Ebook: With Hitler to the End - The Memoirs of Adolf Hitler's Valet

Heinz Linge worked with Adolf Hitler for a ten-year period from 1935 until the Führer’s death in the Berlin bunker in May 1945. He was one of the last to leave the bunker and was responsible for guarding the door while Hitler killed himself. During his years of service, Linge was responsible for all aspects of Hitler’s household and was constantly by his side.

Here, Linge recounts the daily routine in Hitler’s household: his eating habits, his foibles, his preferences, his sense of humor, and his private life with Eva Braun. After the war Linge said in an interview, “It was easier for him to sign a death warrant for an officer on the front than to swallow bad news about the health of his dog.” Linge also charts the changes in Hitler’s character during their time together and his fading health during the last years of the war. During his last days, Hitler’s right eye began to hurt intensely and Linge was responsible for administering cocaine drops to kill the pain. In a number of instances—such as with the Stauffenberg bomb plot of July 1944—Linge gives an excellent eyewitness account of events. He also gives thumbnail profiles of the prominent members of Hitler’s “court": Hess, Speer, Bormann and Ribbentrop amongst them.

Though Linge held an SS rank, he claims not to have been a Nazi Party member. His profile of one of history’s worst demons is not blindly uncritical, but it is nonetheless affectionate. The Hitler that emerges is a multi-faceted individual: unpredictable and demanding, but not of an otherwise unpleasant nature.



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REVIEW:

Excellent story from the perspective of Hitler's valet; thus much of the material does not concern grand political strategies, but quotidian details such as Hitler's daily habits and health concerns as well as the author's personal feelings about many of the people constantly around Hitler (some of whom were in working capacities similar to the author himself, such as Hitler's physician[s], but also such figures as Himmler, Goebbels, Göring, Bormann and others; in regards to the latter the author provides interesting details on many of their personalities, the rivalries between one another, and the feelings of the headquarters "underlings" such as himself [Hess was beloved, while Bormann was despised, for example]).

Those looking for a work to either demonize or exculpate Hitler will be disappointed. There are numerous details and stories which serve to humanize Hitler, however, none of them are told in such a way that could be characterized as revisionist in the negative sense. (Things such as Hitler in his nightshirt changing a lightbulb by himself in his bedroom, or his problems with flatulence during the last years of his life.) Having said that the work does serve to humanize Hitler implicitly, although personally I feel that that is long overdue (Hess and especially Goebbels are also presented in a more positive light than is usually the case, while Bormann, Göring and the entire military leadership are seen as more flawed.)

Shone new light (for me) on certain events such as Rommel's suicide (the author thinks it was ordered by Bormann because of an old grudge from the Polish campaign) and Hess's flight to Scotland (the author thinks Hitler knew about it), as well as new events (for me) such as Hitler's effort to sound out peace terms from the West in 1944/5. Also includes periodic passages about the author's years-long interrogation (including torture) at the hands of the Soviets after being captured fleeing the Führerbunker.

Includes much discussion about the political power struggles that went on around Hitler, and how these affected domestic and foreign policies--there is much here to inform histories which all too often address events without taking into account the personal turf battles that take place in every government bureaucracy, fascist or otherwise.

There are periodic notes from the translator(?) about how other personal accounts from people at Hitler's headquarters differ from those presented here, but this is to be expected on a subject this volatile, with so many people having such a vested interest in being presented a certain way (along with the passage of time, and differing perceptions, of course). Having said that I found the author to be highly credible, and while I'm sure he has his blind spots, I think his story will be a valuable addition to histories of the time.