A gripping biography chronicles the life of the man behind one of history’s most horrifying the Holocaust. Perfect for readers of the works of Ian Kershaw, William L. Shirer, and Richard J. Evans. Reinhard Heydrich, a man Hitler famously dubbed ‘the man with the iron heart,’ played a pivotal role both before and during World War Two. He founded the Sicherheitsdienst (SD), an intelligence organization that sowed terror among Nazism's enemies through arrests, deportations, and murders. He aided with the implementation of Kristallnacht, a precursor to later atrocities, that targeted Jews throughout Nazi Germany. By the time the war began he was Director of Reich Security Main Office meaning that he was in charge of the Gestapo, Kripo, and SD, and it was from this position that he chaired the 1942 Wannsee Conference which planned the ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Question’ — the deportation and genocide of all Jews living in Nazi-occupied Europe. His reign of terror came to an end when he was assassinated in mysterious circumstances while fulfilling his duties brutally eliminating opposition to Nazi control in Bohemia and Moravia in May 1942. But who assassinated this man with many enemies? Charles Whiting utilises a variety of sources, including interviews with Heydrich’s widow, to examine the various theories about who was behind the plot to murder one of the darkest figures of the Nazi regime. Whiting also explores the legacy of this man, demonstrating how Heydrich not only ruled institutions that still exist like Interpol, but also how he laid the foundations of an economic system in central Europe which is partially still present to this day. Heydrich should be essential reading for all eager in learning more about one of Hitler’s most ruthless henchmen.
Author
Charles Whiting was a British writer and military historian and with some 350 books of fiction and non-fiction to his credit, under his own name and a variety of pseudonyms including Ian Harding, Duncan Harding, K.N. Kostov, John Kerrigan, Klaus Konrad, and Leo Kessler. Born in the Bootham area of York, England, he was a pupil at the prestigious Nunthorpe Grammar School, leaving at the age of 16 to join the British Army by lying about his age. Keen to be in on the wartime action, Whiting was attached to the 52nd Reconnaissance Regiment and by the age of 18 saw duty as a sergeant in France, Holland, Belgium and Germany in the latter stages of World War II. While still a soldier, he observed conflicts between the highest-ranking British and American generals which he would write about extensively in later years. After the war, he stayed on in Germany completing his A-levels via correspondence course and teaching English before being enrolled at Leeds University reading History and German Language. As an undergraduate he was afforded opportunities for study at several European universities and, after gaining his degree, would go on to become an assistant professor of history. Elsewhere, Whiting held a variety of jobs which included working as a translator for a German chemical factory and spells as a publicist, a correspondent for The Times and feature writer for such diverse magazines as International Review of Linguistics, Soldier and Playboy. His first novel was written while still an undergraduate, was published in 1954 and by 1958 had been followed by three wartime thrillers. Between 1960 and 2007 Charles went on to write over 350 titles, including 70 non-fiction titles covering varied topics from the Nazi intelligence service to British Regiments during World War II. One of his publishers, Easingwold-based Rupert Smith of GH Smith & Son said he was a quiet man and prolific writer. "He's one of a band of forgotten authors because he sold millions of copies and still, up to his death was doing publishing deals.He was the kind of man who was very self-effacing, one of Britain's forgotten authors, still working at 80 years of age, with his nose down and kicking out books." Charles Henry Whiting, author and military historian died on July 24 2007, leaving his wife and son.
