He Was My Chief: The Memoirs of Adolf Hitler's Secretary

by Christa Schroeder

Book Overview

A rare and fascinating insight into Hitler's inner circle - Roger Moorhouse, author of Killing Hitler The last unpublished work by a Nazi of any significance - The Sunday Telegraph As secretary to the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1848325363
• ISBN13: 9781848325364
• Release Date: August 2009
• Publisher: Frontline Books
• Length: 280 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Hitler's Secretary Tells All She Knew,Maybe

Adolf Hitler was a very complex man.Christa Schroeder's memoirs are tens times better than Heinz Linge's book.I recently read the two books ,back to back.First,I thought Linge's book would give a fly-on-the-wall account of the serious discussions Hitler had with the various visitors,that had entered his inner court.Heinz Linga was more a court page,rather than a court advisior.The only comment from Linge's book that was interesting is when Mussilini paid a visit.Mussilini's thinking was that of using Hitler as the front man ,conquering forward the various countries of the world,and later then closing in on Nazi Germany.During Mussilini's talk,Hitler asked around his staff and adjuncts,if anyone here was a 'Christian'.All replied ,'No,mein Furher'.Mussalini had a stricken look on his face,according to Heinz Linge.Hitler had a good poker face,yet the ace was still in Mussilini's poker hand.Hitler and Albert Speer's blueprints for 'Germania',were all based on Romanesqe classical architecture.Christa Schroeder claimed Hitler was a provincial Catholic.Yet,most author's accounts relate Hitler's disdain for the Vatican,and his vision of a new Reich, free from the medieval church,and away from Rome.Both Hitler and Stalin were choir-boys,who later soundly refuted the christian church.So many authors have given personal accounts of Hitler,yet Hitler was more complex and enigmatic than people give him credit for.Schroeder gives some interesting stories ,about Hitler.All authors could agree on the declining health of Hitler.Hitler didn't trust X-ray machines,and hence ,he had a wounded left shoulder that did not set properly.He was beginning to show the first signs of Parkinson's disease,and he was badly splintered during a failed assassination attempt at the Wolf's Lair.When Mussilini left Hitler's Obersalzberg villa,they agreed to meet again.Mussilini was supposed to be at the East Prussian headquarters that late July of 1944.Von Staffenberg was a devote Catholic,and one has to wonder what was his family's connection to the vatican and Mussilini himself.Did Mussilini order a hit on the Hitler?Did Mussilini feel that he himself was the real 'Il Duce' and this germanic 'Fuerher' was not subserviant to him?In recent times,news of Hitler's plans to assassinate the hightest Pope,have come to light.So,Christa Schroeder's memory may be a little fuzzy on Hitler's loyality to the catholic church.Also,the death of Geli Rauble,Hitler's niece.I have felt that Heinrich Himmler did not like the close relationship between Hitler and his niece.He felt it was bad for party image and inner circle morale.I believe Himmler ordered a staged suicide to his trusted SS staffelmanner.Himmler wanted to break the Hitler family's cycle of incest.Hitler's fellow neighbors married closely into another neighbor's clan.Himmler felt this was bad for the Teutonic genetic code.And if Hitler died,either Himmler or Goering would become the new leader.Christa Schroeder may have suspected the s

Hitler's secretary tells how normal a monster among us can on the surface seem.

Hitler's secretary takes the reader on a journey into the inner world of Hitler. At first, I was almost too appalled to read the book. It was like looking at a train wreck; I had to read it, but almost felt dirty for looking at the same time. I had to take many breaks, because the book is very upsetting. It was upsetting to read about a madman pretending to be so very considerate and caring. Reading about the day in, day out life of Hitler is almost too unnerving to read. But I still couldn't stop looking at the train wreck. I think I was afraid that the monster would break out into some terror-filled incident with the secretary. Hitler did become angry and avoid Christa for a while, but knowing what we know about him that seems rather tame. Christa Shroeder tells of a life filled with the mundane, normal-ife details Hitler lived on a day-to-day basis. It is an invaluable book. I wish it had been published during the secretary's lifetime so that she could have made the rounds, answered more questions, and clarified things. But aside from being very, very interesting the author did the world a service by revealing how monsters can appear to be sane and civil. It is a lesson that anyone reading the book will probably not forget. The book is very interesting and as enjoyable to read as any book can be when one is reading about a sociopath who got to act out his wishes on a nation. Interesting the book is, but also disturbing as one should be anytime it reminds people of Hitler.

