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Sex Under the Swastika: Erotica, Scandal and the Occult in Hitler's Third Reich
Sex under the Swastika is a journey through the dark secretive corridors of the Third Reich’s powerbase and it’s near-pathological sexual obsession with young women, sex, Satanism and the occult.
Based on interviews, eye-witness accounts and using newly revealed material from the sons and daughters of former SS officers who were part of Adolf Hitler and Reinhard Heydrich’s personal staff, we learn about the sexual conduct, affairs, scandals and fetishes of some of Hitler’s most trusted advocates, who used their positions of trust to execute their warped fantasies.
It reveals how many leading Nazi’s were actively involved in occult rituals and sexual practices, and how the abuse suffered by many young men and women was only permissible through the filtering down from the highest echelons of the regime, which was prepared to turn a blind eye. Learn about the exotic sex and drug-fuelled private cocktail parties of the Nazi political elite that spread far and wide into the society over which it presided.
An unapologetically provocative volume, Sex under the Swastika is an exploration of the Third Reich’s darkest secrets, which left blood on the crisp white sheets of a nation and caused many to remain silent for decades after the death of National Socialist Germany. This unique work leaves the reader to make up his or her own mind as to the perverse, warped nature and the guilt and complicity of one of history’s most sexually exploitive and evil empires.
Based on interviews, eye-witness accounts and using newly revealed material from the sons and daughters of former SS officers who were part of Adolf Hitler and Reinhard Heydrich’s personal staff, we learn about the sexual conduct, affairs, scandals and fetishes of some of Hitler’s most trusted advocates, who used their positions of trust to execute their warped fantasies.
It reveals how many leading Nazi’s were actively involved in occult rituals and sexual practices, and how the abuse suffered by many young men and women was only permissible through the filtering down from the highest echelons of the regime, which was prepared to turn a blind eye. Learn about the exotic sex and drug-fuelled private cocktail parties of the Nazi political elite that spread far and wide into the society over which it presided.
An unapologetically provocative volume, Sex under the Swastika is an exploration of the Third Reich’s darkest secrets, which left blood on the crisp white sheets of a nation and caused many to remain silent for decades after the death of National Socialist Germany. This unique work leaves the reader to make up his or her own mind as to the perverse, warped nature and the guilt and complicity of one of history’s most sexually exploitive and evil empires.
280 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 23, 2023
8 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Tim Heath
73 books16 followersBorn in to a military family, Tim Heath’s interest in history led him to research the air war of the Second World War, focussing on the German Luftwaffe and writing extensively for The Armourer Magazine. During the course of his research he has worked closely with the German War Graves Commission at Kassel, Germany, and met with German families and veterans alike. Born out of this work, Hitler's Girls is his first book. He lives in Evesham, Worcestershire, with his partner Paula.
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
December 10, 2022
A word of caution to anyone interested in this book: it’s going to be an extremely hard read. There’s several very detailed and graphic accounts of molestation, child pornography, grooming, sexual assault, and rape told by the victims themselves that are going to be distressingly and disturbingly explicit. If you happen to have a past of abuse or are at risk of being triggered, you should consider this detail before picking up this book.
And that’s merely the pathological sexual behaviours that were and still are criminal offences, because other sexual behaviours that aren’t, are also described very explicitly in this book. With or without pre-existing triggers, you’re not going to find this an easy book. It’s a R-rated read on the whole and should come with a warning.
Personally, I found the book wasn't up to snuff for me. On one hand, I commend that the author dared to undertake an explosive topic that has so many traps and elicits opinionated reactions. Sex and sexuality in the Third Reich is indeed not a subject that has produced many books, although it isn’t an ignored and swept under the carpet topic as it used to be. From prior reads of WWII era history books, I was already aware of all the cases and scenarios this book discusses, and others it doesn’t, so the only novelty for me were the personal testimonies, which honestly didn’t have the impact they were meant to have as I wasn’t looking for more testimonies on events I already knew had happened.
My issues with this book are fourfold: presentation, commentary, sourcing, and scope.
On the presentation: The book is rather disorganised and the testimonies are spread all over the place with no chronology or semblance of following a thematic pattern. Each chapter has its own independent topic that’s not related to the chapter prior or the chapter after, so it reads like a collection of separate sex-related anecdotes whose only link is that it all happened under the Nazis.
On the commentary: The book doesn’t include much social commentary from the author, sometimes it’s up to the narrators to do all the talking, with the author as merely a typist relaying their story. I get that the goal was to give them a chance to tell their story, but it shouldn’t be overlooked that this is a history book, or aims to be, and not their testimony for the sex crimes policeman so commentary and authorial intervention were needed. The author should’ve known when and what to include or exclude, and to give context to the narrator’s story instead of letting them talk whatever they wanted and then slavishly transcribe even the “then he put his thing in my mouth” parts. Remember your worries about your book being labelled as titillation? One way to avoid that charge is presentation. A serious and painful topic such as this isn’t going to escape accusations of titillation, and to be honest some degree of titillation is normally present by the very nature of the topic, so don’t make it worse with your delivery.
And since we are on the subject of titillation, there’s a bad case of “Doth Protest Too Much” here. The author is so concerned about getting trolled over using this topic in a prurient manner that he ends up sounding defensive and sometimes doing the titillation he wants to avoid. There’s passages where he says things along the lines of “lest this be accused of not being serious” and pre-emptively “debunks” possible claims of titillation when nobody is accusing him of it, just to resort to writing that can be construed as prurient and tititllating in other parts.
The thing about titillation is that you have to SHOW you aren’t doing it, not SAY you aren’t, and let the reader judge. A good way to have done that would’ve been:
- Organise the topics better, by parts preferably, and group the chapters with similar topics in one part. For example, the chapters about Göring, Goebbels, Heydrich, Himmler, etc., could’ve been Part II dedicated to the Nazi top bosses. The chapters with the testimonies and diaries about the time before WWII could’ve been Part I dedicated to the Weimar Republic, etc. It’d have been orderly and given an impression of seriousness and academic rigour.
- Avoid the defensiveness in your commentary, especially if you’re not quoting who have accused you of what you’re pre-emptively dismissing. No more “they’ll accuse me of titillation, but…” You’re not going to convince anyone with words but with deeds.
- Another good way to avoid such a charge is to get rid of Hollywoodesque chapter titles like “The Sturmbannführer’s Lolita.” How do you think such a title is going to sound given the awful topic of a minor girl being groomed and raped by a SS officer? That girl wasn’t a Lolita, that isn’t what a Lolita is, and it’s a disservice to give her and others’ testimonies titles like that. Like it or not, this IS titillation.
- And lastly but most importantly: the author should’ve avoided speculating about the thoughts, feelings, and even nightmares of the victims that they weren’t willing to elaborate on. Seriously, there’s many passages in which he wonders about what the sexual thoughts of the people giving their testimonies could’ve been. Why? It’s not done respectfully and it isn’t phrased seriously either, because there are some passages like that one where a narrator refused to elaborate on their traumatic nightmares, but the author goes on to actually speculate about them in an uncomfortably salacious manner. Again, this IS tititllation.
