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alk2025's review against another edition
5.0
This is an interesting story regarding the efforts to confirm the death of Hitler using modern methods and the information and artifacts held by the Russians and what has been declassified by the United States.
You are taken on a journey regarding what it takes to get access to the evidence that still exists. There are negotiations, roadblocks, and everything else you can imagine.
There is also the backstory. The testimonies regarding the death of Hitler in Berlin. The testimonies and records regarding what happened to the bodies discovered by the Red Army.
What conclusions that can be drawn are presented.
You are taken on a journey regarding what it takes to get access to the evidence that still exists. There are negotiations, roadblocks, and everything else you can imagine.
There is also the backstory. The testimonies regarding the death of Hitler in Berlin. The testimonies and records regarding what happened to the bodies discovered by the Red Army.
What conclusions that can be drawn are presented.
hhiggison's review against another edition
1.0
A decidedly underwhelming book that does nothing to live up to its title.
Far from being 'the Final Word', or bring anything new to the table in general, it mostly rehashes the same information that can be found in any number of other sources, if not entirely ignores works (namely Petrova and Watson) that previously presented information Brisard is presenting as newly discovered, and additionally fails in any sort of critical engagement with the findings of Dr. Nick Bellantoni regarding the skull fragment. The narrative it provides of Hitler's final days is nothing new and can be found in any number of other works, while the narrative about the Soviet's investigation and lack of cooperation with the Western Allies, from whom Stalin hid what they knew, is likewise mostly a rehashing of known information, and reveals nothing new of consequence.
The style is an often gratingly written personal narrative of the authors' journey within the Russian archives (and I'm told the prose is just as purple in the original French, so we can't blame the translator), and in the end, the refusal of the Russians to allow any testing beyond morphological examination critically undercuts any pretense of the book's subtitle. This is particularly fatal with the skull fragment. Although Brisard is not blind to the the fact he is essentially being used by the Russians, who deny that Dr. Bellantoni ever handed the skull in the first place, in agreeing to conduct only a morphological examination, and forbidden from taking samples to replicate Dr. Bellantoni's work which determined the skull to be female, Brisard does nothing except stoke and keep alive a controversy that could be quite easily settled.
So what, if anything, does this book bring to the table? If it has any actual merit it is in providing some slight bit of additional backing to the conclusions already reached by Dr. Sogganes back in the 1970s. His analysis of the dental remains of Hitler had already provided reasonable assurance that they had, in fact, belonged to Hitler, the only shortcoming being that he had to work off photos and an autopsy report of the remains, being unable to access them himself. Brisard's medical expert, Dr. Charlier, used the same radiographies that Sogganes did in his own evaluations, the only difference being that he was able to see the actual remains himself. It puts to rest any possible lingering concerns that the remains themselves were fakes, which Charlier categorically rejects, but otherwise it is in no way revolutionary or otherwise changes what we know (Hitler is dead!).
In sum, the book confirms something that we already knew (the jaw fragment is real), and muddies the waters further on the question that most critically remains (whose skull is it?). Far from providing the Final Word, if anything, it is a step-backwards, playing directly into the hands of Russian propaganda that wishes to continue to assert they have Hitler's skull, and providing further ammunition to conspiracy theorists who, already comfortable ignoring the dental remains anyways, can gleefully point to the continued controversy over the skull.
Far from being 'the Final Word', or bring anything new to the table in general, it mostly rehashes the same information that can be found in any number of other sources, if not entirely ignores works (namely Petrova and Watson) that previously presented information Brisard is presenting as newly discovered, and additionally fails in any sort of critical engagement with the findings of Dr. Nick Bellantoni regarding the skull fragment. The narrative it provides of Hitler's final days is nothing new and can be found in any number of other works, while the narrative about the Soviet's investigation and lack of cooperation with the Western Allies, from whom Stalin hid what they knew, is likewise mostly a rehashing of known information, and reveals nothing new of consequence.
The style is an often gratingly written personal narrative of the authors' journey within the Russian archives (and I'm told the prose is just as purple in the original French, so we can't blame the translator), and in the end, the refusal of the Russians to allow any testing beyond morphological examination critically undercuts any pretense of the book's subtitle. This is particularly fatal with the skull fragment. Although Brisard is not blind to the the fact he is essentially being used by the Russians, who deny that Dr. Bellantoni ever handed the skull in the first place, in agreeing to conduct only a morphological examination, and forbidden from taking samples to replicate Dr. Bellantoni's work which determined the skull to be female, Brisard does nothing except stoke and keep alive a controversy that could be quite easily settled.
So what, if anything, does this book bring to the table? If it has any actual merit it is in providing some slight bit of additional backing to the conclusions already reached by Dr. Sogganes back in the 1970s. His analysis of the dental remains of Hitler had already provided reasonable assurance that they had, in fact, belonged to Hitler, the only shortcoming being that he had to work off photos and an autopsy report of the remains, being unable to access them himself. Brisard's medical expert, Dr. Charlier, used the same radiographies that Sogganes did in his own evaluations, the only difference being that he was able to see the actual remains himself. It puts to rest any possible lingering concerns that the remains themselves were fakes, which Charlier categorically rejects, but otherwise it is in no way revolutionary or otherwise changes what we know (Hitler is dead!).
