{"product_id":"at-the-heart-of-the-reich-the-secret-diary-of-hitlers-army-adjutant-9781853676550","title":"At the Heart of the Reich: The Secret Diary of Hitler's Army Adjutant","description":"\u003cp\u003eMajor Gerhard Engel was Hitlers Army Adjutant from March 1938 to March 1943. Remarkably  this atmospheric account from a member of Hitlers closest circle has never been published in English before. During his years with Hitler  Engel kept the diary in the form of six notebooks. After the war  he added material to shed further light on certain events  military and political decisions and Hitlers attitude to particular problems. His diary covers the decision-making process behind crucial military actions  including the annexation of Austria  the invasion of Czechoslovakia  and the war against Russia. He also addresses the intrigue within Hitlers inner circle and his casual conversations with Halder  Guderian and Brauchitsch  among others. Engel was responsible for certain racial issues and his conversations with Hitler shed important light on the Fnhrers core beliefs. The diary includes the statement made by Hitler in 1941  I am now as before a Catholic. Engel also details his views on German Jews and  in particular  he dwells on the extent to which they served in the Wehrmacht. He also addresses the deportation of Jews from Salonika and Hitlers order to Himmler to select a destination  the details of which Hitler was apparently unconcerned with. The final part of the diary is mostly devoted with the war against Russia. Engels reports confirm that the master plan was to take Leningrad and Rostov in 1941  then close pincers behind Moscow in 1942. The plan was frustrated by senior army commanders lack of enthusiasm and Hitlers failure to exert firm leadership in the first two months of the offensive. Engel depicts Hitler as a vacillating  contrary man. It is not unlikely that this betrayed itself to his generals and gave them the encouragement they needed to argue their plan to rush Moscow  which ultimately contributed to the defeat of the Third Reich.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45960373076021,"sku":"ByrdShop_1853676551","price":39.94,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9781853676550.jpg?v=1788285361","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/at-the-heart-of-the-reich-the-secret-diary-of-hitlers-army-adjutant-9781853676550","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}