Acknowledgments
W riting is a strangely solitary existence. Yet any writer would concede that though the words on the page may be his, numerous personal debts are accrued in their preparation.
A number of individuals deserve special mention, therefore. At the research stage, Kate Gilbert provided great assistance. Krzysztof Bożejewicz handled all Polish-language research, in both the UK and Poland, aided by Andrzej Koroński. In Germany, Angelica von Hase and Peter Steinkamp gave vital archival support, as did Dr. Luba Vinogradova in Russia. In addition, a number of specialists read and commented on chapters of draft text. These include Antony Beevor, Professor M. R. D. Foot, Dr. Ted Harrison, Gitta Sereny, and Dr. Jacek Tebinka. Others who provided assistance, responded to queries, and are otherwise deserving of mention include Dr. Andreas von Breitenbuch, Dr. Bogdan Chrzanowski, Ewa Huggins, Ute Krebs, David List,Eugenia Maresch, Dr. Iwona Sakowicz, Roy Seaton, Dr. Andrzej Suchcitz, Dr. Hilary Willard, and Dr. Wanda Wyporska.
A number of institutions should also be mentioned, including the British Library Newspaper Archive, the Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, the Bundesarchiv in Berlin, the Bundesarchiv (Militärarchiv) in Freiburg, the German Historical Institute in London, the Imperial War Museum Archive, the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust, and the Wiener Library.
Particular praise is reserved for the British Library and the National Archives in London. Having worked for many years as a researcher, I have extensive experience of working in archives and libraries across Europe and have come to the conclusion that these two institutions are without equal. There are, regrettably, few areas in which Britain can still claim to be world-class, but the British Library and the National Archives set a new benchmark in their efficiency, the competence and expertise of their staff, and the excellence of their working environment.
Three special debts must be acknowledged. Will Sulkin and Jörg Hensgen of Jonathan Cape were unflagging in their enthusiasm for the project, and my agent, Peter Robinson, was consistently supportive and negotiated the publishing deal that made it all possible. I would also like to thank Professor Norman Davies, who inspired me to embark on this path in the first place.
Lastly, I would like to thank my wife, Melissa. Hitler has been a part of our lives—the mustachioed elephant in our living room—for a long time now, and by way of apology for this intrusion, I feel it appropriate that I dedicate this book to her.
Introduction
I might be killed by a criminal, or by an idiot, at any time.
—ADOLF HITLER
ASSASSINATION, IT WAS ONCE SAID, HAS NEVER CHANGED the history of the world.” 1 This benign sentiment, often repeated in times of crisis, is wishful nonsense, however. In response, one might point most obviously to the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, which unleashed the First World War, or to the murder of Sergei Kirov in 1934, which sparked the murderous purges in Stalin’s Soviet Union. Assassination clearly has the capacity to affect world events.
More recently, the question of the utility of assassination as a political weapon has been subjected to closer examination. An analysis of eighteen famous assassinations through the ages concluded that not one of them achieved their wider political aims. 2 Indeed, in many cases, the results were the exact opposite of those intended. The murder of President Lincoln in 1865, for example, by a southern sympathizer proved disastrous for theAmerican South, while the assassination of Lord Cavendish by Irish nationalists in 1882 set the cause of Irish independence back by a generation. Assassinations, therefore, have certainly changed history; they have just never changed it in the way foreseen by the assassin.
Yet the possibility that Hitler could have been assassinated is one that has tantalized historians and fiction
W riting is a strangely solitary existence. Yet any writer would concede that though the words on the page may be his, numerous personal debts are accrued in their preparation.
A number of individuals deserve special mention, therefore. At the research stage, Kate Gilbert provided great assistance. Krzysztof Bożejewicz handled all Polish-language research, in both the UK and Poland, aided by Andrzej Koroński. In Germany, Angelica von Hase and Peter Steinkamp gave vital archival support, as did Dr. Luba Vinogradova in Russia. In addition, a number of specialists read and commented on chapters of draft text. These include Antony Beevor, Professor M. R. D. Foot, Dr. Ted Harrison, Gitta Sereny, and Dr. Jacek Tebinka. Others who provided assistance, responded to queries, and are otherwise deserving of mention include Dr. Andreas von Breitenbuch, Dr. Bogdan Chrzanowski, Ewa Huggins, Ute Krebs, David List,Eugenia Maresch, Dr. Iwona Sakowicz, Roy Seaton, Dr. Andrzej Suchcitz, Dr. Hilary Willard, and Dr. Wanda Wyporska.
A number of institutions should also be mentioned, including the British Library Newspaper Archive, the Gedenkstätte Deutscher Widerstand, the Bundesarchiv in Berlin, the Bundesarchiv (Militärarchiv) in Freiburg, the German Historical Institute in London, the Imperial War Museum Archive, the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust, and the Wiener Library.
Particular praise is reserved for the British Library and the National Archives in London. Having worked for many years as a researcher, I have extensive experience of working in archives and libraries across Europe and have come to the conclusion that these two institutions are without equal. There are, regrettably, few areas in which Britain can still claim to be world-class, but the British Library and the National Archives set a new benchmark in their efficiency, the competence and expertise of their staff, and the excellence of their working environment.
Three special debts must be acknowledged. Will Sulkin and Jörg Hensgen of Jonathan Cape were unflagging in their enthusiasm for the project, and my agent, Peter Robinson, was consistently supportive and negotiated the publishing deal that made it all possible. I would also like to thank Professor Norman Davies, who inspired me to embark on this path in the first place.
Lastly, I would like to thank my wife, Melissa. Hitler has been a part of our lives—the mustachioed elephant in our living room—for a long time now, and by way of apology for this intrusion, I feel it appropriate that I dedicate this book to her.
Introduction
I might be killed by a criminal, or by an idiot, at any time.
—ADOLF HITLER
ASSASSINATION, IT WAS ONCE SAID, HAS NEVER CHANGED the history of the world.” 1 This benign sentiment, often repeated in times of crisis, is wishful nonsense, however. In response, one might point most obviously to the killing of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo, which unleashed the First World War, or to the murder of Sergei Kirov in 1934, which sparked the murderous purges in Stalin’s Soviet Union. Assassination clearly has the capacity to affect world events.
More recently, the question of the utility of assassination as a political weapon has been subjected to closer examination. An analysis of eighteen famous assassinations through the ages concluded that not one of them achieved their wider political aims. 2 Indeed, in many cases, the results were the exact opposite of those intended. The murder of President Lincoln in 1865, for example, by a southern sympathizer proved disastrous for theAmerican South, while the assassination of Lord Cavendish by Irish nationalists in 1882 set the cause of Irish independence back by a generation. Assassinations, therefore, have certainly changed history; they have just never changed it in the way foreseen by the assassin.
Yet the possibility that Hitler could have been assassinated is one that has tantalized historians and fiction
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