There is a genre of books that is often very popular that may be loosely called “what if” books. Of books in this genre the era of World War II is often an enticing subject. A world in turmoil is a great setting for unexpected events and when unseen possibilities become potential reality they can make for a great story. This is exactly what John T. Cox has set out to do in Hitler’s Ashes; a story premised on the possibility that the plot to kill Hitler succeeds and also eliminates his top Nazi associates leaving Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, as the Chancellor of a German nation still at war and determined to win. 

 

Cox’s story centers largely on a fictitious army officer named Reinhardt who assists with the successful assassination and then becomes a central figure in the success of the new government as it attempts to deal with England and the US on one side and Russia on the other. Cox’s characters come up with a plan that is well thought out, and might have been successful if the circumstances were much more different from reality. His suggestion for a successful campaign to conquer Soviet Russia shows that he precisely understands the problems presented by such a venture. It is an area he might have spent more time discussing, but which he unfortunately neglects in favor of pressing his story on to a conclusion and a brief discussion of a different post WWII era and some details of the lives of the central characters. Thus, while Cox has an idea that presents interesting possibilities he fails to develop them sufficiently to make a really good story.  

 

There are other problems. In order to have the technology available for the development of a German atomic bomb Cox places the origin of German atomic research two years earlier than actually occurred. This he acknowledges in his introductory materials, but he neglects to note that he also places the assassination plot in November of 1943, about 8 months before the July 20, 1944 date of the actual attempt by Count von Stauffenberg, at the “Wolf’s Lair” headquarters in East Prussia. This date, which coincides with another actual attempt on Hitler’s life by Axel Freiherr von dem Bussche-Streithorst, would have provided Germany with a much greater opportunity to reorganize itself politically, particularly since Cox also has the rest of the Nazi leadership taken out at the same time. 

 

The actual November 1943 plot was derailed by an Allied bombing raid, which destroyed the new winter uniforms Hitler was to inspect. Bussche-Streithorst was later severely wounded and was therefore unable to repeat the attempt, and it came to naught. Stauffenberg was involved in instigating this attempt but did not actively participate as he did later in the July 20, 1944 attempt. 

 

Considering that there had been about 20 attempts on Hitler’s life before November 1943 and he had an active corps of bodyguards, it was unlikely that any assassination attempt would have gone as smoothly as Cox has it happen. After this all the pieces repeatedly fall into place with nothing significant going wrong, which is extremely unusual in wartime. Along with the truth, planning is always one of the first casualties of war. 

 

To make matters more problematic, in November 1943 the Anglo American forces were already about half way up the Italian peninsula, and the Russians were knocking on the door of Poland. The resources necessary to hold off both of these armies could not have been diverted to other purposes without opening the doors wider to the Allies. Even more implausible is the suggestion that German industry could suddenly mass-produce jet powered aircraft in numbers that could prevent the Allied bombing raids that were destroying both factories and infrastructure needed for the war effort. Discussing the rest of the issues would take too much space to continue discussing them here. 

 

In short, everything is too pat. It is as if Sam and Frodo had an uneventful trip to Mount Doom, throw in the One Ring without a hitch, and then head back to Minas Tirith, happy in a job well done. This makes what might have been a good story very unconvincing to anyone who has a sufficient knowledge of history, or who is looking for some real thrilling adventures. And, when you consider that the audience for a book such as this is likely to be historically astute, or at least expecting a serious adventure, they will likely end up disappointed. 

 

Another area where Cox could have focused his efforts is the post war period.  How Germany could have managed such large empire as he has them controlling presents interesting problems, particularly as it has a very limited naval presence other than the submarine fleet.  There was also the threat of Mao in China to deal with.  Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity, he glosses over the events. 

 

To his credit, Cox does presents information at the end of the book regarding some of the technological issues, including the Junkers jet engines that were in use at the time and which had serious problems, including, most importantly, their short operating life due to the lack of high temperature alloys. 

 

It is unfortunate that a book with such an interesting premise ends up giving less than it could. 

 

For those still interested, Hitler’s Ashes can be found at Amazon.com