Upper command of the german army during the era of nazi germany. Inside hitlers high command reveals that while hitler was the central figure in many indeed, megargee argues, the german high command was much more flawed than many have suspected or acknowledged. Megargees work on the german high command the okw won the 2001 distinguished. By hansjurgen koehler 1941 an excerpt from the chapter entitled. Dr geoffrey megargee is the author of inside hitlers high command university press of kansas, 2000, which won the 2001 distinguished book award from the society for military history. This wellexecuted history demolishes such selfexculpatory accounts. Germany, soviet russia and the world, 19391941 oxford, 1997, pp. Late in 1945, trevorroper was appointed by british intelligence in germany to investigate conflicting evidence surrounding hitlers final days and to produce a definitive report on his death. Operation barbarossa and germanys defeat in the east by. To revise it would involve taking it out of its historical context.
He spread totalitarianism throughout europe, and orchestrated the invasion of austria, denmark, norway, poland and the netherlands. Hitlers overriding desire not just to command, but to personally dominate his generals is evident as the german command function is amazingly recreated by author geoffrey p. Created in 1938, the okw replaced the reich war ministry and had nominal oversight over the german army, the kriegsmarine navy, and the luftwaffe air force. Megargee born 1959 is an american historian and author who specialises in world war ii military history and the history of the holocaust. The oberkommando des heeres okh was the high command lit.
The imt judgment contains an elaborate account of hitlers rise to power, the plans and. Adolf hitler and his roads by inspector general doctor of engineering fritz todt our hitler. Full text of inside the third reich internet archive. There are diaries of the okw itself and of the naval high command. Percy ernst schramm, one of germanys most distinguished historians, had exceptional insight into hitlers headquarters while acting as war diary office of the high command of the german armed forces. In a clear but scholarly analysis of the german high command, megargee shows that the german general staff, despite flashes of real. Indeed, megargee argues, the german high command was much more flawed than many have suspected or acknowledged. Inside hitlers high command is a brilliant look at how hitler and his generals operated in world war ii. After hitler took command of the wehrmacht in 1938, he replaced the ministry with the okw, with keitel as its chief. He serves as the project director and editorinchief for the encyclopedia of camps and ghettos, 19331945 produced by the united states holocaust memorial museum. Hitler had insisted that greim come in person to receive his new commission. Download this article as a pdf free registration required.
The author, who had access to american counterintelligence files and to german prisoners, focuses on the last ten days of hitlers life, april 2029, 1945, in the. As official war diarist of the high command of the wehrmacht, schramm had unprecedented access to adolf hitler and the highest echelons of the german military and its inner workings. The nazi revolution in german foreign policy, the foundation of hitlers geopolitical plans was the conquest of the european part of the soviet union. Ireland inside the irish sea zone sardinia inside the tyrrhenian sea zone. Hitler was a powerful, clever and ruthless politician. Whos who in nazi germany central intelligence agency. Hitlers highest executive officer in the administration of the armed forces and in the. Geoffrey p megargee inside hitlers high command reveals that while hitler was the central figure in many military decisions, his generals. Adolf hitler remains one of the most despised tyrants in human history. Witnesses like these had legitimate grudges against hitler. By his own account, hitler was a hooked junkie with ruined veins.
Law reports of trial of war criminals, volume xii, the german high. Getting inside hitlers head america in wwii magazine. A radio broadcast the german folk on the leaders birthday by dr. Inside hitlers high command edition 1 by geoffrey p. Hightech weapons, military strategy, and coalition warfare in the persian gulf.
Nemesis by ian kershaw allen lane, 2000 inside hitlers command by geoffrey megargee university press of kansas, 2002 hitler. Inside hitlers headquarters provides a personal history of world war ii as seen by the deputy chief of operations at the center of nazi power during 193941. Inside hitlers high command is both a synthesis of earlier works on the. Megargee exposes the structure, processes, and personalities that governed the third reichs military decision making and shows how germanys presumed battlefield. As the allied high command, will you succeed in throwing. Inside hitlers mind a secret report, previously unknown to historians, shows how british intelligence was tracking hitlers growing preoccupation with the enemy within on the eve of the final solution. Keitels rise to the wehrmacht high command began with his appointment as the head of the armed forces office at the reich ministry of war in 1935. This classic volume, long out of print, contains the introductions written by schramm to critical editions of hitlers table talk and the official war diary of the high command of the wehrmacht. Soviet spy network was functioning in high gear inside hitlers. Percy ernst schramm, born october 14, 1894, died november 21, 1970, was a german historian of. It was founded in 1935 as a part of adolf hitlers remilitarisation of germany. Inside hitlers high command is a study of the german high command.
Hitler promised the german people glory and prosperity. He totally dominated germany and then most of europe during world war ii. Furthermore, hitler did not want to create a tri service joint command. We do not guarantee individual replies due to extremely high volume of correspondence.
Inside hitlers high command modern war studies paperback. The defendants hold high military positions in germany and committed. On may 2, 1945, she fled hitlers bunker in berlin with. New interrogations of hitlers personal secretary gertraud traudl junge, adolf hitlers secretary starting in january 1943, took the dictation for hitlers final testaments on april 29, 1945, the night before hitler committed suicide. Inside hitlers high command university press of kansas. The military historian williamson murray once remarked that the memoirs of german generals after world war ii often purvey the if the fuhrer had only listened. Actually, his was a hollow command, designed to deceive the germans, delay as it could, and then to submit to massacre or capture by the enemy. This whos who in nazi germany has been prepared for the use. Drugs also played a role in the invasion of france and various other battles. The rise and fall of the third reich a history of nazi.
Gorodetsky, gabriel, stalin and hitlers attack on the soviet union in bernd wegner ed. German chain of command in western europe, june 1944. Before adolf hitler took power, virtually no one understood his unthinkable evil. Inside hitlers high command reveals that while hitler was the central figure in many military decisions, his generals were equal partners in germanys catastrophic defeat. If id known that id been working on messages from hitlers high command i would have found it very. After the debacle in russia in the winter of 1941, the german war effort was in hitlers hands.
However, because of his wound, greim remained in the bunker for three days. David irving books list of books by author david irving. See all books authored by david irving, including the trail of the fox, and the war between the generals. His promises were offered in empty slogans and phrases that masked lies or irrational arguments. As documented in the world future fund report, general plan east. Since his suicide, no one has fully explained how a talentless crank was able to turn europe into a charnel house.
David irvings facsimile record and commentary on the infamous american policy for germany. This refers especially to the statements in mein kampf. The german strategy crisis during the summer of 1940 a thesis submitted to the graduate faculty of the louisiana state university and agricultural and mechanical college in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a degree of master of arts in liberal arts in the interdepartmental program in liberal arts by leonard s. Keitel was reviled among his military colleagues as hitlers habitual yesman. The german high command was that in name only, once hitler took over the day to day running of the war, it was really hitlers command center. Commission on national security21st century in arlington, virginia, and a contributor to world war ii in europe. Killing adolf hitler there were many plots to assassinate the madman responsible for the death of millions. The ordeal and triumph of an american infantry regiment. In hitlers reich, one side is the axis of nazi germany, fascist italy, and their east european minions. Created in 1938, the okw replaced the reich war ministry and had nominal. Moreover hitler has declared that his acts and public statements constitute a partial revision of his book and are to be taken as such. Challenging previous accounts, geoffrey megargee shatters the myth that german generals would have prevailed in world war ii if only hitler had not meddled in.