In the 1970's, former Hitler youth and relatively effective if not occasionally scatter-brained photo-journalist Gerd Heidemann became obsessed with Nazi collectibles and paraphernalia. As far as we know, Heidemann no longer subscribed to Hitler-Nazi ideology but was captivated, albeit off the proverbial charts, in authentic items related to the regime responsible for the deaths of millions in the late 1930's and 1940's. His first act was to buy a yacht formerly owned by Hermann Goering, taking out substantial loans not only for the purchase but for repair and renovation. The seed was planted for Heidemann to become a willing participant in and eventual victim along with his publisher Stern Magazine of one of the greatest historical-literary hoaxes of all time: the so-called Hitler Diaries.
Robert Harris' book "Selling Hitler: The Story of the Hitler Diaries" takes us on a journey which reads like a page-turning novel. In his introduction, Harris paints a compelling if not eyebrow-raising picture of the world's growing fascination with Adolph and the German Nazis beginning in circa 1970. This interest spiked in the 1970's with the appearance of diaries and documents associated with people directly and indirectly connected with Hitler. Even the Russians, who for years suppressed Hitler's autopsy and the circumstances around the Fuhrer's death, finally revealed their data in the late 1960's. By the time of the hoax, many biographies had appeared about Hitler but they seemed more factual and less intimate. Who was the real man behind the mustache? The time was ripe for the appearance of something hidden for 40 years which would give history buffs something to quench their Second World War appetites.
The story begins with the plane crash near what is now the Czech Republic of a German "Junker", a military transport plane, which contained many documents connected with and associated with Adolph Hitler. It was one of several planes ordered by Hitler to leave Berlin in April, 1945, before the arrival of the Allied Forces. While the plane crash itself is not disputed, a complex narrative would be fabricated around the crash concerning its "precious cargo", which would lead straight into the sudden appearance of the Hitler Diaries. The plane crash would become one piece of a larger "story": it supposedly contained several dozen volumes of Hitler's personal diaries, which had been confiscated by locals shortly after the plane crash. Of course, as the story goes, the locals have no idea what these are. To continue the narrative, the materials would end up in the hands of an East German national who would eventually smuggle the diaries to West Germany to be published by Stern Magazine in Hamburg, as long as the price was right.
Even before formal publication, the new discovery was causing a sensation in the magazine-publishing world. Harris paints an intricate portrait of intrigue, obsession, and greed among a cast of unlikely characters, such as the former Nazi officials befriended by Gerd Heidemann to Rupert Murdoch, publishing mogul of Australia, the UK and Canada. He even tried to secure publishing rights of the Diaries in the United States over Newsweek Magazine! Stern thought they had the upper hand until it was revealed, in part by Hitler historian and Holocaust denier David Irving and forensic analysis, that they were forgeries. Murdoch summed it up best when he pointed out that even if the Diaries are forgeries, that story will still sell magazines because that is as fascinating to readers as the real McCoy!
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Journalist Obsessed with Hitler-Nazi Collectibles Becomes a Willing Pawn in the Greatest Historical-Literary Hoax of All-Time
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2018
In the 1970's, former Hitler youth and relatively effective if not occasionally scatter-brained photo-journalist Gerd Heidemann became obsessed with Nazi collectibles and paraphernalia. As far as we know, Heidemann no longer subscribed to Hitler-Nazi ideology but was captivated, albeit off the proverbial charts, in authentic items related to the regime responsible for the deaths of millions in the late 1930's and 1940's. His first act was to buy a yacht formerly owned by Hermann Goering, taking out substantial loans not only for the purchase but for repair and renovation. The seed was planted for Heidemann to become a willing participant in and eventual victim along with his publisher Stern Magazine of one of the greatest historical-literary hoaxes of all time: the so-called Hitler Diaries.Robert Harris' book "Selling Hitler: The Story of the Hitler Diaries" takes us on a journey which reads like a page-turning novel. In his introduction, Harris paints a compelling if not eyebrow-raising picture of the world's growing fascination with Adolph and the German Nazis beginning in circa 1970. This interest spiked in the 1970's with the appearance of diaries and documents associated with people directly and indirectly connected with Hitler. Even the Russians, who for years suppressed Hitler's autopsy and the circumstances around the Fuhrer's death, finally revealed their data in the late 1960's. By the time of the hoax, many biographies had appeared about Hitler but they seemed more factual and less intimate. Who was the real man behind the mustache? The time was ripe for the appearance of something hidden for 40 years which would give history buffs something to quench their Second World War appetites.The story begins with the plane crash near what is now the Czech Republic of a German "Junker", a military transport plane, which contained many documents connected with and associated with Adolph Hitler. It was one of several planes ordered by Hitler to leave Berlin in April, 1945, before the arrival of the Allied Forces. While the plane crash itself is not disputed, a complex narrative would be fabricated around the crash concerning its "precious cargo", which would lead straight into the sudden appearance of the Hitler Diaries. The plane crash would become one piece of a larger "story": it supposedly contained several dozen volumes of Hitler's personal diaries, which had been confiscated by locals shortly after the plane crash. Of course, as the story goes, the locals have no idea what these are. To continue the narrative, the materials would end up in the hands of an East German national who would eventually smuggle the diaries to West Germany to be published by Stern Magazine in Hamburg, as long as the price was right.Even before formal publication, the new discovery was causing a sensation in the magazine-publishing world. Harris paints an intricate portrait of intrigue, obsession, and greed among a cast of unlikely characters, such as the former Nazi officials befriended by Gerd Heidemann to Rupert Murdoch, publishing mogul of Australia, the UK and Canada. He even tried to secure publishing rights of the Diaries in the United States over Newsweek Magazine! Stern thought they had the upper hand until it was revealed, in part by Hitler historian and Holocaust denier David Irving and forensic analysis, that they were forgeries. Murdoch summed it up best when he pointed out that even if the Diaries are forgeries, that story will still sell magazines because that is as fascinating to readers as the real McCoy!