On the sourcing: The author claims to have spent thirty-six years researching this topic, which I don’t question at all. But I do find it curious that the lack of much bibliography is so glaring: there’s only six books named by the end here. It wasn’t all oral testimonies used for writing this, to be sure, but the written sources are omitted. The written sources from historical archives should’ve been included. I also find it curious that there’s this level of willingness to include unverified people’s accounts, like that “Jörg” person with the weird conditions that claimed to know the sexual rituals performed at occult ceremonies by the SS. Problem is, that person doesn’t even have secondhand knowledge but thirdhand, and that’s assuming it’s not made up. There should’ve been more scepticism about “sources” like him, and more thought put into reproducing rumours about the Nazi hierarchy’s supposedly more perverted sexual habits. How the hell are we ever going to find out whether the rumours that Himmler had sex with animals were true, for example? And in any case, what does it matter in a serious book? There’s lots of outlandish claims about the top Nazis’ sex life that don’t merit but dismissal.
On the scope: I get that this is a divulgative work for the general public, but the scope I found so very narrow in many chapters because it:
a) cherry-picks certain aspects of a situation and omits others. Case in point: sex in the concentration camps; Heath does mention rapes of Jewish inmates and the existence of brothels in the camps, but doesn’t say a word about inmate-on-inmate rape (it wasn’t just the SS raping & abusing & extorting inmates for sexual favours) and doesn’t say anything about consensual relationships within the camps either, or even about the non-Jewish professional prostitutes servicing the camps.
b) On the use of the camp brothels, Heath says, rather hilariously, that most inmates were too weak to have sex and they went for the company. Whilst that did happen indeed, the inmates that were “rewarded” with time in the camp brothels were the camp elite, who were better fed and were in better shape than your average prisoner, so it’s not like they all were going to the brothel for hugs. In fact, they were so crafty they used the camp brothels to cover up their black market trading, info gathering, and even rebellion. The famous Auschwitz uprising was planned in good part at the camp’s brothel where the Sonderkommandos went. I didn’t particularly care for the omission of these details and the oversimplification of this and other topics. It’s not just a matter of the book being short.
c) There’s a marked bias towards the psychopathological throughout the book that favours the more grotesque aspects of sex during Nazism to the detriment of the instances where there was something at least relatively normal. There’s very few chapters in which normal and healthy sexuality is on display, like what the adolescents of the Hitlerjugend and BDM were doing behind their elders’ back (the same as any hormonal teenager throughout history), but most chapters are about the negative, the pathological, the criminal, and the grotesque. So much so that at times I thought the book should’ve been entitled “Sexual Deviancy Under the Swastika,” such a title would’ve been definitely truer to the book’s content and style. But then, I suppose that’d have fueled mocking “Fifty Shades of the Third Reich” remarks as the author feared, wouldn’t it? Again, to avoid such possibilities, presentation and delivery are key.
In sum, I wish the topic had been done justice. It’s a very important part of history that historians don’t want to touch with a bargepole because it’s a difficult one to write about in the right manner, and there’s so much to unpack yet; so much that is still omitted that needs be told.
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
And that’s merely the pathological sexual behaviours that were and still are criminal offences, because other sexual behaviours that aren’t, are also described very explicitly in this book. With or without pre-existing triggers, you’re not going to find this an easy book. It’s a R-rated read on the whole and should come with a warning.
Personally, I found the book wasn't up to snuff for me. On one hand, I commend that the author dared to undertake an explosive topic that has so many traps and elicits opinionated reactions. Sex and sexuality in the Third Reich is indeed not a subject that has produced many books, although it isn’t an ignored and swept under the carpet topic as it used to be. From prior reads of WWII era history books, I was already aware of all the cases and scenarios this book discusses, and others it doesn’t, so the only novelty for me were the personal testimonies, which honestly didn’t have the impact they were meant to have as I wasn’t looking for more testimonies on events I already knew had happened.
My issues with this book are fourfold: presentation, commentary, sourcing, and scope.
On the presentation: The book is rather disorganised and the testimonies are spread all over the place with no chronology or semblance of following a thematic pattern. Each chapter has its own independent topic that’s not related to the chapter prior or the chapter after, so it reads like a collection of separate sex-related anecdotes whose only link is that it all happened under the Nazis.
On the commentary: The book doesn’t include much social commentary from the author, sometimes it’s up to the narrators to do all the talking, with the author as merely a typist relaying their story. I get that the goal was to give them a chance to tell their story, but it shouldn’t be overlooked that this is a history book, or aims to be, and not their testimony for the sex crimes policeman so commentary and authorial intervention were needed. The author should’ve known when and what to include or exclude, and to give context to the narrator’s story instead of letting them talk whatever they wanted and then slavishly transcribe even the “then he put his thing in my mouth” parts. Remember your worries about your book being labelled as titillation? One way to avoid that charge is presentation. A serious and painful topic such as this isn’t going to escape accusations of titillation, and to be honest some degree of titillation is normally present by the very nature of the topic, so don’t make it worse with your delivery.
And since we are on the subject of titillation, there’s a bad case of “Doth Protest Too Much” here. The author is so concerned about getting trolled over using this topic in a prurient manner that he ends up sounding defensive and sometimes doing the titillation he wants to avoid. There’s passages where he says things along the lines of “lest this be accused of not being serious” and pre-emptively “debunks” possible claims of titillation when nobody is accusing him of it, just to resort to writing that can be construed as prurient and tititllating in other parts.
The thing about titillation is that you have to SHOW you aren’t doing it, not SAY you aren’t, and let the reader judge. A good way to have done that would’ve been:
- Organise the topics better, by parts preferably, and group the chapters with similar topics in one part. For example, the chapters about Göring, Goebbels, Heydrich, Himmler, etc., could’ve been Part II dedicated to the Nazi top bosses. The chapters with the testimonies and diaries about the time before WWII could’ve been Part I dedicated to the Weimar Republic, etc. It’d have been orderly and given an impression of seriousness and academic rigour.
- Avoid the defensiveness in your commentary, especially if you’re not quoting who have accused you of what you’re pre-emptively dismissing. No more “they’ll accuse me of titillation, but…” You’re not going to convince anyone with words but with deeds.
- Another good way to avoid such a charge is to get rid of Hollywoodesque chapter titles like “The Sturmbannführer’s Lolita.” How do you think such a title is going to sound given the awful topic of a minor girl being groomed and raped by a SS officer? That girl wasn’t a Lolita, that isn’t what a Lolita is, and it’s a disservice to give her and others’ testimonies titles like that. Like it or not, this IS titillation.
- And lastly but most importantly: the author should’ve avoided speculating about the thoughts, feelings, and even nightmares of the victims that they weren’t willing to elaborate on. Seriously, there’s many passages in which he wonders about what the sexual thoughts of the people giving their testimonies could’ve been. Why? It’s not done respectfully and it isn’t phrased seriously either, because there are some passages like that one where a narrator refused to elaborate on their traumatic nightmares, but the author goes on to actually speculate about them in an uncomfortably salacious manner. Again, this IS tititllation.
