Synopses & Reviews
Using rare photographs and the unique experiences of Hans Baur, Hitler's personal pilot for fourteen years, C. G. Sweeting gives an astonishing account of the inner workings of one of history's most terrible regimes.
Synopsis
Adolf Hitler trusted few men, but his faith in pilot Hans Baur never wavered. Baur, a decorated World War I flier and one of Germany's leading commercial aviators of the 1920s, joined the fledgling Nazi Party in 1926. His skill and daring and his early party membership, catapulted him to the top of the list when Adolf Hitler went in search of a pilot for his political campaign of 1932. Later, Hitler became the first head of state to use air travel extensively, and, from 1932 to 1945, Hitler refused to fly with anyone but Baur at the controls. Baur ate meals with Hitler frequently and was one of the fuhrer's few true confidants. As the tide of war turned against Germany and relations between Hitler and the Luftwaffe leadership deteriorated, Hitler increasingly relied on Baur for advice about air war policy and technical developments. In the end, Baur paid for his blind loyalty to Hitler. Trapped by the Soviet Red Army in the war-torn city of Berlin, Baur was captured after Hitler's suicide and imprisoned in the Soviet Union.
Synopsis
Based on the unique experiences of Hans Baur, Hitler's personal pilot for fourteen years