What do you think?
Rate this book
The Hitler I Knew: Memoirs of the Third Reich's Press Chief
"OC 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. If my contemporaries fail to understand me, those who came after will surely profit from this account.OCO"OCoOtto Dietrich
When Otto Dietrich was invited in 1933 to become Adolf HitlerOCOs press chief, he accepted with the simple uncritical conviction that Adolf Hitler was a great man, dedicated to promoting peace and welfare for the German people. At the end of the war, imprisoned and disillusioned, Otto 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.
DietrichOCOs role placed him in a privileged position. He was hired by Hitler in 1933, was his confidant until 1945, and he workedOCoand clashedOCowith Joseph Goebbels. His direct, personal experience of life at the heat of the Reich makes for compelling reading.
When Otto Dietrich was invited in 1933 to become Adolf HitlerOCOs press chief, he accepted with the simple uncritical conviction that Adolf Hitler was a great man, dedicated to promoting peace and welfare for the German people. At the end of the war, imprisoned and disillusioned, Otto 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.
DietrichOCOs role placed him in a privileged position. He was hired by Hitler in 1933, was his confidant until 1945, and he workedOCoand clashedOCowith Joseph Goebbels. His direct, personal experience of life at the heat of the Reich makes for compelling reading.
256 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2010
25 people are currently reading
233 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
Read
April 18, 2022Skimmed, mainly reading in the second half.
"It is hard to imagine a greater contrast in one and the same person than that between the frenzied splenetic and the Hitler whose pleasant and likable traits emerged in conversation or on public occasions. This man, so often brutal, inflexible, senselessly furious, would appear as a deeply sympathetic, artistically sensitive being, the kindly father of his people, ever ready to extend a helping hand to those in trouble. People who had known him only in the second phase could not possibly imagine what the other Hitler was like."
The author was Hitler's press chief and he wrote this book 5 months after Hitler died, while in prison. It was interesting reading his take on Hitler before the world had the "Hitler stereotype" we know today.
"It is hard to imagine a greater contrast in one and the same person than that between the frenzied splenetic and the Hitler whose pleasant and likable traits emerged in conversation or on public occasions. This man, so often brutal, inflexible, senselessly furious, would appear as a deeply sympathetic, artistically sensitive being, the kindly father of his people, ever ready to extend a helping hand to those in trouble. People who had known him only in the second phase could not possibly imagine what the other Hitler was like."
The author was Hitler's press chief and he wrote this book 5 months after Hitler died, while in prison. It was interesting reading his take on Hitler before the world had the "Hitler stereotype" we know today.
May 18, 2012
This book was an interesting read . Written right after the war ended by Hitler's press secretary. You can still hear the resounding cries that none were guilty of the atrocities except for Hitler , with no blame on the German people . The question remains could have Hitler gained that much power if others had raised their voices? This book put you behind the scences into a glimpse of the true workings of Hitler's demonic control of power.
Read
July 7, 2021Listened on Audible.
Glad I read this- but it was a little hard to take. The up close and personal look at Hitler was fascinating. The author seemed to ‘get’ on one hand, that Hitler was demonic and said as much. But then...... creeping in was a bit of admiration, a bit of justification- without any mention of any of the atrocities that he surely was aware of. I did not like the author.
Glad I read this- but it was a little hard to take. The up close and personal look at Hitler was fascinating. The author seemed to ‘get’ on one hand, that Hitler was demonic and said as much. But then...... creeping in was a bit of admiration, a bit of justification- without any mention of any of the atrocities that he surely was aware of. I did not like the author.
November 28, 2018
Placing blame on the seducer Hitler instead of the German people for Nazi sins. Nevertheless, a good book. Hitler was two-faced and had a dark side. Worthwhile.
October 27, 2024
I found this item at a garage sale a few months ago.
