October 22, 2020 - Droog Magazine periodical for investigative journalism

Forged manuscripts at HH?

to Hitler Forgery Industry index | 2020 | to Droog Magazine

Lots 2037-2043; manuscripts allegedly written by Hitler on Hermann Historica auction A83r, October 23, 2020.


Introduction |Lots 2037-2043 |

Comparison HH manuscripts with authentic ones (pdf)

On October 23, 2020 auction house Hermann Historica in Grasbrunn (Bavaria, Germany) is to auction a seven lots of manuscripts of speeches, allegedly written by Adolf Hitler. These lots have a total start price of €33,500.

Meanwhile, a world wide uproar has broken out about the planned auctioning of this material. Associated Press reports:

"A prominent European Jewish organization slammed a Munich auction house's decision to sell several of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler's handwritten speech notes, saying Tuesday it "defies logic, decency and humanity" to put them on the market.

Rabbi Menachem Margolin, the head of the Brussels-based European Jewish Association, said the upcoming sale of the manuscripts is particularly worrisome amid recent surveys showing rising anti-Semitism in Germany, and could encourage neo-Nazis.

"I cannot get my head around the sheer irresponsibility and insensitivity, in such a febrile climate, of selling items such as the ramblings of the world's biggest killer of Jews to the highest bidder," he said in a statement. "What auctions like this do is help legitimize Hitler enthusiasts who thrive on this sort of stuff."

It's a pity that the rabbi isn't aware that that the lots are very likely to be forgeries, and are probably the biggest Hitler manuscripts forgery since the Hitler diaries scam from 1983.

Just as the diaries these manuscripts contain nothing new; the forger simply used the study of Max Domarus, who bundled and commented all the speeches Hitler gave in 1932-1945. 

Max Domarus. Hitler. Reden 1932-1945. Kommentiert von einem deutschen Zeitgenossen. Pamminger & Partner, Leonberg, 1988 (4th edition, 1st edition 1973).

When we compared photos of the to be auctioned manuscripts with reproductions of Hitlers authentic manuscripts, we saw enough differences to have serious doubts about the authenticity of these manuscripts. One of the strikings aspects was this: in all available authentic Hitler's handwritings, throughout his life, Hitlers  consistently wrote the letter K in a very peculiar manner.

On the left: original Hitler K's. On the right the K's on the HH manuscripts.

In all the manuscripts offered by Hermann Historica as lots 2037-2043 the letter K is written way in a completely and consistently different way. Which means that all these manu-scripts are written by the same forger (see this pdf for more examples).

We asked Herman  Historica some questions about these lots: we didn't receive any answer at all.

We informed the Bavarian state police: no reaction.

Hermann Historica's managing director Bernhard Parcher did however react to the protest of rabbi Margolin. Pacher, interviewed by The Associated Press, defended the sale and said, the papers belong in a museum or in the hands of researchers as historical documents.

"These are handwritten notes from Adolf Hitler, where if you analyze what he wrote ... you can prove he was publicly speaking about going to war, about 'resolving the Jewish problem,'"

"If we destroy these things and they do not go into a museum for experts to work on them, you will leave the interpretation of what was happening to the right-wing Nazi apologists, who will say Hitler never said that. The man was preparing the Germans that there would be a war and those who didn't want to see that must have been totally blind – it's in there."

This defense is nonsense - since Domarus published his study, everybody can study the content of Hitler's speeches. The to be auctioned manuscripts contain only some loose words and lines, and are of no use at all - expect in making money for a fraudulent industry, with an annual  turnover of at least 100 million euro.

Source AP quotes: AP and ILH Staff. Jewish group condemns auction of Hitler speeches in Germany. Israel Hayom, 21-10-2020.
https://www.israelhayom.com/2020/10/21/jewish-group-condemns-auction-of-hitler-speeches-in-germany/

The lots



Lot 2037: A five-page manuscript by Hitler, possibly to his speech to the National Socialist Women’s League at the Nuremberg Rally on 11 September 1936. Start price €5,000.


Lot 2038: A six-page manuscript by Hitler to his speech at the opening of the 3rd Winterhilfswerk on 8 October 1935 at the Kroll Opera House in Berlin. Start price €5,800.


Lot 2039: A seven-page manuscript by Hitler to his speech on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the NSDAP Augsburg local group on 21 November 1937. Start price €5,800.

Lot 2040: A six-page manuscript by Hitler to his speech at 12 a.m. on 1 May 1938 in the Berlin Lustgarten park. Start price €3,000.


Lot 2041: A five-page manuscript by Hitler to his Nuremberg rally speech to the political leaders on 10 September 1937. Start price €3,400.


Lot 2042: A four-page manuscript by Hitler to a speech held at a meeting of the Reich Labour Service (RAD) 1937. Start price €2,500.


Lot 2043: A nine-page manuscript by Hitler to his speech to graduated Wehrmacht officers on 18 January 1939 in the Reich Chancellery. Start price €7,400.

About the provenance of these lots Hermann Historica stated nothing at all.

© Compilation Jaap van den Born and Bart FM Droog, 2020.
Photos courtesy Hermann Historica.

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