Heinrich Himmler: The Sinister Life of the Head of the SS and Gestapo Paperback – Illustrated, September 17, 2007

This book is book three of a trilogy; the other two books were “Joseph Goebbels” and “Hermann Goring”. I understand this was the first in-depth biography of Himmler. This book on Himmler was first published in 1965.Roger Manvell (1909-1987) died in 1987; he was born in London England. He was the first director of the British Film Academy. He was the author of many books on film making and on Nazi Germany. In 1975 he became a professor at Boston University. Manvell wrote this book with Heinrich Fraenkel (1897-1986). Fraenkel was a well known biographer of Nazi War criminals. Fraenkel was born in Leszno, Poland. At the time of his birth it was known as Posen, Germany. Fraenkel immigrated from Nazi Germany to Britain. He was also a well known chess player. This book on Himmler was first published in 1965.Himmler was the head of the SS and he supervised the extermination of millions. The authors follow his life from boyhood to his death. He is thought to have developed the Nazi “science” or racial purity theory and the idea of the superiority of the Aryan people. The book covers some of the most difficult periods of the Nazi rule.I found the book a fascinating study of Himmler and the people around him. This book goes into how the Nazis rose to power in Germany and what they did with this power. The book is well written and meticulously researched. The authors reviewed all the archived documents on Himmler as well as diaries, correspondence and other materials. They also interviewed people involved with Himmler.Audible Studies produced and published this as an audiobook in 2013. Joe Barrett has won multiple “earphone awards” for narration of audiobooks. Barrett’s narration of the book was excellent. I have this book under the whispersync via Audible and Kindle.

I must say I didn't know that much about Himmler but wanted to know more about this Unimposing figure. I'm only about half way through but thought I'd share my thoughts about this book. Hats off to the authors. They've made Himmler into an interesting but severely flawed figure as was many of that regime. Not since Hemingway's portrayal of F. Scott Fitzgeralds description in "A moveable Feast" Has someone so sarcastinly described anyone as well as Himmler and his subordinate Heydrich. It's worth it for their descriptions.

Here is a book that any student of the Holocaust should read. The most facinating part of the book for me was the story of how Himmler was captured by the British and while being searched by an army doctor, Himmler bit down on a cyanide capsule and died. The book, written as a result of interviews from people with first hand knowledge of the events, shows how Himmler was a part of the inner circle of Adolf Hitler. Himmler, acting on Hitler's orders exterminated millions of Jews during the Second Would War and when it was apparent that the war was over, Himmler entered into a dialogue with the British where Himmler thought he could use his SS to support the British and battle Communism in Russia. When faced with the Allies desire to try and execute anyone connected with the extermination of the European Jews, Himmler claimed the same garbage adopted by Rudolph Hoss (commandant of Aushwitz) Goebbels and the rest of Hitler's inner circle that they were only following orders and to disobey Hitler's orders was treason. It was so fitting that Hitler discovered Himmler's treachery and dismissed Himmler from the Nazi party before Hitler committed suicide. Himmler is described as a sorry excuse for a man, and his childhood and family life is fairly disclosed. The book discloses the man Himmler was, a sick individual with delusions of inferiority towards the Jewish race, Himmler was anxious to exterminate every Jew he could get his hands on to attempt to eradicate the seed of Judiaism. Truly a sick man with a sick mind. This is another piece of information on the players of the Holocaust, an in depth view of the mind of one of the most heinous criminals of our era, a man who wanted to perfect the jet engine and the A Bomb which would have been directed at America, a man that everyone should read about so that he can live in infamy forever. As a postcript, the book talks about Himmlers daughter Gudren from a first marriage and his other two children from another relationship. Its interesting to note that Himmlers two children from his second relationship changed their surname and vanished into oblivion while Gudren Himmler continued to be a supporter of the National Socialist Party and to this very day helps old Nazi's accused of crimes against humanity, pity Gudren Himmler did not have the same fate of the Goebbels children, i find it amazing and sad that Gudren has never been "wacked", we can only hope!

The book is well-written and researched. While I didn't gain much insight into Himmler the individual, I learned a great deal about the toxic culture in which Himmler and his compatriots acquired and retained power. Individuals in this circle were accountable only to Adolf Hitler with his distorted and deadly vision for a new Aryan world. The means by which the vision was to be realized were valued only by their effectiveness in furthering this goal. Absolute loyalty to Hitler and unquestioning obedience of his every order were required not only for retention of power, but for survival. This doesn't justify or excuse the crimes committed by the people around Hitler, but it goes a long way towards explaining how individual morality, judgment and thought were set aside in favor of a code of conduct that not only allowed, but encouraged any atrocity in the name of the Fuhrer.Under normal conditions, I expect that Heinrich Himmler would have been a minor bureaucrat in a regional government. He was a fairly average man from an unexceptional family background who grew up like other boys his social class. Few people outside his immediate family and friends would care much about him. After reading about him, I can see how strong the attraction to power and public recognition must have been.I enjoyed reading the book. It didn't give me everything that I was looking for, but it was informative. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Third Reich.

Book covers a wide period for a small book. Short on details in the early years, but enough to keep you interested. It started a bit slow for me but turned interesting enough that I couldn't put it down. Well written, easy to read. I think the Longerich book is a much better purchase, it has a lot more detail and is much more scholarly. I also feel this book is overly hyped.Most of the information you find here in some capacity can be found in other books. This is becoming the norm as Third Reich history seems to be as picked through as you can get unless a treasure trove of undiscovered documents come to light. I find nothing really new here in this body of work but for the price, I don't regret the purchase.

The face of evil and a strong warning to be heeded by all people of good will - evil can wear the face of you and I! Beautifully written!

Great book and very interesting read . The title says it all . One Hitler's evil henchmen of the time.

Some people better not to have been born, Himmler qualifies.Very well written.

From the way this book is written, it seems the authors think Himmler never did any of the evil things which his S. S. men were guilty of. I don't think it's possible for him to have inspired loyalty from thousand if others if this were true. The whole Nazi regime was a poor excuse for insecurity. They wrapped it into trying to prove that they were somehow allowed to eliminate anyone they wanted to. Such a sad part of human history.