Hitlers pianist: het ongelooflijke verhaal van de man die Hitler aan de macht hielp en hem later hielp vernietigen

by Peter Conradi, Rob de Ridder (Translator)

In 1922 hoorde Ernst Hanfstaengl in een bierkelder Hitler voor het eerst spreken. Hij stapte meteen op hem af. Niet veel later was hij de woordvoerder buitenland en de persoonlijke pianist van de nazileider. Hanfstaengl introduceerde Hitler in de hogere kringen van Beieren en polijstte het beeld dat de buitenwereld van hem had. De opkomst van Hitler, de mislukte coup en de brand van de Reichstag maakte Hanfstaengl van dichtbij mee.

Maar in 1937 viel hij in ongenade en moest hij vluchten. Hij werd in Engeland opgepakt als een gevaarlijke nazi, geïnterneerd en overgebracht naar Canada. Het lukte hem zijn oude vriend Roosevelt een bericht te sturen en door tussenkomst van Churchill werd Hanfstaengl aan de Amerikanen ‘uitgeleend’. Hij werd informant voor een van Roosevelts geheime projecten en voorzag de Amerikanen van biografische informatie over vele nazikopstukken. Hij gaf analyses van Hitlers redevoeringen en een gedetailleerd psychologisch portret van de Führer en berichtte zelfs over diens seksleven. Van vertrouweling van Hitler werd Hanfstaengl bondgenoot van Roosevelt.

Hitlers pianist is het fascinerende verhaal van de man die zowel een aandeel had in de opkomst als in de ondergang van Hitler.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Biography, World War II, War, Politics, Germany

398 pages, Paperback

First published June 2, 2004

About the author

See also philosopher Peter J. Conradi

Foreign Editor of The Sunday Times & author of The King's Speech and of Who Lost Russia? How the World Entered a New Cold War, updated and out now in paperback

Reviews

[Cata · Rating 4 out of 5]

A primeira vez que ouvi falar de Putzi foi quando vi um documentário na RTP-2 sobre o nazismo. Na altura, Putzi não me suscitou muita curiosidade e acabei por fixar apenas o seu nome. Recentemente tomei conhecimento deste livro, cujo personagem principal é nada mais, nada menos que Putzi e fiquei desde logo presa à sinopse.

Relativamente a Putzi, os meus sentimentos por ele foram-se alterando ao longo do livro. Gostei bastante dele no inicio, talvez por ser o único que pertencia ao círculo íntimo de Hitler que lhe tentava pôr algum bom-senso na cabeça. Depois comecei a ficar um pouco irritada, pois ele começou a revelar uma postura fortemente anti-semita e era bastante rude, manipulador e hipócrita. Depois achei-o simplesmente um grandessíssimo oportunista de lealdade duvidosa, sempre a tentar tirar o máximo de cada situação, recorrendo a jogo duplo para tal. Na fase final,já estava tão cansada do homem que nem queria saber.

No que concerne à história em si, fiquei agradavelmente surpreendida. Não tendo um género propriamente leve, a acção é narrada de maneira agradável e conseguiu captar-me a atenção. O facto do tempo de acção incidir essencialmente após Putzi ter conhecido Hitler, proporciona ao leitor uma visão da evolução do nazismo e do próprio Hitler, o que é, para mim, um dos pontos mais fortes do livro.

Devo dizer que por diversas vezes fiquei surpreendida com factos que aqui foram mencionados por diferirem do que originalmente tinha idealizado. Por exemplo, sempre pensei que o Partido Nazi sempre tinha sido um partido extremamente bem organizado e disciplinado, o que afinal não poderia diferir mais da realidade. Hitler também me surpreendeu devido à sua casmurrice, desorganização e desprezo manifestado a terceiros.

Uma das coisas que este livro me deu que pensar, foi que a História poderia ter seguido um rumo muitíssimo diferente se Hitler se tivesse rodeado de companhias mais aconselháveis e menos extremistas, se tivesse sido um pouco mais humilde e se tivesse comparecido a certos encontros com personalidades importantes que o poderiam ter influenciado positivamente.

Outra coisa que gostei foi a existência de fotos a meio do livro, que deram para fazer uma pausa na leitura e conhecer fisicamente as personagens.

