The Bormann dictations of 4 to 26 February and 2 April 1945 were monologues of Adolf Hitler recorded and edited by his secretary Martin Bormann. Their authenticity is disputed,[1]: 6 although some historians believe them to be fully or mostly reliable, even if possibly shortened or corrected by Bormann.[2]: 42
Editions
editSwiss banker and right-wing extremist François Genoud, a sponsor of Nazi criminals and a Holocaust denier, initially published the Bormann dictations in both French and English. The later German-language translation was published with the additional subtitle "Hitler's political testament" and combined with an essay by Hugh Trevor-Roper and an afterword by André François-Poncet. The German subtitle was later adopted by some recipients, although the Bormann dictations should not be confused with the actual last will and testament of Adolf Hitler, authored on 29 April 1945.[3]: 63
The Bormann dictations are thus not usually seen as a political testament.[4]: 9
Contents
editHitler, unlike in most speeches, used the first person and spoke about his political goals without any veiling or references to providence. He told Bormann that he planned to annihilate all the world's Jews after winning the war.[5]: 48
References
edit- ^ Longerich, Peter (1992). Hitlers Stellvertreter: Führung der Partei und Kontrolle des Staatsapparates durch den Stab Hess und die Parteikanzlei Bormann: Eine Publikation des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte. Munich: KG Saur. ISBN 3598110812.
- ^ Schirrmacher, Thomas (2007). Hitlers Kriegsreligion. Die Verankerung der Weltanschauung Hitlers in seiner religiösen Begrifflichkeit und seinem Gottesbild. Vol. 1. Bonn.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Scholtyseck, Joachim. "Der Blitzkrieg gegen Frankreich – Rückkehr zum „normalen Krieg"?". Der militärische Widerstand gegen Hitler im Lichte neuer Kontroversen: XXI. Königswinterer Tagung vom 22.–24. Februar 2008. pp. 51–79.
- ^ Hornik, Jan (2011). Why the Holocaust – Hitler's Darwinistic Messianic Genocide.
- ^ Bankier, David. "The Use of Antisemitism in Nazi Wartime Propaganda". The Holocaust and History: The Known, the Unknown, the Disputed, and the Reexamined. Indiana University Press.