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Crossing Hitler: The Man Who Put the Nazis on the Witness Stand
During a 1931 trial of four Nazi stormtroopers, known as the Eden Dance Palace trial, Hans Litten grilled Hitler in a brilliant and merciless three-hour cross-examination, forcing him into multiple contradictions and evasions and finally reducing him to helpless and humiliating rage (the transcription of Hitler's full testimony is included.) At the time, Hitler was still trying to prove his embrace of legal methods, and distancing himself from his stormtroopers. The courageous Litten revealed his true intentions, and in the process, posed a real threat to Nazi ambition. When the Nazis seized power two years after the trial, friends and family urged Litten to flee the country. He stayed and was sent to the concentration camps, where he worked on translations of medieval German poetry, shared the money and food he was sent by his wealthy family, and taught working-class inmates about art and literature. When Jewish prisoners at Dachau were locked in their barracks for weeks at a time, Litten kept them sane by reciting great works from memory. After five years of torture and hard labor-and a daring escape that failed-Litten gave up hope of survival. His story was ultimately tragic but, as Benjamin Hett writes in this gripping narrative, it is also redemptive. "It is a story of human nobility in the face of barbarism." The first full-length biography of Litten, the book also explores the turbulent years of the Weimar Republic and the terror of Nazi rule in Germany after 1933. [in sidebar] Winner of the 2007 Fraenkel Prize for outstanding work of contemporary history, in manuscript. To be published throughout the world.
371 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 1, 2008
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332 people want to read
About the author
Benjamin Carter Hett
9 books114 followersBenjamin Carter Hett, a former trial lawyer and professor of history at Hunter College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York, is the author of Death in the Tiergarten and Crossing Hitler, winner of the Fraenkel Prize.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
June 13, 2013
I have so far read only the introductory chapter of what promises to be an utterly fascinating description of a trial where Adolf Hitler was called as a witness and grilled for three hours by a young attorney named Hans Litten. Litten will become a character in my new novel. I have just invited him to a dinner party (set in 1930 in Munich) where he will meet my main German character. This is one of the great powers of an author of historical fiction, and also explains much of the fun I have in constructing my novels.
More on this later, when we get to 1931 and the trial.
UPDATE 6/13/13 ...
The trial sections did not meet my expectations. Hitler is described as flustered, and his answers about whether the Nazis promoted violence were lies, but there was no significant damage done. Except to Litten, who was one of the first arrested after Hitler took power in 1933, spent 5-6 years in concentration camps, and finally committed suicide. He was a principled man whose story is worth telling. I will go back to the book to read those later chapters when I get there chronologically in my research, to see if I can work Litten's story into my novel.
More on this later, when we get to 1931 and the trial.
UPDATE 6/13/13 ...
The trial sections did not meet my expectations. Hitler is described as flustered, and his answers about whether the Nazis promoted violence were lies, but there was no significant damage done. Except to Litten, who was one of the first arrested after Hitler took power in 1933, spent 5-6 years in concentration camps, and finally committed suicide. He was a principled man whose story is worth telling. I will go back to the book to read those later chapters when I get there chronologically in my research, to see if I can work Litten's story into my novel.
September 28, 2011
Thoroughly researched and well written, Crossing Hitler is the story of Hans Litten, a young, leftist, half-Jewish prosecutor who cross-examined the witness Adolf Hitler in the 1931 trial of four Berlin Sturmabteilung members (SA, or storm troopers) for assault and attempted murder. Litten's questioning greatly peeved Hitler, who attempted to argue that the SA's official rhetoric, which seemed to encourage violence, was figurative only. The case happened at a time when Hitler, not yet Chancellor, was leader of the Nazi Party but still seeking legitimacy with the wider public and aware that he needed to distance himself from the tactics of his stormtroopers.
Both because he had publicly embarrassed Hitler at trial, and because his clientele was largely Communist (not, actually, because of his Jewish background), Litten was arrested in the general round-up of leftists, professionals, intellectuals, and other possible enemies of the state after the Reichstag fire of 1933. He was kept in various prisons, camps, and ultimately Dachau, under often difficult conditions. While for several years he was allowed letters, books, and some family visits, he was also beaten and tortured on numerous occasions. Once things got so bad that friends smuggled him poison so that he could commit suicide. Through it all, his mother and two of his loyal friends tried ceaselessly to obtain his release from prison and concentration camps. A young female friend, married and with two small children, spent nine months in prison for an attempt to plan his escape.
