeciles. If you wish to see the Third Reich eviscerated by the quintessential English don, this is the book for you.This is a must-read. Don’t wait as long as I did to order it.

⭐The chief impediment to this literate and interesting overview of the last few weeks of life in the bunker with the surrounded, embattled, and doomed denizens of the Third Reich is the fact that it was written so soon after the end of the war itself, and therefore had no access to the vast array of material that has since come to light regarding Hitler’s last days. Thus, unlike either John Toland’s “The Last Hundred Days” or Cornelius Ryan’s “The Last Battle”, it does not take advantage of the incredible store of archives that became available in the decades that have followed its publication in the late 1940s.Moreover, it cannot use the kinds of secret data now coming to light within the former Soviet Union which contemporary authors like Ian Kershaw use so effectively in retelling the story in books like “Hitler: Nemesis”. Still, this is a wonderful book, one that is both immensely readable and marvelously entertaining. At times it is almost comical, with the nazi High Command being so estranged and cut off from the outside world that their conversations seem bizarre and surreal. Even at the end Hitler hoped for rescue from armies long since defeated and destroyed by the marauding Russians, who were angrily raping, pillaging, and murdering their way across the cityscapes above.In the end we see just how perverted, committed, and maniacal the embattled Nazis are, with few of them even opting for survival in a post-Nazi world. Not only Hitler but also several of his closest associates chose suicide over capture or escape. Only Bormann and some of his underlings seem to have a realistic notion of what surrounds them, and only they seem willing to risk capture and death to escape to safety in the chaos that was raging all around the bunker in the streets and buildings of besieged Berlin.This is a terrific book, one that in spite of its shortcomings should be read by all serious students of the Second World War. Given the fact that it was written so soon after the end of the war itself, the author was able to interview many of the surviving principles before they disappeared into the dustbin of obscurity, and to take advantage of the times in effectively using contemporary memories and archives before they were forgotten or misplaced. In reading it one becomes much more aware of the ways in which time is of the essence in historical study, both in terms of how the author was both given an advantage based on his rapid response to the event in question, but also in terms of how he was hampered by not having access to materials and archives that have since come to light. I strongly recommend this book. Enjoy.

⭐On the surface, this is an exceptionally well-researched and readable account of the last few days of Hitler’s life in the bunker in Berlin. Running through this is an analysis of why Hitler ended up here: how the Germans initially succeeded in their war aims, what Nazism was about, and why everything failed so miserably for them after such a strong start.It is easy (and correct) to dismiss Hitler and the Nazis as evil, but there is more we can learn from their failure than that. Hugh Trevor Roper’s book is an important early step in that analysis.

⭐One of the best accounts of this moment in history I am given to understand, and if one just wanted one perspective on the last days of Hitler this would be a strong contender. It is a little dated (first published the year after I was born, that long ago!) but none the worse for that: the language is eloquent and of a style not so commonly used these days – in fact one might almost say it is beautifully written. HTR cannot refrain from name calling at times — he obviously felt that the evil that came from the nazi ethos was principally because the chief protagonists were stupid, with the notable exception of Speer). Just occasionally he verges on a sort of racism, in fact, but when one considers how close to the actual events this account was made it is hardly surprising. Those who witnessed the demise and aftermath of the third reich close up may be excused if their distaste occasionally clouded their objectivity. Recommended.

⭐Informative look in to the last days of Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich, as Berlin crumbled and the Soviet forces rolled in. Trevor-Roper’s well researched examination of Hitler’s last days is a fascinating read and is still one the best books written about the Third Reich.

⭐nobody will ever know what went through the mind of Hitler in the last few days. Was he delusional? Was he out of his mind? He was betrayed by his closest ‘friends’ which were the delusional ones still hoping to be in power after his death. Trevor Roper’s book is well written and well documented and gives a good description of those hectic moments

⭐HR Trevor Roper is a brilliant intellectual author. I found this book so intensely readable, that I’ve ended up reading it several times! MUST BUY

Keywords

Free Download The Last Days of Hitler in PDF format
The Last Days of Hitler PDF Free Download
Download The Last Days of Hitler 2013 PDF Free
The Last Days of Hitler 2013 PDF Free Download
Download The Last Days of Hitler PDF
Free Download Ebook The Last Days of Hitler