Resumindo e concluindo, tirando a personalidade de Putzi com a qual embirrei [como já perceberam], considero-o um excelente livro e recomendo-o a todos os que sentem um certo fascínio por Hitler, pela Alemanha Nazi e pelos "jogos" de guerra, nomeadamente da II Guerra Mundial.

[Lewis Weinstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

UPDATE 6/21/16

Two more incidents, both well described, that might make their way into Book 2 of A FLOOD OF EVIL ...

1. June 1934 ... Putzi attended his Harvard 25th reunion, facing protests from students and from a rabbi. Conradi provides much interesting detail.

2. 1937 ... Putzi is sent on a mission to Spain, which turns into what looks like a plan to kill him. Once in the air, he is told he will parachute into Communist areas, so even if he lands, he will still be killed. But ... the plane lands and Putzi escapes to Switzerland, never to return to German until after the war.

Still to read ... Putzi's wartime activities in DC, interpreting German documents and pronouncements for FDR ... although they never met

***

MAR 10, 2014 ...

I have read part of this book, covering Putzi's involvement in Hitler's rise to the Chancellorship and the events immediately subsequent to that in 1933. I prefer Putzi's own memoir Hitler: The Memoir of the Nazi Insider Who Turned Against the Fuhrer: The Memoir of the Nazi Insider Who Turned Against the Führer but Conradi offers some additional useful references, including descriptions of two priceless characters who may each end up with a bit part in my novel-in-progress ...

Bella Fromm … a Jewish society columnist for Berlin's "Vossiche Zeitung" … angered by Putzi's remaining an apologist for Nazi policy … she says Putzi told her at a 1933 tea party that 'all the rumors about the persecution of Jews and the mistreatment of Catholics are cheap lies and absurd tattletales" ... Fromm's own memoir has been ripped to shreds by historian Henry Turner, who says it is not based on any contemporaneous writings.

Sefton (Tom) Delmer ... a British journalist and propagandist for the British government. ... In the 1932 German general election, Delmer travelled with Hitler aboard his private aircraft. It's the trip on the plane that intrigues me. Hitler frequently had foreign journalists accompany him on his 1932 and 1933 campaign flying trips (the first ever). Could I have my character, a Polish Jewish journalist, be in that plane? ... Later, in 1933, Delmer was with Hitler and Goebbels on the night of the Reichstag fire, whose origin is to this day controversial.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

O Confidente de Hitler é a prova de que por muitos livros que se leiam sobre a Segunda Guerra Mundial há sempre algo que fica por dizer. Já perdi a conta aos livros que li sobre esta época atroz da história mundial, mas nunca tinha ouvido falar de Ernst Hanfstaengl, mais conhecido como Putzi.

Forte aliado de Hitler, tendo-o ajudado na ascensão do poder, Putzi foi uma peça chave para a formação do partido nazi. Foi Putzi que ensinou a Hitler a saudação Sieg Heil, uma cópia directa da técnica usada pelos animadores das claques de futebol americano, assim como a música ao estilo dos cânticos das universidades americanas. Tudo porque o confidente de Hitler estudou em Harvard, viveu nos EUA muito tempo tendo "bebido" muitas suas ideias nos americanos.

Opinião completa: http://marcadordelivros.blogspot.pt/2...

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Further proof that truth is stranger than fiction. When I got this from the library I was a little worried it would be too dry... but I couldn't put it down, and let me tell you - reading about Nazis on the beach in Hawaii feels pretty wrong, but I just couldn't leave it at home. It is the fascinating and true story of a German man, educated at Harvard, friends of the Roosevelts and Churchills, who met Mussolini, and played the piano for Hitler whenever Hitler couldn't sleep, while also managing his foreign press office. Crazy but true.