On the sourcing: The author claims to have spent thirty-six years researching this topic, which I don’t question at all. But I do find it curious that the lack of much bibliography is so glaring: there’s only six books named by the end here. It wasn’t all oral testimonies used for writing this, to be sure, but the written sources are omitted. The written sources from historical archives should’ve been included. I also find it curious that there’s this level of willingness to include unverified people’s accounts, like that “Jörg” person with the weird conditions that claimed to know the sexual rituals performed at occult ceremonies by the SS. Problem is, that person doesn’t even have secondhand knowledge but thirdhand, and that’s assuming it’s not made up. There should’ve been more scepticism about “sources” like him, and more thought put into reproducing rumours about the Nazi hierarchy’s supposedly more perverted sexual habits. How the hell are we ever going to find out whether the rumours that Himmler had sex with animals were true, for example? And in any case, what does it matter in a serious book? There’s lots of outlandish claims about the top Nazis’ sex life that don’t merit but dismissal.
On the scope: I get that this is a divulgative work for the general public, but the scope I found so very narrow in many chapters because it:
a) cherry-picks certain aspects of a situation and omits others. Case in point: sex in the concentration camps; Heath does mention rapes of Jewish inmates and the existence of brothels in the camps, but doesn’t say a word about inmate-on-inmate rape (it wasn’t just the SS raping & abusing & extorting inmates for sexual favours) and doesn’t say anything about consensual relationships within the camps either, or even about the non-Jewish professional prostitutes servicing the camps.
b) On the use of the camp brothels, Heath says, rather hilariously, that most inmates were too weak to have sex and they went for the company. Whilst that did happen indeed, the inmates that were “rewarded” with time in the camp brothels were the camp elite, who were better fed and were in better shape than your average prisoner, so it’s not like they all were going to the brothel for hugs. In fact, they were so crafty they used the camp brothels to cover up their black market trading, info gathering, and even rebellion. The famous Auschwitz uprising was planned in good part at the camp’s brothel where the Sonderkommandos went. I didn’t particularly care for the omission of these details and the oversimplification of this and other topics. It’s not just a matter of the book being short.
c) There’s a marked bias towards the psychopathological throughout the book that favours the more grotesque aspects of sex during Nazism to the detriment of the instances where there was something at least relatively normal. There’s very few chapters in which normal and healthy sexuality is on display, like what the adolescents of the Hitlerjugend and BDM were doing behind their elders’ back (the same as any hormonal teenager throughout history), but most chapters are about the negative, the pathological, the criminal, and the grotesque. So much so that at times I thought the book should’ve been entitled “Sexual Deviancy Under the Swastika,” such a title would’ve been definitely truer to the book’s content and style. But then, I suppose that’d have fueled mocking “Fifty Shades of the Third Reich” remarks as the author feared, wouldn’t it? Again, to avoid such possibilities, presentation and delivery are key.
In sum, I wish the topic had been done justice. It’s a very important part of history that historians don’t want to touch with a bargepole because it’s a difficult one to write about in the right manner, and there’s so much to unpack yet; so much that is still omitted that needs be told.
I received an ARC through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 3, 2022
Fascinating and appalling at the same time, this was almost too much at times but I plowed on and finished it.
There were times I wanted to forget I what I was reading, but it haunted me in my dreams and popped into my mind at the most inopportune moments. This was horrifying and physically made me feel sick. But, it was an interesting look into the psyche of the Nazis and how they abused and tortured under a feeling of security
Using interviews carried out by the author, eye-witness accounts and memories of the children of former SS officers this tells the real tales of the sexual abuse, affairs and scandals of some of Hitler's most trusted advocates who carried out their warped fantasies using their position of trust and power.
It shows just how widespread the abuse was and how the highest Nazi was able to turn a blind eye to what was going on.
Unapologetically unfiltered this look into the Third Reich's deepest secrets allows the reader to make up their own mind on the guilt and complicity of Hitler's evil empire.
There were times I wanted to forget I what I was reading, but it haunted me in my dreams and popped into my mind at the most inopportune moments. This was horrifying and physically made me feel sick. But, it was an interesting look into the psyche of the Nazis and how they abused and tortured under a feeling of security
Using interviews carried out by the author, eye-witness accounts and memories of the children of former SS officers this tells the real tales of the sexual abuse, affairs and scandals of some of Hitler's most trusted advocates who carried out their warped fantasies using their position of trust and power.
It shows just how widespread the abuse was and how the highest Nazi was able to turn a blind eye to what was going on.
Unapologetically unfiltered this look into the Third Reich's deepest secrets allows the reader to make up their own mind on the guilt and complicity of Hitler's evil empire.
December 6, 2022
A remarkable study about everyday sexual habits under a liberal Weimar republic in comparison to the later tainted hypocritical attitude of the so called pure in mind and body Aryan german race overseen by the Nazi party. The writing is engrossing and at times erotic openly destroying the propaganda orchestrated by Joseph Goebbels. Hitler and his circle of evil would have us believe that their form of facism promoted good clean living backed up by strong bodies toned and shaped to perfection. The truth is more sombre, a diary of torture and loose sexual habits hidden behind a litany of lies. It is somewhat ironic that Goebbels preached abstinence and perfection when he himself presented as a small man, with a large head, crippled foot, and fragile body. He wanted to be accepted as a family man with a devoted wife Magda and six adoring children. He openly had numerous affairs, in particular Lida Baarova, an aspiring actress whose career was ruined and nearly ended with her being put to death at the end of world war 2. Hitler in his early political career had a strange relationship with his niece Geli Raubal, he was 19 years older. He was obsessed with her to the point of banishing friends and suitors from her side, keeping her alone and solely for his pleasure. There is evidence to suggest a sexual side to this relationship indeed rumour of gros kinky acts with Hitler insisting that his niece urinate on him. There is much reference made to the deplorable treatment of women during this time, so many violated and raped by advancing armies and attractive internees in concentration camps being offered the life of a prostitute as an alternative to death..” We learned we would be offered as prostitutes to the German forces, and those Latvian members of the German military, in one of their brothels. The idea filled me with dread in an instant. I was 17 years old and had never experienced sexual intercourse at that point in my life. I was scared of what was going to happen to me. I was the youngest of the seven of us and the other women who were in their twenties tried to offer some comfort to me, but they could do nothing else”.
This is a remarkable book compiled mostly from endless research and interviews with eyewitnesses and victims who lived through the horror of that time. It is not always an easy read and the sexual element, often described in great detail, is in my opinion an important part of the text if we are to fully understand the evil perpetrated by many on a defenceless few. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written. Recommended.
This is a remarkable book compiled mostly from endless research and interviews with eyewitnesses and victims who lived through the horror of that time. It is not always an easy read and the sexual element, often described in great detail, is in my opinion an important part of the text if we are to fully understand the evil perpetrated by many on a defenceless few. Many thanks to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in exchange for an honest review and that is what I have written. Recommended.
December 23, 2022
The book starts with an description of the Berlin high society scene in 1910, which was fueled by champagne and cocaine. The book quickly moves on to post-WWI, the Weimar Republic. The author immediately launches into a description of the gay social scene at this time; gay men and women felt free enough to mingle in clubs that catered to the other, all avoiding clubs where heterosexuals mingled. It was a wild time, a good time had by most: I am left with the insecapable sense that the Nazis of the early 1920s were the incels of their time.
