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I Was Hitler's Chauffeur: The Memoir of Erich Kempka

by Erich Kempka

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592444,019 (3.83)1
"An insider view of Hitler's closest circles, providing an invaluable account of the final months of the war" (History of War).   Erich Kempka served as Adolf Hitler's personal driver from 1934 through to the Führer's dramatic suicide in 1945. His candid memoirs offer a unique eyewitness account of events leading up to and during the war, culminating in those dark final days in the Führer's headquarters, deep under the shattered city of Berlin.   He begins by describing his duties as a member of Hitler's personal staff in the years preceding the war, driving the Führer throughout Germany and abroad, and accompanying him to rallies. The crux of his memoir, however, covers his life with Hitler in the Berlin Führerbunker. Crucially, Kempka witnessed Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun and his last dinner and personal farewell to all those present, before he and his wife committed suicide. Hitler's final order to Kempka was that he have ready enough petrol to burn him and his wife. Under constant Soviet artillery fire, Kempka, Linge, and others poured petrol over the bodies and burnt them.   The account concludes with Kempka's hazardous escape out of a burning Berlin more than 800 kilometers through Allied-occupied Germany, his arrest, and interrogation before being sent to serve as a witness at Nuremburg.  … (more)
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El relato de primera fuente del círculo íntimo de Hitler. Lamenta que su jefe haya tenido tan mal ojo para rodearse de gente incompetente como Bormann o traidores como Himmler y Goering. A diferencia de Stalin, Hitler podía demostrar afecto, si se puede llamar así, por su círculo cercano. Kempka fue uno de los que recibió su afecto y relata en este breve libro lo que vió desde 1933 hasta la muerte de Hitler. ( )
  sergiouribe | Nov 5, 2016 |
I was Hitler's Chauffeur - Erich Kempka ****

Hitler employed Kempka in 1934 as his personal chauffeur. From then until the wars end the two became very interlinked, with Kempka being at Hitler's side practically until the dictators downfall. Far from what you would expect we discover a much kinder side to the Fuhrer than we would have expected. Hitler is portrayed as a kind employer, someone who is not afraid to get personal with his staff and genuinely cares for their wellbeing.

It also dispels any myths that Hitler was not a hands on leader, as Kempka describes in detail how he used to visit the front line in order to see for himself the conditions.

As others have said the memoirs are actually only around half of the book, the other being made up of a number of appendix detailing further account of Hitler in the war.

A really interesting read and easily recommendable. ( )
  Bridgey | Nov 18, 2013 |
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"An insider view of Hitler's closest circles, providing an invaluable account of the final months of the war" (History of War).   Erich Kempka served as Adolf Hitler's personal driver from 1934 through to the Führer's dramatic suicide in 1945. His candid memoirs offer a unique eyewitness account of events leading up to and during the war, culminating in those dark final days in the Führer's headquarters, deep under the shattered city of Berlin.   He begins by describing his duties as a member of Hitler's personal staff in the years preceding the war, driving the Führer throughout Germany and abroad, and accompanying him to rallies. The crux of his memoir, however, covers his life with Hitler in the Berlin Führerbunker. Crucially, Kempka witnessed Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun and his last dinner and personal farewell to all those present, before he and his wife committed suicide. Hitler's final order to Kempka was that he have ready enough petrol to burn him and his wife. Under constant Soviet artillery fire, Kempka, Linge, and others poured petrol over the bodies and burnt them.   The account concludes with Kempka's hazardous escape out of a burning Berlin more than 800 kilometers through Allied-occupied Germany, his arrest, and interrogation before being sent to serve as a witness at Nuremburg.  

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