THE BORMANN BROTHERHOOD

by William Stevenson ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 2, 1973

Real-life Odessa doings which purport that the ""ponderous"" Herr Bormann, one of Hitler's last sycophants during the final dark days in the Fuhrerbunker, foresaw the end sometime before it came, cleverly squirreled away a fortune in gold and other valuables, and did indeed escape after the war (as General Gehlen, Ladislas Farago, and others have maintained, however confusingly and contestably), using the stolen treasure to promote a clandestine ""Brotherhood"" dedicated to revivifying the Nazi mission -- ""The despicable forces loosed by the Third Reich are not expunged, although, like some virulent virus, they may have changed to other forms and be difficult to identity."" Stevenson, a journalist, is enthusiastic for the conspiracy notion, heaping jumbled snatches of intrigue upon unsubstantiated allegation upon indiscriminate sources, topped with those ultimately unconvincing ""vital pieces in the puzzle"" which, he states, have been floating around ""in the ragbag of my memory a long time."" Perhaps Bormann did establish a nco-Fascist order in South America and the Middle East after the war, perhaps Interpol's files are ""stuffed"" with reports of postwar Nazi financial transactions, perhaps Dr. Otto John is a true hero of democracy and not a defector or a double or triple agent, perhaps Dr. Adenauer was a secret supporter of the Brotherhood, perhaps Gehlen was right in his memoirs that Bormann was seen in Russia in the '50's (Stevenson, ever in pursuit of catchy conundrums, says Gehlen ""was probably right for the wrong reasons, or wrong for the right reasons, depending on your point of view""). Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps. The intent is to warn the world about the malevolent Bormann clique; whether Bormann is alive or dead, we are told, ""is no longer of any real interest"" (a statement which will come as news to the recently embarrassed Farago). Perhaps Stevenson is sincere. Perhaps he is simply cashing in on the current mania for things Nazi. Whatever the case, he has written a muddled book.

Pub Date: May 2, 1973

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 1973

Categories: NONFICTION