Otto Dietrich joined the Nazi Party in 1929, so not quite “the old guard” but certainly not a parvenu. He believed that Hitler was a good man who was committed to promoting peace for the German people. He quickly rose to the position of Press Chief, and held that role until 1945. In his time, Dietrich was responsible for taking Hitler’s message and shaping it in ways that were easily digestible by the masses. His daily briefings to the German press provided specific instructions on how to present “certain themes, such as the leadership principle, the Jewish problem, the problem of living space, or other standard Nazi ideas” (quoted from a trial transcript) As one historian noted, “Dietrich cooked the German news to Hitler’s prescriptions [and ensured] complete regimentation of editors and journalists ….” In this, along with helping to maintain Hitler’s cult of personality, he did his work so well that he was arrested, tried and convicted for Crimes Against Humanity for the content of the antisemitic statements that he broadcast.
All of which is to say that Dietrich was no faceless bureaucrat, toiling away in the basement. Hitler relied on him, had confidence in him. And while he may have been outside Hitler’s inner circle, Dietrich knew a lot about what was going on in Germany. And if he didn’t know it at the time (doubtful), then he had opportunity to meditate on his history while awaiting trial in 1947.
I provide this lengthy introduction because none of this is in the book. Nada. Zilch. All we really know is that Dietrich became enamored of this “great man” – this “genius’ and, according to this book, spend the entire war bemoaning how a man of such great gifts could be brought to ruin by a fatal, demonic flaw. Dietrich ‘has no apologies to make,” proclaims the dust jacket. Indeed, far more effective to simply ignore what is inconvenient.
How is it possible that a Reich Press Chief had never read Mein Kampf? Yet that is the only way that Dietrich could believe that Hitler was a man of peace.
How is it possible to write a book about the Nazi era and no more than one of two paragraphs about the Jews of Europe? Nothing about the Nuremberg Laws. A single bland paragraph about Kristallnacht. Nothing about the mobile killing units that murdered more than 1.5 million Jews during the invasion of Russia. Nothing about the Wannsee Conference and nothing about the establishment of the death camps and the entire concentration camp universe.
This is a shameful document. The book binding has more spine than its author. I bemoan the fact that perfectly good trees had to be cut down to produce this self-serving, cowardly, piece of trash.
Otto Dietrich joined the Nazi Party in 1929, so not quite “the old guard” but certainly not a parvenu. He believed that Hitler was a good man who was committed to promoting peace for the German people. He quickly rose to the position of Press Chief, and held that role until 1945. In his time, Dietrich was responsible for taking Hitler’s message and shaping it in ways that were easily digestible by the masses. His daily briefings to the German press provided specific instructions on how to present “certain themes, such as the leadership principle, the Jewish problem, the problem of living space, or other standard Nazi ideas” (quoted from a trial transcript) As one historian noted, “Dietrich cooked the German news to Hitler’s prescriptions [and ensured] complete regimentation of editors and journalists ….” In this, along with helping to maintain Hitler’s cult of personality, he did his work so well that he was arrested, tried and convicted for Crimes Against Humanity for the content of the antisemitic statements that he broadcast.
All of which is to say that Dietrich was no faceless bureaucrat, toiling away in the basement. Hitler relied on him, had confidence in him. And while he may have been outside Hitler’s inner circle, Dietrich knew a lot about what was going on in Germany. And if he didn’t know it at the time (doubtful), then he had opportunity to meditate on his history while awaiting trial in 1947.
I provide this lengthy introduction because none of this is in the book. Nada. Zilch. All we really know is that Dietrich became enamored of this “great man” – this “genius’ and, according to this book, spend the entire war bemoaning how a man of such great gifts could be brought to ruin by a fatal, demonic flaw. Dietrich ‘has no apologies to make,” proclaims the dust jacket. Indeed, far more effective to simply ignore what is inconvenient.
How is it possible that a Reich Press Chief had never read Mein Kampf? Yet that is the only way that Dietrich could believe that Hitler was a man of peace.
