As head of the SS, chief of police, 'Reichskommissar for the Consolidation of Germanness', and Reich Interior Minister, Heinrich Himmler enjoyed a position of almost unparalleled power and responsibility in Nazi Germany. Perhaps more than any other single Nazi leader aside from Hitler, his name has become a byword for the terror, persecution, and destruction that characterized the Third Reich. His wide-ranging powers meant that he bore equal responsibility for the repression of the German people on the home front and the atrocities perpetrated by the SS in the East. Yet, in spite of his central role in the crimes of the Nazi regime, until now Himmler has remained a colourless and elusive figure in the history of the period. In this, the first-ever comprehensive biography of the SS-Reichsfuhrer, leading German historian Peter Longerich puts every aspect of Himmler's life under the microscope. Masterfully interweaving the story of Himmler's personal life and political career with the wider history of the Nazi dictatorship, Longerich shows how skilfully he exploited and manipulated his disparate roles in the pursuit of his far-reaching and grandiose objectives. In the process, he illuminates the extraordinary degree to which Himmler's own personal prejudices, idiosyncrasies, and predilections made their mark on the organizations for which he was responsible - especially the SS, which in so many ways bore the characteristic hallmarks of its leader, and whose history remains both incomplete and incomprehensible without a detailed and intimate knowledge of its deeply sinister commander-in-chief.
Heinrich Himmler: A Life
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There have been several studies of this enigmatic man, but Peter Longerich's massive biography, grounded in exhaustive study of the primary sources, is now the standard work and must stand alongside Ian Kershaw's Hitler, Ulrich Herbert's Best and Robert Gerwarth's Hitler's Hangman: The Life of Heydrich as one of the landmark Nazi biographies. As the author of a celebrated study of the Holocaust, Longerich is better able than his predecessors to situate Himmler within the vast machinery of genocide. And he brings to his task a gift for capturing those mannerisms that are the intimate markers of personality. The most thorough study of Himmler yet written. Christopher Clark, London Review of Books
[The book's] bulk is consummate with the seriousness of its subject matter and, as the definitive life if this why-faced monster of terror, it is unlikely to be bettered. History Today
Excellent ... well crafted and engaging ... comfortably surpassing the offerings of previous biographers, it is surely set to become the definitive work for a generation. Roger Moorhouse, BBC History
supremely enlightening New York Times Book Review
There have been many attempts to describe the life and opinions of Heinrich Himmler, but this one ... is the first thorough scholarly biography to appear New Statesman
very well documented Mail on Sunday A superbly researched account Booklist
a work of staggering scholarship Literary Review splendid Sunday Telegraph
A masterpiece. Richard J. Evans
A highly impressive biography, resting on exhaustive exploration of available sources. Ian Kershaw
Gigantic book The Sunday Times
Splendid...Longerich gives it a depth and breadth it has previously lacked. Sunday Telegraph
--Christopher Clark, London Review of Books
[An] almost encyclopaedic coverage --Jane Caplan, Times Literary Supplement
... A superb book, wonderfully translated. --Choice
About the Author
Peter Longerich is Professor of Modern German History at Royal Holloway University of London, and founder of Royal Holloway's Holocaust Research Centre. He has published extensively on Nazi Germany, including the acclaimed Holocaust: The Nazi Murder and the Persecution of the Jews, The UnwrittenOrder: Hitler's Role in the Final Solution, and The Systematic Character of the National Socialist Policy for the Extermination of the Jews.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By Scotsman
Format:Hardcover
As an avid amateur WW2 researcher I looked forward to reading this book. It got off to a good start, detailing Himmler's early family background and his just too late signing up in the Army during the end of the First World War. The author is pretty well versed about Himmler's psyche - almost a neo Freudian explanation in parts. The rise of Himmler through the ranks of the SS is clearly explained, particularly his flair for detailed bureaucracy.
