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    Hitler's Niece: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Hitler's Niece: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Hitler's Niece: A Novel
    Ebook384 pages6 hours

    Hitler's Niece: A Novel

    By Ron Hansen

    3.5/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    "A textured picture of Hitler's histrionic personality and his insane mission for glory, presaging the genocide to come in the cold-blooded obliteration of one young woman."  — Publishers Weekly

    Hitler's Niece tells the story of the intense and disturbing relationship between Adolf Hitler and the daughter of his only half-sister, Angela, a drama that evolves against the backdrop of Hitler's rise to prominence and power from particularly inauspicious beginnings. The story follows Geli from her birth in Linz, Austria, through the years in Berchtesgaden and Munich, to her tragic death in 1932 in Hitler's apartment in Munich. Through the eyes of a favorite niece who has been all but lost to history, we see the frightening rise in prestige and political power of a vain, vulgar, sinister man who thrived on cruelty and hate and would stop at nothing to keep the horror of his inner life hidden from the world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 27, 2009
    ISBN9780061978227
    Unavailable
    Hitler's Niece: A Novel
    Author

    Ron Hansen

    Ron Hansen (born December 8, 1947) is an American novelist, essayist, and professor. He is known for writing literary westerns exploring the people and history of the American heartland, notably The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (1983), which was adapted into an acclaimed film starring Brad Pitt.

    Read more from Ron Hansen

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    Reviews for Hitler's Niece

    3.5/5

    75 ratings8 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Excellent tale of Hitler and his relationship with his beautiful young half-niece, Geli Rabaul, and her eventual suicide or covered-up murder. Very plausible account. Good insights into warped psyche of Hitler.
    • 3/5
      I've read many reviews that sort of bashed the author and the story, which I admit had me going into this book with much hesitation. However, I decided to listen to myself and I read the book in several hours, for I enjoyed it.

      The depravity of Hitler is all too apparent and I had to praise the author for describing him and his actions so well. More than once, I had a shiver go down my spine or I felt physically sick. Geli had my sympathy except in the moments where she almost seemed like she was truly enjoying the attentions of her uncle, who is shown as socially inadequate, irritable, abusive and demented. His awkwardness with women is mind-blowing and when you see how he treats them is disgraceful. Though he is quite settled in his anti-semite ways, he has not achieved his full transformation yet. This is in the late twenties and very early thirties, when the world was still getting to know him. His love for Geli is absolutely terrifying and all consuming, yet everyone envies the attention and gifts he lavishes on her. All she longs to do is live her life and perhaps get married before she's a spinster.

      When it's revealed Hitler's molesting her, that is when his even more depraved side begins to show. By then, it's too late for Geli to escape his grasp and no one, even if they wanted to, could have saved her.

      However, when she meets her death, which, though I'm certain you know she dies; I will not say how. You cannot help but feel terribly for her. It seemed as though everyone's back was turned on her, leaving her truly alone with only Hitler there--the one person whose attention she didn't want.

      Even after her death, the loyalty to Hitler is undeniable and unchanging by most--including her own mother, despite the mysterious circumstances surrounding her death.

      1 person found this helpful

    • 3/5
      I felt like a horrible person reading this book, because I found it very interesting. From the point of view that Hitler wasn't a bad guy...for the most part, and it was like passing a car crash. You want to look, but you don't. Very odd.
    • 3/5
      This fictionalized account of what may have been a romance between Hitler and his niece is a little creepy at times, but it made me wish that someone could actually write a book about this relationship that was based on documentation and fact.
    • 4/5
      I never thought I would find a new adjective for describing Hitler, but this book (albeit a novel) sent it to me in neon lights: LECHERPossible Spoiler although this info is also on the back cover of the bookHitler's Niece is a fictional backstory to the death of Hitler's real-life niece in his Munich apartment prior to the start of WWII. While admittedly a novel, there was immense detail incorporated surrounding Hitler's rise to power and significant events in the world of the time, all factual. Because of that detail, it was easy to get lost in the idea put forth in the novel that Hitler was romatically involved with his Niece. The "budding romance" between them was distasteful at best and the descriptions of the sex scenes, though mild, were definitely creepy. (also somewhat embarrassing since I was listening to this on audio with my 12 year old daughter in the car). But with all of that said, it was still a good book. I found out a lot more details about the history surrounding WWII, personal backgrounds to some of the key players in Hitler's circle, and the Epilogue gave a great overview of the fates of all of the players in the novel including the Nuremburg Trials and after. As bizarre as the premise - and maybe it's even true - I would recommend this book.
    • 2/5
      I'd heard a lot of things about this book, both good and bad, so when I had the opportunity to pick it up, I did so. Now, I'm not sure why I bothered.Yes, it does portray Hitler as a creepy person in an incestuous relationship with his niece. But this is hardly groundbreaking - there have been rumors about him and Geli for decades. Hansen was just the one who finally wrote a fictional book about it.And despite how interesting this should be, it just didn't translate well into the book. I had to force myself to read it, and I only managed a chapter or two at a time. It took me over three years to finish this book, mainly because I didn't find it interesting in the slightest. I usually devour anything set in this era, fiction and non-fiction alike, but this was a chore.I don't care how Hitler is portrayed in this; the man was a psychopath, and I'm a fan of historical fiction anyway. And, having read about his relationship with Geli, I honestly wouldn't be surprised to discover that he HAD had a sexual relationship with her at some point. What bothers me, however, is that I have run into people who think that this is actually true. It does say "a novel" on the front cover for a reason.
    • 3/5
      This book got mountains of press when it came out back in 2000. So much that when I ran across the book at the library, I was able to recall that, for a moment, it was all that anyone was talking about. I also have the sneaking suspicion that I've read more of his books (I checked on amazon and nothing looks familiar, but I'm sure I'm just forgetting), and I worked with his wife in my Chronicle days (The Distant Land of My Father, which I didn't love but many others did). It's very well done, and if you're interested in World War II, I'm sure it's a must-read. To be totally honest, I was bored by it, but I think I'm just not the audience. I also struggled to accept what the author was presenting as the truth (or at least a version of it)--it's clear from his notes that the source material is sketchy, and I didn't really see how he was drawing the connections he did.
    • 4/5
      The book is a fictitious account of a relationship of Hitler and his niece (half niece really) Geli Raubal. In 1931 Geli Raubal, 23 years old then, was found dead in the Munich apartment she shared with Hitler, his revolver on the floor. The relationship between the pair was very intense, and many suspected that it was sexual and sadomasochistic. Her death was quickly ruled a suicide, and never fully investigated. It was all news to me. I didn’t know much about Hitler’s private life and the only woman that I was aware of in his life was Eva Braun. Hansen paints an interesting, in my opinion, picture of Hitler as a psychopathic but charismatic (I cannot help thinking that only people living in really desperate times could go for such a leader though) personality and weaves many facts from the Nazi doctrine and the historical times. I learned quite a bit from it, but it is probably not for a history buff interested in the times.