From a man extremely loyal to the ideas of Hitler to an open fighter against fascism - this is the path of Friedrich Paulus. How did this evolution take place? What, along with the crushing defeat at Stalingrad, influenced his worldview? How did the former commander of the 6th Army live and what did he do in captivity? These and other questions are answered by the authors of the publication - a translator during the war, and later the famous historian A. S. Blank and his student, Candidate of Historical Sciences B. L. Khavkin. The book is written on the basis of documentary data.