The Long Death of Adolf Hitler

“By meticulously disentangling the myth and reality behind our 80-year obsession with Hitler’s demise, Sharples reveals how the “long death of Adolf Hitler” continues to shape historical narratives and fuel conspiracy theories about the increasingly palpable authoritarian past and fraught political present.”—Eric Kurlander, author of Hitler’s Monsters: A Supernatural History of the Third Reich

“For years, Hitler’s enemies yearned—and planned—for his death. Yet when it came, his end proved elusive. In this fascinating account of war and political intrigue, Sharples lays out the consequences of those last moments in the bunker and the high price of Hitler’s private death.”—Despina Stratigakos, author of Hitler at Home

“When Adolf Hitler said, “my life will not end in the mere form of death,” he had a point. The Long Death of Adolf Hitler digs into the afterlives of the Führer’s demise but also poses questions about death itself, such as how we know when it’s happened. For a short list of persons both monstrous and “magical,” mortality is not just a material fact, but a revealing social and human one.”—Monica Black, author of A Demon-Haunted Land: Witches, Wonder Doctors and the Ghosts of the Past in Post-WWII Germany

“Roll over Hugh Trevor-Roper! With this brilliantly conceived and superbly executed account, the perennially fascinating subject of Hitler's death has finally received the treatment it deserves.”—Neil Gregor, author of How to Read Hitler

“Hitler’s suicide stands among the most notorious in history, and also the most misunderstood. Caroline Sharples guides us deftly through the chaotic last days in the Bunker, through Russian misinformation, Allied intelligence initiatives, and fanciful conspiracy theories, to a clear understanding of Hitler’s fate.”—Jonathan Petropoulos, author of Göring’s Man in Paris: The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and his World