Moving on to the Reich: Morals were supposed to be spotless, and there was even a prohibition of girls under 16 having sex. This was thought to drive young people to marry as soon as they could; with a hard push from the Reich for couples to have as many children as they could and a virtual prohibition of contraceptives for young married couples, this caused many to do as the Reich wanted. There were medals given out for “motherhood,” which was a euphemism for having a litter of children for the Reich to use as “manpower,” or more likely cannon fodder. There was widespread deep depression of women in the Reich having to get married and crank out child after child. The husband was not expected to contribute anything to the household except a cash flow from a job and sperm. Love was not in the picture; couples were to do their duty to the Fatherland. It was GRIM. This definitely gives the lie to the visuals of the surviving of old newsreels, of the shapeless, beaming women with vacant eyes and medals around their necks, happy to do their duty.
With the face of the Reich being so (falsely) moral and family oriented, there seems to have been a bonanza of pedophilia. Many abusers hid behind connections in the Nazi party, and sadly many were a part of the organized religions. Now WHICH religion(s) is a point of contention for me with the writing in this book. The author uses many 1st hand accounts, which is good. Why not go direct to the source? BUT, in his narrative he refers to “the Protestant Church.” Who exactly is he referring to, as I would like to know especially since the first-hand narratives refer generally to a “priest.” Protestant religions usually do not have “priests,” they have ministers. But does he mean Hitler’s state-run religion instead? I am genuinely confused; and as there weren’t any explanatory footnotes or endnotes, I have to point this out as a real problem. This takes the focus off of the abused and puts it on the mystery religion. Also, the author states that the protestant religions aided the Nazis; which ones? I have read specifically the opposite and with supporting sources as stated by other authors; this includes that the Lutheran Church refused to sign an accord with Hitler for the duration of the war. Hitler relented and left them alone because of the sheer numbers of members in Germany, but that the Pope signed an accord right away. So what this author is stating is the opposite of what I have read and reviewed for NetGalley in the past. I just wish I could see the author’s sources!
The author moves on to torture in the concentration camps now and later in the book, which I knew would be disturbing. I thought there would be more ground covered here with how sadistic the Nazis were so I was surprised. The author does cover forced prostitution using both prisoners and the young women of invaded countries. This was done not only for the German soldiers but also those foreigners who joined their ranks. Showing the great disregard the Nazis had for all women, they used female prisoners as prostitutes to reward male prisoners for good behavior. They also forced young women to be prostitutes at the infamous “Salon Kitty” in Berlin which served top Nazis and foreign dignataries.
Also covered are the occult practices that seemed to always involve, you guessed it, sex with some drugged young woman. About this time you should be realizing what a bunch of pervs they all were. The “thousand-year shining Reich” my foot.
The author refers to the inner circle of the Third Reich and their philandering ways. Notables include Reinhard Heydrich, Martin Bormann, Joseph Goebbels, and Hitler and Eva Braun. His discussion of them is somewhat scathing, but he makes a positive example (as far as sex obsession is concerned) of Hermann Goering. Apparently he was the only non-womanizer in the bunch. I would note in this section about the “Inner-Circle’s” sex lives that there is a listing of all of the people that Goebbels hated; it includes the word “coloured.” I would suggest that this word be put in parenthesis or otherwise set apart as it is an antiquated and offensive term (and perhaps this is already planned for the final manuscript). Also, there is a refernce to a jibe leveled at a young woman who was forced to be a prostitute, and that was that she had a “sandpaper vagina.” It only appeared once, not twice (as I recall), and thus was confusing.
The book has a section on the Lebensborn. Essentially you can sum up the program as starting out as a slush fund for SS officers and their wives for having children, which morphed into a program of deep deception and abuse of young girls. Girls as young as 14, and many other unmarried teenagers were brainwashed into having babies and then giving them up to state-run orphanages. The orphanages had rooms full of barely-cared for screaming infants, which sounds like the making of a James Bond villain.
Much to the amusement of the Allies, pornography was used as psychological warfare against them. Or the Nazis tried at least, and there is a brief discussion of that.
There is a section on the conscription of children as young as 13, including girls as helpers for the Luftwaffe. I’m not sure how this is related to sex as a topic, but it does illustrate that the Nazis’ front of having only men fighting was just another lie, because when it got right down to it, they weren’t afraid to use women and children of both sexes.
The inclusion of the Pipistrelle was bizarre at the beginning of the section on rape by the Red Army. I and a lot of other people are very aware that rape was used as a tactic of conquest by the Soviet Army. This is a section that should make you angry.
The last section about Nazi fetishism and the Afterword went on much longer than what I thought was interesting. As far as fetishism is concerned, I really don’t care what some racist 21-year-old thinks about dressing up in Nazi uniforms to get attention. Nothing says “serious political commentary” like prancing around in a costume that’s probably unbuttoned down to THERE.
I realize that the author has researched this topic for decades and has a lot to say, but it felt like he repeated himself in the Afterword. All the same it is an interesting book that in a couple of places seemed to lack cohesion. The topics were far-ranging with the nexus being “sex;” some descriptions were a bit cringeworthy. Not for the squeamish.
Thank you to publisher Pen & Sword, author Tim Heath, and NetGalley for providing me with a pre-publication eGalley. I received nothing for my review and my opinions are my own.
Moving on to the Reich: Morals were supposed to be spotless, and there was even a prohibition of girls under 16 having sex. This was thought to drive young people to marry as soon as they could; with a hard push from the Reich for couples to have as many children as they could and a virtual prohibition of contraceptives for young married couples, this caused many to do as the Reich wanted. There were medals given out for “motherhood,” which was a euphemism for having a litter of children for the Reich to use as “manpower,” or more likely cannon fodder. There was widespread deep depression of women in the Reich having to get married and crank out child after child. The husband was not expected to contribute anything to the household except a cash flow from a job and sperm. Love was not in the picture; couples were to do their duty to the Fatherland. It was GRIM. This definitely gives the lie to the visuals of the surviving of old newsreels, of the shapeless, beaming women with vacant eyes and medals around their necks, happy to do their duty.
With the face of the Reich being so (falsely) moral and family oriented, there seems to have been a bonanza of pedophilia. Many abusers hid behind connections in the Nazi party, and sadly many were a part of the organized religions. Now WHICH religion(s) is a point of contention for me with the writing in this book. The author uses many 1st hand accounts, which is good. Why not go direct to the source? BUT, in his narrative he refers to “the Protestant Church.” Who exactly is he referring to, as I would like to know especially since the first-hand narratives refer generally to a “priest.” Protestant religions usually do not have “priests,” they have ministers. But does he mean Hitler’s state-run religion instead? I am genuinely confused; and as there weren’t any explanatory footnotes or endnotes, I have to point this out as a real problem. This takes the focus off of the abused and puts it on the mystery religion. Also, the author states that the protestant religions aided the Nazis; which ones? I have read specifically the opposite and with supporting sources as stated by other authors; this includes that the Lutheran Church refused to sign an accord with Hitler for the duration of the war. Hitler relented and left them alone because of the sheer numbers of members in Germany, but that the Pope signed an accord right away. So what this author is stating is the opposite of what I have read and reviewed for NetGalley in the past. I just wish I could see the author’s sources!
The author moves on to torture in the concentration camps now and later in the book, which I knew would be disturbing. I thought there would be more ground covered here with how sadistic the Nazis were so I was surprised. The author does cover forced prostitution using both prisoners and the young women of invaded countries. This was done not only for the German soldiers but also those foreigners who joined their ranks. Showing the great disregard the Nazis had for all women, they used female prisoners as prostitutes to reward male prisoners for good behavior. They also forced young women to be prostitutes at the infamous “Salon Kitty” in Berlin which served top Nazis and foreign dignataries.
