Nicolaus von Below served as Adolf Hitler’s personal Luftwaffe adjutant from 1937 until the fall of Berlin in the Spring of 1945. Originally a two-year appointment, von Below remained in his post for nearly eight years, fellow aides explaining that the Fuhrer did not like ‘new faces.’ Wounded during the Stauffenberg bomb plot and witness to Hitler’s final days in the bunker, von Below’s memoir, At Hitler’s Side, offers a fascinating account of life at the heart of the Third Reich.

At Hitler’s Side is based primarily upon notes compiled by von Below during his post-war incarceration; the author having destroyed his personal diaries before fleeing Berlin. As the title suggests, At Hitler’s Side is devoted almost entirely to von Below’s service with Hitler. His formative years in the Luftwaffe (which included secret training in the Soviet Union) and his later escape from Berlin are beyond the scope of the text, receiving only cursory mention in the introduction and editor’s endnotes. However, the period considered could scarcely be described as lacking in interesting subject matter and von Below may be forgiven for strictly adhering to the defined parameters of his narrative.

During his appointment as Luftwaffe adjutant von Below developed a close working relationship with Hitler. The author accompanied the Fuhrer on military manoeuvres, tours of aviation works, recorded and clarified his often spontaneous orders and attended those of Hitler’s appointments that pertained to Luftwaffe affairs. The author was additionally responsible for providing facts and figures at a moments notice and liasing between Hitler’s headquarters and the Luftwaffe high command. Beyond these formal duties, von Below spent many late hours conversing with Hitler on subjects ranging from history to the ideological struggle between National Socialism and communism.

Von Below’s opinion of Hitler is difficult to ascertain. The author’s contention that the Fuhrer was reasonable and receptive to compelling argument is contradicted by Hitler’s stubborn refusal, under almost any circumstances, to yield ground to the enemy. Von Below states that Hitler valued his candour and directness as an adjutant. It was, however, these same qualities that led to the dismissal of many capable yet outspoken generals during the course of the war. Politically von Below seems to have been impressed by Hitler’s willingness to go against the advice of his overcautious generals in aggressively expanding German territory from 1936 to 1940. However the author strongly criticizes Hitler’s decision to invade the Soviet Union, a decision similarly opposed by the Army high command. From his testimony it is reasonable to conclude that von Below held an ambiguous and often contradictory view of Hitler at the time he penned his memoir.

Von Below’s personal experience of the war was dominated by daily conferences and the comings and goings of Hitler’s headquarters. However, the author did, on occasion, leave Hitler’s side. In 1942 he travelled to the Mediterranean theatre to consult with Erwin Rommel and Albert Kesselring about events in North Africa. That same year he flew to the southern sector of the Eastern Front where the Sixth Army was advancing in the direction of Stalingrad. On this trip von Below met with his brother, then chief of staff of the 71st Infantry Division, whose optimism for the campaign was soon to be erased by the ferocity of the Soviet counteroffensive. The author quotes from two particularly poignant letters written by his brother and a second staff officer during the last days of the siege when the Sixth Army was nearing collapse. When presented to Hitler, these extracts drew only a muted response.

Von Below’s beliefs about the morality of the war are difficult to gauge. Like many Germans he seems to have shared a positive opinion of the incorporation of German speaking peoples under the swastika and the redressing the injustices imposed by the Versailles Treaty. With regard to the annexation of Czechoslovakia, an operation that could scarcely be justified under either rationale, von Below comments only that there was little understanding of the “Czech question”. Concerning Poland the author makes the astonishing claim that Germany was the victim of Polish belligerence and that it was Churchill’s warmongering that led to a needless escalation of the war in Western Europe. Only in 1942 with Operation Barbarossa did von Below become convinced that Hitler had embroiled Germany in a struggle it could not possibly hope to win.

Von Below’s memoir is written in a concise and rather dry style. The image he paints of himself is that of a dutiful and stoic officer. Despite having strong misgivings about the course of the war it was the author’s duty to serve Hitler to the end, and this he did. Von Below claims that he had no knowledge of the Holocaust and found Hitler’s rabid anti-Semitism distasteful. However this statement is brought into question when he recalls a visit to a subterranean V-2 rocket facility staffed by slave labour from Nordhausen concentration camp. The author records that while these inmates appeared healthy they were a depressing sight, “…hoping to purchase their lives by their industry.” More broadly von Below is quick to condemn Allied atrocities while omitting any mention of similar German culpability.

At Hitler’s Side is a difficult book to review. The author does make a number of statements that are difficult to accept or that fail to ring true. However it would be incorrect to judge von Below’s memoir by the degree to which the reader may agree or disagree with his opinions. They are, after all, his views. Only where his lack of candour is concerned does the author merit reproof. These points considered, von Below has nonetheless created a very readable memoir from a dark and compelling period of modern history.

(Reviewed by K.H. Roberts)