Killing Hitler: The Plots, the Assassins, and the Dictator Who Cheated Death

by Roger Moorhouse

For the first time in one enthralling book, here is the incredible true story of the numerous attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler and change the course of history.

Disraeli once declared that “assassination never changed anything,” and yet the idea that World War II and the horrors of the Holocaust might have been averted with a single bullet or bomb has remained a tantalizing one for half a century. What historian Roger Moorhouse reveals in Killing Hitler is just how close–and how often–history came to taking a radically different path between Adolf Hitler’s rise to power and his ignominious suicide.

Few leaders, in any century, can have been the target of so many assassination attempts, with such momentous consequences in the balance. Hitler’s almost fifty would-be assassins ranged from simple craftsmen to high-ranking soldiers, from the apolitical to the ideologically obsessed, from Polish Resistance fighters to patriotic Wehrmacht officers, and from enemy agents to his closest associates. And yet, up to now, their exploits have remained virtually unknown, buried in dusty official archives and obscure memoirs. This, then, for the first time in a single volume, is their story.

A story of courage and ingenuity and, ultimately, failure, ranging from spectacular train derailments to the world’s first known suicide bomber, explaining along the way why the British at one time declared that assassinating Hitler would be “unsporting,” and why the ruthless murderer Joseph Stalin was unwilling to order his death.

It is also the remarkable, terrible story of the survival of a tyrant against all the odds, an evil dictator whose repeated escapes from almost certain death convinced him that he was literally invincible–a conviction that had appalling consequences for millions.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Germany, War, Holocaust, Historical

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Living the Dream. Historian and author of an international bestseller - "Berlin at War" was #1 in Lithuania :-) - as well as a few other books, such as "Killing Hitler", "The Devils' Alliance" and "First to Fight" - the last of which won the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize in 2020.

I write mainly about Nazi Germany and wartime Poland, but I fear that might scare some people off, so I'll just call myself a writer of history books.

My current book (published in the UK in August 2023) is "The Forgers", which is the fascinating story of the Ładoś Group - a ring of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists operating out of wartime Switzerland - who were forging Latin American passports to help Jews escape the Holocaust. It is a VERY interesting subject - so I would urge you to get a copy!

I hope you enjoy my books. Any questions or queries or just wholesome praise, do let me know...

Reviews

[Ian Beardsell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my first book by Roger Moorhouse, and I really enjoyed it, regardless of the subject! Although I personally find WWII history very interesting, learning more macabre details about Hitler's life and the struggles of those who tried to end it was not always a pleasant topic. Yet, Moorhouse has a gift for relating these historical anecdotes almost in the style of a spy thriller.

I learned that Georg Elser, who figures prominently in Canadian author Dennis Bock's The Good German was very much an actual historical person who attempted to assassinate Hitler in 1939 much as described in the work of fiction. I learned about the bad luck of Hitler's many would-be assassins and their often grisly fate. I learned about the uncanny luck that Hitler seemed to have in cheating death multiple times, eventually thinking he was invincible and chosen by Providence to bring Germany to ultimate victory. I relearned the story of Hitler's last days in his underground bunker in Berlin, where he finally was killed by his own hand.

Although there were a few spots in the book where I wished Moorhouse would have been more of the traditional historian and reminded us of the specific date an event was happening, he was very good at building up the context of why and how a certain assassination plot unfolded.

I believe this book will become a mainstay of amateur historians interested in learning about the colorful cast of characters, including many patriotic Germans, who tried to stop a madman in his pursuit of absolute power.

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Y a pesar de todo no hubo manera.-

Género. Historia.

Lo que nos cuenta. Monografía sobre los distintos intentos de terminar con la vida de Hitler a lo largo de su vida política, desde planes ejecutados que fallaron hasta planes teóricos que se valoraron.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book discusses the various plots to assassinate Adolf Hitler, leader of Nazi Germany. Many people are aware of one plot, but there were actually several real (and made up) schemes against him by various people. The key players in these plots are also discussed. The book would be more interesting for someone who was not very familiar with the assassination plots, however, it was interesting enough to read.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roger Moorehouse's book Killing Hitler provides stories of various plots to assassinate the leader of The Third Reich. Each chapter tells a different anecdote which include Georg Elser, Valkryie, and even foreign governments planning to kill Adolf Hitler. Of course, Moorehouse asks the question that has been asked a million times before: What if Hitler had been assassinated? Would it have made a difference?