The exposition of Himmler's obsession with the early roots of Aryanism, mixed with bizarre theories of world creation, is well written and highly readable. The author is not a military historian and unfortunately it does show throughout the book. There was a great opportunity to explore Himmler's leadership (or lack of it) of Army Group Vistula in the closing stages of WW2 but sadly this was missed altogether.
The book is strangely inconsistent at times. While you get an insight into Himmler the man, there is little about his wife and more so his lover. Himmler's relationship with Heydrich - fundamental to the latter's rise in the SS - is hardly discussed. In essence the book is the proverbial curate's egg: good in bits, not so good in others and some not even there.
The exposition of Himmler's obsession with the early roots of Aryanism, mixed with bizarre theories of world creation, is well written and highly readable. The author is not a military historian and unfortunately it does show throughout the book. There was a great opportunity to explore Himmler's leadership (or lack of it) of Army Group Vistula in the closing stages of WW2 but sadly this was missed altogether.
The book is strangely inconsistent at times. While you get an insight into Himmler the man, there is little about his wife and more so his lover. Himmler's relationship with Heydrich - fundamental to the latter's rise in the SS - is hardly discussed. In essence the book is the proverbial curate's egg: good in bits, not so good in others and some not even there.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By Mr. Warren M. Fisher
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
A rather dry, and at times leadely paced biography, this is nontheless fitfully fascinating. However the author spends too much time on Himmler's unremarkable conventionally dull childhood. He also rushes the ultimate downfall and death of Himmler. This and a pedantic interest in the mechanics of the SS at the expense of any cogent characterisation of Himmer or any of the Nazis, deadens the chilling effects of their crimes.
If you're interested in all things Nazi, well give this a whirl - but we must wait a little longer for the definitive biography.
If you're interested in all things Nazi, well give this a whirl - but we must wait a little longer for the definitive biography.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The author is "One of the world's leading authorities on the Third Reich and the Holocaust".
This book makes that very clear.
It offers a somewhat facile and polemic psychological analysis of the early Himmler based on very good diary and writings references which is actually quite informative. Although I will make my own psychological conclusions based on the quite comprehensive information provided.
It offers prodigious information on Himmler's role in the Holocaust and persecution of the Jews and other races and peoples of Europe. The range of information and detail is excellent. Perhaps the only weakness is the author's inability to prove Hitler fully responsible for orders given in his name. I am sure readers will know that such proof is extremely elusive and this author does a fine job of connecting all the circumstantial evidence together.
Interwoven is a very detailed exposition of Himmler's rise to power within the Third Reich - his machinations and maneuverings, his success and failures. One learns a very great deal of how this weak man became so very powerful and also the day to day operations of the Nazi state apparatus.
These two parts of the book are truly five star and justify the purchase of the book.
However the Waffen-SS and Himmler's controlling role are only mentioned briefly and then mainly in connection with foreign Germanic recruitment.
The author is not expert in Military History and that shows throughout the narrative. The few references to the military aspects of the war show a strongly anglophile and rather limited view.
Also the book loses detail quickly after the time of the major killings connected with the Holocaust (the author's main period of expertise).... Read more ›
This book makes that very clear.
It offers a somewhat facile and polemic psychological analysis of the early Himmler based on very good diary and writings references which is actually quite informative. Although I will make my own psychological conclusions based on the quite comprehensive information provided.
It offers prodigious information on Himmler's role in the Holocaust and persecution of the Jews and other races and peoples of Europe. The range of information and detail is excellent. Perhaps the only weakness is the author's inability to prove Hitler fully responsible for orders given in his name. I am sure readers will know that such proof is extremely elusive and this author does a fine job of connecting all the circumstantial evidence together.
Interwoven is a very detailed exposition of Himmler's rise to power within the Third Reich - his machinations and maneuverings, his success and failures. One learns a very great deal of how this weak man became so very powerful and also the day to day operations of the Nazi state apparatus.
These two parts of the book are truly five star and justify the purchase of the book.
However the Waffen-SS and Himmler's controlling role are only mentioned briefly and then mainly in connection with foreign Germanic recruitment.
