Unmasked: two confidential interviews with Hitler in 1931
Encyclopedia
Unmasked: two confidential interviews with Hitler in 1931 is a book claiming to comprise transcripts of Richard Breiting's shorthand notes of two confidential interviews with Hitler in 1931. In addition there is an essay (in the form of an epilogue) by Dr. Edouard Calic entitled The Anatomy of Demagogy and Adolf Hitler's Bent for Destruction; a set of comprehensive notes also by Calic and a foreword by Golo Mann
. The authenticity of the transcripts has been challenged.
(Deutsche Volkspartei, or DVP) whilst the Hugenberg Press had an interest in the Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten.
Breiting was well-connected with the conservative Right and Calic believes Hitler wished to 'win-over' this influential press editor. There was also a tangible issue to be dealt with in that a Dresden based NSDAP newspaper, Freiheitskampf (which had been founded in 1930), had been attacking Breiting and Herfurth in its editorials leading to complaints to Hitler.
Calic states that Otto Dietrich
(who became Hitler's press chief on 1 August 1931) had been Breiting's Munich correspondent between 1928–30 and facilitated the granting of an interview by Hitler.
Although Hitler gave his permission for Breiting to take shorthand notes, both Hitler and Hess stressed the strictly confidential nature of the discussions Breiting nevertheless briefed Herfurth on the meetings and in addition made the German National People's Party's (DNVP) Chairman Alfred Hugenberg
and its parliamentary floor-leader Dr Ernst Oberfohren aware of the discussions.
who entertained them while they waited an hour before being admitted to Hitler's presence.
that would follow.
However, Hitler's usage of time seems vague for elsewhere in the interview transcript he is also quoted as saying: ‘When I celebrated my 42nd birthday a few weeks ago…’. In early June his birthday would have been some 6 weeks previously. That it did take place approximately a month after the first interview is nevertheless supported by another remark by Hitler during the interview: Three months ago, in February 1931....'.
During this period it is documented that Hitler gave three speeches in Frankfurt an der Oder, 600 km north east of Munich on 31 May, that he was back in Munich at least by June 3 to give a speech at the Bürgerbräukeller, and that he gave two speeches in Chemnitz
, 375 km north-east of Munich, and about 65 km south-east of Breitner’s Leipzig workplace on June 7.
and for part of it (in respect of the quarrel with the Freiheitskampf) by the NSDAP's Lawyer Hans Frank
.
and Max Amann
concerns about the existence of the notes mounted. On 18 February 1934 the Leipzig Gestapo
demanded the return of the notes. Breiting denied that they still existed and that he had destroyed them. He had in fact hidden all his personal papers to a location near Hamburg with his sister.
Breiting applied for, but was refused, membership of the NSDAP and came under suspicion. Calic writes:
On the other hand the German Wikipedia entry for Calicclaims that doubts have been expressed by Hugh Trevor-Roper, Hans Mommsen
, Henning Köhler and Fritz Tobias.
Golo Mann
Golo Mann , born Angelus Gottfried Thomas Mann, was a popular German historian, essayist and writer. He was the third child of the novelist Thomas Mann and his wife Katia Mann.-Life:...
. The authenticity of the transcripts has been challenged.
Publication
First published in German in 1968 with the title Ohne Maske, this book was translated by Richard H Barry and published by Chatto & Windus in 1971.Importance
Calic considers that during the confidential interviews with Breitling, Hitler:
…unfolded like a panorama all that in his speeches remained concealed behind phrases and gestures, things not even hinted at in Mein KampfMein KampfMein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
, the subterfuges and methods of achieving power, the technique of the legal coup d’état to establish total domination over Germany, the brutal extension of his tyranny over all Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals and the megalomaniac vision of world domination.
Background to the interviews
Hitler’s confidential 1931 interviews were with Richard Breiting, editor-in-chief of the Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten, a newspaper representing the views and policies of Germany's 'conservative Right'. Breiting himself was a member of the German People's PartyGerman People's Party
The German People's Party was a national liberal party in Weimar Germany and a successor to the National Liberal Party of the German Empire.-Ideology:...
(Deutsche Volkspartei, or DVP) whilst the Hugenberg Press had an interest in the Leipziger Neueste Nachrichten.
Breiting was well-connected with the conservative Right and Calic believes Hitler wished to 'win-over' this influential press editor. There was also a tangible issue to be dealt with in that a Dresden based NSDAP newspaper, Freiheitskampf (which had been founded in 1930), had been attacking Breiting and Herfurth in its editorials leading to complaints to Hitler.
Calic states that Otto Dietrich
Otto Dietrich
Dr. Otto Dietrich was an SS-Obergruppenführer, the Third Reich's Press Chief, and a confidant of Adolf Hitler.-Biography:...
(who became Hitler's press chief on 1 August 1931) had been Breiting's Munich correspondent between 1928–30 and facilitated the granting of an interview by Hitler.
Although Hitler gave his permission for Breiting to take shorthand notes, both Hitler and Hess stressed the strictly confidential nature of the discussions Breiting nevertheless briefed Herfurth on the meetings and in addition made the German National People's Party's (DNVP) Chairman Alfred Hugenberg
Alfred Hugenberg
Alfred Ernst Christian Alexander Hugenberg was an influential German businessman and politician. Hugenberg, a leading figure within nationalist politics in Germany for the first few decades of the twentieth century, became the country's leading media proprietor within the inter-war period...
and its parliamentary floor-leader Dr Ernst Oberfohren aware of the discussions.