This book was not bad, but I would not say it was something amazing either. It is a simple read that gives the readers a general idea about these conspiracies. If you want a deeper analysis, I recommend Volker Ullrich's two volume biography on Hitler, the Evans Trilogy or Thomas Childers' book on The Third Reich.

[Boudewijn]

Notes

April 10th, 2020: Added to TBR after reading Guarding Hitler

[Elmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was originally published by Jonathan Cape, London. I've read the German translation. This book is about 20 attempts to kill Adolf Hitler. The book contains 430 pages, full of suspense and information. The British historian Roger Moorhouse talks about would-be assassins like Maurice Bavaud, Georg Elser, Hans Oster, Claus von Stauffenberg and others.

He shows them as characters and writes about their motives and origins. Moorhouse gives the reader a deeply understanding of history in that time and shows us the fascits and their personalities as well. This is one of the best books that I've read about the Third Reich.


Das im Marix Verlag erschienene Buch "Killing Hitler" von Roger Moorhouse handelt von 20 Versuchen, Hitler umzubringen. Auf 430 Seiten, die spannend und interessant geschrieben sind, berichtet der britische Historiker Roger Moorhouse von Attentätern wie Maurice Bavaud, Georg Elser, Hans Oster, Claus von Stauffenberg und anderen.

Er porträtiert diese Menschen aus dem Widerstand gegen den Faschismus und zeigt ihr Umfeld sowie ihre Motive auf. Ausführlich und gut verständlich schildert Moorhouse die historischen Entwicklungen und gibt auch den nationalsozialistischen Tätern ein Gesicht. Dieses hervorragend übersetzte Buch ist eines der besten Bücher über die Zeit des Nationalsozialismus, das ich kenne.

[Camille · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting premise but one of the worse written books I've ever read. I have never wanted to go to sleep faster when I read a book. The author pops in super interesting last lines to chapters which make you try to regain hope, which is untimely lost at the end. The book is good if you want to learn more about Hitler's security measures then actual assassins (which only 3 of which were actually mentioned in the book)

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly detailed but readable summary of the plots/attempts to kill Hitler. Many of the stories were new to me - and I consider myself someone who is pretty well-read on WW2.

Warning: the author chooses stylistically to wander a bit and then use those wanderings to set up the main point of each chapter - but it takes a bit of getting used to.

[Jon Molesan · Rating 4 out of 5]

42 attempts and not one lucky shot. The guy had Satan's luck.
The part that got me the most though, was the plan to freak him out (Hitler was a prude) by dropping pornography leaflets on his home in Bavaria. The air force was actually taking it seriously for a while, but the plan fell through when they couldn't decide what kind of airplane to use.

[Matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title implies that this is a "how-to" book. Not so.

Intermittently quite entertaining. The chapter about the fellow who put the bomb in the pillar...why, that would make a fine movie. Better than that crappy Tom Cruise flick.

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of us know of the attempt to assassinate Adolph Hitler by Claus von Stauffenberg in 1944. But there were several other serious murder plots and attempts by others going back to 1938. Some were by courageous ordinary citizens working alone, and others were well-organized attempts by Nazi officers within Hitler's circle of high-ranking military officials. After reading how many of these assassination plans failed in their goals, I was amazed at how lucky the monstrous dictator was at cheating death. The author was meticulous in his research, and the result is a book I can recommend to those interested in the stories of people who risked capture in order to stop a genocidal madman.

[Luke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and detailed look into the attempts on Hitler’s life and how the plots developed and the individuals involved. The author also writes about the turning point for those in the Wehrmacht who decided to against the Third Reich. Parts of the book seemed like they could have been shorter but overall it will keep your attention.

