• About this Book
• About the Author
• Read an Excerpt
• Author Q&A

Written by Heike B. Gortemaker
Translated by Damion Searls

• Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
 
• Publisher: Knopf
• On Sale: October 25, 2011
• Price: $27.95
• ISBN: 978-0-307-59582-9 (0-307-59582-X)

about this book

The first comprehensive biography of Eva Braun: an authoritative reassessment of her role in Hitler’s life, which gives us, as well, an astonishingly revealing portrait of Hitler and his inner circle.

In this groundbreaking book, German historian Heike B. Görtemaker reveals the real woman behind the myth of the vapid blonde with whom Hitler spent the last eighteen years of his life. Eva Braun’s relationship with the Führer flew in the face of his proclamations that Germany was his only bride. In fact, he and Braun lived a bourgeois existence out of the public eye, and her identity was kept secret by the Third Reich until the final days of the war. Uncompromising and fiercely loyal to Hitler, she committed suicide with him two days after their marriage.

Through exhaustive research, drawing on newly discovered documents and anecdotal accounts, Görtemaker makes clear that although Braun had no role in Hitler’s policies, she was privy to his thoughts, commanded life among his entourage, and unfailingly held his trust.

As unsettling as it is astounding, Eva Braun: Life with Hitler will undoubtedly be one of the most talked about books of the season.

“Braun emerges as bright but vapid, energetic but soulless. As thorough and clear a look of a monster’s lover as we are likely to get.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Having painstakingly reviewed the archives for references to Eva Braun’s relationship with Hitler, Görtemaker presents a portrait of an engaged and engaging young woman, fervently supportive of National Socialism and one of the few members of Hitler’s inner circle to never lose his trust or fall out of affection. . . . This telling sheds more light on the central question of the narrative of Eva Braun: ‘Did she share the political positions and basic worldview of her lover or was she merely a tragic slave who nonetheless profited from Hitler’s power?’” —PW

“Although it is difficult, if not impossible, to whip up any sympathy for or to empathize with one of history’s most notorious mistresses, Görtemaker does provide a more nuanced view of this marginalized woman by examining the pivotal role she played in Hitler’s life and within his inner circle. . . . This breakout biography is a solid contribution to the ever-increasing body of Third Reich literature and scholarship.” —Booklist