Location and attendees
According to Breiting's shorthand notes, the interview took place at the NSDAP Headquarters Breiting was accompanied by Dr. Alfred Detig a member of the editorial staff of the newspaper. The pair were received by Rudolf HessRudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
who entertained them while they waited an hour before being admitted to Hitler's presence.
Topics
In the first interview Hitler explained his plan for taking control of the German state by legal means and the GleichschaltungGleichschaltung
Gleichschaltung , meaning "coordination", "making the same", "bringing into line", is a Nazi term for the process by which the Nazi regime successively established a system of totalitarian control and tight coordination over all aspects of society. The historian Richard J...
that would follow.
Second interview: possibly early June 1931
Calic has speculated that the first page of the original shorthand text is lost.Date and location not clear
From Breiting's notes we know the meeting assembled at 10:00 am and finished at 12:45pm. However, there is nothing to indicate when or where the interview took place. Calic dates it in early June, relying on a remark by Hitler during the interview: ‘as I told you a month ago’. Calic also states that it may be assumed that the meeting took place in the same place as the previous one.However, Hitler's usage of time seems vague for elsewhere in the interview transcript he is also quoted as saying: ‘When I celebrated my 42nd birthday a few weeks ago…’. In early June his birthday would have been some 6 weeks previously. That it did take place approximately a month after the first interview is nevertheless supported by another remark by Hitler during the interview: Three months ago, in February 1931....'.
During this period it is documented that Hitler gave three speeches in Frankfurt an der Oder, 600 km north east of Munich on 31 May, that he was back in Munich at least by June 3 to give a speech at the Bürgerbräukeller, and that he gave two speeches in Chemnitz
Chemnitz
Chemnitz is the third-largest city of the Free State of Saxony, Germany. Chemnitz is an independent city which is not part of any county and seat of the government region Direktionsbezirk Chemnitz. Located in the northern foothills of the Ore Mountains, it is a part of the Saxon triangle...
, 375 km north-east of Munich, and about 65 km south-east of Breitner’s Leipzig workplace on June 7.
Attendees
The meeting between Breiting and Hitler was also attended once again by Rudolf HessRudolf Hess
Rudolf Walter Richard Hess was a prominent Nazi politician who was Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party during the 1930s and early 1940s...
and for part of it (in respect of the quarrel with the Freiheitskampf) by the NSDAP's Lawyer Hans Frank
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
.
Topics
In the second interview Hitler explained his strategy for achieving a new world order with Germany colonising the East after the destruction of the Soviet Union.Events afterwards
Calic states that as a result of an indiscretion it became known that Breiting had made a summary for Herfurth. As knowledge of the meeting spread to Joseph GoebbelsJoseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
and Max Amann
Max Amann
Max Aman was a German Nazi official with the honorary rank of SS-Obergruppenführer, politician and journalist.-Biography:Amann was born in Munich on November 24, 1891...
concerns about the existence of the notes mounted. On 18 February 1934 the Leipzig Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
demanded the return of the notes. Breiting denied that they still existed and that he had destroyed them. He had in fact hidden all his personal papers to a location near Hamburg with his sister.
Breiting applied for, but was refused, membership of the NSDAP and came under suspicion. Calic writes:
On 19 April 1937 Breiting was summoned to the Reich Ministry of Propaganda in Berlin, where two Gestapo agents took him to a restaurant for a talk. Although he was only 54 and had hitherto been in good health, he returned to Leipzig racked with convulsions and a nervous fever. According to his family he was convinced that he had been poisoned. A week later he was dead. Though the family requested an autopsy, the doctor in charge refused. His body was cremated without his family’s knowledge.
Authenticity
Calic states that the authenticity of the documents have been confirmed by the opinions of:- Karl Dietrich BracherKarl Dietrich BracherKarl Dietrich Bracher is a German political scientist and historian of the Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. Born in Stuttgart, Bracher was awarded a Ph.D. in the Classics by the University of Tübingen in 1948 and subsequently studied at Harvard University from 1949 to 1950...
- Harold C. Deutsch
- Emil Dovifat
- Sebastian HaffnerSebastian HaffnerSebastian Haffner was a German journalist and author. He wrote mainly about recent German history....
- Walther Hofer
- Robert KempnerRobert KempnerRobert Kempner was a German-born American lawyer.Kempner was a successful Jewish lawyer in Berlin during the 1920s who then became the chief legal advisor to the Prussian police...
- Eugen Kogan
- Karl LangeKarl LangeKarl Lange was imprisoned by the Nazis for the then crime of homosexuality under the criminal code's Paragraph 175, which defined homosexuality as an unnatural act....
- Wolfgang Malanowski
- Golo MannGolo MannGolo Mann , born Angelus Gottfried Thomas Mann, was a popular German historian, essayist and writer. He was the third child of the novelist Thomas Mann and his wife Katia Mann.-Life:...
- Wilhelm Ritter von Schramm
- Henry Ashby TurnerHenry Ashby TurnerHenry Ashby Turner, Jr. was an American historian of Germany who was a professor at Yale University for over forty years...
jr - Friedrich Zipfel
On the other hand the German Wikipedia entry for Calicclaims that doubts have been expressed by Hugh Trevor-Roper, Hans Mommsen
Hans Mommsen
Hans Mommsen is a left-wing German historian. He is the twin brother of the late Wolfgang Mommsen.-Biography:He was born in Marburg, the son of the historian Wilhelm Mommsen and great-grandson of the Roman historian Theodor Mommsen. He studied German, history and philosophy at the University of...
, Henning Köhler and Fritz Tobias.