Roger Moorhouse

From a top scholar of World War II, the definitive history of Germany's U-boat campaign that challenged British naval supremacy and brought international trade to its knees Winston Churchill once remarked that the only threat to truly frighten him was the peril of Nazi U-boats. Over the course of World War II, Germany's submariners sank over three thousand Allied ships, nearly three-quarters of Allied shipping losses in all theaters of the war. In the process the submariners endured horrific conditions and suffered a 75 percent death rate, the highest of any arm of service in the conflict. Yet their story has never been told in full. In Wolfpack, historian Roger Moorhouse tells the story of the Battle of the Atlantic from the point of view of the German submariners. He tracks these men from the enthusiasm of the war's early days, buoyed with optimism about their cause, through the challenges of the Allied counterthreat, to the final horrors of enemy capture and death in the depths. It is a story of courage, certainly, but also of fear, privation, and--ultimately--failure. Drawing extensively on war diaries, archival records, and the voices of the German submariners themselves, Wolfpack is a story of technological brilliance, dramatic naval engagements, and extraordinary human endurance.

**A Telegraph Best History Book 2023 and Spectator Book of the Year**The inspirational story of the ordinary people who forged the documents that saved thousands of Jewish lives in World War Two.'Powerful ... gripping ... inspiring' JONATHAN DIMBLEBYBetween 1940 and 1943, a small group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists in Switzerland engaged in a wholly remarkable - and until now, almost completely unknown - humanitarian operation. Under the leadership of the Polish Ambassador, Aleksander Lados, they undertook a systematic programme of forging identity documents for Latin American countries, which were then smuggled into German-occupied Europe to save the lives of thousands of Jews facing extermination in the Holocaust. The Lados operation was one of the largest rescue missions of the entire war, and The Forgers tells this extraordinary story for the first time. We follow the desperate bids of Jews to obtain these life-saving documents, and their painful uncertainty over whether they will be granted protection from the Nazis' murderous fury. And we witness the quiet heroism of those who decided to act in an attempt to save thousands of lives.'Fascinating' THE TIMES'Remarkable' SUNDAY TIMES'As gripping as it is moving' JULIA BOYD, author of Travellers in the Third Reich'An astonishing book' KATJA HOYER, author of Beyond the Wall

The secret history of one of the largest--and least-known--rescue operations of World War II Between 1940 and 1943, a group of Polish diplomats in Switzerland engaged in a wholly remarkable--and until now, completely unknown--humanitarian operation. In concert with Jewish activists, they masterminded a systematic program of forging passports and identity documents for Latin American countries, which were then smuggled into German-occupied Europe to save the lives of thousands of Jews facing extermination in the Holocaust. With the international community failing to act, the operation was one of the largest actions to aid Jews of the entire war. The Forgers tells this extraordinary story for the first time. We follow the desperate bids of Jews to obtain these lifesaving documents as the Nazi death machine draws ever closer. And we witness the quiet heroism of a group of ordinary men who decided to do something rather than nothing and saved thousands of lives.

**A Telegraph Best History Book 2023 and Spectator Book of the Year**The inspirational story of the ordinary people who forged the documents that saved thousands of Jewish lives in World War Two.'Powerful ... gripping ... inspiring' JONATHAN DIMBLEBYBetween 1940 and 1943, a small group of Polish diplomats and Jewish activists in Switzerland engaged in a wholly remarkable - and until now, almost completely unknown - humanitarian operation. Under the leadership of the Polish Ambassador, Aleksander Lados, they undertook a systematic programme of forging identity documents for Latin American countries, which were then smuggled into German-occupied Europe to save the lives of thousands of Jews facing extermination in the Holocaust. The Lados operation was one of the largest rescue missions of the entire war, and The Forgers tells this extraordinary story for the first time. We follow the desperate bids of Jews to obtain these life-saving documents, and their painful uncertainty over whether they will be granted protection from the Nazis' murderous fury. And we witness the quiet heroism of those who decided to act in an attempt to save thousands of lives.'Fascinating' The Times'Remarkable' Sunday Times'As gripping as it is moving' JULIA BOYD'An astonishing book' KATJA HOYER

"Up to the last moment, his overwhelming, despotic authority aroused false hopes and deceived his people and his entourage. Only at the end, when I watched the inglorious collapse and the obstinacy of his final downfall, was I able suddenly to fit together the bits of mosaic I had been amassing for twelve years into a complete picture of his opaque and sphinx-like personality." Otto Dietrich When Otto Dietrich was invited in 1933 to become Adolf Hitler's press chief, he accepted with the simple, uncritical conviction that Adolf Hitler was a great man, dedicated to promoting peace and the welfare for the German people. At the end of the war, imprisoned and disillusioned, Dietrich sat down to write what he had seen and heard in twelve years of the closest association with Hitler, requesting that it be published after his death. Dietrich's role placed him in a privileged position. He was hired by Hitler in 1933, and was a confidant until 1945, and he worked and clashed with Joseph Goebbels. His direct, personal experience of life at the heart in the Reich makes for compelling reading.

