Selling Hitler
Page 37
On Monday 8 July 1985 the media returned in force to Hamburg to record the verdict. After presiding over ninety-four sessions of testimony from thirty-seven different witnesses, the judge found all the defendants guilty. Heidemann was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison. Kujau received four years and six months. Edith Lieblang was given a suspended sentence of one year. The judge said he could detect no evidence of a wider conspiracy. Stern, he announced, had acted with such recklessness that it was virtually an accomplice in the hoax.
More than two years had passed since the diaries were declared forgeries. More than 5 million marks of Stern’s money remained – and, at the time of writing, remains – unaccounted for.
The Hitler diaries affair had a traumatic effect upon Stern. Its offices were occupied by journalists protesting at the management’s appointment of two new conservative editors. There were hundreds of abusive letters and phone calls. The overwhelmingly left-wing staff found themselves being greeted on the telephone by shouts of ‘Heil Hitler!’ Politicians treated them as a laughing stock; prominent West Germans pulled out of interviews; young East German pacifists refused to cooperate with a planned Stern feature article on the grounds that the magazine was ‘a Hitler sheet’. Circulation slumped. Before the scandal, the magazine reckoned to sell around 1.7 million copies. This figure climbed to a record 2.1 million in the week in which the diaries’ discovery was announced. After the revelation that they were forgeries, circulation fell back to less than 1.5 million. Apart from the loss of advertising and sales revenue, the cost to the magazine was estimated by the Stern Report as 19 million marks: 9.34 million for the diaries; 1.5 million for Heidemann; 7 million (before tax) as compensation to the two sacked editors; and miscellaneous costs, including agents’ fees, publicity and the expense of destroying thousands of copies containing the second instalment of the Hess serialization.
Gradually, most of the main participants in the story left the magazine. Dr Jan Hensmann departed at the end of 1983 to become a visiting professor at the University of Munster. Wilfried Sorge resigned in the spring of 1984 to run a small publishing company. Thomas Walde left Hamburg to work in another outpost of the Bertelsmann empire. Leo Pesch went to Munich to work for Vogue. Manfred Fischer, who initiated the purchase of the diaries, is currently the chief executive of the Dornier aircraft corporation. Felix Schmidt is now editing the main West German television guide. Peter Koch, at the time of writing, has not re-entered full-time employment. Gerd Schulte-Hillen, however, is still the managing director of Gruner and Jahr: he must be a very good manager indeed.
In Britain, Frank Giles returned from his holiday to find himself the target of a vicious whispering campaign. In June 1983, ‘after discussions with Mr Rupert Murdoch’, it was announced that he was to retire prematurely as editor and assume the honorific title of editor emeritus. According to a story which did the rounds at the time, Giles asked what the title meant. ‘It’s Latin, Frank,’ Murdoch is said to have replied. ‘The “e” means you’re out, and the “meritus” means you deserve it.’
Newsweek, which ran the Hitler diaries on its front cover for three successive weeks, was widely criticized for its behaviour. ‘The impression created with the aid of provocative newspaper and television advertising’, said Robert J. McCloskey, the ombudsman of the Washington Post, ‘was that the entire story was authentic.’ The morality of selling Hitler ‘bothered us’, confessed Mrs Katherine Graham. William Broyles appeared to disagree: ‘We feel very, very good about how we handled this,’ he told the New York Times. Seven months later, he resigned as Newsweek’s editor. Maynard Parker who had been expected to succeed him, was passed over. Insiders blamed the Hitler diaries. ‘That episode killed Parker,’ said one. ‘There were expressions of high-echelon support, but it was poor judgement and everyone knew it.’
In the aftermath of the Hitler diaries affair, David Irving’s American publishers tripled the print run of his edition of the Führer’s medical diaries. Excerpts were published in Murdoch’s New York Post and in the National Enquirer. But all publicity is not necessarily good publicity: not long afterwards Irving was arrested by the Austrian police in Vienna on suspicion of neo-Nazi activity and deported from the country; he is still banned from entry.
In 1985, Hugh Trevor-Roper published a collection of his work entitled Renaissance Essays. It was hailed by most critics as ‘brilliant’. The Hitler diaries, tactfully, were not mentioned.
Fritz Stiefel, Kujau’s best customer until Heidemann appeared, announced that he would not be suing the forger for damages. ‘I have one of the biggest collections of fakes in the world,’ he said, ‘and that, too, is worth something.’
