Critical Review of the Last Days of Hitler Essay - 913 Words

Trevor-Roper, Hugh. The Last Days of Hitler. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1992. Reviewed by Frank Tommasini Shortly after the end of WWII, British Intelligence officer Hugh Trevor-Roper was given the task to establish the facts of Hitlers end, and thereby to prevent the growth of a myth. His report, later published as â€Å"The Last Days of Hitler†, draws on Allied intelligences interrogations of survivors who spent time in the bunker during the last ten days of Hitlers life. Trevor-Roper organizes his book chronologically, but its more a series of character sketches than a strict time line of events. We see a raving, physically broken, nearly insane Hitler contemplating both his heroic death and the complete and†¦show more content†¦It pays a great deal of attention to what was going on outside the bunker and provides fascinating accounts of what was happening to other Nazi leaders, such as Himmler, Goering, Speer, Doenitz, and many others. It also does an excellent job of placing Hitlers last days within the fuller context of both Nazi and 20th-century German history. Trevor-Roper clearly explains the political intrigue that was going on in the FuhrerBunker in the final days. Even at the end Hitler was continually questioning his aides about a German relief army that was coming to rescue Berlin from the clutches of the Russians. This army in fact had long since surrendered. Hitlers and Goebbels response to Roosevelts death was bizarre to say the least- with the end of the war rapidly approaching they took FDRs death to be an omen that Germany would soon gain the upper hand and eventually win the war. Himmlers deluded attempt to negotiate a peace with the western allies and have himself be the new fuhrer showed how out of touch with reality he was. In fact most of the major players in this book were seriously deficient in the reality department. One of the few rational people in the bunker Fegelin, (Hitlers brother in law) saw a bad situation and left the bunker and went back to his own house. Unfortunately, he was found by members of Hitler ’s guard and was brought back to the bunker where he was eventually shot. Without the sources, Trevor-Roper would of neverShow MoreRelatedThe Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini977 Words   |  4 PagesFacts about the author Khaled Hosseini was born in March 4th, 1965 in Kabul, Afghanistan and he is an Afghan-American novelist. He debuted in the year 2003 and released his book called â€Å"The Kite Runner†. The book opened to widespread critical acclaim and strong commercial success worldwide. And for this kind of novel he received Alex Award, Boeke Prize, ALA Notable Book and a lot of other prestigious awards. He has then authored several other books in his career. 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