When the German Reichstag went up in flames on the evening of 27 February 1933, Hitler used the incident to seize power, claiming it was the work of Communists planning a violent uprising. But who really started the fire? Were the Nazis to blame, or was it the work of lone arsonist Marinus van der Lubbe? This debate has been raging for more than eighty years. The Reichstag Fire seeks to shed light on this pivotal event that changed the course of world history. Through a thorough and unbiased analysis of original source material, award-winning journalist Sven Felix Kellerhoff charts the outbreak of the fire, the Reich Cabinet's response to the event, Marinus van der Lubbe's repeated confession to the crime, and the far-reaching consequences of the fire.

An "exemplary" (Timothy Snyder, New York Times) history of the onset of World War IIFor Americans, World War II began in December 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor; but for Europe, the war began on September 1, 1939, when Hitler's soldiers invaded Poland, followed later that month by Stalin's Red Army. The conflict that ensued saw the debut of many of the features that would come to define the later war--blitzkrieg, the targeting of civilians, ethnic cleansing, and indiscriminate aerial bombing--yet it is routinely overlooked by historians. In Poland 1939, Roger Moorhouse reexamines the least understood campaign of World War II, using original archival sources to provide a harrowing and very human account of the events that set the bloody tone for the conflict to come. Winner of the Polish Foreign Ministry History PrizeShortlisted for the 2020 Wellington Military History Medal

A gripping and richly peopled history of the Nazi invasion of Poland, the true onset of World War II "Exemplary... About as good as military history can be." --Timothy Snyder, The New York Times For Americans, World War II began in December 1941, with the bombing of Pearl Harbor; but for Europe, the war began on September 1, 1939, when Hitler's soldiers invaded Poland, followed later that month by Stalin's Red Army. The conflict that ensued saw the debut of many of the features that would come to define the later war--Blitzkrieg, the targeting of civilians, ethnic cleansing, and indiscriminate aerial bombing--yet it is routinely overlooked by historians. In Poland 1939, Roger Moorhouse reexamines the least understood campaign of World War II, using original archival sources to provide a harrowing and very human account of the events that set the bloody tone for the conflict to come. Winner of the Polish Foreign Ministry History Prize Shortlisted for the 2020 Wellington Military History Medal

_'An engaging and novel approach to a familiar history. Pleasingly comprehensive and accessible highly recommended_' - Iron Cross magazine. Hitler's Third Reich is still the focus of numerous articles, books and films: no regime of the twentieth century has prompted such a body of literature. Collated by one of the world's leading historians of Nazi Germany and illustrated throughout, this book is an, compelling and revelatory guide to the Third Reich. Ranging from documents and postcards to weapons and personal effects, these objects include Pervitin, Hitler's Mercedes, Hitler's grooming kit, the Messerschmitt 262, the Luger pistol, the Tiger Tank, Eva Braun's lipstick case, the underpants of Rudolf Hess, and, of course, the Swastika and Mein Kampf.

On the 1st of April, 1924, Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five in years in prison. In 1923 Hitler had hijacked a political meeting in one of Bavaria's beer halls, firing a pistol shot into the ceiling and declaring that "The National Revolution has begun " Leading his rag-tag band of followers into the heart of Munich, Hitler was finally stopped by a volley of fire from the Bavarian police, next to the elegant Feldherrnhalle. Sixteen of Hitler's acolytes were killed that day, whilst others were injured, arrested and scattered as fugitives. Hitler, his arm dislocated in the resulting m l e, fled to rural Bavaria, where he was picked up by the police two days later. Hitler's 'National Revolution' had been crushed and his political stock had plummeted. Even the grandees of his own party swiftly sought to dissociate themselves from his rash, revolutionary ambitions. Isolated and depressed, Hitler spent much of his incarceration dictating his autobiography - 'Mein Kampf'. But when his trial came around it soon became apparent he could use the publicity as a platform to rally support for his cause. And soon his embittered paranoia was transformed into a new determination and confidence.'His Struggle' is the story of how Hitler's incarceration in Landsberg prison helped shape his political views, and eventually laid the foundations for the strong support system which led to his victory as leader of the Nazi party. Roger Moorhouse is a best-selling historian. A specialist in modern German history, he is author of 'The Devils' Alliance', 'The Wolf's Lair', 'Killing Hitler' and 'Berlin at War'. He has also been a regular contributor to both the 'BBC History Magazine' and 'History Today' for over a decade. Praise for Roger Moorhouse: 'Roger Moorhouse has built a formidable and justified reputation as one of our leading authorities on all aspects of the Third Reich. In addition to his sound scholarship and original thinking his writing is clear and wonderfully accessible. The Wolf's Lair shows him at the height of his powers' (Nigel Jones, Author of 'Countdown to Valkyrie'; 'Hitler's Heralds and The War Walk) 'As a leading historian of modern Germany, Moorhouse has chronicled a largely unknown story with scholarship, narrative verve and an awful, harrowing immediacy.' (Sunday Telegraph) 'Moorhouse's meticulous and painstaking research is matched by his narrative verve, wide-ranging sympathy and eye for the telling detail.' (The Independent)