Adolf Hitler as Painter and Draughtsman by Billy F. Price and August Priesack was banned in West Germany, but appeared in the United States at the end of 1984 as Adolf Hitler: The Unknown Artist. A large section of it was the work of Konrad Kujau, but it would have cost a fortune to rip out the fakes and reprint the book. The Kujaus therefore were left sprinkled amongst the Hitlers, and nobody, apparently, cared: ‘Even the suspect pictures’, claimed a limp note of explanation in the book’s introduction, ‘generally reflect Hitler’s known style.’ The remark echoes that made by Newsweek about the Hitler diaries: ‘Genuine or not, it almost doesn’t matter in the end’.
Perhaps it doesn’t. Certainly, the trade in Nazi relics has not been depressed by the revelations of wholesale forgery thrown up in the aftermath of the diaries affair. Shortly before Christmas 1983, Christies of New York auctioned seven pages of notes made by Hitler in 1930 for which the purchasers, Neville Rare Books, paid $22,000. In London, Phillips, Son & Neale, fine art auctioneers since 1796, held a sale entitled ‘Third Reich Memorabilia’ which netted over £100,000. Four small Hitler paintings, at least one of which had the look of a genuine Kujau about it, raised £11,500. Also up for sale were such curiosities as Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler’s vanity case, removed from his body after his suicide and described in the catalogue as ‘a small leather vanity wallet with fitted compartments containing comb, metal mirror, penknife by Chiral with gilt niello-work to sides, the wallet embossed in gold “RF-SS”’. Meanwhile, at the other end of the scale, operating from his garage in Maryland, Mr Charles Snyder continued to sell locks of Eva Braun’s hair, allegedly scraped from her comb by an American officer who looted her apartment in Munich.
Here, rather than in any grand conspiracy, lies the origin of the Hitler diaries affair. Why would anyone pay $3500 for a few strands of human hair of dubious authenticity? Because, presumably, he might have touched them, as he might have touched the odd scrap of paper, or painting, or piece of uniform – talismans which have been handed down and sold and hoarded, to be brought out and touched occasionally, as if the essence of the man somehow lived on in them. The Hitler diaries, shabby forgeries, composed for the most part of worthless banalities, were no different. ‘It was a very special thing to hold such a thing in your hand,’ said Manfred Fischer, trying to explain the fascination which he and his colleagues felt when the first volume arrived. ‘To think that this diary was written by him – and now I have it in my grasp….’ After millions of dollars, two years, and a great deal more stroking and sniffing in offices and bank vaults, the diaries appeared, and have now taken their place as one of the most extraordinary frauds in history – a phenomenon which Chaucer’s Pardoner, six centuries ago, with his pillow cases and pig’s bones, would have recognized at once.
Picture Section
1 A large Junkers 352 transport aircraft of the type which crashed in April 1945 ferrying some of Hitler’s property to safety. ‘In that plane,’ exclaimed Hitler, when told of its disappearance, ‘were all my private archives, that I had intended as a testament to posterity. It is a catastrophe.’ (DPA)
2 In November 1980, Stern’s ‘Bloodhound’, reporter Gerd Heidemann, discovered the village in East Germany where the Junkers 352 had crashed. He posed for a photograph by the graves of the victims. (DPA)<
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3 Konrad Kujau, alias Konrad Fischer, universally known as ‘Conny’, graduated from forging luncheon vouchers to copying out sixty volumes of Hitler’s diaries – the most well-publicized and costly fraud in publishing history. (DPA)
4 A page from one of the forged diaries. The books were written in an antiquated German script which made them difficult to read. This extract – supposedly Hitler’s draft for the announcement of Rudolf Hess’s flight to Britain in 1941 – fooled three handwriting experts and convinced Stern that the diaries were genuine.
5 In addition to the diaries, Kujau also forged more than 300 Hitler paintings and drawings. This sketch was supposedly designs by Hitler for early Nazi party posters.
6 In addition to the diaries, Kujau also forged more than 300 Hitler paintings and drawings. This sketch was supposedly designs by Hitler for early Nazi party posters.
7 In addition to the diaries, Kujau also forged more than 300 Hitler paintings and drawings. This sketch was supposedly designs by Hitler for early Nazi party posters.
