Bormann dictations explained

The Bormann dictations of 4 to 26 February and 2 April 1945 were monologues of Adolf Hitler recorded and edited by Martin Bormann. Their authenticity is disputed,[1] although some historians believe them to be fully or mostly reliable, even if possibly shortened or corrected by Bormann.[2]

Edition

The Swiss banker and right-wing extremist François Genoud, a sponsor of Nazi criminals and a Holocaust denier, initially published the Bormann dictations in the French and English languages. 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]

The Bormann dictations are thus not usually seen as a political testament.[4]

Contents

Hitler, 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]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Longerich, Peter . Hitlers Stellvertreter: Führung der Partei und Kontrolle des Staatsapparates durch den Stab Hess und die Parteikanzlei Bormann: Eine Publikation des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte . KG Saur . 1992 . 3598110812 . Munich.
  2. Book: Schirrmacher, Thomas . Hitlers Kriegsreligion. Die Verankerung der Weltanschauung Hitlers in seiner religiösen Begrifflichkeit und seinem Gottesbild . 2007 . 1 . Bonn.
  3. Book: Scholtyseck, Joachim . Der militärische Widerstand gegen Hitler im Lichte neuer Kontroversen: XXI. Königswinterer Tagung vom 22.–24. Februar 2008 . 51–79 . Der Blitzkrieg gegen Frankreich – Rückkehr zum „normalen Krieg“?.
  4. Book: Hornik, Jan . Why the Holocaust – Hitler's Darwinistic Messianic Genocide . 2011.
  5. Book: Bankier, David . The Holocaust and History: The Known, the Unknown, the Disputed, and the Reexamined . Indiana University Press . The Use of Antisemitism in Nazi Wartime Propaganda.