[VINOTHKUMAR K · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was not quite as I expected. At times, I feel the book was written non-linear without proper continuity. But this was compensated by the ton load of information given by the author. Expected a detailed analysis of Valkyrie but he ended the matter in few words. Good one for Second World War lovers though.

[Jbussen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting at first but jesus! Get on with it. Got tired of the fluff, of skipping ahead. Book needed to be half as long. Maybe shorter. 3 stars because what i did read was interesting. Eventually I just returned it to my library half read, if that even.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book

It's amazing how many assassination attempts were launched against Hitler. It does make you wonder if one of those attempts succeeded, would the war in Europe ended sooner, or would it have continued under the leadership of one of his followers.

[Mattia Carlini · Rating 3 out of 5]

La mia mente vaga a tutto quello che sarebbe potuto cambiare

[teleri · Rating 1 out of 5]

dnfed.

couldn’t get past page 28, it just didn’t interest me.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

He’s a bit too willing to take Speer at his word.

[Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent Historical Reference of the many Attempts to Kill Hitler by his own followers

[Darren Togwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s interesting to consider how history could have been so different had just one of these individuals or groups been successful.

We will never know.

[Tdtbaa]

unrated

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I agree that the author does wander a bit, and jumps from one subject to another and it takes a while to get used to. But also there is a very good look at what life was like in Hitler’s bunker. 42 assassination attempts is a lot for one man to survive. This is very interesting reading on that subject. And it also has a lot of information on the people who surrounded Hitler. I recommend the movie Downfall for more insight into Hitler’s bunker.

[Book · Rating 5 out of 5]

Based on recently opened archives, British historian Moorhouse told us a story about all the numerous attempts to assassinate Adolf Hitler.

These includes attempts by individuals in the early days of Hitler's reign, such as Swiss student Maurice Bavaud, whose try got him beheaded; the efforts of a British spies group armed with unusual weapons ("exploding rats") and the well-known attempt of patriotic Wehrmacht officers, including von Stauffenberg, which succeeded in injuring Hitler, although not terminally. This book is an excellent historical display of the most serious of the 42 known attempts.

Moorhouse also introduces little-known would-be-assassins, such as Polish underground. Most of the assassination attempts Moorhouse describes failed because of poor planning, some were victim to circumstance, but also some could be treated as rumors.

Easy to read, suspenseful in narration and put into historical context make this book a must-read for World War 2 genre enthusiasts but also for people who want to learn some little known details about Nazi regime.

Idea that World War 2 and all of its horrors could be avoided with a successful assassination, single bullet or bomb has remained a mystery for last 60 years. What is revealed in this book just how close-and how often-history came to taking a radically different path between Adolf Hitler's rise to power and his downfall.

It is also remarkable story of Hitler's repeated escapes from almost certain death convinced him that he was literally invincible and indestructible which caused terrific consequences for millions on people.

Author made great work in providing lot of details, book's seven chapters presented in historical order world in which the potential killers live is described. Then he extracts the plotter from all these reasons they had to do the deed and focuses in on their activities, which are then regarded for their outcome - whether they resulted in tighter security around Hitler or some other effect.

There are some spellings and inconsistency errors through the book (American vs. European standards, etc.) but these drawbacks are not important taking into account research behind this book needed to write it, all details and especially the quotes which are great.

I recommend this book for anyone, not only ones interested in World War 2 related literature. Because of the details for sure it will not be surpassed for some time ahead and it really readable from the first to the last page.

