cover image The Devil's Diary: Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich

The Devil's Diary: Alfred Rosenberg and the Stolen Secrets of the Third Reich

Robert Wittman and David Kinney. Harper, $28.99 (416p) ISBN 978-0-06-231901-2

Wittman (Priceless), a former FBI investigative expert on cultural property crime, joins forces with journalist Kinney (The Dylanologists) to share the engrossing story of former Nazi Alfred Rosenberg, his diary, and the lengths historians had to go to in order to get their hands on it. Rosenberg, a virulent anti-Semite with a deep need for attention and status, found kindred souls in the Nazi party and had a profound influence on Hitler during his rise to power. In 1934, Rosenberg began a diary that he kept current through the end of WWII. It was packed with details of the party's inner workings. Robert Kempner, a lawyer and Social Democrat who escaped Germany, ended up in the U.S. and landed a gig in the War Department where he helped prosecute Rosenberg, among others. Kempner took possession of Rosenberg's diary, but it was essentially "lost" for decades. Kempner disavowed ownership of it, and after his death his heirs went to extraordinary lengths to keep it secret. Wittman and Kinney's chronicle of the efforts historians took to gain access to the diary feels like it's pulled from a movie, especially when they add in Rosenberg's story. This is an outstanding piece of journalism. Agent: Larry Weissman, Larry Weissman Literary. (Apr.)