Hitler's Bodyguard

Hitler's personal protection squad grew from a few fiercely loyal, handpicked ruffians into an army with a complicated structure and intense internal competition.

As Adolf Hitler clawed his way closer to power, his extremist policies brought him a host of enemies, some of whom were only too eager to see him dead.

During Hitler's first year in office--as he steered Germany abruptly towards tyranny--he faced no fewer than a dozen attempts on his life.

As Adolf Hitler brutally consolidated his dictatorship in Germany and wiped out all opposition, the most serious threat to his rule came from an unexpected source - one of his oldest comrades who led the massive paramilitary army, which had played a vital role in bringing him to power.

Prague's Black Front poses a particular threat shortly after Hitler becomes Chancellor as German Jews try to strike back against Nazi officials. But Hitler's security proved equal to the task of keeping him alive.

By 1938, people inside and outside Germany--including some of Hitler's senior military personnel--planned preemptive strikes against the Führer.

During 1938, Hitler annexed Austria and the German speaking areas of Czechoslovakia into the Third Reich. Faced with whole populations of hostile people, the 'Desert Fox' elite army unit was formed.

Hitler liked to tour cheering crowds in a customized, open-top Grosser Mercedes and later a G4-a predilection that gave his bodyguards nightmares.

Hitler employed a former World War 1 air ace Hans Baur as his personal pilot, and the Fuehrer was so impressed by his skill that he never allowed anyone else to fly him again. Baur became one of his key bodyguards, and his skill was critical when war came.

British operatives targeted Hitler's special train, the Führer-Sonderzug--a rolling fortress on rails--despite its heavy armor and tight security measures.

The Wolfschanze - his Wolf's Lair near Rastenburg - was the most famous of Hitler's military headquarters. Deep in the forests of East Prussia, it was from here that the Nazi warlord directed the titanic battles against the Soviet Union which would decide the fate of his Third Reich.

Hitler's Alpine retreat in Bavaria offered opportunities for a pistol-packing German officer, a sniper, a long-range bombing raid, and even an aerial assault by the Allies.

Hitler's last gasp offensive, the Battle of the Bulge, had been defeated and he fled back to Berlin. Now, as the Soviet juggernaut smashed its way into the heart of the Nazi capital, Hitler was left to make the choice - should he kill himself, or should he face the wrath of the world he had devastated?