When people say they don't enjoy history books, or books about Hitler, or books about war, I will hand them this book, tell them to set aside a day to read and then come back to me. Hitler and the Habsburgs is an astonishing piece of work and I'm glad I finally read it.

I like to think I’ve read fairly extensively around Hitler and this timer period, but this was new info to me. I had honestly never heard of the connection and basically persecution the Hapsburgs received at the hands of Hitler. Definitely recommend!

This was an interesting look into the relationship and dislike between Hitler and the Habsburgs royal family.

This was a very interesting and well written account of why Hitler targeted the children of the dead Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Had Franz Ferdinand's assassination not lead to enough trouble and torment in Europe? Obviously not!! This was a fascinating read and an area that needs further exploration and attention as it is an angle I had not once heard of or considered before reading this book. Well done James Longo on a well researched investigative piece into the causes of World War 2.

A good way to give yourself nightmares - reading a book that features Hitler’s speeches frequently just before bed.

A good way to shake off the feeling of horror and dread - focus on the incredible grace so many survivors of that hatred and horror demonstrate.

This is a tough but fascinating read. It shows a microcosm of both the worst and the best of people. You see the bitterness and horror and the strength and goodness in the experiences of one family and can see it extrapolated to so many....and can see how far we have to go.

The parallels I felt of leaders today and then left me chilled to the core. It’s one thing to feel these things organically, it’s another to read the exact details and have your feelings borne out (these are my interpretations, the book only focuses on history not the tie to now).

I choose to take away that resilience people are capable of is breathtaking.

I received an advance readers copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Well researched about the history of Hitler and the Habsburger family, but sadly with spelling errors of some German names or places.

I received this ebook copy from the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review.

Extremely well written and researched discussion of Adolf Hitler's personal hatred of the ruling family of the Austrian empire. My own interest in history and my family's personal history of WWII mean this has always been a time period of great interest to me, although really well done treatises leave me emotionally spent and angry. Professor Longo's book left me spent and angry, and frightened. His research into both the background of Hitler and the Austrian emperors is exhaustive, but has been condensed into very readable chapters that illuminate the early twentieth century in middle Europe with ease and much detail that reads very engagingly. The author spent years interviewing many of the historical people who were children and adults in the Austrian royal family, and the intimacy established between them truly enlivens what could have been a dry recitation of historical fact with eyewitness recollections and loving family memories. The first few chapters detailing the rise of Hitler were especially chilling and frightening given the current resurgence of his nationalist agenda in the US and Europe. Hitler and the Habsburgs is both an excellent history and a bellweather warning of how insidious hatred can poison a thriving, multicultural society. Excellent and highly recommended reading for history buffs and political science readers.

This book answered so many questions of how the rise of Hitler took place. It’s a wonderful informative book. I recommend this book to all. Terrible what happened to the Habsburg empire and family. There are no words to explain how horrible it all was.

Before the European Union, there was the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was a true melting pot, comprising different countries and cultures. Born in the country of Austria, Adolf Hitler despised how multi-cultural the Empire had become. Even the royal family was in on the act, with the Emperor’s heir having married a Slav. Hitler may have been slightly mollified by Emperor Franz-Joseph’s decision that Sophie Chotek would not share her husband’s rank or privileges, and that their children would not be in the line of succession, but it was still insulting to him that Archduke Franz-Ferdinand chose her and not a Germanic woman of high standing.

This recently published book by James Longo tells the stories of Hitler and the children of Franz-Ferdinand and Sophie in parallel, and it’s full of surprises. I don’t know if I’d known previously that Hitler’s beloved mother had been tended to by a Jewish physician. Even as the future dictator railed against his precious Vienna being overrun by people from the outer reaches of the empire, he continued a correspondence with the doctor and occasionally sent gifts. In time, he would assist the doctor in emigrating from the country and, therefore, avoiding the Final Solution that befell so many Jews. There were other signs of Hitler’s hypocrisy as well: as much as he couldn’t stand “others” taking advantage of the freedom of movement, he certainly took advantage of it when he moved to Munich.

As Hitler rose to power, the Hohenberg orphans lost not just their parents but their property and possessions as well. Between the two world wars, they pushed for the restoration of the Austrian monarchy and for their cousin – their father’s heir – to claim the throne. To Hitler, they were a threat to his dictatorship and a sign of the former empire’s weakness with their inferior Slavic blood. They weren’t members of the Nazi party either, but that was a minor detail. When Hitler marched into Austria, Maximillian and Ernst Hohenberg were among the first to be arrested and interned in Dachau. As a British woman, I was both horrified and embarrassed to be reminded of how little the British government did not only to get them out of harm’s way but to stop Hitler in his tracks.

Even though the in-depth narrative switches back and forth, the stories of the major players are easy to read and understand. Longo’s writing clearly indicates the character differences between them. While the orphans wished for peace and had no desire for retribution against their parents’ assassin, Hitler eagerly anticipated war and blamed the empire for his problems prior to the summer of 1914. Longo shows that his action against the siblings was personal. He sought revenge, and they were in easy reach. It was, perhaps, another sign of the man’s warped mind. It’s somehow fitting, however, that all of Franz-Ferdinand’s children outlived the monster that would see them dead.