Also covered are the occult practices that seemed to always involve, you guessed it, sex with some drugged young woman. About this time you should be realizing what a bunch of pervs they all were. The “thousand-year shining Reich” my foot.
The author refers to the inner circle of the Third Reich and their philandering ways. Notables include Reinhard Heydrich, Martin Bormann, Joseph Goebbels, and Hitler and Eva Braun. His discussion of them is somewhat scathing, but he makes a positive example (as far as sex obsession is concerned) of Hermann Goering. Apparently he was the only non-womanizer in the bunch. I would note in this section about the “Inner-Circle’s” sex lives that there is a listing of all of the people that Goebbels hated; it includes the word “coloured.” I would suggest that this word be put in parenthesis or otherwise set apart as it is an antiquated and offensive term (and perhaps this is already planned for the final manuscript). Also, there is a refernce to a jibe leveled at a young woman who was forced to be a prostitute, and that was that she had a “sandpaper vagina.” It only appeared once, not twice (as I recall), and thus was confusing.
The book has a section on the Lebensborn. Essentially you can sum up the program as starting out as a slush fund for SS officers and their wives for having children, which morphed into a program of deep deception and abuse of young girls. Girls as young as 14, and many other unmarried teenagers were brainwashed into having babies and then giving them up to state-run orphanages. The orphanages had rooms full of barely-cared for screaming infants, which sounds like the making of a James Bond villain.
Much to the amusement of the Allies, pornography was used as psychological warfare against them. Or the Nazis tried at least, and there is a brief discussion of that.
There is a section on the conscription of children as young as 13, including girls as helpers for the Luftwaffe. I’m not sure how this is related to sex as a topic, but it does illustrate that the Nazis’ front of having only men fighting was just another lie, because when it got right down to it, they weren’t afraid to use women and children of both sexes.
The inclusion of the Pipistrelle was bizarre at the beginning of the section on rape by the Red Army. I and a lot of other people are very aware that rape was used as a tactic of conquest by the Soviet Army. This is a section that should make you angry.
The last section about Nazi fetishism and the Afterword went on much longer than what I thought was interesting. As far as fetishism is concerned, I really don’t care what some racist 21-year-old thinks about dressing up in Nazi uniforms to get attention. Nothing says “serious political commentary” like prancing around in a costume that’s probably unbuttoned down to THERE.
I realize that the author has researched this topic for decades and has a lot to say, but it felt like he repeated himself in the Afterword. All the same it is an interesting book that in a couple of places seemed to lack cohesion. The topics were far-ranging with the nexus being “sex;” some descriptions were a bit cringeworthy. Not for the squeamish.
Thank you to publisher Pen & Sword, author Tim Heath, and NetGalley for providing me with a pre-publication eGalley. I received nothing for my review and my opinions are my own.
February 8, 2023
This is a detailed, gruesome look behind Hitler's public persona and what really went on behind closed doorsl
It was amazing really to read about how many of Hitler's SS were involved in the occult and used their positions of power to execute their debauched fetishes, abusing the young women who were entrusted to them in the Reich's many programs.
I couldn't believe how Hitler's regime portrayed and preached a good wholesome life and that was completely the opposite of what was being practised by the elite in the regime. The twisted fantasies that played out, takiing advantage of the young German women, the abuse that fell from their hands, the abuse of power that went on was astronomical in proportion to the actual wholesome living being done by the elite officers of the regime.
What Hitler's regime proclaimed publicly, wholesome Aryan race, family, home life, and what really transpired were two very different worlds. One uplifting and happy, bright, the other dark, sinister and depraved, perverted.
This is a very interesting look into the sex lives and practices of a very corrupt regime.
Thank you to Pen & Sword History, and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return freelly.
It was amazing really to read about how many of Hitler's SS were involved in the occult and used their positions of power to execute their debauched fetishes, abusing the young women who were entrusted to them in the Reich's many programs.
I couldn't believe how Hitler's regime portrayed and preached a good wholesome life and that was completely the opposite of what was being practised by the elite in the regime. The twisted fantasies that played out, takiing advantage of the young German women, the abuse that fell from their hands, the abuse of power that went on was astronomical in proportion to the actual wholesome living being done by the elite officers of the regime.
What Hitler's regime proclaimed publicly, wholesome Aryan race, family, home life, and what really transpired were two very different worlds. One uplifting and happy, bright, the other dark, sinister and depraved, perverted.
This is a very interesting look into the sex lives and practices of a very corrupt regime.
Thank you to Pen & Sword History, and to Net Galley for the free ARC, I am leaving my honest review in return freelly.
March 11, 2023
A perfect book about the sex lives of the Nazis would be instantly able to convince you of the veracity of the contents, full of back-up support and information to prove the welter of truth in it. This fails at that.
The first chapter is about the Weimar days, from the hedonism we all associate with it up until the pink triangle's prelude. Much of it is one man boasting of being at a party that ended up a riot of drugs and sex, which (in this presentation) uses the term 'pegging', which must not have been common lingo so soon after WWI. When it's not a direct quote the author's text goes right off on one, adding detail to the quote seemingly baselessly. For both reasons – the thin ice of the memoir extract and what was done with it – I felt these were dubious contents.
Not helping matters at all is Chapter 4, which as I saw it in my proof was a lengthy reportage of being groomed by an SS 'Major', full of all the salacious content wrong minds would desire before giving the result any right mind could foresee. The fact is however this comes with no editorialising, not even the name or derivation of this report, and so it comes on like the fiction it could so easily be. Mind, Chapter 5 does it better, even with horrendous testimony of priestly paedophilia. And that's where a problem definitely lies. Not having had a history of reading first person accounts of sexual abuse, I had no intention to see all the intimate details here, which to my mind should remain between an abuser and his/her victim, and need not be here whatsoever. Just because this body part touched this body part, and that went there and when, it remains specific and too intimate detail that has no bearing on it being under the Swastika flag at the time. This is much more "I was raped while barely hitting puberty" and much less "this was solely, uniquely, a Hitlerite thing".
It's about this time the urge to ditch this hit me big time, the promises of the alleged truth of Hitler with Eva Braun etc having been mentioned but not at all forthcoming. Instead of that it's dreadful, spunk-riddled misery memoir, and so little to do with one specific regime. It's indeed a third of the way through before the book thinks to itemise the accusations of anything like a Nazi bigwig – even though all victim testimony must be admired, respected and considered appropriately at least, before this stage too much could be 'generic sufferer's issues', and not anything like enough is down to NSDAP membership or a particular thinking.
After that we have a much better book, although doubts remain. In featuring small essays about the sexual life of the Hitler Youth organisations, or the appeal of the Nazi uniform, we're definitely hitting the marks we should have been hitting all along, but this remains material more suited it would seem for the sexologist shelf rather than for the student of Nazis. The author has definitely written about the latter, but when the former, the sex historian, says what he says about back door sex eyebrows are raised again, and big time.
Towards the latter half we get individual sex profiles of the main Nazis, and other matter that rectify some of the flaws seen earlier, but not quite well enough.
