During the summer, it can sometimes feel like all the learning you do in college goes to waste. You’ve studied finance, world history, taken some language classes… and are stuck working your summer job, flipping burgers or something equally boring. Books can take you away from this slump and make you feel more productive.
“Eva Braun: Life with Hitler” is not your boring history textbook, and it definitely won’t put you to sleep. While it’s not the typical summer beach read, it’s certainly a change of pace.
An Adventurous Eyeopener
Author Heike Görtemaker takes her readers on a historical exploration. We’ve all been taught that winners write the history books, but what if the losers did? Gortemaker tries to uncover the hidden history of Eva Braun, Hitler’s secret mistress and wife.
The problem is that no one seems to be telling the whole truth. During the denazification period after World War II, many of Hitler’s companions were put on trial to decide what their extent of their involvement was. With the threat of fines, jail, and execution, it isn’t hard to believe some deception went on. Everyone wanted to bolster up their image and distance themselves from the fallen leader. This meant twisting the truth, feigning ignorance and forgetfulness, and downright lying.
In “Eva Braun,” Görtemaker sifts through trial testimonies, letters, other historians’ research, and diary entries to find the truth. She goes through the history created by Hitler’s former friends to learn about Braun’s life and what her exact relationship was with Hitler.
This is an exciting book with tons of fun facts sprinkled in. For example, towards the end of the war, Braun still went out swimming with her friends, even though their city was being bombed from overhead. Apparently she wanted to show Hitler her confidence in him and keep a sense of normalcy.
The Catch
There are a lot of characters in the book because of all of the viewpoints that are taken into account. This can get a little confusing, but it’s still a good read if you don’t go over the whole book trying to memorize it. Görtemaker also tries to provide a lot of background information so readers understand what is going on. Some of these parts can be a bit excessive and drag on.
Grade: B (food for thought but sometimes complicated)
