Inside Hitler’s inner circle – How his underlings served the Nazi tyrant

The Bunker – News without the nonsense

Podmasters

News, Government, Politics, Society & Culture

4.6 • 1K Ratings

🗓️ 29 August 2025

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

At the core of the most infamous regime in history is a paradox: a leader who somehow exercised total control while being personally lazy and issuing only vague instructions to his ministers. In Hitler’s People: The Faces of the Third Reich the renowned historian Richard J Evans investigates Hitler’s central clique from Göring, Goebbels and Himmler to low-level followers and fellow travellers. He talks to Alex von Tunzelmann about the power dynamic at the centre of Third Reich and what it can tell us about how authoritarians rule today. • Buy Hitler’s People through our affiliate bookshop and you’ll help fund The Bunker by earning us a small commission for every sale. Bookshop.org’s fees help support independent bookshops too. • Support us on Patreon for early episodes and more. • We are sponsored by Indeed. Go to Indeed.com/bunker to get your £100 sponsored credit. • Advertisers! Want to reach smart, engaged, influential people with money to spend? (Yes, they do exist). Some 3.5 MILLION people download and watch our podcasts every month – and they love our shows. Why not get YOUR brand in front of our influential listeners with podcast advertising? Contact ads@podmasters.co.uk to find out more Written and presented by Alex von Tunzelmann. Produced by Liam Tait. Music by Kenny Dickinson. Art by Jim Parrett. Managing Editor Jacob Jarvis. Group Editor Andrew Harrison. THE BUNKER is a Podmasters Production www.podmasters.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This edition of The Bunker is sponsored by Naked Wines. I'm Seth Tevall.
0:04.8	And I'm Zoe Grunewold.
0:06.4	And here at the bunker, we don't believe in guesswork. We go to the experts for the best insights into news and politics. And why should wine be any different?
0:15.1	That's why we're pleased to recommend Naked Wines. I enjoy their Bariccas Gallaudoro Reserva from Portugal. Well, I'm trying their small and
0:23.9	small Savignon Blanc from New Zealand. Seth, tell me, what's your wine knowledge like? Very specialised,
0:30.6	so pretty good on things Portuguese, but non-existent on those other things. How about you, Zay?
0:35.5	I drink most anything, but I have to say I'm really enjoying the savenient blanc. It's citrusy, it's got notes of gooseberry. I could just drink the whole bottle. What makes naked wines so convenient is that they deliver top quality wines right to your jaw from world-class winemakers from across the globe, whether it's a French rosé, a New Zealand reisling, or even the Lebanese
0:54.8	syria, naked can help you find your next bottle to fall in love with.
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1:04.0	winemakers, they can pass on the benefit and offer bottles up to 33% less than typical retail
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1:30.5	forward slash the bunker to grab six bottles for just 3999. Click the link in the description.
1:41.2	Welcome back to The Bunker, News Without the Nonsense.
1:48.9	I'm Alex von Tunselman.
1:51.2	A strong man rides to power on a wave of populist rage, promising to end corruption and restore the nation's pride and values.
1:59.0	He surrounds himself with political outsiders and fellow
2:02.2	travellers, hangers-on and opportunists, chosen for loyalty over competence. He wages war on institutions,
2:10.1	identifies and persecutes ethnic minorities as enemies of the people, purges the state and judiciary,
2:17.1	replacing officers with loyalists. But the inner circle
2:20.6	is riven with rivalry, corruption and suspicion, and the leader is prone to indolence.
	...

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