Crossing Hitler: The Man Who Put the Nazis on the Witness Stand

They could have got Hitler before he created all his mayhem had the German judiciary backed-up the unsung lawyer of this tragic story. Coincidentally, the Justice Dept., in the US, got Capone on tax evasion charges, around the same time while they couldn't get him for murder, extortion etc etc. The Germans could have locked-up Hitler for years had the German judiciary had the bottle to go after him and get him for perjury at this trial. They didn't have the will, or, the bottle and the rest is history. Moreover, the right wing politicians and their friends in the judiciary and the army were probably working hand-in-hand with Hitler's gang in the hope of toppling the Weimer Republic and reinstating some sort of monarchy and their old privileges. This guy was a lone voice crying in a wilderness of greed, cynicism and murderous intent. When Hitler came to power our brave hero was doomed and subsequently died in one of Hitler's foul KZs. Those who assisted in his death subsequently suffered either ignomy, misery, or death, as well, but not before Hitler's madness consumed another hundred million lives.Read this and pay tribute to a brave man and while doing so, put another brick in the wall of your understanding of how the Third Reich came to be.

Very detailed biographical history of a man who made his mark, stood by his principles and was not a survivor of the Nazi concentration camps. Very well documented. Only for true WWII history buffs.

Opened my eyes to an unsung hero. Each of the six million victims have a fascinating story.

Great copy. Awesome delivery time. Just as described!

It is very well written. easy to read and informative. I am not one to read many biographies but this one really caught my attention.

The source escapes me at the moment, but someone once said that those who fail to learn history are doomed to repeat it. When looking at the Holocaust, one might wonder if there was there anyone who was in a position to try and stand up to those who were instrumental in bringing it about. And if there were, what their fate was? "Crossing Hitler" tells the true story of a lawyer, Hans Litten, who seemed to have done about everything he could to deliberately antagonize Hitler. and the grim aftermath.Litten grew up in an upwardly mobile Jewish-German middle class. During the 1931 Eden Dance Palace trial, he forced Hitler to testify as a witness against the Nazi storm troopers accused of assault and attempted murder. Post-trial, Hitler who had a long memory, vowed revenge.L. is not the only hero in this book. Others include Max and Margot Furst, longtime friends and fellow activists who with his mother, Irmgard Litten waged a long, crafty and doomed attempt to have Litten released from the concentration camps.The book is full of incidents that prove that truth is often stranger than fiction, such as the SS guard who believed that Litten would be able to represent him in court while incarcerated. It's also an absorbing account of an unique historical figure.

To be honest, I usually read fiction, especially sci-fi/fantasy and occasionally thrillers with WWII links (Enigma, Black Cross, The Shadowman). Enigma was a work of pure fiction, based on the premise that the Third Reich had expanded, survived and become a permanent fixture on the European landscape.My apologies for mentioning another book. However, the reason why I do so, is because Crossing Hitler is a biography of Hans Litten, who put Hitler on the witness stand in the Eden Dance Palace trial of 1931. What few realize is that Litten's questions had the potential to cause Hitler to pejure himself (thus throwing him in jail) and fracture the Nazi party. Indeed, it takes little imagination for an "alternative history" sci-fi reader such as I, to wonder what would have happened if such a thing had come to pass? How many lives would have been spared? How much destruction avoided? How different would the world now be?This is the concept that intrigued me into deviating into the realm of non-fiction.The book really delves into Hans Litten's personality, beliefs and motivations. It looks closely at his life both from childhood right up to his death in Dachau concentration camp - the ultimate price paid for humiliating Hitler. Likewise, it looks closely at those who surrounded Litten, and the consequences of their association with him. To give him credit, Hett (the author) did a fantastic amount of research for the book, basing the arguments he provides largely on documented historical fact, backing it up with notes at the end citing the exact references.Likewise, while the author clearly is familiar with other biographies of Hans Litten, he strives to fully understand this brave lawyer and uses historical facts to justify his views.Personally, I found the book rather heavy, and would have enjoyed it more if more time had been devoted to Hitler's time on the witness stand.In all, though, I recommend this well researched book.

This is the story of Hans Litten, the German (and Jewish) lawyer who brought Hitler to trail for his relationship to the SA (Storm Troopers). Unfortunately, Litten's heroic cross examination of Hitler brought him a life of woes including exclusion as a practicing lawyer and ultimately ended with Litten in a concentration camp where after five years he took his own life. I greatly enjoyed this book because this is truly a story of a profile in courage and what the cost of that courage was. This was the first time I had read or heard about this trial or Hans Litten and I found it to be a hard to put down book. I read it from beginning to end in only three sittings. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who would like to know more about Hitler's rise to power, his personality and about a true hero, Hans Litten, who suffered untold misery (and documented tortue) due to his legal pursuit of Hitler and the SA. This book is the embodiment of what it means to give your life for the common good and for what is right. An intriguing and thought provoking read reminding all of us of that there were those that tried to stop Hitler and what the consequences were.

To Benjamin Carter Hett: thank you for writing this book.We all need to know about Hans Litten: what he did, how he lived and what he sacrificed in the name of truth.Having read Nelson Mandela's biography written by Anthony Sampson I found beautiful and interesting similarities between Mandela and Litten:they were both lawyers, they were both extremely generous to their fellow inmates, they both loved Shakespeare and gained strength from reading his work while in prison.A wonderful book.

To read....?

His book on the Reichstag fire is far better. The first half of the book focuses on his law practice. It seems his relationship with his father was probably the main catalyst for his subsequent career, but that relationship is hardly explored, except to say that it was bad. It's only the second half of the story that really makes the book interesting. When he's arrested on the night of the Reichstag Fire, the really powerful story of evil and injustice begins.Since Hans Litten was a controversial lawyer, his status as a hero is far more grey, then black and white. He certainly suffered and died unjustly for his defense of communists against Nazi aggression, but his clients were often not innocent either. He used questionable tactics to win his cases and, although he could see that Hitler was behind the violence of the SA, (despite his claim of legality) and he tried to prove it by cross-examining Hitler himself on the witness stand, he was far more accommodating towards the violence of the Communist opponents.In the end, he embarrassed Hitler in public and damaged the party's reputation. For that he suffered the ultimate fate. For the Germans, Hans Litten represents the fight for democracy in criminal court proceedings. He used his role as defense attorney to really question witnesses and try to shape the judge's opinion. The Nazis came and stamped that out.It'a somewhat interesting book, but not a page turner. If you have an interest in Weimar Germany and law in the Weimar and early Nazi period, than this book is worth a read.

THIS STORY WAS DEALING WITH THE LEGAL SYSTEM IN GERMANY AT THE TIME AND MADE THE READING A LITTLE HEAVY. HOWEVER I ENJOYED THE TRAIL AND AFTERMATH. WOULD RECOMMEND IT THOUGH.