[Maria Lavrador · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gostei este livro mas confesso que não é o meu género. Aprendi mais alguma sobre Hitler e seus sabujos, percebi que este "senhor" se aproximou de Hilter por causa do poder e do glamour associado à situação e depois virou as costas por não concordar totalmente com o que estava a ser feito. Fica pois este livro como testemunho de algo real e histórico, de um período negro da nossa história mundial que espero nunca se venha a repetir

[Tony Siciliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writing and research made this book surprisingly difficult to put down. While Hanfstaengl (let's call him H from now on) was a minor Nazi functionary, he was one of Hitler's closest confidantes. He has been ridiculed as "Hitler's piano player," and as a court jester, but this disguises the enormous access he had to Hitler and his ability to influence him. His life serves as a cautionary tale when it comes to compromising with evil. He admired Hitler, but not the "extreme" Hitler. He was anti-Semitic, but opposed the "extreme measures" of the Nazi anti-Semitic state. He tells us his intention for working in the Nazi regime was to soften its rough edges, to transform Hitler into a cultured and wise leader, to create strong ties with the United States while avoiding the wholesale occupation of most of Europe. In the end, this reader really didn't believe him. H was a slacker, an aristocrat, a man who was devoted to the very best things in life. A braver man would have had no involvement with Hitler and, perhaps, would have suffered extreme deprivation or death because of it. Instead, he moved with the powerful movement of the German population and made sure he was well-placed in that movement. When he began to feel the paranoia of so many of the Nazis in power, worried about Hitler's opinion of him, worried that Hitler hoped to quietly dispose of him, he left Germany in 1937. Over the years, he hoped to come back once Hitler guaranteed his safety and position. It was only after the war began in 1939 that it became apparent he could not return. While he worked for the United States government, even though he was interred, he provided information about and impressions of what made German leaders tick. Yet, all his work was aimed at removing the Nazis out of the German government and installing a different set of right-wing authoritarians who might be less militaristic, less anti-Semitic, less barbarous. His life was a breathtaking roller coaster ride of ups and downs, punctuated by events that were downright hilarious. In the end, it is still a life devoid of self-reflection, of slavish obsession with class and wealth, and of compromise with an evil force unmatched in human history.

[Stefan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad biography of an often overlooked historical figure. For such an interesting and important life the biography could have been much more in depth and more research could have been done. In short this is not the definitive biography of Ernst Hanfstaengl but it is a short, readable, and interesting biography that will better inform the average reader about the political and sociological environment of the National Socialist Party. The book is also somewhat informative (on a more limited scope) about Ernst and the unconventional intelligence projects of FDR's administration. Overall not a bad read.

[cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a surprise. This title doesn’t nearly reflect the impact. A fascinating, intimate, unique biography of a German American, nick named, Putzi, who by chance or fate, became, not only an early supporter, but an observer and finally an intimate of Adolf Hitler.

It is filled with facts and insights I have never before read, in 60 years of reading about this time in history.

What happens to this man, where he ends up, who protects him, are all questions that sound like fiction. From America to Germany to Europe to England and back, he survived and even flourished to a degree.

Well written non fiction that reads like fiction.

[Alex Mclane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the better history books I've ever read. It's a biography of a German-American gentleman that played an interesting role in WWII finding himself working for both Germany and the Allies. Hanfstaengl or Putzi had jumped on Hitler's National Socialist movement early on during the formation of the Nazi party. He had even become the Chief Foreign Affairs correspondent for the Nazi Party during the early part of the Third Reich. But after an unfunny "joke" played on Putzi's life that was orchestrated by Joseph Goebbels Putzi had enough of this "gangster" regime and fled the country for England. A great quote about Hanfstaengl's life comes from the last sentence in this book. Putzi once said of how events in his own life turned out "It is a terrible thing when you think you got on a bandwagon and it turns out to be a dustcart." The author of this book, Peter Conradi, used many interviews with Putzi's son Egon when writing this book. Putzi's son actually had the terrible honor being a godson Adolf Hitler. Hitler will probably go down as the worst godfather in history. I'd be curious as to candidates for the second worst Godfather. Maybe Vito Corleone would make the list. I was originally interested in this book after seeing a television movie "Hitler: The Rise of Evil" (2003) and how this "piano player" (played by Liev Schreiber) had a prominent role in the ascent of Adolf Hitler. Along with being Hitler's preferred piano player who most often requested Richard Wagner's "Tristen und Isolde" musical drama. During the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923 an injured Adolf Hitler fled to the Hanfstaengl's household in Uffing for asylum. Hanfstaengl's wife at the time (Helene) allegedly dissuaded Hitler from committing suicide when the police came to arrest him.
One thing that I thought was very interesting in the book was when the American government had finally brought Putzi to Washington from his prison of war camp in Canada. Putzi was staying at an officer's barracks and was asked by General Max how the war was going so far as kind of an open ended question. Putzi went to a large map of Europe and Africa and (thinking that he was stating the obvious) had predicted what was to be the United States' first military operation in the Atlantic theater at Casablanca in Morocco known as Operation Torch. While Putzi was revealing his thoughts the General had stormed out of the room to a puzzled Putzi. The General probably worried about what the Nazi's might know about their operation (p. 269-70).
Overall I thought this history book was very well written by Conradi. I felt anxious as to when and how Putzi was finally going to flee Nazi Germany and eventually become the American informant for President Roosevelt. I thought Conradi did a great job in revealing that to the reader.