Intresset för Hitlers Tredje rike tycks omättligt. Att närma sig litteraturen om andra världskriget är en utmaning, men här åskådliggörs historien på ett nyskapande och tillgängligt sätt genom 100 föremål. Denna avslöjande guide till Tredje riket är skriven av några av de ledande historikerna på området. Bland föremålen märks Hitlers Mercedes, Wehrmachts toalettpapper, Nürnbergs rättssalar, Tigerstridsvagnen, Järnkorset, svastikan och Mein Kampf. ROGER MOORHOUSE är historiker med inriktning på Tredje riket. Hans hyllade och prisbelönta böcker, bland andra Uppdrag: Döda Hitler (Fischer & Co, 2009) och Berlin i krig (Fischer & Co, 2011), förenar stilistisk elegans med akademisk kunskap och analys. TIM NEWARK har utkommit med flera militärhistoriska böcker, var tidigare långvarig redaktör för tidskriften Military Illustrated och har skrivit manus till sju tv-dokumentärer.

As an interpreter in the German Foreign Ministry, Paul-Otto Schmidt (1899–1970) was in attendance at some of the most decisive moments of twentieth-century history. Fluent in both English and French, he served as Hitler’s translator during negotiations with Chamberlain, the British declaration of war and the surrender of France, as well as translating the Führer’s infamous speeches for radio. Having gained favour with the Nazi Party – donning first the uniform of the SS then that of the Luftwaffe – Paul Schmidt was given ‘absolute authority’ in everything to do with foreign languages. He later presided over the interrogation of Canadian soldiers captured after the 1942 Dieppe Raid. Arrested in May 1945, Schmidt was freed by the Americans in 1948. In 1946 he testified at the Nuremberg Trials, where conversations with him were noted down by the psychiatrist Leon Goldensohn and later published. After the war he taught at the Sprachen und Dolmetscher Institut in Munich. Hitler’s Interpreter presents a highly atmospheric account of the bizarre life led behind the scenes at the highest level of the Third Reich. Roger Moorhouse is a historian of the Third Reich. He is the author of the acclaimed Berlin at War, Killing Hitler and The Devil’s Pact. He has contributed to He Was My Chief, I Was Hitler’s Chauffeur, With Hitler to the End and Hitler’s Last Witness.

For nearly two years the two most infamous dictators in history actively collaborated with one another. This book tells the story of the pact between Hitler and Stalin, from the motivation for its inception to its dramatic and abrupt end in 1941 as Germany declared war against its former partner.

In the autumn of 1942, British Special Operations Executive agent Ronald Sydney Seth was parachuted into German occupied Estonia, supposedly to carry out acts of sabotage against the Nazis in a plan code-named Operation Blunderhead. Uniquely, it was Seth and not the SOE who had engineered the mission, and he had no support network on the ground. It was a failure. Captured by Estonian militia, Seth was handed over to the Germans for interrogation, imprisoned and sentenced to death, but managed to evade execution by convincing his captors that he could be an asset. What happened between Seth’s capture and his return to England in the dying days of the war reads, at times, like a novel – inhabiting a Gestapo safe house, acting as a stool pigeon, entrusted with a mission sanctioned by Heinrich Himmler – yet much of it is true, albeit highly embellished by Seth, who was quite capable of weaving the most elaborate fantasies. He was an unlikely hero, whose survival owed more to his ability to spin a tale than to any daring qualities. Operation Blunderhead is a compelling and original account of an extraordinary episode of the Second World War – a brilliant blend of fact and fiction, contrasting material taken from SOE and MI5 files with Seth’s own fantastical story.