THE MAN WITH MIRACULOUS HANDS
THE REMARKABLE STORY OF HEINRICH HIMMLER’S PHYSICIAN, FELIX KERSTEN, WHO SAVED MANY NAZI VICTIMS FROM THE FANATICAL BUTCHER AND FORCED HIM TO BETRAY ADOLF HITLER
Author: Joseph Kessel Publisher: Elliott & Thompson Price: £20 (Hardback) Released: March 2023
The remarkable story of Dr Felix Kersten reveals some of the most astonishing and largely unknown inner workings of Nazi Germany and one of its most notorious wartime leaders. Heinrich Himmler, Reichsführer of the Waffen-ss and a key architect of the Holocaust, was a man who could unflinchingly order the removal of 5,000 Allied prisoners of war from their camps to have them summarily executed. This order, happily, was not carried out.
Kersten came to be the main restraining force in this fanatical demon’s entourage. He was a Baltic German who found himself reluctantly pulled into the Nazi corridors of power to serve as Himmler’s personal therapist. He gained Himmler’s trust, thanks to his skills that helped alleviate the Reichsführer’s chronic stomach pains. Eventually, Himmler came to rely body and soul on Kersten’s medical talents.
One of the most extraordinary incidents in this physician-patient relationship came shortly before the German surrender, when Kersten persuaded Himmler to meet with a representative of the World Jewish Congress. This meeting took place after Himmler had left a party with Hitler to celebrate the Führer’s birthday. Through Kersten’s good offices, it was agreed that several thousand Jews would be freed from concentration camps. He also obtained a guarantee to spare the lives of the 60,000 remaining in captivity.
At no small risk to his personal safety, Kersten throughout the war years had dominated Himmler to the extent of saving hundreds of thousands of human lives.