[Laurel Zuckerman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Astonishing stories of a Harvard-educated German American who admires and befriends Hitler who he thought, with a little polishing, had the makings of a Roosevelt.
Well researched and smoothly written, the pleasure of the book is in the odd details and anecdotes too bizzare to be anything but true. How Hitler, godfather to Hanfstaengl's son kicks the chair on which the boy tripped as if to punish it, which is disturbingly sweet. How Hanfstaengl's wife DISSUADES Hitler from killing himself in her home after the failed beer hall putsch (can you imagine being the person who kept Hitler alive?). How Harvard, blessed Harvard, invited Hanfstaengl to speak despite his close connection to the famous Jew-hating war monger. How Hitler reacted to his first artichoke. "But Madame, you have to tell me how to eat this thing!"
I dont' know how the book ends yet, but it's worth the price for the first few chapters alone.
Bravo Mr. Conradi, for a well-selected and realized history.

[Tim Pendry · Rating 2 out of 5]

A competent and well written account of a politically naive, rather second-rate bit-player in the Nazi drama. What is interesting here is that an experienced working journalist is looking at the life story of a PR man who just happened to be pals with the biggest gangster in an era of gangsters and who scuttled out of fear and not conviction because he became an increasingly embarrassing buffoon. What is truly fascinating is how nothing changes in terms of the sort of personality attracted to power and the techniques employed in media manipulation - should be read by anyone in the PR business or political communications who is under the illusion that they actually matter. There are many better books on the Nazi era but we need such books on the buffone to keep us all grounded.

[Pertita · Rating 3 out of 5]

talvez 3,5

[Josef Asad]

Did Ernst conectet Hitler to bankers(specilliy in Swiss) who gave him so much moneny that bankrupt germany in 1933 become so strong in 5 years that could start world war?
England had understand that if poun sterling is reservcurensy then don't need act as clasikcolonial power.With printing pound sterling could buy everything from other counteries and no one can controll how much england print it.This was easier was to get other counteries wells than military occupating them.
Before Bretten wood agriment in july 1944 the Pound Sterling was world reservcurency,but after july 1944 US dollar become world reservcurensy and both economic and milllitary superpower shift to US from Europa(england).
US FED is a privet bank and stockholders family after WWII become printer of new world reservcureny and without Hitler and his war and his friend(Ernst Hanfsteangle) it couldn't be able.Follow the money.

[Timo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Putzi Hanfstaengl oli erikoinen kaveri. Harvardin käynyt tohtori, ensiuokkainen seremoniamestari, joka innostui valtavasti Hitlerin esiintymisestä olutkellarissa. Ainoastaan oudot rodulliset näkökulmat puheissa herättivät kummastusta. Päähenkilöstä tuli niin läheinen Hitlerin kanssa, että Hitlerista tuli hänen poikansa kummisetä. On aivan absurdia lukea Aatusta leikkimässä junaleikkejä. Kuulemma ensiluokkainen ääninäyttelijä, eli lähtökuulutukset ja veturin äänet onnistuivat erinomaisesti.

Kirja seuraa päähenkilön vaiheita Harvardin opiskeluajoilta takaisin Saksaan. Saksassa seurataan edesottamuksia Hitlerin ja puolueen kanssa. Loppuvaihe vietetään Briteissä ja Yhdysvalloissa. Suositeltavaa luettavaa etenkin jos kiinnostaa tietää millaista oli olla Hitlerin läheinen ystävä tai toimiminen natsipuoleen kärkikaartissa.

