Reception: 4:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Presentation: 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.
This event is free and open to the public. Register today to join us in person or to view the event online.

Join us in conversation with Mike Croissant, author of Bombing Hitler’s Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe, a gripping, untold account of one of the war’s final battles—the American bombing mission carried out on Linz, the Führer's hometown and one of Nazi Germany’s most vital strongholds.

A reception from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. will precede the event, and Croissant will sign copies of his book following the presentation. Preorder your copy of Bombing Hitler’s Hometown from the Museum Store.

For additional information, please email Connie Gentry, Conference and Programs Manager, at connie.gentry@nationalww2museum.org.

About Bombing Hitler’s Hometown: The Untold Story of the Last Mass Bomber Raid of World War II in Europe

As Hitler’s chosen hometown, Linz, Austria, was the city he had long envisioned as the cultural heart of his empire, where looted masterpieces from across Europe would fill his grand Führermuseum. By April 1945, Linz was a key transportation hub and communications center with railyards overflowing with war materiel bound for the crumbling front lines. Bombing Hitler’s Hometown explores the brutal mission assigned to the airmen of the US Fifteenth Air Force in the predawn hours of April 25, as they climbed aboard their B-24 Liberators and B-17 Flying Fortresses to brave the perils of high-altitude warfare over one of the most heavily defended targets remaining in the Reich. Drawing on interviews with dozens of America’s last surviving WWII veterans and previously unpublished sources, Mike Croissant delivers this story of devastation and defiance, the collapse of Nazi Germany, and the dawn of the Cold War. It is a harrowing testament to courage and terror, loss and redemption, and the thin, shifting line between humanity and savagery.

About the Author

Mike Croissant is an intelligence and foreign affairs expert, author, and retired CIA officer. His career in the CIA spanned more than two decades as an analyst and counterterrorism targeting officer in locations ranging from Washington, DC, to the Middle East and Central and South Asia. He holds degrees in political science and history from the University of Illinois (BA), Central Eurasian Studies from Indiana University (MA), and Defense & Strategic Studies from Missouri State University (MS). He lives with his family near Houston, Texas, and can be found online at MikeCroissant.com.