Although Litten was clearly a courageous, noble, and admirable figure, I have to admit that the narrative became more interesting for me when Hett stepped back from his close focus on Litten to discuss the wider history and context of the times. Hett was once a trial attorney, and it shows; there's a good deal of discussion of other cases Litten was involved in too, and at times we go deep into the weeds. One fascinating aspect that the book tangentially touches on is how Nazism transformed the German practice of law: during the Weimar period, most defense attorneys were both leftist and Jewish, and this coupled with the Nazi loathing of concepts of law in and of themselves meant the near destruction of the profession.
An excerpt from the trial:
Litten: You said that no violent actions are carried out by the National Socialist Party. But didn't Goebbels come up with the slogan "The enemy must be beaten to a pulp?"
Hitler: That is not to be taken literally! It means that one must defeat and destroy the opponent organizations, not that one attacks and murders the opponent.
Both because he had publicly embarrassed Hitler at trial, and because his clientele was largely Communist (not, actually, because of his Jewish background), Litten was arrested in the general round-up of leftists, professionals, intellectuals, and other possible enemies of the state after the Reichstag fire of 1933. He was kept in various prisons, camps, and ultimately Dachau, under often difficult conditions. While for several years he was allowed letters, books, and some family visits, he was also beaten and tortured on numerous occasions. Once things got so bad that friends smuggled him poison so that he could commit suicide. Through it all, his mother and two of his loyal friends tried ceaselessly to obtain his release from prison and concentration camps. A young female friend, married and with two small children, spent nine months in prison for an attempt to plan his escape.
Although Litten was clearly a courageous, noble, and admirable figure, I have to admit that the narrative became more interesting for me when Hett stepped back from his close focus on Litten to discuss the wider history and context of the times. Hett was once a trial attorney, and it shows; there's a good deal of discussion of other cases Litten was involved in too, and at times we go deep into the weeds. One fascinating aspect that the book tangentially touches on is how Nazism transformed the German practice of law: during the Weimar period, most defense attorneys were both leftist and Jewish, and this coupled with the Nazi loathing of concepts of law in and of themselves meant the near destruction of the profession.
An excerpt from the trial:
Litten: You said that no violent actions are carried out by the National Socialist Party. But didn't Goebbels come up with the slogan "The enemy must be beaten to a pulp?"
Hitler: That is not to be taken literally! It means that one must defeat and destroy the opponent organizations, not that one attacks and murders the opponent.
December 14, 2010
A personal account of an inspiring figure in recent history, who was willing to stand up uncompromisingly for morals and political beliefs in the face of personal detriment. The author paints a picture of a hard-working, upright yet socially awkward man, who used his brilliant professional skills as a lawyer in the German courts to the utmost in pursuing justice against acts committed by the Nazis.
It is with the benefit of hindsight that we judge these same acts as criminal, and it is even more striking then that Hitler himself was put on the witness stand, only to be acquitted by the German courts of any wrongdoing. It is saddening to imagine how the course of history might have been changed had the outcome been different.
In the latter part of the book, Litten himself pays the ultimate price - being thrown into concentration camps as an act of personal revenge by Hitler, and the numerous failed attempts for his release by his family members and close friends. This is an inspiring tale in the highest degree - of courage, perseverance, principles and sacrifice by this man and those around him who he influenced.
It is with the benefit of hindsight that we judge these same acts as criminal, and it is even more striking then that Hitler himself was put on the witness stand, only to be acquitted by the German courts of any wrongdoing. It is saddening to imagine how the course of history might have been changed had the outcome been different.
In the latter part of the book, Litten himself pays the ultimate price - being thrown into concentration camps as an act of personal revenge by Hitler, and the numerous failed attempts for his release by his family members and close friends. This is an inspiring tale in the highest degree - of courage, perseverance, principles and sacrifice by this man and those around him who he influenced.
July 31, 2013
Just a little at a time. Apparently a horrific story of a dedicated lawyer who had brought Hitler to trial before 1933. It does not go well after 1933 for him.
And, yes, halfway thru the book, Hitler has been made Chancellor, the Reichstag fire, the Enabling Act, and Litten is one of the first 5000 to be rounded up. It's the Spring of 1933 and the story becomes absolutely horrific. This continues for five more years. (I am reading this very, very slowly.) This took me just about a year to read; a little every once in awhile. Utterly powerful. Excellent.