No, I don't know what I expected from this book, whether it be a sociologist's look into the bedroom or a forensic look at rumours regarding specific individuals, but I found it much too shy of what I would demand of a book concerning such tabloid-baiting material. Two and a half stars.
The first chapter is about the Weimar days, from the hedonism we all associate with it up until the pink triangle's prelude. Much of it is one man boasting of being at a party that ended up a riot of drugs and sex, which (in this presentation) uses the term 'pegging', which must not have been common lingo so soon after WWI. When it's not a direct quote the author's text goes right off on one, adding detail to the quote seemingly baselessly. For both reasons – the thin ice of the memoir extract and what was done with it – I felt these were dubious contents.
Not helping matters at all is Chapter 4, which as I saw it in my proof was a lengthy reportage of being groomed by an SS 'Major', full of all the salacious content wrong minds would desire before giving the result any right mind could foresee. The fact is however this comes with no editorialising, not even the name or derivation of this report, and so it comes on like the fiction it could so easily be. Mind, Chapter 5 does it better, even with horrendous testimony of priestly paedophilia. And that's where a problem definitely lies. Not having had a history of reading first person accounts of sexual abuse, I had no intention to see all the intimate details here, which to my mind should remain between an abuser and his/her victim, and need not be here whatsoever. Just because this body part touched this body part, and that went there and when, it remains specific and too intimate detail that has no bearing on it being under the Swastika flag at the time. This is much more "I was raped while barely hitting puberty" and much less "this was solely, uniquely, a Hitlerite thing".
It's about this time the urge to ditch this hit me big time, the promises of the alleged truth of Hitler with Eva Braun etc having been mentioned but not at all forthcoming. Instead of that it's dreadful, spunk-riddled misery memoir, and so little to do with one specific regime. It's indeed a third of the way through before the book thinks to itemise the accusations of anything like a Nazi bigwig – even though all victim testimony must be admired, respected and considered appropriately at least, before this stage too much could be 'generic sufferer's issues', and not anything like enough is down to NSDAP membership or a particular thinking.
After that we have a much better book, although doubts remain. In featuring small essays about the sexual life of the Hitler Youth organisations, or the appeal of the Nazi uniform, we're definitely hitting the marks we should have been hitting all along, but this remains material more suited it would seem for the sexologist shelf rather than for the student of Nazis. The author has definitely written about the latter, but when the former, the sex historian, says what he says about back door sex eyebrows are raised again, and big time.
Towards the latter half we get individual sex profiles of the main Nazis, and other matter that rectify some of the flaws seen earlier, but not quite well enough.
No, I don't know what I expected from this book, whether it be a sociologist's look into the bedroom or a forensic look at rumours regarding specific individuals, but I found it much too shy of what I would demand of a book concerning such tabloid-baiting material. Two and a half stars.
January 17, 2023
My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Pen & Sword Books for an advanced copy of this different kind of history book on life during the Third Reich.
As I have gotten older it amazes me how much humans want to have control over other humans. The way they think, act, remember history, who they love, how they love, and of course medical procedures all seem to concern people far more than the observable problems, in society. William Burroughs said it best "You see, control can never be a means to any practical end...It can never be a means to anything but more control...", though I omitted the reference to heroin, it is an apt quote. Strong men, with stong government love to have control, and they attract those who are weak, but think they are strong, who need something to fill that gap in their life, be it power of government, church, or middle management. Tim Heath in his book Sex Under the Swastika: Erotica, Scandal and the Occult in Hitler's Third Reich shares the stories of those who lived, or knew those that lived in Germany during one of history's darkest time.
The book begins with live in Germany before and during the wars, a time where pretty much anything went, the rich lived a life of hedonism, and people were not judged as harshly for who they loved and how they loved. The book is broken into chapters that focus on different subjects, and not a chronology, but as the chapter goes on, so does either the repression, or in some cases, the abuses grow worse and worse. The roles of woman are examined from being considered the future of the Reich, but more considered brood mares to make more children, men to feed the war machine that the Reich was building. Also covered are occult areas, sexual abuse, spousal abuse and torture in concentration camps and forced prostitution.
This is not an easy book to read. Most of these accounts are told to the author as parts of interviews dealing with other books, though some were tracked down for this book. Again this is rough reading, and though the author tries to keep it straight there is at least in some of these a bit of titillation in the presentation, which kind of makes some sections even more disturbing. I can't think of an action or a sin that the book does not cover, and really does make the Third Reich seem even worse than before. The casual aspect of some of the cases of sexual violence are really disturbing. I also with the book had more of a chronological setup there seemed to be a lot of jumping around, and time periods were sometimes hard to determine and follow. Definitely not a book for all readers.
As I have gotten older it amazes me how much humans want to have control over other humans. The way they think, act, remember history, who they love, how they love, and of course medical procedures all seem to concern people far more than the observable problems, in society. William Burroughs said it best "You see, control can never be a means to any practical end...It can never be a means to anything but more control...", though I omitted the reference to heroin, it is an apt quote. Strong men, with stong government love to have control, and they attract those who are weak, but think they are strong, who need something to fill that gap in their life, be it power of government, church, or middle management. Tim Heath in his book Sex Under the Swastika: Erotica, Scandal and the Occult in Hitler's Third Reich shares the stories of those who lived, or knew those that lived in Germany during one of history's darkest time.
The book begins with live in Germany before and during the wars, a time where pretty much anything went, the rich lived a life of hedonism, and people were not judged as harshly for who they loved and how they loved. The book is broken into chapters that focus on different subjects, and not a chronology, but as the chapter goes on, so does either the repression, or in some cases, the abuses grow worse and worse. The roles of woman are examined from being considered the future of the Reich, but more considered brood mares to make more children, men to feed the war machine that the Reich was building. Also covered are occult areas, sexual abuse, spousal abuse and torture in concentration camps and forced prostitution.
This is not an easy book to read. Most of these accounts are told to the author as parts of interviews dealing with other books, though some were tracked down for this book. Again this is rough reading, and though the author tries to keep it straight there is at least in some of these a bit of titillation in the presentation, which kind of makes some sections even more disturbing. I can't think of an action or a sin that the book does not cover, and really does make the Third Reich seem even worse than before. The casual aspect of some of the cases of sexual violence are really disturbing. I also with the book had more of a chronological setup there seemed to be a lot of jumping around, and time periods were sometimes hard to determine and follow. Definitely not a book for all readers.
December 21, 2022
Sex Under the Swastika by Tim Heath is almost more of a resource book than a history book (I'll explain what I mean in a moment), though it is an area which, while disturbing, needs to be brought to light.
I'll try to explain my distinction between a resource and a history book. A history book, for me, presents facts and even some suppositions and connects them through some kind of analysis. Even just presenting it as background to a regime or an event can count as a loose form of analysis. A resource is something that historians can reference (yes, history books can also be a reference, but generally they are referenced for their ideas and analysis, not as a source of information), from primary documents and commentary to, as often in this case, largely reliable but hearsay testimony from relatives and friends. This reads more like a resource than a history book with a coherent thesis. Well, other than just demonstrating the depths of Nazi perversity.
Having said all that, the book is still quite interesting. While many of the cases and incidents discussed aren't new, this offers some new perspectives on them. They also offer what for many may well be too much detail. I lean toward believing even horrible details need to be available, so I can live with the disturbing passages. Some readers may be better off reading the other books available on these atrocities as well as anything new that might come from historians using these interviews to do further research.