A good quarter of the book’s pages are dedicated to notes and a bibliography. There’s also an interesting author’s note. Longo writes that he once met the final pre-Anschluss Chancellor of Austria, Kurt von Schuschnigg, who had become a political science professor at Saint Louis University. Since he was a child at the time, he didn’t understand who the man was but he decided to find out. That started the journey to this detailed and informative slice of European history.

Disclaimer: I received an electronic Uncorrected Proof of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. I was not required to write a review, and the words above are my own.

Superb. An outstanding work of historical research written in an accessible and entertaining way, telling the fascinating and often heart-breaking story of the last of the Habsburgs and their downfall at the hands of Hitler and the Nazi regime. Compelling reading, a real page-turner and a book I can’t recommend highly enough.

Really enjoyed the book. It was a great experience to read. Hitler is such a fascinating character but because he's not just a character in a book its all the more fascinating. Very informative and full of information

A fascinating look at an element that often gets overlooked in studies of World War II and Hitler: the lingering historical ghost/presence of the Austro-Hungarian empire, and the animus he felt towards it. By focusing on the Hohenbergs, the periodisation of history gets destroyed; the different eras that seem mentally easy to separate telescope into a single lifespan. One almost forgets how short the time between pre-WWI Europe and World War II was, but mapping it onto these children makes it clear again how fast things changed, how Hitler was still actively grappling with hatred against a lost world in the 1930s. A really interesting look at an interesting family - of course one remembers Franz Ferdinand and his wife, but the children have always fallen through the historical cracks.

Hitler and the Habsburgs is a a well researched book. It's a intriguing look at the rise of Hitler and how he treated the Hapsburg family . I would recommend to anyone interested in that time period

Adolf Hitler hatred for the Habsburgs ran deep and long and he took it out on the children of the assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. Their marriage had been morganatic and while Franz Ferdinand remained the heir to the throne and the future Emperor, his wife would never be Empress and their children, Sophie, Max and Ernst, would be excluded from the succession. Franz Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated In Sarajevo in 1914, effectively kickstarting the First World War.

The children were taken in by their step-grandmother, Archduchess Maria-Theresa of Austria, who had supported their father’s marriage to Sophie. As Hitler rose to power and eventually annexed Austria, Max and Ernst were taken to Dachau Concentration Camp where they were tasked with cleaning the latrines, with their bare hands. While Max was released after six months, Ernst remained imprisoned until 1943. Sophie was placed under surveillance and she tragically lost two of her sons.

James Longo’s book is a long-overdue look into the lives of the Hohenberg children. Of course, the early life of Adolf Hitler also features heavily but is less of interest to me personally. It is very well written and an enjoyable read.

Thank you to Net Galley for a free eARC in exchange for an honest review. I found this to be a very interesting book. It was very readable. It was well researched and well written. I found it to be very interesting and very helpful in explaining events leading up to WWII.

The author did an amazing job researching the connection between Hitler's obsession with the Habsburgs family and his rise to power. I didn't know about this important link prior to reading this book and it made me understand Hitler's background and how it affected history. This was well written and was a fascinating read.

Four stars

An interesting look into Hitler's life and not just his reign.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

The Author undertook an interesting effort to present the reasons behind Hitler's obsession, or rather hatred towards the Habsburgs and the values their empire represented. This books reads very well and it written for an average reader, not scholars, which is definitely a big plus. Just one comment: in Chapter 18 we read that Cracow, Poland, was totally destroyed by the Germans during WW2 and 200,000 civilians lost their lives. It was not Cracow, but Warsaw that suffered this tragic fate.
*Many thanks to the Author, Diversion Books and Netgalley for providing me with ARC in exchange for my honest review.*

I knew very little about the Habsburgs and the political background of Austria prior to WWII. Hitler & the Habsburgs filled in the blanks and then some. This is the kind of non-fiction book I love to read--hard to put down and prompts me to learn more.

Hitler’s background in Austria is the focal point at the beginning, but as Hitler grows older and gains power, the focal point shifts to the Habsburg family, and of course, the war. I had no idea of Hitler’s early years, so it was interesting to read about his hatred for the Habsburgs and how his path to power came about.

James Longo’s informative details of the Habsburg family were written with such compassion. As the first two political prisoners taken after Hitler invaded Austria, Maximillian and Ernst Hohenberg were treated horribly. The family spent years trying to get them released and then spent more years trying to have the family property returned.

History lovers and those who love reading about the Imperial dynasty will enjoy this one. It’s a fairly quick read and is very informative. I really liked it and will look for more of James Longo’s work in the future.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Diversion Books for allowing me to read an advance copy and give my honest review.

I found this to be a fascinating and tragic story, evoking the splendour of Europe at the end of the Habsburg regime, and its frightening descent into the madness of the Nazi years. It answered a lot of questions I had about the aftermath of WW1, once the Empire had ceased to exist, having just read Simon Winder's Danubia: A Personal History of Habsburg Europe. I read a lot of modern history, yet this book featured stories and facts that I haven't seen anywhere else. For example, Hitler sparing the lives of certain Jews while ruthlessly persecuting the majority; and Chamberlain refusing to issue British visas for the remaining Habsburgs to escape the Nazis. The author does a good job of interconnecting stories which take place in different countries and differentiating between a large number of people with rather similar names and titles, while at the same time incorporating interesting anecdotes about historical figures caught up in these events (e.g. young JFK visiting 1939 Czechoslovakia). I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone with an interest in modern European history and the history of royal families in Europe.