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Hitler's Last Plot: The 139 VIP Hostages Selected for Death in the Final Days of World War II
352Overview
In April 1945, as Germany faced defeat, Hitler planned to round up the Third Reich's most valuable prisoners and send them to his "Alpine Fortress," where he and the SS would keep the hostages as they made a last stand against the Allies. The prisoners included European presidents, prime ministers, generals, British secret agents, and German anti-Nazi clerics, celebrities, and officers who had aided the July 1944 bomb plot against Hitlerand the prisoners' families. Orders were given to the SS: if the German military situation deteriorated, the prisoners were to be executedall 139 of them.
So began a tense, deadly drama. As some prisoners plotted escape, others prepared for the inevitable, and their SS guards grew increasingly volatile, drunk, and trigger-happy as defeat loomed. As a dramatic confrontation between the SS and the Wehrmacht threatened the hostages caught in the middle, the US Army launched a frantic rescue bid to save the hostages before the axe fell.
Drawing on previously unpublished and overlooked sources, Hitler's Last Plot is the first full account of this astounding and shocking story, from the original round-up order to the prisoners' terrifying ordeal and ultimate rescue. Told in a thrilling, page-turning narrative, this is one of World War II's most fascinating episodes.
Product Details
ISBN-13: | 9780306921551 |
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Publisher: | Hachette Books |
Publication date: | 04/16/2019 |
Pages: | 352 |
Sales rank: | 165,331 |
Product dimensions: | 6.20(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.30(d) |
About the Author
Ian Sayer is a military historian-detective whose investigation into "The World's Greatest Robbery" led to the 1984 publication of his international bestseller Nazi Gold. An acknowledged expert on the Third Reich, he has made regular appearances on television and radio.
Table of Contents
Map: Europe 1945 vii
SS Rank Table viii
Prologue 1
1 The Corridor of Death 7
2 Blood Guilt 17
3 Alpine Fortress 31
4 Journey South 38
5 Flossenbürg Concentration Camp 49
6 The Condemned 57
7 Bavarian Interlude 63
8 Death of the Damned 72
9 Murder at the Crematorium 88
10 Traitors in Their Midst 99
11 All in One Place 109
12 The Exodus Begins 120
13 Into the Redoubt 136
14 SS-Sonderlager Innsbruck 148
15 Out of the Reich 160
16 The Sunrise Conspiracy 169
17 Appointment with Death 177
18 Plan of Execution 189
19 The Fatal Day 204
20 Showdown with the SS 218
21 Danger in Paradise 228
22 Running the Gauntlet 240
23 Dash for Deliverance 260
Epilogue 279
The 139 Hostages 297
Notes 303
Bibliography 325
Index 330