How is it possible to write a book about the Nazi era and no more than one of two paragraphs about the Jews of Europe? Nothing about the Nuremberg Laws. A single bland paragraph about Kristallnacht. Nothing about the mobile killing units that murdered more than 1.5 million Jews during the invasion of Russia. Nothing about the Wannsee Conference and nothing about the establishment of the death camps and the entire concentration camp universe.
This is a shameful document. The book binding has more spine than its author. I bemoan the fact that perfectly good trees had to be cut down to produce this self-serving, cowardly, piece of trash.
August 10, 2017
Dietrich was Hitler's press chief and he wrote this soon after his downfall. His recollections go much further back as he was associated with Hitler earlier on than most. He claims to have never been infatuated with Hitler's vision, but that is for you to decide. Nevertheless, his insights into Hitler's strengths and weaknesses are interesting. He concludes that Hitler's work was evil and that he was vastly insensitive to marriage and family, having no close relatives.
April 19, 2025
Damned Him With Faint Praise
Damned him somewhat apologetically with faint praise. Some examples from the coda (paraphrased):
The German people fell victim to their own magnified and distorted mirror image of him.
He will not have lived in vain for the German people, for he was sent by Dark Powers as the executor of an unknown destiny.
Too treacly for my taste.
Damned him somewhat apologetically with faint praise. Some examples from the coda (paraphrased):
The German people fell victim to their own magnified and distorted mirror image of him.
He will not have lived in vain for the German people, for he was sent by Dark Powers as the executor of an unknown destiny.
Too treacly for my taste.
December 22, 2020
This was a very interesting and balanced portrait of Hitler. It was intensely readable and contained some information I don't think I was already aware of. Highly recommend if you are interested in the subject matter.
November 7, 2025
Įdomu.
June 4, 2023
If the book was written by a political prisoner would be a 5 star book! But written by a nazi/hitler follower sounds like “what mistakes made nazism/hitler to become really great!”
December 16, 2017
Dietrich was Hitler's press chief, and this book was written in the early '50s and published in 1955 after the author's death. It's part of the "hey, don't look at me, it was all that guy's fault" take on the war that was widely adopted in Germany. The first half of the book is general denunciation of Hitler's leadership. The general point is the unproven assumption that all Germans were pacifists who had no idea what Hitler was up to (regarding war and the barely mentioned atrocities that accompanied it) and that Hitler was a master deceiver who let nobody know what his real intentions were. Hitler supposedly became more autocratic as time went on, and the author mentions several times how Hitler reneged on setting up a Nazi "senate" (presumably on the model of fascist Italy). As if this putative senate would somehow have decided not to annex the Sudetenland or invade Poland! The general notion that somehow Hitler "duped" everybody is a bit rich coming from somebody who was a major figure in the dissemination of the state propaganda that supposedly allowed Hitler to pull the wool over everybody's eyes! Conveniently enough, Dietrich says virtually nothing about his own functioning in the state, pretty much completely ignoring his contentions with Goebbels, whose responsibilities somewhat overlapped with his own, which led to strife between them.
All the same, Dietrich had a lot of personal experience with Hitler, and if one can try to cut through the retrospective prevarications, there is still valuable material here about the "Führer". The second half of the book is basically a lot of anecdotes (this amorphous section is entitled "scenes from Hitler's life"). Oddly enough, the author denies that Hitler's mental health was affected by all the drugs he was given by his doctor. Anyway, so long as one bears in mind the bias inherent in the circumstance's of the book's composition, it provides interesting observations from close up of Hitler's mentality, habits, and behavior.
All the same, Dietrich had a lot of personal experience with Hitler, and if one can try to cut through the retrospective prevarications, there is still valuable material here about the "Führer". The second half of the book is basically a lot of anecdotes (this amorphous section is entitled "scenes from Hitler's life"). Oddly enough, the author denies that Hitler's mental health was affected by all the drugs he was given by his doctor. Anyway, so long as one bears in mind the bias inherent in the circumstance's of the book's composition, it provides interesting observations from close up of Hitler's mentality, habits, and behavior.
December 14, 2014
A very interesting book for those who study WW2 and the Hitler regime.
