title: To The Bitter End
author: Hans Gisevius
description: This chronicle of German resistance begins in 1933 with the torching of the Reichstag and ends with a bang--literally--in 1944 with a failed bomb plot to knock off the Fuehrer. Hans B. Gisevius was an observer and participant in these events, working to undermine the Nazi regime from within (he served in German counter- intelligence). All along, he considered himself a patriot, even though this book contains a ringing condemnation of the German people for their complicity in Hitler's wicked regime. <i>To the Bitter End</i> was written practically as events unfolded, smuggled out of Germany in portions because Gisevius wasn't sure he would live to complete it, and first published in 1946. It offers a firsthand account of Nazi Germany and the various underground efforts to prevent Hitler from doing what he ultimately did. Gisevius may not have earned credit for halting the tragedy, but he does offer today's readers important lessons about the nature of dictatorship and the seductive powers of evil. Allen Dulles, who played a small role in helping Gisevius escape from Germany after the failed assassination, wrote the foreword. <i>--John J. Miller</i>
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  [Contents](0743435230_toc.htm)
  
  # Chapter 90
  
  The grayness swirled thick, carrying the sounds of combat and dying. Despite
  everything they'd done, some of Aleri's agents had survived. Fire bloodied the
  fog to the south, and the smell of it was thick in the air.
  
  Marco turned to Kat, a heaviness in his chest, and the edge of despair in his
  voice. "We're losing. In spite of everything, we're losing. Count Badoero must
  have brought at least a thousand men. Caesare has made sure the damned militia
  are ineffectual. The Arsenalotti and the boat-people fight well. But this
  fogit confuses everything. There's something wrong with this fog. It's like
  it's fighting for _them._ "
  
  "It feels heavy. Not natural," said Kat. She'd acquired a cut on one cheek and
  two ash smudges on the other. With or without them, Marco still thought she
  was the most beautiful, wonderful person he'd ever met. She lightened the fog
  around her, and in the face of