Hitler and His Inner Circle: Chilling Profiles of the Evil Figures Behind the Third Reich

by Paul Roland, Gaynor Aaltonen, Jeremy Black

The Nazis kept extensive files on practically everybody in the Third Reich. Now author Paul Roland turns the tables with this brilliant new exposé - a fascinating psychological profile of the leading Nazis and their lesser-known associates.Examples • Adolf Hitler had 'terrible' table manners, gorged on cake in his bunker and Allied psychologists considered him a neurotic psychopath.• When Hermann Goering surrendered to the Americans, he had a gold-plated revolver and a stash of drugs in his luggage.• Franz Stangl loved his job so much (as commandant of Sobibor and Treblinka concentration camps) that he tried to make his places of work seem as normal as he could by planting flowers and shrubs everywhere and creating a fake railway station with fake painted clocks to welcome new arrivals.Accompanied by over 50 images, this concise yet revealing chronicle of Hitler's henchmen and their horrifying crimes is presented in a fresh and accessible way.

Genres: World War II, History

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2021

About the author

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Roland

Reviews

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent introduction to Hitler’s henchmen and inner circle and a book that should be judged on its own merits rather than what it isn’t. It’s not pretending to be an in-depth study but offers brief biographical sketches, presenting the key facts in a concise and accessible way. A stepping stone to further reading and especially useful for younger people who may not be as familiar with these characters as older people necessarily are. Highly recommended.

[Gracie Strain · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was an excellent book about hitler and the people who were around it. It tells a lot of information about each of the people, including Hitler themselves. I enjoyed the book because it was historical. Though, at times I lost interest in reading it, it was still very good.

[SnarkyMoggie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free on Netgallery for a honest review.

Rating System in Stars:
1 Star – Didn’t enjoy the book
2 Star – Enjoyed the book well enough, but wouldn’t buy a physical copy or if I own a physical copy, wouldn’t read it again. May recommend it to others, but would state I had trouble reading it myself.
3 Star – Enjoyed the book and would read it again
4 Star – Thoroughly enjoyed the book and will be read again and again
5 Star – Loved Loved Loved this book and will go onto my Favourites Shelf
I’d give this book 3 Stars.
I’d highly recommend this book, whether the reader is well versed in World War II and Hitler’s Inner Circle or wanting to find out information without having to delve into biographies of this men, and in some cases women. There are a few pages dedicated to each person, some of them well known while others not. The author lists background information, with family history, their contribution (I’m not exactly sure how to word this otherwise) to the Nazi party and to World War II, and how they died. In some cases, it took years for the Nazi to face consequences surprisingly.
I enjoyed how the notes of various psychologists who interviewed members of Hitler’s Inner Circle before the Nuremburg Trials were included, as well as diary entries from the person and the ones around them. The chapter dedicated to each person may be short, but it is extremely informative and left me wanting to investigate further.
I’d buy the Kindle version of this book, but I don’t think that I’d get a physical copy of it. It would be a good one to dip into when I wanted to brush up on a particular Nazi in the future. So, as I have mentioned before, this is one that should be within easy reach for anyone who likes reading about World War II.

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most of the individuals appearing in this book were known to me from previous readings on this subject, with a few new ones, which was handy. However, the book's coverage of each person and highlights of his/her "career" in the Nazi party were woefully short for my taste, which is somewhat understandable considering the number of personages covered herein. The chapters were rather short as well as a result, which appeals to some readers, but not to me. Not too much new information was offered except on the characters I wasn't too familiar with to begin with. Not at all a bad book, as it does introduce the cast of "bad guys" to a beginning reader in this subject, but I prefer a much more in-depth presentation.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone else put it, this is a “short, precise biography” & that seems to be an apt description. However, be aware that this is a communal biography but all sections are to the point.

I found this book to be very interesting. It was a psychological look at high ranking NAZIs, the Nazi elite. I appreciate that the author said in the preface that there’s no one type of Nazi & when you look at their psychology, there’s no singular Nazi mental makeup. After reading that & the book, (for me) it basically boils down to: They’re all assholes & awful people who did horrific things & spun the world into chaos for years but they took different roads to get to that point.

[Tricia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a quick read with an overview of the characters, but not really enough depth for me. I feel I could have learned more from reading their individual Wikipedia entries. I was very surprised at the use of the outdated and offensive word 'retarded' in this book. I assumed it must have been published a long time ago so was shocked to see it wasn't.

[Beth Younge · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a short and precise biography book. I thought the writing was done well and it had a quick and easy-to-follow layout. I thought the information was interesting and there were some points in this that I hadn't heard before. It did feel a little too brief in places and certain biographies felt rushed over.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review.