[Kamryn Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the book Killing Hitler, Moorhouse explains the assassination plots Hitler had to face on his rise to power. He focuses on how Hitler escaped death several times and how close these attempts could have lead to a prevention of the Holocaust and other events. It is clear that Moorhouse believes Hitler survived because of pure luck. This book gives an accurate look into Germany's conspiracies and Hitler's escapes from death.
A huge cultural difference I have learned throughout this book is that Germans do not care as much about religion as the U.S does. Many Germans do not attend church and have a hard time understanding why other countries, like America, are so consistent with it. Another big cultural difference between the U.S and Germany is that we are patriotic and are proud to be American. However, Germans are not necessarily proud because of their history. So they brag less and do not show how much they are proud with flags, a pledge, and so forth like America does.
I believe Roger Moorhouse wrote this book to inform people on how close history came to being changed with the assassination attempts on Hitler. He explains all of this while telling the story as if the characters/people were still alive and giving their motives and thoughts on Hitler's rise to power. Moorhouse studied history and he wanted people to understand some of the back stories on the assassination attempts on Hitler.
A theme for this book could be that it was inevitable for Hitler to be killed. He had several assassination attempts on him and even though he was never killed, he ended up taking his own life. So a more general theme that Moorhouse was trying to get at throughout the book was that some events/outcomes are predetermined and unable to be avoided. In the first line, Moorhouse said, "Assassination, it once said, 'has never changed the history of the world'" (Moorhouse 1). Since he explains all of the assassination attempts and events that lead to Hitler taking his own life, he ended the book with a strong line to get his theme across. He wrote that Hitler "put his Walther pistol to his right temple, and squeezed the trigger" (Moorhouse 325).
I would recommend this text for anyone that is interested in the World War 2 time period and the events within it. Moorhouse makes this book a good history lesson as well as making it feel more like a fiction book rather than non-fiction. It's easy to get into and understand plus it is interesting to learn how close history could have been changed if Hitler wasn't so lucky.

[Krisley Freitas · Rating 1 out of 5]

O foco do livro é nas conspirações de assassinato e não nas tentativas de assassinato.
O documentário “42 ways to kill Hitler“ da National Geographic (Título no Brasil: “Matando Hitler”) é mais útil que esse livro.

O autor passa páginas e páginas falando sobre conspirações que não foram mais que sonhos/imaginações sem nem uma etapa prática ter sido realizada, sobre tentativas de assassinato que ocorreram em lugares nem um pouco perto da localização de Hitler no momento em questão.
Há partes interessantes no livro, como o relato da resistência polonesa, a descrição da construção e do sistema de segurança dos quartéis-generais Wolfschanze e Wehrwolf, o capítulo da Operação Valquíria é bem detalhado.

Mas no geral o que o leitor encontra são informações vazias e especulações:

Pág 236 – “Naquele verão, ela[SOE] apresentou um “projeto para eliminar Hitler” [...]. Infelizmente, não existem registros desse plano, por isso é difícil determinar a extensão e a influência de quaisquer resistências remanescentes relacionadas ao assassinato de Hitler. Ainda assim, é claro que o assunto foi ao menos discutido no mais alto nível, além de ser alvo de planejamento.”

Há ainda várias passagens que chegam ao ridículo (ainda que o autor não apoie essas teorias, não vejo sentido de encher o livro com esse tipo de relato):
Pág 205 - “Mas pode ter havido um elemento no relacionamento de Stalin com Hitler que foi além de mera criminalidade e patológica sede de sangue. Alguns até conjecturam que, embora os dois nunca tivessem se conhecido, esse relacionamento tinha nuances homoeróticas.”
Pág 233 – “[...]Londres receberia a notícia de que o piloto pessoal de Hitler, Hans Baur, desiludira-se com a guerra e queria desertar e levar o Führer para a Inglaterra”
Pág 241 – “Mais notadamente, porém, foi feita a bizarra sugestão de que Rudolf Hess poderia ser convencido (ou até hipnotizado) a voltar à Alemanha e fazer o papel de assassino.”
Pág 244 – “Um grupo de agentes de pesquisa do Serviço Secreto Americano (OSS) conhecido como “Meninos do Coro” criou um plano que, segundo acreditavam, induziria Hitler à insanidade e levaria a guerra a um fim rápido. Conscientes do lendário puritanismo do alvo, eles planejavam expô-lo a uma enxurrada de pornografia, que poderia ser lançada do ar sobre o quartel-general de Hitler [...]”.
Pág 189 – “Algumas fontes sugeriram que a causa do mau humor de Hitler e de suas dores de cabeça era a radiação tóxica que emanava do granito usado na obra[Wehrwolf].”

