Massaging Himmler

Set in Nazi Germany, with all the tension and drama of those fraught times, Massaging Himmler: A Poetic Biography of Dr Felix Kersten tells the remarkable story of little-known humanitarian, Dr Felix Kersten. He was Finnish born, and became a naturalised Swede after the war. Dr Kersten's story is one of intrigue and bravery. He was a European therapeutic masseur who found himself at the centre of the Nazi web, treating one of its most loyal leaders - Reischfuhrer Heinrich Himmler(head of the SS & Gestapo). Himmler suffered from stomach cramps, which sometimes forced him unconscious, and which no other practitioner could relieve. Dr Kersten massaged Himmler daily during the war, sometimes in multiple treatments. He took no fee for his services to the Reischfuhrer, but he used his influence to secure the release many hundreds of thousands of prisoners. Accused of collaboration at the end of the war, he worked tirelessly to clear his name. He received high honours from several European countries. Told in compelling language, from multiple points of view, this is an important addition to Holocaust literature. Flawed like the rest of us, Dr Kersten's story shows how one man was able to make a difference.