Heike B. Gortemaker, born in 1964, is a German historian and author. She studied history, economics, and German literature in Berlin and Bloomington, Indiana. In 2005, she published a biography of Margret Boveri, a prominent German journalist from the 1930s to the 1970s. Gortemaker lives with her husband near Berlin. She is currently working on a project dealing with the legacy of Hitler's inner circle in postwar Germany.
"Easily the best biography of Eva Braun so far written." --"The
Daily Beast"
"[A] riveting account...Braun may not have influenced Nazi
policies, but thanks to Gortemaker's groundbreaking work, it is now
clear how Braun catered to Hitler, fostering his reliance on
cronies and lackeys and reinforcing his tendency to shut himself
off from the awful reality of what was happening to Germany and to
the world." --"Minneapolis Star Tribune"
"While most historians view Braun as an apolitical appendage of
Hitler's paltry private life, Ms. Gortemaker shows how she played
the politics of personal loyalty and inspired others, like Albert
Speer, to do the same. . . . Ms. Gortemaker finally gives Braun her
place in the dark history of the Third Reich." --"Wall Street
Journal"
"Employing a detective's skill and a journalist's
flair...[Gortemaker] reconstructs the life of Eva Braun from the
petty bourgeois household of her schoolteacher father to the inner
circle of the Nazi overlord." --"Chicago Sun-Times"
"A serious study of personal relationships and power at Nazi
Germany's pinnacle. ["Eva Braun"] deserves a broad readership,
taking us as it does behind the scenes of history's most criminal
regime." --"San Francisco Chronicle
"
"[A] solidly researched, sophisticated, and well-written
biography." --"Library Journal
"
"This meticulously-researched and documented biography is far more
than the story of Eva Braun . . . Gortemaker has sifted through
photographs, diaries, letters, interviews, and previous research to
provide a wider perspective on not only Eva, but also many others
in Hitler's circle . . . Fascinating reading." --"Historical Novels
Review"
"A perceptive account of a woman loyal and complaisant to the end."
--"Richmond Times-Dispatch"
"An utterly compelling portrayal of the weird hidden life of the
dictator...An instructively intimate peek at a man who, like some
black star, destroyed all those he touched. Eva
"[A] riveting account...Braun may not have influenced Nazi
policies, but thanks to Gortemaker's groundbreaking work, it is now
clear how Braun catered to Hitler, fostering his reliance on
cronies and lackeys and reinforcing his tendency to shut himself
off from the awful reality of what was happening to Germany and to
the world." --"Minneapolis Star Tribune" "A serious study of
personal relationships and power at Nazi Germany's pinnacle. ["Eva
Braun"] deserves a broad readership, taking us as it does behind
the scenes of history's most criminal regime." --"San Francisco
Chronicle" "An utterly compelling portrayal of the weird hidden
life of the dictator...An instructively intimate peek at a man who,
like some black star, destroyed all those he touched. Eva was only
one of millions of his victims--but a willing one." --"The
Telegraph" "Although it is difficult, if not impossible, to whip up
any sympathy for or to empathize with one of history's most,
"Although it is difficult, if not impossible, to whip up any
sympathy for or to empathize with one of history's most notorious
mistresses, Gortemaker 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"
"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." --"Kirkus" (starred review)
"Having painstakingly reviewed the archives for references to Eva
Braun's relationship with Hitler, Gortemaker 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 o
"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, Gortemaker 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"
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