Otto Dietrich, the Third Reich's Press Chief, bares all about his 12 years working closely with Hitler. For those who know the outlines of this time, there might not be a wellspring of new information here, but it is very interesting to read Dietrich's observations about Hitler's day-to-day life, how we interacted with his slavish followers on the Berghof, his love for Munch, interworking in Berlin, moral shortcomings, temper outbursts, etc.
Dietrich's aim for this book seems some kind of act of penitence. He writes: "As a publicist who believed in the Nazi cause I consistently presented the more decent and likable sides of Hitler to the people, thereby helping to bring him closer to the hears of many Germans. At that time I sincerely believed that my task was in the best interests of the nation. But my pro-Hitler writings have since, due to the change in the times and the change in the man, become a heavy burden on my conscience." Talk about a huge burden to bear.
Dietrich began writing this book a few months after the war, though it ultimately wasn't published until recently. Dietrich writes plainly and forcefully about Hitler and rightly condemns the man for his many sins: "He came to power as a popular Socialist leader, as the creator of new ideas. Because he rescued them from a dire economic catastrophe, the people believed his promises, haled him as a bearer of good fortune, favorite of destiny and conferred on him total power. In the course of the years, as his character and his aims changed, he used this power to ruin the nation."
Otto Dietrich, the Third Reich's Press Chief, bares all about his 12 years working closely with Hitler. For those who know the outlines of this time, there might not be a wellspring of new information here, but it is very interesting to read Dietrich's observations about Hitler's day-to-day life, how we interacted with his slavish followers on the Berghof, his love for Munch, interworking in Berlin, moral shortcomings, temper outbursts, etc.
Dietrich's aim for this book seems some kind of act of penitence. He writes: "As a publicist who believed in the Nazi cause I consistently presented the more decent and likable sides of Hitler to the people, thereby helping to bring him closer to the hears of many Germans. At that time I sincerely believed that my task was in the best interests of the nation. But my pro-Hitler writings have since, due to the change in the times and the change in the man, become a heavy burden on my conscience." Talk about a huge burden to bear.
Dietrich began writing this book a few months after the war, though it ultimately wasn't published until recently. Dietrich writes plainly and forcefully about Hitler and rightly condemns the man for his many sins: "He came to power as a popular Socialist leader, as the creator of new ideas. Because he rescued them from a dire economic catastrophe, the people believed his promises, haled him as a bearer of good fortune, favorite of destiny and conferred on him total power. In the course of the years, as his character and his aims changed, he used this power to ruin the nation."
July 22, 2012
I had just finished Heinz Linge's "With Hitler to the End" memoirs when I picked up this book. I would have to say that out of the two of these books, this one was better. I gave them both them 3 stars, though, and that is because I found the way that this one, specifically, wasn't written/translated too well. The prose was very choppy and clunky, and the grammar was kind of bad; if I had to choose I would say it was a translation issue, though. Linge's seemed to be a little more readable and prose-worthy.
What I liked about Dietrich's memoirs over Linge's was that Dietrich was a little more detail oriented as to how he got his position, how he joined the Nazi party, etc; Dietrich also discusses and goes into detail about Hitler's important decisions, battles, inter-party politicking and much more. Dietrich gives his view and opinion of what Hitler did right, what he did wrong, and what ultimately lead to Hitler's, the Third Reich's and the German people's downfall.
Dietrich does not provide as nice or rosy a picture of Hitler as Linge did in his memoirs, which makes me wonder if Dietrich was somewhat disgruntled, had some axe to grind, or trying to clear his name before he died.
The first part of the book is about Dietrich's time under the Nazi party, his work, and as previously mentioned, the important battles and points in the Third Reich's history. The second part is his personal, psychological view of Hitler and his daily routine, habits, and lifestyle choices. All in all a good book, read it if you have an interest in the Nazi's and Hitler.