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2018
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Journalist Obsessed with Hitler-Nazi Collectibles Becomes a Willing Pawn in the Greatest Historical-Literary Hoax of All-Time
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 8, 2018
Journalist Obsessed with Hitler-Nazi Collectibles Becomes a Willing Pawn in the Greatest Historical-Literary Hoax of All-Time
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 8, 2018
In the 1970's, former Hitler youth and relatively effective if not occasionally scatter-brained photo-journalist Gerd Heidemann became obsessed with Nazi collectibles and paraphernalia. As far as we know, Heidemann no longer subscribed to Hitler-Nazi ideology but was captivated, albeit off the proverbial charts, in authentic items related to the regime responsible for the deaths of millions in the late 1930's and 1940's. His first act was to buy a yacht formerly owned by Hermann Goering, taking out substantial loans not only for the purchase but for repair and renovation. The seed was planted for Heidemann to become a willing participant in and eventual victim along with his publisher Stern Magazine of one of the greatest historical-literary hoaxes of all time: the so-called Hitler Diaries.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 8, 2018
Robert Harris' book "Selling Hitler: The Story of the Hitler Diaries" takes us on a journey which reads like a page-turning novel. In his introduction, Harris paints a compelling if not eyebrow-raising picture of the world's growing fascination with Adolph and the German Nazis beginning in circa 1970. This interest spiked in the 1970's with the appearance of diaries and documents associated with people directly and indirectly connected with Hitler. Even the Russians, who for years suppressed Hitler's autopsy and the circumstances around the Fuhrer's death, finally revealed their data in the late 1960's. By the time of the hoax, many biographies had appeared about Hitler but they seemed more factual and less intimate. Who was the real man behind the mustache? The time was ripe for the appearance of something hidden for 40 years which would give history buffs something to quench their Second World War appetites.
The story begins with the plane crash near what is now the Czech Republic of a German "Junker", a military transport plane, which contained many documents connected with and associated with Adolph Hitler. It was one of several planes ordered by Hitler to leave Berlin in April, 1945, before the arrival of the Allied Forces. While the plane crash itself is not disputed, a complex narrative would be fabricated around the crash concerning its "precious cargo", which would lead straight into the sudden appearance of the Hitler Diaries. The plane crash would become one piece of a larger "story": it supposedly contained several dozen volumes of Hitler's personal diaries, which had been confiscated by locals shortly after the plane crash. Of course, as the story goes, the locals have no idea what these are. To continue the narrative, the materials would end up in the hands of an East German national who would eventually smuggle the diaries to West Germany to be published by Stern Magazine in Hamburg, as long as the price was right.
Even before formal publication, the new discovery was causing a sensation in the magazine-publishing world. Harris paints an intricate portrait of intrigue, obsession, and greed among a cast of unlikely characters, such as the former Nazi officials befriended by Gerd Heidemann to Rupert Murdoch, publishing mogul of Australia, the UK and Canada. He even tried to secure publishing rights of the Diaries in the United States over Newsweek Magazine! Stern thought they had the upper hand until it was revealed, in part by Hitler historian and Holocaust denier David Irving and forensic analysis, that they were forgeries. Murdoch summed it up best when he pointed out that even if the Diaries are forgeries, that story will still sell magazines because that is as fascinating to readers as the real McCoy!
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Darren Kearns
Is it past it's sell-by date?
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Carroty Nell
Selling Hitler by Robert Harris
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on March 3, 2014Roger Clark
A great read - and a warning to all Hitler authors!
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Ah, Now I understand
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