The author is not expert in Military History and that shows throughout the narrative. The few references to the military aspects of the war show a strongly anglophile and rather limited view.
Also the book loses detail quickly after the time of the major killings connected with the Holocaust (the author's main period of expertise).... Read more ›
21 of 24 people found the following review helpful
By Bill Phipps
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a big book for scholarly study. It is not an easy read, and it is crammed with facts and very detailed information about the organisation of the SS, the Gestapo, the German Police, and about Himmler's rise and acquisition of more and more power within the Third Reich, yet it sometimes skirts over significant events (like the faked attack at Gleiwitz which precipitated the invasion of Poland). Himmler comes across as a boring sycophantic little pedant - albeit extremely powerful and exceptionally evil, with a pathological hatred of Bolshevism and Jews (which he equated together as the joint evils of the World responsible for the War). It is claimed he was a great organiser, but he spent much of his time organising and re-organising his evil empire with the intention of maintaining and augmenting his own sphere of power, not to make his organisation more efficient. None of his so-called resettlement plans came to anything, and his warped world view condemned millions to death, whilst he showed himself to be a coward by attempting to secure an armistice with the Allies on the Western Front to save his own skin when Germany's fate was sealed. Overall, a well researched and impressive biography about this bizarre little man who became the greatest mass murderer in history. A must read for scholars of Third Reich history. Helpful additional reading "The Himmler Brothers" by Katrin Himmler - this gives a more personal view of Himmler.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By Stephen
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
As to how this portly, chinless non-achiever became a prime facilitator of mass-murder? He had an unexceptionable upbringing, and like many prominent Nazis had failed at one or two other careers before finding his niche in the party machine. Mr. Longerich goes to great lengths to describe Himmler's modus operandi when head of the SS, going into sometimes minute detail, but this reader came out none the wiser about why Himmler and others thought it was ok to deem whole races and nations as deserving of slaughter. There was hardly anything about Himmler's relationship with Hitler, and not much about his personal life after the first two hundred pages. It takes an effort of will to read a book about such a man anyway, and for all Mr. Longerich's undoubted diligence, I'm not sure it was worth the effort!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
2.0 out of 5 stars
HIMMLER IS MISSING
THIS BOOK IS NO DOUBT WELL RESEARCHED AND FULL OF FACTS!WHAT IT ISN'T IS A LIFE OF HIMMLER. AFTER HUNDREDS OF PAGES HE IS AS ELUSIVE AS WHEN YOU STARTED TO READ. Read more
Published 11 months ago by J. D. Addison
5.0 out of 5 stars
A masterpiece!
This book is a masterpiece of information about Heinrich Himmler and the thirth reich.
Many details about Himmler in his childhood, student time and political career. Read more
Many details about Himmler in his childhood, student time and political career. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Guy Verstraeten
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Evil That Men Do
Heinrich Himmler served briefly in the German army in the First World War but failed in his two main objectives to see action and become an officer which he believed was his true... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Neutral
3.0 out of 5 stars
Detailed and exhaustive but worth it.
This detailed, lengthy, well researched and scholarly book on the life of the architect of Hitler's SS elite is by no means a quick or easy read. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Mark Webb
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great addition...
...to the already detailed amount of biographies focusing on Himmler.
It is extremely well researched, although an interesting read I would not recommend it for those... Read more
It is extremely well researched, although an interesting read I would not recommend it for those... Read more
Published 16 months ago by NinjAndy
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Bit Disapointing
Having read this book I confess I was a bit disappointed with it. There is no doubt the book is an impressive scholarly feat and is very detailed but the narrative doesn't flow... Read more
Published 16 months ago by Gully Foyle
4.0 out of 5 stars
It's a book....
It's a book, hardcover and lots of pages....! Was what hubby wanted for Xmas, so does what it says on the cover. Job done, lol xx
Published 18 months ago by Mrs C
5.0 out of 5 stars
A commendable biography
Longerich gives us a detailed account of the life of a confused and somewhat weird person. The book is extremely detailed and very well sourced, and at times becomes immersed in... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Lee
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