The Third Reich

This an excellent translation of the memoirs of Adolph Hitler's long time secretary, Christa Schröder. It is part of a three book series giving intimate views of Hitler, the person. It is helpful to be familiar with the general history of the Third Reich before reading any of them. The second book in the series is "With Hitler to the End" by Hitler's valet Heintz Linge. I look forward the publication of the third book in 2010, "I was Hitler's Chauffeur" by Erich Kemka. I believe these three books, taken together, will be the best available information of the "human being", Adolph Hitler. The books have contemporary black and white photos and a color picture on the dust jacket. They are uniformly and nicely bound. They will make a fine addition to anyone's library. A must for Hitler scholars.

Fascinating Look into History

Have had the book for 2 days and cannot put it down, filling free time with reading. Much of the book comes in the form of correspondence and notes sent to friends, thus it creates the feeling that you are actually hearing the story from someone close to you. The books chit chatty form makes history more intimate. Many people may find the book shocking. Mainstream history has always portrayed Hitler as the devil incarnate. He Was My Chief demonstrates that he was simply a man. Although I am only half way through the book, something struck me fairly quickly. Schroeder discusses the isolation of being with Hitler. She longs to be with normal people, to mingle with outsiders. She even expresses that Hitler himself has some of the same longings. It is becoming apparent that this isolation is breeding the strange form of insanity that affected Hitler and many of those in his inner circle. There is an evil sickening stew brewing as Hitler is more and more encircled by the bad, ejecting any officers and confidants that may have brought any moral fiber to the table. As manipulative as Hitler was, he was also easily manipulated. Is today any different for our leaders? They are elected to office in the Senate, House or Presidency then isolated from mainstream America, living in ivory towers and traveling in protected packs. They lack an association with "normal" people, an association with the real world. They are surrounded by lobbyists and yes men. This has made me think that the isolation insanity that controlled Hitler may still be common today. To many people in America today, it appears that Washington has developed it's own form of evil stew. Fascinating.

Hitler's Secretary Speaks

Christa Schroeder was Adolf Hitler's secretary from 1933 until his death in 1945. As someone with an insider's intimate knowledge of Hitler, she witnessed and recounts many fascinating personal anecdotes about him and other leaders of the Third Reich, often correcting previously published accounts of what really happened in those days. It all started when she answered a tiny ad in a newspaper for a secretarial position. The narrative sometimes reads like something out of a tabloid with many "gossipy" comments about Hitler's personal foibles: he had yellow teeth and bad breath and should have grown a beard to hide his mouth, he avoided personal contact with money, his long discourses on the evils of smoking, the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, the "lies" of Christianity, his racial theories, architecture, science, and anything and everything else. Hitler memorized many pages from books he had read. Schroeder recounts how he recited Schopenhauer as if they were his own words and she recognized the passage, calling it to his attention. "Don't forget all knowledge comes from others and every person only contributes a minute piece to the whole," he responded. Because of his memory, Hitler was able to convince people he had actually been to places and seen things himself that he had only read about. In his youth in Vienna he had read all 500 books in the city reference library. Many have remarked on Hitler's ability to keep his arm extended for hours in the Nazi salute, and he explained to Schroeder that he had "done daily training with an expander" but a "strong will" was needed as well. Hitler had a premonition the day before the Stauffenberg assassination attempt, believing "there is something afoot" and no one could carry on his duties, therefore nothing must happen to him. The afternoon after the bomb detonated, Hitler told Schroeder, "The heavy table leg diverted the explosion. Haven't I always anticipated that happening? I told you yesterday, don't you remember?" Schroeder says Hitler was "erotic" with women, but never sexual. "My lover is Germany," he often said. She mentions the controversy whether Hitler had only one testicle, believing it was probably true (apparently a doctor has come forward just last year claiming Hitler was wounded during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 and indeed lost one). His great love in life was not Eva Braun at all, but Geli Raubal, his niece, although still, they never had sex. She was the only woman he would have married. Schroeder details the events surrounding Raubal's suicide and the controversy over Hitler's culpability. This was the event that caused him to convert to vegetarianism. Eva Braun faked suicide attempts to gain a prominent position at Hitler's side, as he couldn't afford another female suicide so close to him during his rise to power. Schroeder's concerns about Hitler and the war are expressed indirectly and are implicit in the narrative. The only indirect reference to the Holocaust is