Roger Manvell

Heinrich Fraenkel

Authors Roger Manvell and Heinrich Fraenkel, notable biographers of the World War II German leaders Joseph Goebbels and Herman Goring, delve into the life of one of the most sinister, clever, and successful of all the Nazi leaders: Heinrich Himmler. As the head of the feared SS, Himler supervised the extermination of millions. Here is the story of how a seemingly ordinary boy grew into an obsessive and superstitious man who ventured into herbalism, astrology, and homeopathic medicine before finally turning to the "science" of racial purity and the belief in the superiority of the Aryan people.

The Sinister Life of the Head of the SS and Gestapo

Heinrich Himmler

This volume presents a biography of one of the most clever and successful of all the Nazi leaders -- Heinrich Himmler (1900-1945). As head of the Nazis' feared SS and the sadistic Gestapo, Himmler supervised the extermination of millions. This is the story of how a seemingly ordinary boy grew into an obsessive and superstitious man who ventured into herbalism, astrology, and homeopathic medicine before finally turning to the "science" of racial purity and the belief in the superiority of the Aryan people. Himmler's unlikely rise to power eventually made him the second most powerful man in Germany. Understanding this sinister life helps us understand a political party and a nation capable of horrendous crimes against the world and humanity.

Lacy W

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tw: sexism, homophobia, anti Semitism, medical experiments done without consent, death, murder, kidnapping, Holocaust horrors, suicide

I’m just going to come out and say it. Himmler was a fuckboy. I’m sorry, it had to be said. I know that is such an odd thing to say about a very evil man but that thought ran through my mind the entire time I read this book. His belief system is awful, as to be expected considering he was a Nazi. An example of this is that he pushed for German women to remain faithful to their husbands and produce as many children as possible for the Reich but yet he had two whole families and condemned other men for doing the same. Make it make sense!

Okay, now that I got that out of the way. This book wasn’t too bad. It was a bit dry at times and oftentimes, I got confused because there were a lot of people I had to keep track of. They were all important and they all contributed to what Himmler did. I think it was dry because the authors didn’t want to glamorize Himmler and the awful things he did. Which I get, but it makes the book kind of boring. 

I did manage to learn quite a bit, though. I learned that Himmler was in charge of the concentration camps. I thought it was just Hitler that was in charge of everything. He was against genocide at first, but ended up doing it because he wanted to follow orders from Hitler. Himmler believed that killing Jews was killing Germans and he didn’t want to do that at all. I also learned that genocide wasn’t even a thing until 1941, two years after the war started. Sure, Jews did die just from the horrible conditions but they didn’t actively try and kill Jewish people. The Reich wanted to move all Jews and undesirable persons to Madagascar and even had the land bought from the French. But once they realized that wasn’t feasible, it was decided killing was better. 

Overall, this was an interesting book, though. I learned a bit but the dryness of the book contributed to the lower rating. I understood what the authors were trying to do but I think a little emotion could have gone a long way in making this book better. Hopefully my dad enjoys this book a little more.

Heinrich Himmler The Sinister Life of the Head of the SS and Gestapo

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