Hitler and His Generals: Military
Conferences 1942-1945 by David
Glantz
Important Piece Of Work
This book contains newly discovered documents never published before,
either in their entirety or in English. An amazing and irreplacable historical
document that is required reading for any scholar or student of the Second
World War.
Personal Review: Hitler and His Generals: Military Conferences
1942-1945 by David Glantz
This is an absolutely indispensable book for anyone who wants to
understand how military decisions were made in Nazi Germany, and what
Adolf Hitler was really like as a Supreme Commander. I've been reading
books about the Nazis for 25 years and this is the first one which literally
puts you, the reader, at "Der Fuhrer's" elbow as he directs his war.

"Hitler & His Generals" is a collection of the surviving transcripts of Hitler's
military conferences from the very end of 1942 until the last days of the
war in April of 1945. It contains all the transcripts included in the 1956 book
"Hitler Directs His War" and new ones subsequently discovered. It also has
extremely elaborate end notes (hundreds of pages long) packed with
charts, biographical info, history, the context of certain remarks, and so on.
A truly massive work more than 1,000 pages in length.
Hitler had ordered the presence of sternographers at his situation
conferences during the Stalingrad campaign, when his relationships with
his generals were at an all-time low. He believed his orders were not being
carried out as he directed and planned to use the transcripts to write his
post-war history. 99% of them were destroyed at the end of the war, but
the survivors make a fascinating picture of the dictator in action.
The Hollywood version of Hitler is of the carpet-chewing maniac hurling
abuse and nonsensical orders at quailing generals. General Guderian in
particular described Hitler's tantrums in his own memiors, and unprovoked
outbursts of rage were also frequently alluded to by Field Marshal Keitel
and others. The transcripts show a different picture of Hitler, the one
painted by Speer, who described a leader who radiated calm during the
deepest crisis and used sarcasm rather than screaming to express his
displeasure. They tend to support Field Marshal Manstein's theory that
Hitler's tantrums were much less frequent than is believed and probably
simulated (a classic case of the bully who knows who to pick on and who
to leave alone).
The transcripts show a lot about Hitler's leadership style and personality.
He seemed to have no "long view" and immersed himself soley in tactical
details. He possessed tremendous technical knowledge and liked to
expound about weaponry, ballistics, construction, and other subjects of a
similar nature. His insistence on holding every inch of ground was clearly
predicated on a desire to keep the war "on the periphery of the Reich" and
he was often worn down and disgusted by demands for "flexible defense"
which he equated with retreat.
Hitler frequently digressed into political, ideological and historical
discussions which are of great interest to the reader (though they probably
bored the hell out of his listeners). Expressions which show his philosophy
of life abound -- terror can only be broken by terror, intellect is less
important than will-power and strength of character, perserverance and
toughness win wars, and so on. Most interestingly, he often spoke about
the personalities of various generals and Party leaders, often in sarcastic
or disparaging terms, but occasionally with great praise. He regarded
Rommel as a great leader in attack, but lacking in tenacity. Manstein he
described as a brilliant general but one who could only operate if his
divisions were in perfect order. Rosenberg he believed a genius -- "one of
the sharpest thinkers on world outlook" -- but like most geniuses, suited
better to the classroom than the real world. Halder and Beck are blasted as

ivory tower eggheads and defeatists. Hitler's sense of humor is often
displayed in such moments. Not surprisingly, it shows a sharply sarcastic
streak. At one point, Hitler is told by Sonnleithner: "Concerning Kasche, my
Fuhrer, the Foreign Minister has always suggested you replace him, since
the Foreign Minister thinks that Kasche is quite a respectible man but in a
certain respect obsessed."
Hitler replies: "He is a respectable man. It's just that respectable men go to
the dogs as soon as they get into the Foreign Office."
I consider this compilation a "must-have" for anyone who wants to
understand how the Nazi war machine was directed, what Hitler really
sounded like in unstructured conversation, or how the top Nazis (besides
Hitler we hear from Goering, Goebbels, Bormann and numerous ranking
generals) interacted with each other as the war turned against them. It
radically changed my view of Hitler as a military leader, and I strongly
recommend it even if only to see if you have the same reaction.
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