[Deb Lancaster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating for sure, dragged a little in parts. But Putzi gives another, less well known, connection to Hitler to try and understand his appeal - enduring appeal, it seems. We like to think that Nazism is dead and buried, but current events very clearly signal they're not. It's so important we try and understand the driving force behind the mass adoption of such heinous ideas. However, it also feels like it's too late in many ways. Anyway, fascinating book and some great stories.

[Linda Simmons · Rating 3 out of 5]

A side benefit of reading this book was learning some details about everyday life in the early to mid 1900s. For example, in Germany, one of the luxuries Hitler liked was hot water in the tap.

I also enjoyed overlapping characters and events from a book I read two years ago, In the Garden of Beasts, about the Dodds, the family of the US Ambassador to Hitler's Germany.

[Geertrui Bogaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interessant om te weten hoe die man in elkaar zat.
Ik had gedacht dat hij Hitler hielp vernietigen omwille van de wreedheden, maar het was nog meest uit haat en ongenoegen omdat hij niet meer bij het clubje hoorde. Dat vond ik verrassend teleurstellend.

[Caroline Van Laere · Rating 2 out of 5]

Heb al veel boeken gelezen die met WOII te maken hadden, door deze heb ik me echt moeten worstelen.
Er wordt veel gegoocheld met allerlei namen, waardoor je een beetje de lijn van het verhaal verliest.
Het moment dat Ernst zich van Duitsland afkeert, wordt het eigenlijk best interessant.
Had er meer van verwacht

[Jenni Peuhkurinen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mielenkiintoinen, faktoihin perustuva, mutta ajoittain yksitoikkoinen. Kuitenkin pääasiassa mukaansatempaava.

[Greg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hitler's piano player? Also his foreign press chief? Who knew? A very obscure but interesting historical figure who had many adventures in many lands (mostly forced).

[Trisha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Inhoud:
Het boek vertelt het verhaal van Ernst Sedgwick Hanfstaengl die na een tijdje in de Verenigde Staten te hebben gewoond met vrouw en kind in Duitsland terug. Het is echter niet meer het Duitsland dat hij kent. Op een gegeven moment wordt hij gevraagd om een bijeenkomst bij te wonen van een opkomende partij met een leider die welbespraakt zou zijn. Dit is zijn eerste kennismaking met Adolf Hitler en Hanfstaengl is onder de indruk. in de jaren erna wordt Hanfstaengl een aanhanger, metgezel, pianist en vertrouwenspersoon van Hitler totdat in 1937 de macht tegen hem keert. Hitler heeft zich omringt met de mensen die hem de oorlog helpen beginnen en Hanfstaengl, bijnaam Putzi, wordt dan langzaam aan gezien als een last. In 1937 wordt hij op een missie gestuurd. Dit doet hem uiteindelijk belanden in Engeland waar hij uiteindelijk vast komt te zitten in een interneringskamp. Uiteindelijk komt hij via omwegen in de Verenigde Staten terecht waar hij Roosevelt helpt door hem informatie te geven die Putzi krijgt vanuit het beluisteren naar de Duitse zender. Maar ook aan dit samenwerkingsverband komt na een aantal jaren een eind als Roosevelt weer voor het presidentschap wilt gaan. Putzi wordt weer overgedragen aan de Britten en van daaruit komt hij weer terecht in Duitsland, maar nu na de oorlog.
---
Waardering:
Het boek is soms droge kost en niet altijd even aantrekkelijk om te lezen. Het verhaal is naar mijn mening saai en is echt een biografie. Het is te volgen, maar vertelt eigenlijk niets over het echte contact met Hitler. Vanuit de ogen van de auteur is er weinig gevoel om iets te vertellen. Het is net een opsomming of nog erger een overheidsbrief waarin niet veel duidelijk wordt. Het boek heeft me niet echt geraakt en ik heb het uitgelezen omdat ik toch wilde zien hoe deze Hanfstaengl zou zijn. Maar duidelijk is het niet. Er komt echt weinig verhaal uit. Misschien dat de memoires beter zijn, maar op dit moment heb ik niet echt de behoefte om het boek te zoeken en te lezen. Dit boek spreekt al van een tegenstrijdig persoon die niet echt weet wat hij wilt.
---
Overige boekinformatie:
©2005 Peter Conradi
©2013 Rob de Ridder en J.M. Meulenhoff bv
Oorspronkelijke titel: Hitler's Piano Player
ISBN 9789460235894
E-book

