Day 159 – 52 Books in 52 Weeks

I’m up to the year 1944 in Ian Kershaw’s biography about Adolf Hitler. Hitler is at odds with all of his military generals, overruling their decisions, objecting their suggestions and firing those who are pessimists about the state of the war. His megalomania is more apparent here than anywhere else. He has total control over the armed forces at this point, and there are still enough underlings who are devoted to him to make sure his orders are carried out.

His bad decisions, mainly his refusal to withdraw or retreat from areas in the Soviet Union, cause the demise of his army. He is so adamant about not following in Napoleon’s footsteps and his mistakes in Russia, that he will not allow his army to back off, regroup and refortify.

Meanwhile, the Allies have just landed at Normandy and are beginning their invasion – pushing back Hitler’s troops in France. They’ve also just taken back Rome. And despite all of the signs that this war is basically lost for Hitler, he commands his troops to hold fast – to the last man – to the last bullet. He will not back down, he will not surrender, he will not try to bargain for peace. He still believes in the power of the “wonder weapons” in development. The V1 and V2 bomb/bombers.

At this point in time, his health is also rapidly deteriorating. He was diagnosed in 1941 as having a heart condition. He’s taking 28 pills a day. He’s aging quickly. He also shows signs of Parkinson’s disease (though this was never truly diagnosed). He suffers from insomnia, eats a very strict diet of vegetables, and is seldom seen in public.

He’s made no public appearances in over a year though he has made speeches to his military generals. As Kershaw points out, speaking to those who have to follow your orders is one thing; speaking to crowds whose morale is bad, who want out of the war, who no longer believe you are invincible, is quite another.

Kershaw also takes a few pages to describe numerous attempts to have him assassinated, of course all failed. But one group manages to get a bomb off, right under Hitler’s desk during a meeting. Hitler’s pants were shredded, there were scrapes and splinters – but nothing life threatening.

And now he’s even more determined not to give in or back down.