[Ranadip Sikdar · Rating 4 out of 5]

By the end of 1944 people in and around Hitler’s Germany believed Hitler has a guardian devil to protect him from any kind of assassination. This is because by that time he survived 44 assassination attempts, many of which was still unknown at that time and only will resurface decades after his death. George Elser planted a bomb behind his speech desk and timed it in 9:20 during his speech but he left the speech desk early at 9:07 and only minutes after the bomb will bring down the entire hall killing hundreds. A German lieutenant will plant a fuse bomb in his personal plane only to find out the fuse was faulty. Another German major colonel planted a time bomb in a suitcase only few feet away from Hitler but again he will be saved due to cushioning effect of the table and use of lower charge and faulty position of fuse thereby cutting the explosive in half. There are many others vividly described by Roger Moorhouse in his page turner ‘killing Hitler:- the dictator who cheated death’. Saved by his unpredictability, his wonderful luck and tight security agencies this man will kill himself in his bunker at Berlin while the Russian army is only 300 meters from the bunker. Though interesting the book sounds u can’t read it without having a interest in world war 2 German sociological and cultural events and as Roger describes very tale of survival by pure chance of this dictator u tend to think probably this time the assassin will bag him. A very exquisite and classic read and a must read for every World War 2 reader.

[Alistair Greenhalgh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Moorhouse describes the various kinds of plots against Hitler: lone-wolf types, the Wehrmacht, the resistance in occupied countries and those planned by foreign powers.

The historical context explains the motivation for the various assassination attempts and is explained in considerable detail, in some cases it almost goes off at a tangent. Moorhouse explains why most of the attempts failed and outlines Hitler’s road to power. As history progressed so different types of assassination attempts came into play. At first the loners, then those holding office and later foreign governments.

Besides Hitler’s earliest days as the Nazi leader, when his security arrangements were reminiscent of the Keystone Kops, there never really was any effective opportunities to kill Hitler - although Stauffenberg seems to have come close. During the earliest days of his reign is seems as though had the assassins been any more capable Hitler’s name would have likely faded from history.

These bungled attempts likely persuaded Hitler to bolster his own security measures in later years and to use that expression from The Day of The Jackal probably, ‘queered the pitch’. One conspirator quipped Hitler must have a guardian devil.

Given the sheer number and breadth of the assassination attempts against Hitler it is surprising he lived long enough to die by his own hand.

Killing Hitler is engaging, well considered but does seem to wander from the principal topic sometimes.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Killing Hitler is a cool historical book about the assassination plots and what Hitler did during his the time he ruled Germany. It will go into detail about the many attempts at Hitler's life and ways he has cheated death. You will also discover the massive underground networks that places like Poland had to try to preserve their former government and former Nation. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes world war 2 books, or anything history related. It will take you deep into world wars 2 in Germany, Russia and Poland. The book gives you eyes to people that had to live through this tough time and it also gives you an insight into their brains so you could try to understand what they were thinking at the time. One of the things that I have found amazing about this book is that it covers assassination attempts on Hitler's life and how it talks about how arrogant he became once he began to survive so many of them. It will take you to the polish underground, where you will see how some of the people of Poland banded together to show some of their nationalism and how they defended their nation even though according the reset of the world it was taken over. I give this book 4/5 stars because it was book that will expand your knowledge of world war 2 and take you back into a time that is much different form our current age.

[Ariel Navarro · Rating 3 out of 5]

I now know who Hitler was and why so many tried to kill him but in the end of his life he had committed suicide. This book is about plots and assassins against the dictator who cheated death, Adolf Hitler. Almost fifty would- be assassins tried to kill Hitler but what if one man's death would have saved the lives of millions. Adolf Hitler was a lucky man who had faced many attempts on his life and yet not one succeeded. Every person around his life would have tried killing Adolf Hitler but only he himself would take his own life as a sign of surrender to the Allies and Russians during World War Two. The genre is documentary. The conflict is man vs. self because he decided to kill himself in the end and man vs. society because a lot of people hated him. The theme of the book is never doing anything you will regret. The motifs are vengeance, suicide, and death. The writing style is very descriptive because there a lot of facts. I would recommend this book to any one who wants to learn more about world war two.