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[Abi McDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Actual rating about 3.7) Another book closer to my reading goal! I picked this up in Waterstones a couple of months ago, and it looked intriguing so I finally decided to read it! I definitely wasn't expecting a full fledged biography of Putzi, but I wasn't too angry about it. I found his life definitely interesting, someone who came from a high class background fitting in with people who were much pretty much anti high class. I like how the book didn't present him as a hero or a villain, essentially : did he oppose some of Hitler's more harsher policies? Yes. Was he still widely anti-Semitic? Also yes. I rarely felt sympathy for Putzi. His life wasn't essentially tragic ; he came from a fairly wealthy and good background, and was always protected because of who he was. That being said, he story was very interesting, especially he was a member of the inner circle who I have never heard of, even though he was close with Hitler. Their interactions were interesting to say the least, they seemed very comfortable with each other and how Putzi seemed to be the only one who could calm Hitler with his music. I also found it interesting that Putzi seemed to miss out on so many important events ; Reichstag fire which he SLEPT THROUGH, Night of the Long Knives and obviously he missed so many events in the seven years he was in either Britian, Canada or America. It was also interesting to see the experience of aliens in Britain being locked up in Butlin's, and how the British government just said screw it let's just throw them ALL in prison. I thought reading about how Putzi watched the rise of Nazi power was more interesting than his time working for the American government. The book definitely taught me how much of an enigmatic personality Putzi was! Moving onto my last two standalones before going back to my beloved series <3

[GeschiedenisBeleven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Er zullen maar weinigen zijn die zijn naam kennen: Ernst Hanfstaengl (1887-1975), ook wel bekend als Putzi, was Hitlers privé pianist. Journalist Peter Conradi stuitte toevallig op de naam van deze bondgenoot van Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), die overigens net zo makkelijk de Führer de rug toekeerde toen hem dat beter uitkwam.

Geboren in Beieren, zijn bijnaam Putzi is Beiers voor kereltje, ging Ernst studeren in Amerika, ter voorbereiding van de overname van het familiebedrijf. Al als kind had hij echter een groot muzikaal talent. Toen hij in 1922 Hitler hoorde spreken op een bijeenkomst voor nationaalsocialisten in München, was hij zeer onder de indruk. Hij besloot contact met hem te zoeken en werd al snel een van Hitlers vertrouwelingen, maar vooral zijn persoonlijke pianist. Toen Hitler aan de macht kwam werd Hanfstaengl vanwege zijn talenkennis verantwoordelijk voor het onderhouden van contacten met de buitenlandse pers.

In Conradi’s Hitlers pianist. Het ongelooflijke verhaal van de man die Hitler aan de macht hielp en hem later hielp vernietigen lezen we over het opmerkelijke leven van Putzi als was het een spannend jongensboek. Dat levert goed leesvoer op, maar hier en daar is de auteur wel erg positief over de toch vooral egocentrische en arrogante Hanfstaengl. Toen het hem in Duitsland te gevaarlijk werd, vluchtte Putzi namelijk naar Zwitserland, en vandaar naar Groot-Brittannië. Daar kwam hij uiteindelijk te werken voor president Roosevelt (1882-1945), die maar wat graag zijn informatie over Hitler tot zich nam.

