Born in 1887 in Torun, a town in West Prussia, Hermann Rauschning studied
history and music in Munich and later in Berlin. After volunteering to serve his
country during World War I, Rauschning became mayor of Danzig and later
president of the Danzig senate in June 1933. While serving in the senate,
Rauschning had many opportunities to interact with Hitler, both in group
settings and alone. Alarmed by Hitler's beliefs and his plans for world
conquest, Rauschning resigned from the senate in 1934 and fled to Paris. He
eventually moved to Zurich, where he spent the remainder of the war.
A former believer in the Nazi party, Rauschning became disillusioned through
his conversations with Hitler. Rauschning's notes and transcriptions of
conversations between himself and the German leader reveal Hitler's plans for
world domination and population control, as well as Hitler's nightmares and
fascination with the occult.
While in Zurich, Rauschning began assembling and publishing his notes, many
of which contained verbatim transcriptions of his conversations with Hitler. The
Voice of Destruction begins in 1932, well before the rest of
the world was aware of Hitler's destructive potential. As a member of the
Danzig senate and a confidante of Hitler's, Rauschning provides a rare,
first-hand glimpse into the mind of the German Fuhrer.
Nora Levin, a Holocaust scholar, described Rauschning as “one of the
most penetrating analysts of the Nazi period,” and his writings have
influenced many historians and scholars. Leaving Switzerland in 1948, Rauschning
traveled to the United States. He continued writing about German politics until
his death in 1982.