NAZI WIVES: The Women at The Top of Hitler's Germany

Goering, Goebbels, Himmler, Heydrich, Bormann, Hess - names synonymous with power and influence in the Third Reich. Perhaps less familiar are Carin and Emmy Goering, Magda Goebbels, Margaret Himmler, Lina Heydrich, Gerda Bormann and Ilse Hess. These are the women behind the infamous men - complex individuals with distinctive personalities who were captivated by Hitler and whose everyday lives were governed by Nazi ideology. Throughout the rise and fall of Nazism these women loved and lost, raised families and quarrelled with their husbands and each other, all the while jostling for position with the mighty Führer himself. And yet they have been treated as minor characters, their significance ignored, as if they were unaware of their husband's murderous acts, despite the evidence that was all around them: the stolen art on their walls, the furniture made from human skin and bones stashed in the attic, the slave labour in their homes, and the produce grown in concentration camps on their tables. Births, weddings, funerals were inextricably linked to Nazi ideology. Relationships with family members were terminated abruptly and friendships jettisoned; their behaviour was a factor in the struggles within the Nazi elite. Falling out of favour with the Fuhrer would have serious implications for their husbands' careers. Yet their story offers important insights into the nature of Nazi rule and the psychology of its leaders, providing a fresh perspective on the key events that shaped its rise and fall. While they enjoyed luxury lifestyles they also endured broken marriages, cheating husbands, suicide, assassination, desertion, impoverishment and incarceration, but despite these trials, that commitment to Hitler's cause never wavered. Photos, 288 pages.