True Himmler

Hardcover book. 696 pages
ISBN: 978 1 872 197 83 8

Weight: 2.87 lbs. (1.3 kg.)

Stock Number: 0802

In this eagerly awaited work, a best-selling English historian takes a close look at the life and career of Heinrich Himmler, one of the most important figures of Third Reich Germany and of World War II -- from his childhood and early years to the outbreak of war in September 1939.

With 64 pages of photos, many in color, copious source endnotes, detailed index, and color dust jacket.

This important work of nearly 700 pages is vintage Irving. A historian known for his often startling and controversial work, he once again makes skillful use of records he has accessed through great effort over many years. Among the many rare and overlooked records Irving cites are private letters, diaries and other papers – not only of Himmler himself, but also of his wife, daughter, and others.

In this book, which is effectively the first volume of a two-part biography, the author probes deeply into Himmler’s private life, character and personality, while fittingly placing him in the context of the tumultuous times.

Dedicated, hard-working, and loyal to the end, Himmler steadily assumed ever greater power and authority. During World War II “Reichsführer SS” Himmler oversaw a vast pan-European military force whose highly-motivated and extraordinarily effective troops regarded themselves as defenders of Europe and the West, above all against the immense Soviet threat to the East.

True Himmler is packed with fascinating facts and insights on Third Reich Germany’s six years of peace. For example, it provides fresh perspective and eye-opening facts on the background to the bloody June 1934 suppression of SA (stormtrooper) Chief Ernst Röhm. It also includes new perspective on the background to the infamous “Crystal Night” outburst of violence and destruction across Germany, Nov. 9-10, 1938, in the aftermath of the murder in Paris of a young German diplomat. Irving boldly traces the steadily mounting hostility between international Jewry and the German Reich from 1933 through 1939.

The book begins with a chapter on Himmler’s death in May 1945 at the age of 44 while a prisoner in British custody. Irving presents evidence that casts doubt on the official “suicide” story.