Hitler's Secret Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Nazi Plan for Final Victory

by Michael FitzGerald

A fascinating illustrated account of a crucial but less well-known aspect of the Third Reich.

The story of the weapons that could have won the Nazi flying saucers, the V-1 flying bomb, the V-2 rocket, the V-3 heavy gun, as well as the Nazi nuclear program and much besides.

Under the Nazis, fringe sciences were legitimate areas for research and development. Unorthodox ideas and projects that were too outrageous for other governments received funding. During the last six months of the war, it seemed obvious the Germans had been crushingly defeated, but in spite of the military situation, Hitler continued to believe that victory would be achieved. He repeatedly told his advisors and inner circle that Germany possessed Wunderwaffen-miracle weapons-that would turn the tide and give the Germans victory.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Audiobook

256 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2019

Reviews

[Livvy · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you lend me a book I *will* read it without first thinking about whether it’s the sort of book I’d want to read

[John Purvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Hitler's Secret Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Nazi Plan for Final Victory" eBook was published in 2018 and was written by Michael Fitzgerald.

I received an ARC of this novel through https://www.netgalley.com in return for a fair and honest review. I categorize this book as ‘G’. This book talks about the various projects undertaken by the German Third Reich to create weapons that would turn the tide of World War II.

The first part of the book addressed aircraft, rockets, and armored vehicles that were either developed or which had been designed. Then some of the more far-fetched research efforts were addressed including "flying saucers", unusual aircraft, and working atomic weapons. 

I thought that the 6 hours I spent reading this 240-page non-fiction book were interesting. While many of the projects discussed were ones I had heard of elsewhere, there were several that, to me, left the non-fiction and crept into the realm of conspiracy theory and pure fiction. The selected cover art is well chosen. I give this novel a 2.5 (rounded up to a 3) out of 5.

Further book reviews I have written can be accessed at https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/. 

[Craig Pearson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very good for what it delved into. Most of the weapons are well known to historians but FitzGerald managed to add more detail, bordering on minutiae. That the Nazis were contemplating the use of particle physics in some weapon or the other just seemed too much. The main problem with this book is the total lack of discussion about ships and submarines of the Third Reich. I would have liked to read about the proposed H-class ships and later U-boats.

[Christopher Heckman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sort of material is not new to me, but the author does provide an update on several mysteries about WWII that have piqued my interest.

I'm talking mainly about the Bell, two cylinders which rotate in opposite directions, along with a special "serum", which ... Well, exactly what it was supposed to do is one of the big mysteries. Igor Witkowski found a description of this device and its unusual effects, which has shown up in books by other authors (Nick Cook and Joseph Farrell).

The 24 pages on the Bell project answers some questions but (out of necessity) leaves other unanswered. We find out the identity of the mysterious "Dr. Elizabeth Adler" (Hint: Her last name wasn't Adler; it was Borman), and FitzGerald makes the case that the Bell was not an anti-gravity device, but rather Nazi Germany's surrogate atom smasher. (This also means the Kecksburg UFO was not the same device as the Bell, opening up another mystery that might have been solved.)

I will leave one more comment about the Bell, and that is one possible explanation of why Dr. Borman was added to the team, when her specialty was "a simulation of damping of vibration towards the center of spherical [not cylindrical] objects." In modeling situations with mathematics, the sphere is the preferred shape because of its many symmetries, in particular rotational symmetry around any axis that passes through its center. The next-simplest object with some type of rotational symmetry is a cylinder, and which would probably require extending the methods.

The book also details other attempted weaponry (including the possibility of building a 1500-ton tank)(that's not a typo), big guns, rockets, foo fighters, flying disks, and other experimental science. It's a nice update (2019) on this bizarre technology which was produced using alternative (non-relativistic) physics.

[Ashley Roeder · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hitler’s Secret Weapons of Mass Destruction is an ambitious and meticulously researched work that attempts to reconstruct the shadowy world of Nazi Germany’s most secret weapons programs. What ultimately makes the book effective is its commitment to a fact-driven, documentary-style presentation.

The book excels in its depth of archival research. Fitzgerald draws heavily on declassified documents, postwar intelligence reports, technical schematics, and scattered testimony to piece together German research into advanced weapons systems, ranging from nuclear experimentation and radiological weapons to exotic delivery systems and speculative technologies. Rather than portraying Nazi Germany as a near-mythical technological juggernaut, the book instead presents a regime struggling to translate theoretical breakthroughs into deployable weapons.

One of the most engaging elements comes from the limited first-hand quotations, particularly those attributed to Albert Speer. Speer’s comments offer rare glimpses into how Hitler’s inner circle understood the regime’s weapons ambitions. That said, this is also where the book feels somewhat restrained. While the fact-based approach is admirable, the narrative would have benefited from more direct testimony, especially from Hitler’s inner circle, scientists, and military planners.

I found Hitler’s Secret Weapons of Mass Destruction a solid, credible, and intellectually serious study. It succeeds in demystifying many exaggerated claims about Nazi “wonder weapons” while still conveying how dangerous these research efforts were. While it stops short of becoming a vivid insider narrative, its scholarly rigor makes it a valuable contribution to the literature.

[Steven Jaeger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great starter for someone who isn't sure if they want to do a deep dive one any one topic. This was about as well written as you can get in that it was very well balanced. It acknowledged every theory and provided evidence when possible, but dismissed anything that could not be substantiated or that wasn't an easy or logical conclusion of the available information. It doesn't feel like pandering to weird conspiracies theorists, but also does it's best to bring to light what evidence there is about those theories. As a novice on the topic, there were definitely some eye openers in it, not the least of which was the evidence that the Germans had broken the sound barrier first. I would recommend it for reading, but I would also recommend not stopping with this one. I plan on reading more about the scientists after being recruited by America and Russia.

[T.J. Hoffpauir · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy this as much as I thought but I just had different expectations for the direction it ended up going in. I know it was specifically about the different weapon systems they were going after or completed, but a big chunk of the latter half of the book goes into quantum physics and Einstien's theory of relativity. While I don't have a problem reading about either of those things in detail, it's just not my shit and this is one of those books that I just wanted to put down and move on to the next one. But apparently, my OCD won't allow me to do that, no matter how much I'm struggling to get through the book.

[Jose · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting book with an interesting look at what Godless Men under the allure of A false Prophet and occult influences and cult-like following . More than just Madmen ,the most shocking of it how many brilliant minds were involved and sadly for such a evil aim and how some of the tech they pioneered we actually exploited and used. some pictures, some interesting information and some speculation, overall a good read.

[Patricia Baker · Rating 2 out of 5]

the first part of this book was interesting. did not realize that Germany had limited natural resources and had to develop new methods of winning the war. it is no wonder that many scientists left the country to help end the war against Germany. thought it was amazing the the head leaders did not have expertise to head their departments.

[jj Grilliette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned some interesting stuff. Some of it was just speculation which I could have done without. On the whole, I enjoyed the read.

[Wayne Solberg · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was interesting to find out what was listed and what is now common place in the world. The way it is painted is that they came close to succeeding.

[Simon Clayton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had high expectations, hoping to find insight and surprises but was sadly disappointed. The title is over ambitious and designed to draw you to the book via hyperbole. There were some interesting sections but I found myself bogged down in highly technical and scientific descriptions of weapons ultimately proven never to have existed. I'm conformable with a level of technical detail but I didn't want yo read a scientific journal. There was also too much repetition and ultimately I had to work hard to finish the book.