Hitler and His Secret Partners

James Pool's Hitler and His Secret Partners exposes Nazi financial machinations dating from Hitler's seizure of power in 1933 to the end of his dictatorship in 1945. In this sequel to his acclaimed Who Financed Hitler, Pool contends that "looting and plundering were the primary motives" of the Nazi elite, arguing that these men waged war and effected genocide in order to line their pockets.

While there have been dozens of explanations of the motives behind the murderous actions of the Third Reich, Hitler and His Secret Partners stands out for its focus on the sheer greediness of the Nazi regime and its collaborators. Pool thoroughly explores how German industrialists reaped immense profits from slave labor and conquest, arguing that Hitler's status among these powerful men was transformed from pampered front man to ruthless master. The most interesting contribution of this book is the story of how Hitler's financial partners spared German industry from the F hrer's desperate plans for destruction and sealed his fate in the last days of the war.

Pool has furthered the argument of his previous book that lust for money must be counted among anti-Semitism and totalitarianism as the primary elements within Nazi ideology. Although readers will find a more comprehensive treatment of Nazi beliefs and Hitler's place within the Third Reich in Ian Kershaw's Hitler 1889-1933: Hubris, Hitler and His Secret Partners nevertheless demonstrates the importance of economic considerations within the Nazi state. --James Highfill