Product Details

• Actors: Geoffrey Giles, Adolf Hitler, Lothar Machtan, Lawrence Mass, Ron Rosenbaum
• Directors: Fenton Bailey, Gabriel Rotello, Randy Barbato
• Producers: Gabriel Rotello, Caroline Stack
• Format: Black & White, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Strand Releasing
• DVD Release Date: March 8, 2005
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0006SSST6
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,743 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Hidden Fuhrer: Debating the Enigma of Hitler's Sexuality" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

In September 2001, respected German historian Lothar Machtan dropped a bombshell on the world of Hitler studies. Hitler was a secret homosexual. His highly acclaimed and explosive book, The Hidden Fürher, ignited a storm of controversy. Award winning filmmakers Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato explore areas of the Führer’s private life.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT DOCUMENTARY, December 17, 2007

By 

J. DeMeo "naturalenergyworks" (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hidden Fuhrer: Debating the Enigma of Hitler's Sexuality (DVD)

Understandably nobody wants to "claim Hitler" as a part of their social construct or world view. But facts are facts, and what's related here -- taken also together with the info in the The Hidden Hitler, about which this documentary is focused -- is powerful evidence. Not only evidence for "der fuhrer's" youthful romps with other men, his later vainglory in the "men's world" of the WW-I trench warfare, but later in the "muscular homoerotocism" of the Third Reich itself. Not to mention his SA units who were led by the openly homosexual Röhm, and whose units were known to commit pedophilic rapes and drunken homosexual street parties which was costing "der fuhrer" some of his popular support. Another work to consider is Pink Swastika which is hated by the gay movement, but also provides even more supporting detail. Hitler condemns the Jews, capitalists, Bolsheveks, Americans, British, etc., in his "Mein Kampf", but says nothing about homosexuality. Homosexuals later in the Third Reich were interned into the concentration camps -- but only the softer males. The leather-clad S&M phallic-aggressive macho sexual predators who also inhabited the German homosexual scene rose to high positions in the Third Reich, and occupied roles in the machinery of death and destruction. If I could fault this documentary, it is only that it spends too much time apologizing for the implications of Machtan's findings, for the facts of Hitler's and the Nazi movements homoerotic aspects. There are plenty of interviews with leading homosexual scholars and gay-rights advocates, denouncing Machtan and his findings but without giving clarity about why (other than they don't want Hitler identified as homosexual), but not one interview with those who agree with Machtan. One important question raised in the documentary, and which remains unanswered, is "why out of over 100,000 books published about Hitler and the Third Reich is this aspect of his sexual life almost never mentioned?"

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Fair and Balanced, January 23, 2011

By 

C. Huber "cc" (dana point, ca) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hidden Fuhrer: Debating the Enigma of Hitler's Sexuality (DVD)

This video was definitely 'fair and balanced'. A great deal of time was given to homosexual 'scholars' to refute the author. In fact, it almost seemed as if the film was being filmed to refute the author. The 'scholars' though did not seem to be genuine. I think they would refute the charges even if their were a museum filled with pictures of Hitler in the act. One argument given that Hitler was not gay was that he was not good looking enough. I thought he was nice looking in pictures of him as a younger man. I do not know what that would have to do with it anyway. Senator Barney Frank is nothing to look at. I was not convinced either way after seeing this film and think I will delve into this subject further by buying the book, Pink Swastika.

3.0 out of 5 stars Inconclusive, February 24, 2012

By 

Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Hidden Fuhrer: Debating the Enigma of Hitler's Sexuality (DVD)

In 2001 Lothar Machtan published the book THE HIDDEN HITLER, which put for the notion that Hitler was a not-always-so-closeted homosexual and whose attempts to cover up and then deny his homosexuality played a significant role in the direction of the Nazi party. The book sparked considerable controversy among historians, some of them accusing Machtan of sloppy research, but all of them sounding the same bell: where is the proof? The documentary THE HIDDEN HITLER continues the debate, with Machtan attempting to raise the notion of Hitler's homosexuality above the level of speculation.

The fundamental difficulty in examining Hitler's sexuality is that no specific documentation survives. There is simply no hard and fast proof that Hitler ever had sexual relations with anyone. We do know that as young man he had several very intense friendships with other young men. We do know he had an intense with niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. We do know that Eva Braun was typically thought of his mistress. But no one ever came forward to say "I had sex with him." There is no real documentation of any kind, and as such it is utterly impossible to know.

Filmed in 2004, THE HIDDEN HITLER is essentially a riff on Machtan's book, but it is not nearly as speculative as the book was; in this film, many scholars challenge Machtan's notions, and what ultimately emerges is a series of unproven possibilities. The strongest argument for Hitler's homosexuality, or bisexuality, is the accusation that he molested a member of the Wagner family, but again there is no factual proof, no tangible proof, no written statements or records or photographs. So ... was he or wasn't he?

Perhaps the most interesting question raised doesn't pertain to Hitler's sexuality but to how we wish to perceive it. Certainly the gay community would be horrified if hard proof came to light; no one wants to claim Hitler. Certainly neo-Nazis would be equally displeased. On the other hand, certain groups who despise both homosexuals and neo-Nazis would welcome the news and attempt to discredit homosexuals by linking them to neo-Nazis and the like.

THE HIDDEN FUHRER is an interesting documentary, but it is also one that needs to be taken with a shaker of salt. For at the end of the day, and regardless of what anybody says, we simply don't have any proof one way or another. Hitler may have been homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, or asexual for all we know, and unless unexpected evidence suddenly comes to light, we're never likely to know for sure.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer