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The Hitler I Knew: The Memoirs of the Third Reich's Press Chief
A biography of Hitler by his long-serving press chief and close associate.
"Up to the last moment, his overwhelming, despotic authority aroused false hopes and deceived his people and his entourage. Only at the end, when I watched the inglorious collapse and the obstinacy of his final downfall, was I able suddenly to fit together the bits of mosaic I had been amassing for twelve years into a complete picture of his opaque and sphinx-like personality." - Otto Dietrich
When Otto Dietrich was invited in 1933 to become Adolf Hitler's press chief, he accepted with the simple, uncritical conviction that Adolf Hitler was a great man, dedicated to promoting peace and the welfare for the German people. At the end of the war, imprisoned and disillusioned, Dietrich sat down to write what he had seen and heard in twelve years of the closest association with Hitler, requesting that it be published after his death.
Dietrich's role placed him in a privileged position. He was hired by Hitler in 1933, and was a confidant until 1945, and he worked and clashed with Joseph Goebbels. His direct, personal experience of life at the heart in the Reich makes for compelling reading.
"Up to the last moment, his overwhelming, despotic authority aroused false hopes and deceived his people and his entourage. Only at the end, when I watched the inglorious collapse and the obstinacy of his final downfall, was I able suddenly to fit together the bits of mosaic I had been amassing for twelve years into a complete picture of his opaque and sphinx-like personality." - Otto Dietrich
When Otto Dietrich was invited in 1933 to become Adolf Hitler's press chief, he accepted with the simple, uncritical conviction that Adolf Hitler was a great man, dedicated to promoting peace and the welfare for the German people. At the end of the war, imprisoned and disillusioned, Dietrich sat down to write what he had seen and heard in twelve years of the closest association with Hitler, requesting that it be published after his death.
Dietrich's role placed him in a privileged position. He was hired by Hitler in 1933, and was a confidant until 1945, and he worked and clashed with Joseph Goebbels. His direct, personal experience of life at the heart in the Reich makes for compelling reading.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published April 6, 2023
About the author
Roger Moorhouse
38 books188 followersLiving the Dream. Historian and author of an international bestseller - "Berlin at War" was #1 in Lithuania :-) - as well as a few other books, such as "Killing Hitler", "The Devils' Alliance" and "First to Fight" - the last of which won the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize in 2020.
I write mainly about Nazi Germany and wartime Poland, but I fear that might scare some people off, so I'll just call myself a writer of history books.
My current book (published in the UK in August 2023) is "The Forgers", which is the fascinating story of the Ładoś Group - a ring of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists operating out of wartime Switzerland - who were forging Latin American passports to help Jews escape the Holocaust. It is a VERY interesting subject - so I would urge you to get a copy!
I hope you enjoy my books. Any questions or queries or just wholesome praise, do let me know...
I write mainly about Nazi Germany and wartime Poland, but I fear that might scare some people off, so I'll just call myself a writer of history books.
My current book (published in the UK in August 2023) is "The Forgers", which is the fascinating story of the Ładoś Group - a ring of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists operating out of wartime Switzerland - who were forging Latin American passports to help Jews escape the Holocaust. It is a VERY interesting subject - so I would urge you to get a copy!
I hope you enjoy my books. Any questions or queries or just wholesome praise, do let me know...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
July 1, 2023
Otto Dietrich became Hitler's press chief in 1933 & worked for him up until 1945. Throughout the lead-up to & duration of WWII, Dietrich accepted what he was told on the surface of things but it wasn't until after the end of the war that he wrote a memoir which criticised Hitler & he requested it was published after his death. This was an intriguing read, Dietrich describes Hitler as initially having two faces: one which was genial & shown to the German people & the other that only those who worked closely with him saw until towards the end. Hitler's changeable character, his intellectual flaws & military & tactical failings are brought to account here & it was interesting to read what Hitler supposedly thought of Churchill & Stalin, amongst others.
There's a few scant words about the concentration camps & the millions of deaths, & little reflection about the roles that others (including the author himself) played in allowing these things to happen. Dietrich uses "demonic" several times throughout his work to describe Hitler, however, I think we must be careful not to allow such words to create distance between the evil done & the person. Believing only a 'demonic personality' could order such abhorrent acts leaves us open to believing that only a supernaturally evil person could conceive of such things (we should never become so complacent), & also takes the focus off of the complicity of others. Lest we forget, as John Stuart Mill said: “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” (1867) 3.5 stars (rounded up)
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pen & Sword/Greenhill Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
There's a few scant words about the concentration camps & the millions of deaths, & little reflection about the roles that others (including the author himself) played in allowing these things to happen. Dietrich uses "demonic" several times throughout his work to describe Hitler, however, I think we must be careful not to allow such words to create distance between the evil done & the person. Believing only a 'demonic personality' could order such abhorrent acts leaves us open to believing that only a supernaturally evil person could conceive of such things (we should never become so complacent), & also takes the focus off of the complicity of others. Lest we forget, as John Stuart Mill said: “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” (1867) 3.5 stars (rounded up)
My thanks to NetGalley & publishers, Pen & Sword/Greenhill Books, for the opportunity to read an ARC.
