At the Heart of the Reich: The Secret Diary of Hitler's Army Adjutant

by Gerhard Engel

A revealing account of Hitler’s thoughts and actions throughout World War II from one of his closest aides.

Major Gerhard Engel was Hitler's army adjutant from 1938 to 1943. During his years with Hitler, Engel kept a diary. After the war, he added material to shed further light on certain events, military and political decisions, and Hitler's attitude to particular problems. His diary covers the decision-making process behind crucial military actions, including the annexation of Austria, the invasion of Czechoslovakia, and the war against Russia. He also addresses intrigue within Hitler's inner circle and his casual conversations with other key Nazi figures.

At the Heart of the Reich sheds important light on the Fuhrer's core beliefs. It includes the statement made by Hitler in 1941, “I am now as before a Catholic.” It also details his views on German Jews and dwells on the extent to which they served in the Wehrmacht. Engel also addresses the deportation of Jews from Salonika and Hitler's order to Himmler to select a destination, the details of which Hitler was apparently unconcerned with. The final part of the diary is mostly devoted to the war against Russia. Engel's reports confirm that the master plan was to take Leningrad and Rostov, then close pincers behind Moscow. The plan was frustrated by senior army commanders'’ lack of enthusiasm and Hitler's failure to exert firm leadership. Engel depicts Hitler as a vacillating, contrary man. It is not unlikely that this encouraged his generals to impose themselves and argue their plan to rush Moscow, which ultimately contributed to the defeat of the Third Reich.

Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, War, Politics, Military Fiction, German Literature

208 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2006

Reviews

[Kathy Heare Watts]

An insightful documentation on Hitler, his mind, and his war told through one of his aides. It reads like a diary with dates and locations, along with maps, and charts of military leaders. There are over fifty pages of notes correlating with the daily entries.

I won an advanced reading copy of this book during a Goodreads giveaway. I am under no obligation to leave a review or rating and do so voluntarily. I am paying it forward by passing this book along to my son who I think will appreciate its contents.

[emilio squillante]

Superb peek over the F shoulders.

[Themistocles]

Meh.

I would have expected something much more insightful and interesting from someone who was at Hitler's side for a number of years. Instead the same themes are repeated over and over again, and basically the only things one learns (?) about him are:

-his distrust towards the army (no kidding)
-his wait-and-see attitude towards the church
-he had much more to do about fixing problems with officers marrying prostitutes than you'd ever think.

I mean, really, there's not a single entry about the invasion of France or the Soviet Union (literally!), but there are pages after pages describing some officer's marriage issues.

It only gets somewhat interesting towards the Stalingrad defeat (the war pretty much isn't happening up to then), but right then Engel goes into active front duty and the diary ends. Neat.

There are some 500 (really) footnotes over the pages, the most dry footnotes I've ever seen, some of them referencing other footnotes (from a couple of paragraphs back), many bibliographical but not always helpful (for instance, on the topic of promotions after the victory in the West the reference is... the Völkischer Beobachter??) and very few serve to flesh the story out and give some background.

Very disappointed...

[JW]

A combination diary and memoir: in addition to his contemporary record, Engel included postwar comments. Engel was an army man and resented Hitler’s criticisms of the generals for being too conservative and timid. Quotes Hitler as saying that the generals did not have to be National Socialists, but they did need to be aggressive fighters. Thus, aside from its listing of who said what at this conference, the book is a record of the continual culture clash between Hitler and his military.
What’s most interesting is the record of Hitler’s occasional thoughts on art and religion. He acted as a break on the anti-Christian efforts of Bormann and Himmler. Hitler had a comparatively more relaxed view on marriage than was Wehrmacht policy.
The Kindle version has its share of typos.

[Mary]

Interesting look at Hitler's decision-making

Engel's notes on his time as adjutant are interesting. They show how varied opinions were about war decisions around Hitler, how indecisive he could be, and how poorly he communicated at times. Lots of personalities, points of view, and irritation in his circle.

It's not a fun read, fairly dry. Good choice for anyone familiar with the history of World War II, especially regarding the Nazis.

[Stuart Miller]

I somehow thought this was a historical/biographical account of Gerhard Engel's years working on Hitler's staff. Instead, it is Engel's actual diary--a format that I do not enjoy reading as I am not a professional historian. Obviously only for the serious researcher.

[Richard Day]

Honestly, I wasn't overly impressed. I consider myself a student of military history. I thought this would give me an insight into the behind the scenes goings on of Hitler and his inner circle. There were some, but not enough to have made reading this feel worthwhile. I was also disappointed by the lack of historical analysis, which reduces the utility of this book to amateur historians.

[Kristi]

Marginally interesting - not a lot of detail - no content about important events like Pearl Harbor or the assassination of Heydrich. You would think that these events would show up in Hitler's words. Also since the "diary" was edited post war, the author paints himself in a very positive light. Cannot recommend. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Stefanie Robinson]

This is the personal diary of Gerhard Engel, who was Adolf Hitler's Adjutant from 1938 to 1943. He includes a lot of the conversations and thought processes that were behind some of the most notable decisions that were made by Hitler and the Nazi regime. He talks about Hitler's personal qualities and his thoughts about the Jewish people. I think these personal memoirs from Nazis are so important to read. I thought this was an interesting book.