In sum, the book confirms something that we already knew (the jaw fragment is real), and muddies the waters further on the question that most critically remains (whose skull is it?). Far from providing the Final Word, if anything, it is a step-backwards, playing directly into the hands of Russian propaganda that wishes to continue to assert they have Hitler's skull, and providing further ammunition to conspiracy theorists who, already comfortable ignoring the dental remains anyways, can gleefully point to the continued controversy over the skull.
kingutis's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
3.75
No answers given, but interesting reading.
dtab62's review against another edition
4.0
There are several good books about the death of Adolf Hitler. The most definitive remains Hugh Trevor-Roper's "The Last Days of Hitler". The Death of Hitler: The Final Word is a worthy update to Trevor-Roper's work.
When Trevor-Roper was assigned to find out what happened to Hitler, he didn't have much to work with. On the one hand, the event was recent, but on the other, the best sources were in Russian custody so he his only eyewitnesses were those who were captured by the western Allies.
The Russians kept a tight lid on their evidence and transcripts for seven decades. In 2016, a pair of documentary film makers approached the Russian government about studying their archives, and were given limited access. This book is as much about the Russian investigation and handling of archival materials as it is about the actual death of Hitler. We learn that the Russians in charge of the investigation were as driven by what they thought Stalin wanted to hear as much as they were by the evidence and testimony.
Which is fine, it's a fascinating story. And there are some aspects of the story that they legitimately update. The most famous relic in the "A.H." file, the skull fragment discovered in the 1990s, remains somewhat a mystery because the team was not permitted to analyze it, only look at and photograph it. But the teeth purported to be Hitler's were studied more in depth (it would be easy to give away spoilers, here, but I'll refrain) and proven to be his.
This wouldn't be the place to start for someone looking to learn about the demise of Hitler. I'd recommend beginning with Trevor-Roper's book, or perhaps James P. O'Donnell's "The Bunker." But The Death Of Hitler: The Final Word has earned a place towards the top of the literature on the subject.
This might not be the first book I'd recommend to someone looking to learn about Hitler's demise, but I'd still recommend it.
When Trevor-Roper was assigned to find out what happened to Hitler, he didn't have much to work with. On the one hand, the event was recent, but on the other, the best sources were in Russian custody so he his only eyewitnesses were those who were captured by the western Allies.
The Russians kept a tight lid on their evidence and transcripts for seven decades. In 2016, a pair of documentary film makers approached the Russian government about studying their archives, and were given limited access. This book is as much about the Russian investigation and handling of archival materials as it is about the actual death of Hitler. We learn that the Russians in charge of the investigation were as driven by what they thought Stalin wanted to hear as much as they were by the evidence and testimony.
Which is fine, it's a fascinating story. And there are some aspects of the story that they legitimately update. The most famous relic in the "A.H." file, the skull fragment discovered in the 1990s, remains somewhat a mystery because the team was not permitted to analyze it, only look at and photograph it. But the teeth purported to be Hitler's were studied more in depth (it would be easy to give away spoilers, here, but I'll refrain) and proven to be his.
This wouldn't be the place to start for someone looking to learn about the demise of Hitler. I'd recommend beginning with Trevor-Roper's book, or perhaps James P. O'Donnell's "The Bunker." But The Death Of Hitler: The Final Word has earned a place towards the top of the literature on the subject.
This might not be the first book I'd recommend to someone looking to learn about Hitler's demise, but I'd still recommend it.
lennyhead's review against another edition
dark
informative
slow-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
epictetsocrate's review against another edition
3.0
Ajunşi în sala cu masa dreptunghiulară, Dina ia loc şi ne pofteşte să facem şi noi la fel. Nikolai îşi parchează căruţul într‑un colţ şi extrage din el nişte dosare uzate şi o pânză de bumbac groasă. Scena se derulează fără cuvinte. Dina îi călăuzeşte mâna tovarăşului ei şi‑i indică unde să pună tot mormanul: dosarele la capătul mesei, pânza uzată drept în faţa noastră. „Asta‑i… Tot ce am găsit se află aici.” În chiar clipa când Dina ne punea la curent, colegul ei desfăcea pânza cu un gest amplu şi graţios şi dezvelea… nişte picioare de masă. „Apropiaţi‑vă. Aveţi dreptul.” Nikolai şi‑a regăsit darul vorbirii şi se arată aproape limbut: „Iată cealaltă dovadă a morţii sigure a lui Adolf Hitler, iată urmele lui de sânge pe structurile de lemn ale divanului său”. Structurile de lemn ale divanului lui Hitler dând la iveală nişte scurgeri negricioase. Să fie oare de la sângele lui Hitler?