The Strange Death of Heinrich Himmler

On 22 May 1945, in the immediate aftermath of World War II, the Allies celebrated the capture of the most important member of the Nazi hierarchy, Reichsführer Heinrich Himmler. The SS leader was arrested and interrogated but committed suicide in Allied custody by ingesting poison from a capsule concealed in his mouth. Then he was buried at a secret site on Lüneberg Heath. But Himmler did not rest in peace, if Himmler it was who was buried there. Months later the British disinterred, re-examined, and cremated his body. Yet in 1946 MI6's most talented, if treacherous, agent, Kim Philby, was still not convinced that the story of Himmler's death made any sense at all. Philby realized that a man of Himmler's organizational genius, a plotter of great intricacy and sophistication who recognized Germany's inevitable defeat as early as 1943, was unlikely to have just blundered into the arms of the Allies. What really happened? Hugh Thomas set out to answer Philby's question and uncovered a maze of corruption, high finance, political gambles, and international intrigue. The Strange Death of Heinrich Himmler unearths not just Himmler's grave, but reveals secrets that have long remained buried, and shadowy figures who would rather stay that way.