While I would recommend this to readers who can stomach horrific details, I would make sure everyone understands that no punches are pulled here. It is an uncomfortable read and isn't presenting new incidents, just new details, so unless this is a research area for you I might suggest other options to this.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
I'll try to explain my distinction between a resource and a history book. A history book, for me, presents facts and even some suppositions and connects them through some kind of analysis. Even just presenting it as background to a regime or an event can count as a loose form of analysis. A resource is something that historians can reference (yes, history books can also be a reference, but generally they are referenced for their ideas and analysis, not as a source of information), from primary documents and commentary to, as often in this case, largely reliable but hearsay testimony from relatives and friends. This reads more like a resource than a history book with a coherent thesis. Well, other than just demonstrating the depths of Nazi perversity.
Having said all that, the book is still quite interesting. While many of the cases and incidents discussed aren't new, this offers some new perspectives on them. They also offer what for many may well be too much detail. I lean toward believing even horrible details need to be available, so I can live with the disturbing passages. Some readers may be better off reading the other books available on these atrocities as well as anything new that might come from historians using these interviews to do further research.
While I would recommend this to readers who can stomach horrific details, I would make sure everyone understands that no punches are pulled here. It is an uncomfortable read and isn't presenting new incidents, just new details, so unless this is a research area for you I might suggest other options to this.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
Read
September 16, 2025I decided to dnf this book and not rate it.
This book has a lot of information covering the topics of sex, homosexuality, pedophilia, and marriage between couples during the Nazis era. Well, those were the topics I read so far, and it was already overwhelming. I haven't even reached 50%. I have no idea whether I would pick this book back up and read it since it was a difficult read. Knowing that this is a nonfiction and may be a true story disturbed me even more. Humans are evil, and I don't need any more reminders of that.
Apart from all that, I think the author did an outstanding job writing this. His research and interviews were clear and relevant, and every sentence boosts the experience, making it even more intense. Through this book, I understand a lot more about the Nazis era, and it successfully piqued my curiosity to the fullest. Sadly, I need to dnf it. Trigger warnings are very much needed.
If I ended up picking this book up again and finished reading it, I would for sure update my review and rate it.
This book has a lot of information covering the topics of sex, homosexuality, pedophilia, and marriage between couples during the Nazis era. Well, those were the topics I read so far, and it was already overwhelming. I haven't even reached 50%. I have no idea whether I would pick this book back up and read it since it was a difficult read. Knowing that this is a nonfiction and may be a true story disturbed me even more. Humans are evil, and I don't need any more reminders of that.
Apart from all that, I think the author did an outstanding job writing this. His research and interviews were clear and relevant, and every sentence boosts the experience, making it even more intense. Through this book, I understand a lot more about the Nazis era, and it successfully piqued my curiosity to the fullest. Sadly, I need to dnf it. Trigger warnings are very much needed.
If I ended up picking this book up again and finished reading it, I would for sure update my review and rate it.
January 15, 2023
Thank you netgalley for this ARC. I am leaving an 100% honest review.
This book was a hard read. Not the subject as I knew a book entirely Sex Under the Swastika was not going to be a consent filled story, but the writing. I did find reading the writers style easier after the first chapter which was good.
The book is a dark look at how even set changed under Nazi rule. If you have any sort of sexual related trigger I would stay away.
Lastly I thank Tim Heath for including sexual abuse within the marriage. The thought that a spouse cannot rape their partner is still Alive and well.
This book was a hard read. Not the subject as I knew a book entirely Sex Under the Swastika was not going to be a consent filled story, but the writing. I did find reading the writers style easier after the first chapter which was good.
The book is a dark look at how even set changed under Nazi rule. If you have any sort of sexual related trigger I would stay away.
Lastly I thank Tim Heath for including sexual abuse within the marriage. The thought that a spouse cannot rape their partner is still Alive and well.
August 7, 2025
Entertaining, emotional, informational, and satisfying
I cannot praise this book enough, I honestly expected a couple diary entries and for the author to drone on about their views. Absolutely not. The author takes you through time and turmoil based on personal accounts of multiple demographics, as well as factual events. The research, accounts, and timeline are thoroughly written and delivered. This was an entertaining, emotional, informational, and Overall a satisfying read. I'm eager to read more from the author!
I cannot praise this book enough, I honestly expected a couple diary entries and for the author to drone on about their views. Absolutely not. The author takes you through time and turmoil based on personal accounts of multiple demographics, as well as factual events. The research, accounts, and timeline are thoroughly written and delivered. This was an entertaining, emotional, informational, and Overall a satisfying read. I'm eager to read more from the author!
December 17, 2022
Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Let me start by saying if you have triggers, DO NOT READ this book. It hit on so many. The abuse is very graphic. Everything is just very graphic. Well written and worth the read. It was almost too overwhelming but I'm glad I pushed through. I love how the author used both interviews and eyewitness accounts to show us some of the horrors under the Nazi regime.
Let me start by saying if you have triggers, DO NOT READ this book. It hit on so many. The abuse is very graphic. Everything is just very graphic. Well written and worth the read. It was almost too overwhelming but I'm glad I pushed through. I love how the author used both interviews and eyewitness accounts to show us some of the horrors under the Nazi regime.
Read
January 8, 2023I found this a little difficult to get into but that's a given with the context the book delves into. The book provides an insight with the help of witness accounts with multiple narratives and perspectives.
I found the context into the time period interesting. The book might be a little difficult to read but does a good job of providing a voice to the stories.
Thanks Pen & Sword and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange of my honest review.
I found the context into the time period interesting. The book might be a little difficult to read but does a good job of providing a voice to the stories.
Thanks Pen & Sword and NetGalley for this eArc in exchange of my honest review.
January 20, 2023
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
A fascinating read of everyday people under Hitlers reign. I found the authors input unnecessary and quite often disruptive with his "non-judgmental" opinions. Some of the stories were quite repetitive , it just shows a side of Nazi Germany not often shown. The photographs of some of the people sharing their story a lovely addition.
A fascinating read of everyday people under Hitlers reign. I found the authors input unnecessary and quite often disruptive with his "non-judgmental" opinions. Some of the stories were quite repetitive , it just shows a side of Nazi Germany not often shown. The photographs of some of the people sharing their story a lovely addition.
February 16, 2023
OMG! This book is so off the wall! Not because the writer is nuts, but the subject matter is so ..... OK, so how many of us actually wondered about this subject? I'm here to tell you that it wasn't something that I had thought of, but I'm so glad that I read this book. It answers so many questions about life during that time period in history. This book was interesting and I learned so much about this time and how it affected people that I never even thought to question.
April 11, 2023
Besides the usually mentioned depravity of leading Nazis this book mainly provides the reader with overly lengthy and rather explicit memories that had in most cases little to do with the NS regime and more with personal kinks and fetishes. What is sadly missing from this book is any psychological insight, how living under such a controlling and demanding repressive regime might influence people's sex life (or not).
January 28, 2023
An interesting novel regarding the use of sex and the sexual history of Nazi germany. The stories are informative and will hold your interest. The irony of how the government wanted the people to act compared to their behavior is amazing. A great book.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.
October 16, 2025
Bravo, Tim!