What I liked about Dietrich's memoirs over Linge's was that Dietrich was a little more detail oriented as to how he got his position, how he joined the Nazi party, etc; Dietrich also discusses and goes into detail about Hitler's important decisions, battles, inter-party politicking and much more. Dietrich gives his view and opinion of what Hitler did right, what he did wrong, and what ultimately lead to Hitler's, the Third Reich's and the German people's downfall.
Dietrich does not provide as nice or rosy a picture of Hitler as Linge did in his memoirs, which makes me wonder if Dietrich was somewhat disgruntled, had some axe to grind, or trying to clear his name before he died.
The first part of the book is about Dietrich's time under the Nazi party, his work, and as previously mentioned, the important battles and points in the Third Reich's history. The second part is his personal, psychological view of Hitler and his daily routine, habits, and lifestyle choices. All in all a good book, read it if you have an interest in the Nazi's and Hitler.
June 12, 2013
Challenge with formulating a view about a book (specially when its about a person) is that you can not really be sure of how truly does the book portray the subject .. it gets harder when its about a person as controversial as hitler is. I admit that after reading this book, so many different angles by how he should be seen, emerge and naturally the picture does not come out likable.
This book provides some very fine details about several events but i would have liked it to also address the actions of people outside Germany which effected the decisions made in-house. Any one can find out that Churchil was not a holy cow by any means .... people who permit day & night bombings of civilian can not be good no matter how best you portray them. Without putting all variables in equation, the picture remains incomplete - always.
At any rate its a recommended book for those who have interest in history.
This book provides some very fine details about several events but i would have liked it to also address the actions of people outside Germany which effected the decisions made in-house. Any one can find out that Churchil was not a holy cow by any means .... people who permit day & night bombings of civilian can not be good no matter how best you portray them. Without putting all variables in equation, the picture remains incomplete - always.
At any rate its a recommended book for those who have interest in history.
January 23, 2011
Wow, this guy is really pissed at Hitler! That sentiment dominates the first half of the book, which is dedicated to the psychological underpinnings of Hitler and his influence on the German people. There is a sense of disappointment and betrayal throughout, almost like a discarded lover. The second half of the book lists Hitler's favorite restaurants. Well, there's much more than that, but much of it effectively returns Hitler, an otherwise grossly mythic figure in history, to the profane.
October 15, 2013
This was a very good book but was very hard to read night after night. I had to take my time with it for sure. The one thing that I found interesting was there were only two sentences that even mention the massacres of the Jews, but the rest of the read was good. Not surprisingly, he takes no responsibility for what has happened but...good read and very informational.
October 16, 2010
This is as much a memoir as it is a biography. Dietrich was Hitler's press agent, and gives personal accounts to illustrate his premise that Hitler was a man with emotional demons and mental illness.
Published in 1955 originally. So... nothing really new.
Published in 1955 originally. So... nothing really new.
November 19, 2011
Not for the newbie Hitler reader but rather for someone who has already explored this topic. Written just a few years after the war by Hitler's press chief. Lucid and informative opinions on how Hitler succeeded...and ultimately failed.
May 5, 2014
Great insight to the demonic genius that was Adolf Hitler. Very interesting to see how the traits that helped Hitler gain so much power were the exact same traits that had completely doomed Germany (apart from the war, even) by early 1942.
July 19, 2021
The memoirs of Hitler's former press chief. It is difficult to determine how much this was altered to avoid execution or punishment for "war crimes". It does provide some human introspective of the inner circle though.
October 18, 2010
This is an analytical review, largely santized trying to explain why anyone would follow Hitler for such a long time to such extremes. It raises as many questions as it answers.
December 15, 2016
Very interesting read
I enjoyed the writing style and detailed information. I recommend to any WWII reader, particularly anyone with an interest in the inner workings of the NSDAP.
I enjoyed the writing style and detailed information. I recommend to any WWII reader, particularly anyone with an interest in the inner workings of the NSDAP.
November 1, 2015
My Amazon review -
http://www.amazon.com/review/R35UZWU9...
http://www.amazon.com/review/R35UZWU9...
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews