Erich Kempka served as Hitler's personal driver from 1934 through to the Fuhrer's dramatic suicide in 1945. His candid memoirs offer a unique eyewitness account of events leading up to and during the war, culminating in those dark final days in the Fuhrer's headquarters, deep under the shattered city of Berlin. He begins by describing his duties as a member of Hitler's personal staff in the years preceding the war, driving the Fuhrer throughout Germany and abroad, and accompanying him to rallies. The crux of his memoirs however covers his life with Hitler in the Berlin Fuhrerbunker. During this time he was responsible for a transport fleet of cars, and often drove the likes of Speer or Kesselring on inspection tours to the hot spots on the front; and in March 1945, he accompanied the Fuhrer to his final front-inspection tour. Kempka was also present when news came through of Goring and Himmler's efforts to seize power and negotiate a truce with the Western Allies. Crucially, Kempka also witnessed Hitler's marriage to Eva Braun, and his last dinner and personal farewell to all those present, before he and his wife committed suicide. Hitler's final order to Kempka was that he have ready enough petrol to burn him and his wife. Under constant Soviet Artillery fire, Kempka, Linge and others poured petrol over the bodies and burnt them. The account concludes with Kempka's hazardous escape out of a burning Berlin traveling more than 800km through enemy-occupied Germany to his family, only to be arrested by American Personnel shortly afterwards. He was interrogated before acting as a witness at Nuremberg. AUTHOR Ericj Kempka (16 September 1910-24 January 1975) was born in Oberhausen to a miner with ten children. He joined the Nazi party on 1 April 1930 and two years later he was one of eight founding members of the SS-Begleit-Kommando. In 1945 Kempka accompanied Hitler to the Reich Chancellery and then the Fuhrerbunker. ILLUSTRATIONS 8 pages of plates