The historical insight and personal courage it took to write this book are evident from the first to the last page. I laughed, I cried, I was outraged, and I learned. I look forward to reading more of your work.
The historical insight and personal courage it took to write this book are evident from the first to the last page. I laughed, I cried, I was outraged, and I learned. I look forward to reading more of your work.
December 4, 2022
Unfortunately I couldn’t get into this book as hard as I tried. I couldn’t even finish it. The best part was the jacket synopsis.
December 6, 2022
Interesting amazing book, very well written and unusual topic
I was shocked by some of the acts that happened but so glad read this book
I was shocked by some of the acts that happened but so glad read this book
February 14, 2023
Even if there's a lot of research I found it a bit confusing and too much graphic details.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine
February 2, 2023
Tim Heath is the author of eight books. Sex Under the Swastika: Erotica, Scandal and the Occult in Hitler’s Third Reich will be released on 16 February. This is the 1st book I completed in 2023.
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to mature language and mature situations, I categorize this book as R.
The book begins by looking at the decadence during the days of the Weimar Republic. There were many nightclubs, particularly in Berlin. Around them swirled an atmosphere of drugs, alcohol, and sex. With the age of consent for women at just 16, many girls indulged in all three.
When the Nazis ascended to power in 1934, they tried to curtail the excesses. Many clubs were closed. Those who did not follow the Nazi family ideal were arrested as deviants, many being sent to the camps. The Nazis envisioned their youth to follow a healthy, athletic, family-oriented, and moral lifestyle.
Careers for women were frowned upon. Girls should marry early, often at 16 or 17. It was a moral duty for them to bear as many children as possible for the Third Reich. The government created the Cross of Honour of the German Mother to encourage this. A woman birthing four children earned the bronze medal, 6+ the silver, and the gold for eight or more.
The outdoors and exercise were integral parts of the Nazi-imposed BDM. Beginning with its creation in 1938 all girls aged 14 to 18 were required to be members. Nakedness was embraced as a form of naturism, nothing to be ashamed of, and perfectly natural. It was not uncommon for them to walk around the countryside or swim in the rivers and lakes naked.
Although a moral standard was held up as an example, many youngsters of both genders suffered sexual abuse. The threat of being called out as a Jew and sent to a camp enabled many predators to take advantage of young women. The list of abuses is long. In conquered areas military brothels known as ‘Joy Divisions’ were often established.
The Lebensborn program began in 1935. Aryan girls as young as 15 were encouraged to have sex with selected Aryan males. The plan was to increase the birth rate of Aryan children for the Reich. German girls were coached on the best sexual position to use to increase their chances of pregnancy.
I enjoyed the 10.5 hours I spent reading this 276-page WWII-era history. Much of the source material comes from interviews, letters, and journals. This is the third book by Tim Heath that I have read. The other two were Hitler’s Housewives: German Women on the Home Front and Resistance Heroines in Nazi- and Russian-Occupied Austria. They have all been enjoyable books on the history of WWII. While I knew some of the material discussed in the book, there was much that was new to me. The book includes several photos relevant to the story from the war period. I like the chosen cover art. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
I received an ARC of this book through https://www.netgalley.com with the expectation of delivering a fair and honest review. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! Due to mature language and mature situations, I categorize this book as R.
The book begins by looking at the decadence during the days of the Weimar Republic. There were many nightclubs, particularly in Berlin. Around them swirled an atmosphere of drugs, alcohol, and sex. With the age of consent for women at just 16, many girls indulged in all three.
When the Nazis ascended to power in 1934, they tried to curtail the excesses. Many clubs were closed. Those who did not follow the Nazi family ideal were arrested as deviants, many being sent to the camps. The Nazis envisioned their youth to follow a healthy, athletic, family-oriented, and moral lifestyle.
Careers for women were frowned upon. Girls should marry early, often at 16 or 17. It was a moral duty for them to bear as many children as possible for the Third Reich. The government created the Cross of Honour of the German Mother to encourage this. A woman birthing four children earned the bronze medal, 6+ the silver, and the gold for eight or more.
The outdoors and exercise were integral parts of the Nazi-imposed BDM. Beginning with its creation in 1938 all girls aged 14 to 18 were required to be members. Nakedness was embraced as a form of naturism, nothing to be ashamed of, and perfectly natural. It was not uncommon for them to walk around the countryside or swim in the rivers and lakes naked.
Although a moral standard was held up as an example, many youngsters of both genders suffered sexual abuse. The threat of being called out as a Jew and sent to a camp enabled many predators to take advantage of young women. The list of abuses is long. In conquered areas military brothels known as ‘Joy Divisions’ were often established.
The Lebensborn program began in 1935. Aryan girls as young as 15 were encouraged to have sex with selected Aryan males. The plan was to increase the birth rate of Aryan children for the Reich. German girls were coached on the best sexual position to use to increase their chances of pregnancy.
I enjoyed the 10.5 hours I spent reading this 276-page WWII-era history. Much of the source material comes from interviews, letters, and journals. This is the third book by Tim Heath that I have read. The other two were Hitler’s Housewives: German Women on the Home Front and Resistance Heroines in Nazi- and Russian-Occupied Austria. They have all been enjoyable books on the history of WWII. While I knew some of the material discussed in the book, there was much that was new to me. The book includes several photos relevant to the story from the war period. I like the chosen cover art. I give this book a rating of 4 out of 5.
You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).
February 2, 2023
Note: I received an advanced copy of this book from Pen & Sword via NetGalley.
Based on interviews, eye-witness accounts and using newly revealed material from the sons and daughters of former SS officers who were part of Adolf Hitler and Reinhard Heydrich’s personal staff, we learn about the sexual conduct, affairs, scandals and fetishes of some of Hitler’s most trusted advocates, who used their positions of trust to execute their warped fantasies.
It reveals how many leading Nazi’s were actively involved in occult rituals and sexual practices, and how the abuse suffered by many young men and women was only permissible through the filtering down from the highest echelons of the regime, which was prepared to turn a blind eye. Learn about the exotic sex and drug-fuelled private cocktail parties of the Nazi political elite that spread far and wide into the society over which it presided.
This was a well-researched and enlightening non-fiction work that was organized and flowed really well. For some reason, I thought the author of this was a woman while I was reading it. A dark chapter of world history made even darker in this little-known accounting of what took place. This is a sad and hard read but one that I think people should be made aware about.
Based on interviews, eye-witness accounts and using newly revealed material from the sons and daughters of former SS officers who were part of Adolf Hitler and Reinhard Heydrich’s personal staff, we learn about the sexual conduct, affairs, scandals and fetishes of some of Hitler’s most trusted advocates, who used their positions of trust to execute their warped fantasies.
It reveals how many leading Nazi’s were actively involved in occult rituals and sexual practices, and how the abuse suffered by many young men and women was only permissible through the filtering down from the highest echelons of the regime, which was prepared to turn a blind eye. Learn about the exotic sex and drug-fuelled private cocktail parties of the Nazi political elite that spread far and wide into the society over which it presided.
This was a well-researched and enlightening non-fiction work that was organized and flowed really well. For some reason, I thought the author of this was a woman while I was reading it. A dark chapter of world history made even darker in this little-known accounting of what took place. This is a sad and hard read but one that I think people should be made aware about.
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