8 The key figure in the diaries affair: Fritz Stiefel, a collector of Nazi memorabilia, received the first Hitler diary in 1978
9 The key figure in the diaries affair: August Priesack, ex-Nazi and self-styled ‘Hitler expert’ was shown the diary by Stiefel and was convinced it was genuine
10 The key figure in the diaries affair: SS General Karl Wolff was a witness at the Heidemanns’ wedding and accompanied them on their honeymoon to South America to look for old Nazis. He encouraged Heidemann’s obsession with the Third Reich. (DPA)
11 The launching of a book of Hitler’s paintings, by the Texan millionaire Billy F. Price, brought together four people with a passion for the Führer’s art: Heidemann and Price, together with Christa Schroeder and Gerda Christian, two of Hitler’s devoted private secretaries. (Price)
12 Gina Heidemann. (DPA)
13 Edith Lieblang, Kujau’s common-law wife. (DPA)
14 Manfred Fischer, the businessman who ferried the Hitler diaries from Hamburg to a Swiss bank. (DPA)
15 Gerd Schulte-Hillen, who personally authorized payments for the diaries of more than 7 million marks – £2 million. (DPA)
16 Henri Nannen, founder and publisher of Stern. (DPA)
17 Dr Thomas Walde, the head of Stern’s history department. (DPA)
18 Peter Koch, chief editor of Stern. (DPA)
19 Eberhard Jaeckel, Professor of History at the University of Stuttgart, the first academic to be taken in by Kujau’s forgeries. (DPA)
20 Hugh Trevor-Roper (Lord Dacre), former Regius Professor of History at Oxford, who authenticated the diaries for Times Newspapers. (DPA)
21 Gerhard Weinberg, Professor of History at the University of North Carolina, who inspected the diaries for Newsweek. (DPA)
22 ‘Torpedo running’: the right-wing British historian David Irving caused uproar at the Stern press conference which launched the diaries, when he produced sheets of Hitler diaries which he claimed were forged. (Stern)
23 End of an obsession: Gerd Heidemann, with prison beard, stands trial with Kujau, accused of fraud. He stole Stern’s money but was convinced to the end that the diaries were genuine. (DPA)
INDEX
The page references in this index correspond to the printed edition from which this ebook was created. To find a specific word or phrase from the index, please use the search feature of your ebook reader.
Abwehr, German intelligence service, 43
Adolf Hitler as Painter and Draughtsman, 223, 232, 386
Aftermath, 79
Ainring airfield, 31
‘Alpine Redoubt’, 30
Amin, Idi, 85, 285
Applebaum, Stuart, 303
Argentina, 77, 78
Arista Records, 140, 246
Arndt, Sergeant Wilhelm, 30–2, 34, 40, 71, 72, 74, 93
Associated Newspapers, 243, 282
Associated Press, 298, 358
Associated R & R Films, 264
Aust, Stefan, 360, 372
The Australian, 264
Axmann, Arthur, 29
Ayer, A.J., 253
Bantam Books, 140, 156, 202, 209–10, 229, 231, 265, 303
Barbie, Klaus, 77, 80, 133, 163–4
Bath, Marquess of, 54, 113, 186–7, 233
Baumgart (pilot), 49
Baur, General Hans, 30, 32, 70, 72–4, 84, 90, 91, 100, 124, 125–6, 150, 255, 259, 273–4
Baur, Senta, 124, 273–4
Baur, Wilhelm, 50
Bavaria, 53–4, 158, 190, 256, 270, 325, 349
Bayer chemical company, 250, 348
BBC, 52–3, 306, 307, 339
Becker, Gerhard, 94
Bellmann, Paul, 106
Below, Nicolaus von, 316
Berchtesgaden, 30, 33–5, 44, 49, 70, 162, 343
Berghof, the, 33–5, 37–40, 49, 221, 349
Berlin Document Centre, 227