June 6, 2023
After serving Adolf Hitler as his press chief (therefore without a lot of clout and influence) before and during WWII, Otto Dietrich was anxious for his version of the real Hitler to reach the world. Hitler took the world by storm...and by force. People got caught up by his charisma, speeches and promises of a better unified Germany. But he deceived, crushed hopes and killed Germany. Dietrich wrote his observations and thoughts from firsthand knowledge of knowing him for twelve years in the Reich. He joined the Nazi Party in 1929 and became Hitler's press chief in 1933. They were colleagues and knew each other quite well. Interestingly, there was angst between Propaganda Minister Goebbels and Dietrich who controlled the press/propaganda. The former was a very public figure, much more so than Dietrich.
The results of Dietrich's writing is this book which is written in two parts, the first of various themes and the second is anecdotes and observations. Photographs of Hitler and Nazis (several included here) always repulse but also fascinate as we wonder at what makes pure evil tick. Dietrich's writing is intelligent, interesting and revealing. He was part of the Reich until a month before Hitler's death. After the war, he was tried, found guilty and sentenced but was out shortly after for good behaviour. He wrote copiously while in prison and this book was published in 1955 after his death in 1952. Dietrich wrote of Hitler's megalomania and inhumanity while not addressing his own role in the bloodbath. But his eyewitness accounts were crucial nonetheless.
If you are keen to get inside Hitler's life and mind, do read this memoir/biography. What Dietrich does...and does not say is revelatory.
My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this fascinating re-published book.
The results of Dietrich's writing is this book which is written in two parts, the first of various themes and the second is anecdotes and observations. Photographs of Hitler and Nazis (several included here) always repulse but also fascinate as we wonder at what makes pure evil tick. Dietrich's writing is intelligent, interesting and revealing. He was part of the Reich until a month before Hitler's death. After the war, he was tried, found guilty and sentenced but was out shortly after for good behaviour. He wrote copiously while in prison and this book was published in 1955 after his death in 1952. Dietrich wrote of Hitler's megalomania and inhumanity while not addressing his own role in the bloodbath. But his eyewitness accounts were crucial nonetheless.
If you are keen to get inside Hitler's life and mind, do read this memoir/biography. What Dietrich does...and does not say is revelatory.
My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of this fascinating re-published book.
July 18, 2024
Full review: https://allthebookblognamesaretaken.b...
Hitler is not one of those people that gets to be other-sided. What ever positives there might have once been about him are thoroughly negated by the fact that he ordered the extermination of millions of people. The author clearly admired Hitler still, and barely mentioned anything related to the wholesale slaughter of men, women, and children. The author also references quite often the demonic spirit or demonic personality that Hitler displayed. Absolutely not. There is no one to blame for the choices Hitler made, except Hitler himself. Referring to it as “demonic” absolves him of responsibility, and that is something that can never be allowed to happen for him, or the minions who followed his orders.
Hitler is not one of those people that gets to be other-sided. What ever positives there might have once been about him are thoroughly negated by the fact that he ordered the extermination of millions of people. The author clearly admired Hitler still, and barely mentioned anything related to the wholesale slaughter of men, women, and children. The author also references quite often the demonic spirit or demonic personality that Hitler displayed. Absolutely not. There is no one to blame for the choices Hitler made, except Hitler himself. Referring to it as “demonic” absolves him of responsibility, and that is something that can never be allowed to happen for him, or the minions who followed his orders.
May 18, 2026
No surprises, but well worth reading.
The main failure of the book is the total absence of any insight into the root causes of Hitler's aberrant, homicidal behavior. That said, the author does portray Hitler's "behind the scenes" life with revelatory candor. His descriptions of Hitler's megalomaniacal tendencies and behaviors ring true for the contemporary American reader in the Age of Trump.
The main failure of the book is the total absence of any insight into the root causes of Hitler's aberrant, homicidal behavior. That said, the author does portray Hitler's "behind the scenes" life with revelatory candor. His descriptions of Hitler's megalomaniacal tendencies and behaviors ring true for the contemporary American reader in the Age of Trump.
June 22, 2023
This is an interesting book. Otto Dietrich tells his story about the man that he knew and we know as Hitler. Dietrich thought that Hitler was a wonderful man and had the best interest of Germany and his people in mind (I know, I know, but this is from Dietrich's perspective). This is a very compelling read that tells a very different version of what we have all been told.
June 30, 2023
Such a fascinating perspective and one which shows people are different things to different people. The insights into Goebbels were almost as interesting as those relating to Hitler, making this an important account of the Nazi regime and Third Reich more broadly. Books like this are important to help us remember and hopefully prevent history repeating itself.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews