"Hitler's Table Talk" Study Hour

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

July 31, 2014

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

• The unexpected winter temperatures in Russia were providential even if difficult;
• Stories about Hindenberg and Von Papen, plus Hitler's first financial decision after becoming Chancellor;
• Thoughts on dueling;
• Discussion of nationalities - Czechs compared to Hungarians, Romanians and Germans;
• About food - fish, the potato, herbivore vs carnivore, vegetarianism, alcohol and tobacco;
• The story of Foxl [Fuchsl], his WWI pet dog.

Image: From left: Ernst Schmidt, Max Amman, Adolf Hitler, Foxl in 1915. 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.

July 24, 2014

At the Hochlenzer Gasthaus (restaurant) in Berchtesgaden, Adolf Hitler sits at an outdoor table with Bruno Buchner and his wife, proprietors of the Platterhof Hotel, Obersalzburg. Enlarge

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Jan. 13-17, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• Hitler talks about Czechs in general and Emil Hacha in particular;
• Men of genius like Austrian composer Anton Bruckner, who was unappreciated for so long, must be encouraged;
• High birthrate at the time in India, in Russia, but also in Germany;
• A woman of genius: Angelica Kauffmann was a very great painter, says Hitler;
• The early days in Obersalzberg wth Dietrich Eckart - he was known only as Herr Wolf until he began giving public speeches - how he bought his house "Wachenfeld";
• Recalls the many friends from those days, which were the best days in his life, and how he enjoyed the ladies and pretty girls; 
• Hitler mentions "the second volume of my book" being written in the Deutsche Haus in Berchtesgaden;
• Praises Dietrich Eckart, calls him the "polar star" to the early National Socialists and his death a great loss.

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.

July 17, 2014

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the dinner table monologues by the German Leader from Jan. 8-13, 1942, as taken down by trusted legal aide Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• Hitler reminisces about schoolboy pranks and other youthful experiences;

• More reminiscences about the dangers of airplane travel, plus campaigning by air vs motor-car in 1931-32, and building autobahns in the East;

• Japan's sudden wealth, plus Britain's wealth is in India;

• Discussion of following orders and supply problems on Eastern Front, plus better preparations for foreign conditions in the future;
  

• Churchill's policies favor no one but Jews, and how the British rule India.

Click image to enlarge: The schoolboy Adolf Hitler - never a dull moment.

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.

July 10, 2014

Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill face to face for the first time in 1941. Hitler despised them both.

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Jan. 5th-7th, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Some highlights of this episode:

• Japan and the Jews, the stupid Americans, the Spanish soldier;
• Stalin identifies with the Tsars and Pan-Slavism more than Boshevism - Slavs and Asians can copy but not invent;
• Corruption in Freemasonry, fictitious wealth of gold, guilt of Jews;
• Changes at Rome, Hitler removes Brauchitsch as Army chief;
• Churchill's faults, the decline of England, the decay of America.

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.