Lees de volledige recensie door Simone Timmermans op http://bit.ly/17hTjik

[Kelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

"O Confidente de Hitler" retrata a vida de Ernst Hanfstaengl, mais conhecido por Putzi. Nunca tinha ouvido falar de Putzi, esse cúmplice de Hitler que o ajudou na sua ascensão ao poder e que participou posteriormente na sua queda. Putzi era um homem influente devido às ligações certas que foi criando e mantendo ao longo da sua vida, foi chefe de cerimónias, de gabinete de imprensa estrangeira e ainda foi o pianista privado de Hitler.
Este livro está cheio de revelações da vida de Hitler, quer a nível pessoal como político. O livro não é a história de uma vida, é a história da ligação de Putzi e Hitler, que nos permite conhecer melhor aquele que foi um dos períodos mais negros da História do século XX.
Putzi provoca no leitor um misto de sentimentos, se por um lado no início é admirável que tente incutir algum bom-senso a Hitler, tudo muda quando assume uma postura oportunista, hipócrita e manipuladora.
O livro é bem escrito, bem estruturado e bem enquadrado, e recomendo-o a todos os que têm curiosidade sobre a personalidade que foi Hitler. No fim fica a sensação que este período negro da nossa História podia não ter existido se Hitler estivesse rodeado de outro tipo de pessoas.
Este foi mais um livro emprestado pelo Clube BlogRing.

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amusing account of one of the strangest Nazis. Ernst "Putzi" Hanfstaengl is one of those historical personages who pops up many places, in part because one of his jobs in the early years of the Third Reich was to entertain foreigners. This book does a good job of tracing his bizarre career from Harvard graduate to aging raconteur, trading on his years as Hitler's pal. He does not come across as a particularly sympathetic figure but rather as an opportunist who managed to walk the line between conflicting powers. My favorite parts of the book were the brief discussion of his years in New York City just before the US entered World War I when his friends included Hanns Heinz Ewers, Frank Harris, and Aleister Crowley, his surreal return to Harvard for a reunion that featured a parade of goose stepping alumni, and the accounts of the chaotic internment process in Britain following the invasion of Poland. Absolutely worth reading for anyone trying to understand the odd side currents of the time and war that are not apparent in the common record of history.

[Sergio Rodrigues · Rating 2 out of 5]

Comecei a ler o livro com a ideia de descobrir como Hitler comandava as suas tropas e descobrir pequenas curiosidades. De saber como foi a era Nazi vivida pelos seus comandantes.
Mas eventos de guerra foram muito pouco descritos, tendo em alguns casos direito apenas a uma data e referencia. No entanto em termos políticos ao qual o livro foi claramente centralizado, descreve como Hitler chegou a chanceler da Alemanha. Mas rapidamente Hitler deixa de ser uma personagem principal, passando claramente para segundo plano e após a fuga de Putzi para a América, achei o livro muito maçudo.Gostei muito da pequena sequela em que Hitler arquitectar um plano para matar o seu compatriota o qual correu tão mal que anos mais tarde o próprio plano de Hitler se virou contra o mesmo.
Diria que é um livro com muitos fatos políticos, o qual não estava a espera, dai a minha avaliação não ser ponto de referencia para futuros compradores. 

[Harmke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ernst Hanfstaengl: pianist en woordvoerder buitenlandse pers voor Adolf Hitler, analyticus en adviseur Duitse propaganda voor Franklin D. Roosevelt. Dit is de biografie van Ernst Hanfstaengl, afkomstig uit de hogere sociale klasse in Beieren. Hoe hij in de hoogste nazikringen raakte, in ongenade raakte, vluchtte, gevangen werd gezet en wanhopig probeerde zijn gelijk te halen. Fascinerend levensverhaal van een man die zo graag wilde schitteren in de hoogste kringen. "Het is iets verschrikkelijks als je denkt dat je op de muziekwagen zit en het blijkt een vuilniswagen te zijn."

[Josien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Op knappe manier wordt aan de hand van de biografie van Hanfstaengl een nauwgezet beeld geschetst van de opkomst van Hitler in het Duitsland na de eerste wereldoorlog. Talloze bekende en minder bekende grootheden uit de kring rond Hitler passeren de revu. Het personage Hanfstaengl wordt beeldend geschetst en komt goed tot leven.
Door het verhaal wordt een goede impressie verkregen van de impact van WOII aan geallieerde zijde.
Met interesse en plezier gelezen.

[Anton Klink · Rating 2 out of 5]

Six years later, I remember being mildly entertained when reading the book but since no specific details come to mind, I'll rate it two stars out of five.

[RC · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read but I was left with the impression that Hanfstaengl`s need for a high standard of living was the driving force in his life, and overshadowed everything else.