Bertelsmann AG, 199; Fischer’s enthusiasm for diary project, 101–2, 149–50, 156; expansion of, 140–1, 165; Plan 3, 201–2, 209; and the sale of syndication rights, 229, 237–8, 265; aftermath of the affair, 366
Bezymenski, Lev, 41, 45
Bild Zeitung, 306, 316, 327, 382
Bison Books, 139–40
Bissinger, Manfred, 66
Blaschke, Ulli, 110, 338
‘Blood Flag’, 160–1, 164, 274
Bluhm, Herr, 199
Boernersdorf, 31–2, 91, 92–3, 94, 97, 99, 100, 133, 156–7, 333, 343, 344–5, 347
Booms, Hans, 351, 352, 354–6
Bord Gespräche, 68, 83, 205
Bormann, Martin, 16, 23, 29, 33, 73, 192, 233, 243, 261, 334; forgeries, 15, 112, 161; signature on diaries, 23, 155; Bormann–Vermerke, 46–7, 48; search for, 49–50, 77–80, 287; Heidemann’s obsession with, 77–80, 89, 225–9, 268, 274–5, 286; Klapper’s claims, 176–7; alleged to want to authenticate diaries, 362
Boskowitz, Martha von, 37
Boston Globe, 359
Boston Herald, 264
Bracher, Karl-Dietrich, 305, 331
Braumann, Randolph (‘Congo Randy’), 60–2, 63, 66, 77, 80, 213, 375–6
Braun, Eva, 15, 53, 88, 116; last days, 33–4; papers, 34, 35–6, 38, 40; death, 34, 41–2, 44, 161; home movies, 36, 52; memorabilia, 36, 54, 184, 191, 387; alleged survival, 49; in Hitler diaries, 169, 328
Braun, Gretl, 33–5, 37–8, 43
Braunau, 162
British Army, 331
British Board of Deputies, 53
British Rhine Flotilla, 57
Brittenden, Arthur, 301, 358
Broszat, Professor, 348, 349
Broyles, William, 238, 263, 265–6, 268, 269–73, 275, 278, 283, 385
Bullock, Lord, 18, 315
Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives), 174, 178–9, 180, 192, 194–6, 202, 227, 240–1, 249, 256–7, 278, 292, 298, 305, 325, 345, 346, 349, 351, 353, 354–7, 361
Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), see West German Federal Police
Bunte, 80, 141
Cambio 16, 238
Canaris, Wilhelm, 222
Carin II (Goering’s yacht), 57–9, 63–8, 75–6, 81, 83–6, 87, 89, 90, 127, 137, 150–1, 203, 208, 369, 374
Carnegie, Dale, 185
CBS, 350
Chamberlain, Neville, 39, 112–13, 271, 310, 331
Channel Ten, 264
Chou En Lai, 60
Christian, Gerda, 44, 70–1, 233
Christian Democrats, 356
Christies of New York, 386
Churakov, Private Ivan, 41
Churchill, Sir Winston, 19, 47, 80–3, 87, 89, 189, 331, 352
CIA, 25, 377
Cold War, 25
Collins publishing company, 264
Como, Lake, 202
Craig, Gordon A., 252, 330
Dacre, Lady Rachel, 326
Daily Express, 78, 243, 344
Daily Mail, 243, 321, 327
Daladier, Édouard, 39, 271
Death of Adolf Hitler, The (film), 52
; Denia, Spain, 204
Deutsche Bank, 102, 146, 166
Dickmann, Barbara, 251, 255, 268, 273–5, 369
Dietrich, General Sepp, 185
Doenitz, Grand Admiral Karl, 44, 96–7, 151
Dollmann, Major Eugen, 75–6
Domarus, Max, 167, 355, 381
Douglas-Home, Charles, 257–8, 261–2, 263, 291, 302, 307, 311, 320
DPA, German press agency, 59, 298, 357
Drittenthaler, Alfons, 110–11
Dulles, Allen, 65
DVU (German People’s Union), 212, 230, 359
East Germany: Heidemann visits Boernersdorf, 92–3, 156–7; Hitler diaries alleged to be in, 98, 99, 134; military memorabilia, 109–10; search for Nazi buried treasure, 175–6; diaries as ‘official forgery’ by, 331–2, 378; reactions to diaries, 333
Eddy, Paul, 312, 314, 316, 318
Edmiston, Mark, 279–81, 282
Eiternick, Martha, 59
Elbe, Richard, 157
Elizabeth II, Queen, 57
Engelhard, Julius, 116
English, Sir David, 243
Epp, General Ritter von, 355
Evans, Harold, 258, 262, 301
Falero, Juan, 78
Farago, Ladislas, 78, 79–80, 243, 287
Farouk, I ing of Egypt, 234
Federal Institute for Forensic Investigation, 345