THE THIRD REICH – the history of National Socialism3 Aug

#29 Speculations about Adolf Hitler’s Ancestry

This is what so often happens with famous men: the moment they step into the spotlight, everything around them is turned over, and people begin hunting for scandals, contradictions and hidden secrets. Hitler’s father, with his murky origins and his posthumously acquired name, supplied ideal raw material.

Long before Hans Frank, Hitler’s former lawyer and the Governor-General of occupied Poland, wrote his notorious memoirs, various sources had already floated the theory that Hitler’s father might have been of Jewish descent. The possibility was discussed by Walter C. Langer, the American psychoanalyst who compiled a secret psychological profile of Hitler for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during the war, and also by Fritz Thyssen, the industrialist who had been among the earliest supporters and financiers of the Nazi Party before breaking with Hitler and fleeing Germany. The theory was likewise revived by a man writing under the name Hansjürgen Koehler, a former Gestapo employee who was later assigned to the guard detachment at Hitler’s alpine residence, escaped to the West, and published a sensational book entitled Inside the Gestapo.

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Episoder(30)

#31: Adolf Hitler’s Mother – Klara Hitler

Regarding Klara’s character, historical accounts are highly consistent: she is described as decent, modest, quiet, and deeply devoted. A typical peasant woman, she cared meticulously for her household...

18 Sep 46min

#30 – Hitler's Father, Part 2: Caring Father or Monster?

Was he a hard, distant bureaucrat who raised his son with iron discipline? Or is there something more complex behind that icy portrait? Was he a violent tyrant who terrorised his family – or a man wre...

2 Sep 46min

#28 Johanna Wolf: The Secretary Who Never Betrayed His Trust

Johanna Wolf was the oldest of the secretaries and effectively served as their leader—the "chief" among them. She worked for Hitler from 1933 until 1945, with only a few interruptions caused mainly by...

2 Jul 33min

#27 Hitler’s Favorite Pilot: Hanna Reitsch

During the Second World War, Hanna participated in testing numerous revolutionary German weapons. She helped solve the stability problems of the V-1 rocket (“Vergeltungswaffe,” meaning “retaliation we...

17 Feb 51min

#26 Henriette Hoffmann – She Confronted Hitler with the Holocaust

Henriette Hoffmann was born on February 2, 1913, in Munich. Her father, Heinrich Hoffmann, was the official photographer of the Nazi Party; her mother, Therese “Nelly” Baumann, was a singer and actres...

12 Jan 37min

#25 Fatal Admiration: Unity Mitford’s Obsession with Hitler

The Mitford family had existed since the Middle Ages, long without any particular significance. It was only in the 1930s that the Mitford brothers and sisters entered the headlines, becoming notorious...

18 Des 202529min

#24 – Hitler’s Fatal Relationship: Eva Braun

Hitler and Eva Braun met in 1929, when she was only 17 years old and Hitler already 40. He immediately noticed her. Hitler especially sought the company of very young women; he invited them to dinners...

27 Nov 202542min