About the Author

Born in 1917, Rochus Misch was recruited into Hitler s SS-bodyguard in 1940. He served as a bodyguard, courier and telephonist for five years. After Hitler s death he was held in Russian captivity for nine years. He died in 2013.

Reviews

"This memoir of one of Hitler's elite bodyguards is priceless in that ordinary buffs such as us are privy to an inner world hither unavailable to everyone. Equally revealing is Rochus Misch's eyewitness descriptions of the last day of Hitler's life."-- "ARGunners.com"

...rapid, riveting read, the 254 pages of Hitler's Last Witness fly by. ...Rochus Misch considered Hitler a normal, simple man, the simplest man I ever knew" and "extremely unpretentious". He loved children and animals. But he plunged the world into misery, chaos and holocaust. Remember that as you read Misch's admittedly enthralling account. And use it as one step to deeper study of Nazi Germany's notorious Führer."-- "Cybermodeler"

'. . . convincing first-person testimony (of) the dictator's final desperate months, days and hours.'-- "The Huffington Post"

'An insignificant man, who experienced significant events.'-- "Neue Zürcher Zeitung"

'Misch glorifies nothing, criticizes nothing and justifies nothing, not even himself. He has a sharp eye for detail, which despite the passage of the years he depicts in a credible manner.'-- "Göttinger Tageblatt"

'The memoirs of Hitler's bodyguard and unquestioning servant who was one of the last people to see him alive.'-- "The Times"

"... a fascinating look at Hitler's life from an insider's perspective. Even though WWII ending almost 70 years ago, new information is still cropping up, making a study of this Era truly fascinating. The author gives us intimate details of Hitler's life - both personal and professional. He even delves into Hitlers personality and quirks... us a glimpse into the last days of Hitler's life from an insider's point of view as the Russian army bears down on Berlin. It was indeed a a great read!"-- "History Buff"

"... the translated version of the original manuscript, the English language team added a wealth of footnotes and explanations, indicating they had gone to extremes in an effort to coordinate the author's claims with actual historic fact, and -- here and there -- some facts that couldn't be verified in every minute detail; and details are everywhere in Misch's account. For one who was not a scholar, and who was in no position to make notes, his memory is extraordinary. If I had the space in this article, I could easily expend 2,000 words in explaining why I find the author and his story to be of extreme credibility; more accurate than the work of a host of more famous and even "storied" historical writers whose books line several shelves in my extensive WWII library...an illuminating insight into Adolph Hitler's last days in the claustrophobic underground Berlin Bunker where the Third Reich came to an end."-- "The Spectrum"

"...through these pages we get a glimpse of Hitler as a private person, putting on eyeglasses to read reports without fear that the public would learn of his weak vision, and insisting on sending his personal physicians when one of his footmen fell ill. What I thought as the most valuable attribute of Hitler's Last Witness was Misch's own story, someone who naively followed Hitler without ever questioning anything, not even in his own mind. While he fell short of admitting this as a failure, I appreciated his warnings against war as a national policy, for he had realized that war was no better than mass murder. Memoirs, by definition, could not be considered history, but Misch's account gave me valuable insight into the mind of a low-ranking German serviceman during the WW2 era"-- "World War II Database"

"From his encounters with Hitler and Eva Braun to his post-war years in a Russian prison camp, Misch shares his life in simple fashion with no added frills. If you are a fan of historical books at all or simply curious about having a rare glimpse into an unknown world, you should definitely read this book. You will not be disappointed."-- "Busy Brunette's Bookshelf"

"Misch, who was Hitler's bodyguard, courier, orderly, and telephonist, offers a memoir of his experiences in the Third Reich. He worked in Hitler's household, was in his bunker and witnessed his suicide, was held prisoner for nine years in Russia after the war, worked in camps there, and eventually returned to Germany."-- "ProtoView"

"Misch's autobiography provides insight on Hitler "behind closed doors." While this is a provocative yet disturbing account, it is an important addition to the historiography of the last days of the Third Reich."-- "International Bibliography of Military History"

"The long awaited recollections of a man seen on international television for over a decade regarding his eyewitness testimony of all things in the last days of the Nazi Regime. And it was well worth it too, as this fine you are there work puts the reader right in the center of events just as they transpired."-- "The Military Advisor"

'[Misch's] memoir is full of details, asides and digressions, which allow the reader a rare and fascinating insight into the Third Reich's inner sanctum . . . Misch overheard conversations, watched the comings and goings and was a keen observer of events . . . He was as close to being a 'fly on the wall' as one could get.'--Roger Moorhouse, author of Berlin at War

"Rochus Misch's memoir is a thoroughly readable, informative and frequently fascinating insider's account of various events during and aspects of a momentous period of history, by a man who - with a very few others - was privileged to witness much that was historic, cataclysmic, sometimes bizarre, and finally nihilistic, but whose rank and position meant that he always lacked the opportunity, access or personal desire to influence that which he heard or observed."--David J.A. Stone, British military historian, author and former soldier