At the Heart of the Reich: The Secret Diary of Hitler's Army Adjutant - Softcover

'Vivid, personal and fascinating.' Simon Sebag Montefiore. Gerhard Engel was Hitler's Army Adjutant from March 1938 to March 1943. During this time he kept a diary, and after the war he added material to shed further light on key events and decisions.He discloses the decision-making process behind many of the key operations and addresses the intrigues within Hitler's inner circle, recounting the Fuhrer's conversations with Halder, Guderian and Brauchitsch. Engel also details Hitler's views on German Jews, and in the final part of the diary he covers the war against Russia. Increasingly, towards the end, he depicts Hitler as a vacillating and contrary man. At the Heart of the Reich offers a unique and intimate view of Hitler and his closest aides. It reveals the mechanisms and personalities of the centre of the Third Reich, and provides a fresh perspective of the Nazi leadership.

Gerhard Engel was born on 13 April 1906 in Guban and he entered the German Army Service on 5 October 1925 as a rifleman in the 5th Infantry Regiment. He rose steadily through the ranks to reach the position of Hauptmann on 1 March 1937 and adjutant of the Wehrmacht on 27 March 1938. On 1 February he became the commander of the 27th Fusiliers Regiment, and commander of the 1097th Grenadier Regiment until 22 July 1944 when he was promoted to Generalleutnant der Infanterie in command of the 12th Infantry Division. He died agedj 75, on 13 March 1972, in Gross Glienicke.