And, yes, halfway thru the book, Hitler has been made Chancellor, the Reichstag fire, the Enabling Act, and Litten is one of the first 5000 to be rounded up. It's the Spring of 1933 and the story becomes absolutely horrific. This continues for five more years. (I am reading this very, very slowly.) This took me just about a year to read; a little every once in awhile. Utterly powerful. Excellent.
September 26, 2008
I was excited to get this book because I hadn't heard about this incident in world history. Hans Litten was a lawyer who got to cross examine Adolf Hitler before he became chancellor of Germany. At that time Hitler was just the leader of the Nazi Party. Hans Litten prosecuted the Nazis for numerous crimes before they got to prominence. However, once they took over Germany then Mr. Litten pay an extreme price in the concentration camps. This book has a great premise and told a lot about history that I had no clue about. However, I felt it was poorly written which led to me giving it a middle satisfaction score. I was tore because it was fascinating information but the book left me hanging a lot. I felt the author didn't go into good detail about his life before, during and after the Nazis came to power. It's only 261 pages...the rest are notes and indexes. The author does include what transcripts of the cross examination that he could find. The book doesn't focus a lot on the trial. It's mostly on the concentration camp part of his life and how his mother fought to get him out of there. It appeared to me that the author didn't have a lot of first hand source information. He relied a lot on Hans Litten's mother's biography of him and his best friend's books and notes. Just didn't feel like it was put together correctly and it just left me wanting a lot more. However, it was a great topic that is mostly unknown in the US. I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to explore something different about the rise of Adolf Hitler.
April 13, 2010
Great book about an attorney who fought the Nazis in court in 1928-1932 defending communists murdered by the SA, was arrested in 1933 on date of Reichstag fire due to his court battles with the Nazis and Hitler, and died in a concentration camp several years later. A hero in present day Germany. He was a left wing radical; but a compelling story about the rule of law during the coming of a lawless regime.
August 4, 2012
The biography of Hans Litten set in Germany between the 2 world wars. Whilst the story is extraordinary I found it took a lot of concentration and was not easy to read. If you are interested in this time in history you will enjoy this book as it is not typical of it's type.
December 18, 2018
First rate biography of Hans Litten, a radical anti-nazi lawyer, who had the audacity to summon Hitler to the witness box to testify in a trial against an SA atrocity in Berlin - the Eden Palace Dance trial. Litten was to be persecuted and tortured in a series of confcentration camps rom 1933-38 for his efforts in resisting the nazis. The final third of the book details these outrages and the courage of his mother who fought for his release. The book reveals the short-sightednes of traditional conservatives in Germany who thought they could "employ" Hitler and his thugs to deal with the Communist Party and the left. The destruction of this illusion is revealed in the nazis' contempt for a legal system, due process and even the concept of legality itself. The Epilogue tells how the legacy of Hans Litten has been contested in post war Berlin - there is still a Hans Litten Street. You can be sure that some politicians in the AfD who would love to see it written out of history. We need to honour the memory of Hans Littten and make sure they do not succeed. Never again.
April 26, 2023
I little long but an amazing read.I love how the lawyer (Titten) never refered to Hitler as "The Leader or Fuhrer" of the nazi party but always refered to him as "An Employee" of the nazi party, what a bitch slap.
September 14, 2019
A great biography in Hett's niche of Weimar legal history. Full review at link: https://tylerwolanin.com/blog/2019/3/...
May 10, 2023
The story of Hans Litten, the man who almost took down Hitler and the Nazi party before the implementation of mass genocide and the Final Solution.
January 8, 2026
A powerful book
A powerful and deeply relevant book for our times. A definite must read. I learned so much about him and the politics of Germany during that time.
A powerful and deeply relevant book for our times. A definite must read. I learned so much about him and the politics of Germany during that time.
December 29, 2015
It is news to me that there was one individual who made life difficult for Hitler in the courtroom. His story is poignantly told. Though the mother of the protagonist tried very hard to save her son,she failed and lost her son apparently to a suicide while in incarceration. The prose is quite plain and hence three stars.
September 23, 2013
Interesting time of German history;that said the subject matter and ending is fairly depressing.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews