Book by Lake Forest author prompted by memory of Hitler’s pistol in his home

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John Woodbridge

Updated: January 3, 2012 8:33AM

John Woodbridge, a professor at Trinity International University who lives in Lake Forest, has co-authored “Hitler in the Crosshairs: A GI’s Story of Courage and Faith” with Pulitzer-Prize-winning author Maurice Possley.

After World War II, Adolf Hitler’s golden pistol ended up in Woodbridge’s home, thanks to a U.S. Army friend of his father’s. That long-ago fact spurred a book that covers the manhunt for Hitler, the fight of “Good Germans” and more.

The author discussed his 240-page work with the Lake Forester recently:

How did you find out Hitler’s pistol was in your house?

When I was a boy six years of age living in Savannah, Ga., my father showed me a pistol and stationery he said belonged to the German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler.

He indicated that one of his friends named Teen Palm had given him the pistol and stationery. He said Teen was the first American soldier to burst through the door of Hitler’s apartment and to reach Hitler’s desk. Teen removed the pistol and stationery and put them in his tunic.

About six years ago, my memory of this long-forgotten Savannah experience was jogged by watching a CNN report regarding the auction of one of Hitler’s rifles. I asked my three older sisters if they remembered seeing Hitler’s pistol. Each one indicated she had seen the pistol. My wife Susan reminded me that I had once talked with Teen Palm’s daughter. Susan found her name in an old telephone book.

I called the daughter. She indicated that she had a suitcase full of old correspondence from World War II days between her mother and father. In correspondence between her mother and father and my mother and father there were references to the fact that Teen had given the pistol to my father.

The historian in me was hooked. How did a prized pistol of Adolf Hitler end up in the home of a Presbyterian minister in Savannah, Ga.?

Why did you decide to co-write the book? How did you work with your co-author, Maurice?

I have written or edited a fair number of books of a more technical sort in history and theology. But it appeared this book should be written in a more popular writing style if it were destined for a mainstream audience. I did not feel that I had the skill sets to create such a book.

My publisher suggested Maurice Possley would make an ideal co-author. For 25 years he had worked as an investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Maurice got hooked on the story too. Both of us engaged in research and followed leads wherever they might go. Then I would write drafts of chapters for the book, and Maurice would rewrite them, or he would write fresh chapters.

What is new in the book?

The book reveals much new material with which most students of World War II may be unfamiliar. First, readers will learn about the sinuous history of Hitler’s prized pistol given to him on his birthday, April 20, 1939. Second, readers will be apprised of what the newspapers of the day called “the greatest manhunt in history” — the search for Adolf Hitler during the last months of the war.

Three, readers will learn about a revolt of about 400 “Good Germans” led by Rupprecht Gerngross in Munich. As far as we know, Gerngross’s revolt is the only successful urban uprising in Nazi Germany. Four, readers will follow Gerngross’s own attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. On one occasion, he literally had Hitler in the crosshairs of his rifle. Five, readers will discover that Teen Palm volunteered for a potentially suicidal mission: to go behind enemy lines to take out Hitler in his apartment in Munich. His mission was quite parallel to that of the Navy Seals who took out Osama Bin Laden.

What sort of response have you gotten on the book?

Maurice and I are very pleased that most everyone who has read the book has been inspired by its story of heroism and faith. Teen Palm turned out to be a genuine American hero. Here in the Chicago area, we have had opportunities to discuss the book on public radio, Rick Kogan’s Sunday morning program and other radio shows. We are also in beginning discussions with various people about turning the story into a Hollywood movie.

By the way, what happened to the pistol?

The pistol was stolen from our home in 1947. Then a gun dealer displayed it the 1960s, saying that he thought it was the pistol with which Hitler killed himself. Now it apparently is in the hands of an unidentified collector in California.

Maurice would love to run a DNA test on the blood on the pistol. Teen Palm was shot as he made his way back to Allied lines in April 1945. The blood on the pistol is quite likely Teen’s.

Any other books on the horizon?

Yes, with a colleague I am finishing up the writing of a new history of the Christian church. I have been working on this project for 15 years.

In addition, I would like to write a novel based on an historical work I published with the Johns Hopkins University Press. The book focused on a revolt against Louis XV led by his cousin, the Prince de Conti. In 1757, British intelligence received a secret message from the French Court that Louis XV, so shaken by the revolt, was contemplating abandoning the throne of France.

Anything else you would like to add?

I do hope that “Hitler in the Crosshairs: A GI’s Story of Courage and Faith” will help many Americans and Germans to understand that there were “Good Germans” who risked everything to destroy the Nazi war machine. This is an underreported or unknown story that simply needs to be known.

Moreover, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to members of the “greatest generation” — those Americans who fought in World War II. Especially, the foxhole rifleman like Teen Palm deserve special plaudits. They often bore the brunt of the fighting.