Adolf Hitler

Sept. 25, 2014

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Feb. 27 to March 7th 1942 lunch and dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. 1hr21min. Included in this episode:

• Hitler's planned response to the housing crisis - to build a million standardised houses a year for five years "after the war";

• His treasured experiences at Bayreuth and with the Wagner family;

• Stories about the NSDAP printer Müller and his women;

• Criticisms of women's vanities, followed by men's, followed by marriage and his acceptance of single mothers;

• How to treat the Eastern territories, plus school curriculums in Germany;

• The virtues and faults of the German language compared with others, and usefulness of "borrowed words".

Image: Richard Wagner's son Siegfried and his English wife, Winifred.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

Sept. 18, 2014

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Feb. 22-27, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. 1hr25min. Included in this episode:

• The success of the NSDAP newspaper empire;
• Importance of laughter and fun;
• How to carry out a revolution, and Hitler's dislike of Christian dogma;
• The weakness of King Michael of Romania and how to handle German minorities in the Balkans;
• Hitler expresses happiness the winter is over (soon) and admits the losses the Wehrmacht endured because of it;
• Long talk on God, religion and Truth;
• Govenors for the occupied west, and the nuisance of old monarchs;
• Thoughts on German expansion.

Image: Young King Michael of Romania meets Adolf Hitler at the Reichs Chancellery in Berlin during WWII.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

Sept. 11, 2014

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Feb. 17-22, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• Country estates in Hungary compared to  Wagner's Wahnfried and his own Berghof, and the stories of Karl May compared to American classics;
• Hitler's preference for Bavarian-Austrian lederhosen (leather shorts for men) and why he had to give them up;
• Wrong to shower too much care on colonial subjects, plus not enough theaters in Germany;
• Why Hitler plans for his great observatory to be built at Linz, and the importance of teaching the people the wonders of the physical universe;
• The privilege of playing the role of patron to the arts and sciences;
• Ferdinand Porsche is the greatest engineering genius in Germany at the time, and Hitler sees continued success for the Volkswagen;
• Praise for Schwartz and Amman as great talents who served the NSDAP, plus strong words against the "Jewish virus."

Image: Hitler liked wearing lederhosen during the 1920's, which he said was not considered acceptable attire in North German society.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

Sept. 3, 2014

Hitler takes in the view from the terrace of his mountaintop home, the Berghof. He says he always found it difficult to leave there.

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Feb. 6th-17th, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• Commentary on Britain, France and Japan, plus Germany's best engineers come from Swabia and Württemburg;
• More on criminals and the judicial system, and Church doctrines that oppose truth;
• Various types of government - monachy vs republic;
• A loyal state church, the beauties of Obersalzberg;
• The kind of aircraft Germany needed, and some of the "luck" involved in the Narvik victory;
• More humorous stories of Hitler's motor cars and his drivers;
• The Duce should get rid of the monarchy, and how Jews interfere with the natural order.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

Today, I saw another reference to Hitler's "dark hair" on what is supposed to be a pro-Hitler website by a pro-Hitler commenter.

"It makes me wonder why Hitler, Goebbels, Himmler, Hess, Speer etc all had dark hair." -HdP

Neither Hitler nor Himmler had dark hair, the other three did. Too many people accept whatever they see in a photograph -- any individual photograph -- without taking into consideration that hair invariably looks darker in photos that are not taken in direct sunlight. The resolution/quality of the photo also makes a big difference.

Hitler's hair was medium brown; Himmler's hair was a light shade of brown [or "dirty" blonde?]. Light to medium brown is probably the most common hair color among ethnic German people (this includes Austrians). From there it goes to lighter and to darker in probably equal numbers.

In addition, Hitler, Himmler and Hess had blue eyes. I can't discover the color of Speer's eyes, but his son has blue eyes [2-13-17: A commenter just presented proof Speer's eyes were brown - see comments]. Brown-eyed Germans, like Goebbels, were just as German as blue-eyed Germans. Besides, Goebbels was the father of several light-haired, blue-eyed children. The blue-eyed Magda Goebbels' hair looks dark in most pictures but she was actually a blonde.

Here are some pictures of Hitler and Himmler revealing their true hair color.

Hitler as a schoolboy. Low resolution of the photo makes for more contrast between dark and light, so the darks become black without any gradation. From this, we judge Adolf as a light to medium brown-haired boy.

August 28, 2014

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Feb 2nd-5th, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• German Freemasonry - Hitler's experiences with it and some tales about the early days of the NSDAP;
• Times at Bayreuth and his love of motor cars;
• His feelings when he was in prison and his story of leaving Landsberg Prison after 13 months, and the later release of his 13 companions;
• The burning of "witches" in German villages by the thousands, and other misdeeds of the Christian Church;
  
• Americans successfully produce industrial goods with far less labor than Germans, and Hitler wants to emulate this;
• The importance of climate in developing civilization, which comes from the South (Greece, Rome) in Hitler's opinion;
• Raids on the Brown House (NSDAP headquarters) and relations with the police.
  

Image: Hitler stands with Ludendorff to the left and Ernst Roehm at right foreground in 1922 at the time of his trial. Note that Hitler is equal in height to Ludendoff, for those who want to call AH "short." Roehm is short. Enlarge

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here

August 21, 2014

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Jan. 28-Feb. 2, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• The importance of large families and the rights of growing populations;
• Recollections of prison days and how to handle the Czechs;
• Long discussion on his friendship with the Duce, Italian Fascism and the "fossils" of the Italian Court;
• Hitler describes his early political opponents, plus his experiences with the police and with procuring weapons;
• Tells some amusing stories about French Ambassador to Germany, Andre-Francois-Poncet;
• Hitler criticizes his diplomats and questions how to reorganize German diplomacy.

Image: Hitler and Mussolini's expressions reveal the warmth and trust between them as the Führer arrives in Rome for a week-long state visit in May 1938. Enlarge

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here

August 14, 2014

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the January 25-28th, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim.  Included in this episode:

• Hitler speaks of his love of dogs, human origins, beauty of ancient Greeks, cosmic theories, his preference for art over politics;

• Women should not be in politics - Men run the state, women run the home;

• Foreign blood in war - the social caste system in Britain needs changing - National-Socialism encourages the selection of the fittest;

• Difficulties in getting hold of the German economy - negotiating with adversaries - Jews must leave Europe.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here

Hermann Giesler on left; Albert Speer on right,

 THE DISCORD

Translated and condensed from Hermann Giesler's Ein Anderer Hitler by Wilhelm Kriessmann and Carolyn Yeager

This is a condensation of the 15-page section Der Zwist on pages 340-355

copyright 2014 Carolyn Yeager

“ Powerful and at the same time not interested in power” … so judges the American historian, Professor Eugene Davidson, about the author Adalbert Speer, when reviewing his book Erinnerungen.

The following footnote (Chapt. 4, #32) from Joachim Fest’s Speer: The Final Verdict reveals the disdain Albert Speer felt toward Hermann Giesler that was probably the root of the problems between the two men.

“… in the caption to the picture showing Hitler in front of the Eiffel Tower, (Speer) mentions Breker but not Giesler on his right. […] In conversation Speer remarked that Giesler had been distinguished “beyond merit” by Hitler's invitation. Asked if he had been jealous of his rival, he replied, ‘How should I have been jealous of him? Giesler was a frightful petit-bourgeois! How could he supplant me in Hitler's favor?’ […] How unremitting Speer’s feelings were for Giesler emerges also from the fact that he consistently misspells his name with what seems like pointed indifference.”