Hitler: History in an Hour by Rupert Colley

Author:Rupert Colley [Colley, Rupert]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, pdf
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2011-12-07T22:00:00+00:00

Hitler the Man

Following his release from prison in 1924 Hitler became increasingly aloof. Friendship, which had always been difficult, became impossible. Albert Speer wrote in his memoirs, ‘If Hitler had had friends, I would have been his friend.’

Hitler, 1937

Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-S33882 / CC-BY-SA [CC-BY-SA-3.0-de (www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en)]

Hitler made poor conversation and seemed incapable of listening. From the coffee bars in Vienna to the tables of aristocratic Germany, Hitler liked to hold forth, his conversation degenerating into monologues to the point of ruining a cordial atmosphere, first boring and then embarrassing all those around him. Although his frequent rages were essentially a display of showmanship, he was capable of losing all control of his temper.

Hitler had an amazing memory, especially for technical facts about weaponry, ships and tanks, and could retain the smallest details. And he could be vain. He never allowed his official photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann, to photograph him wearing his spectacles, but such was his long-sightedness that many of his speeches had to be typed in large print. His accent was strongly Austrian, which he did nothing to disguise, believing it added to his distinctive style. His gaze could be intense and, for its recipient, quite unnerving. Those unable to keep his gaze he viewed with suspicion.

Hitler was an avid reader and had a library of over 16,000 books, mainly politics, economics and philosophy, many titles marked with underlining or margin notes. For relaxation he enjoyed American Westerns. He loved opera and adored the works of Wagner, although his favourite piece of music was Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow.

Although he later claimed he regretted writing it, Mein Kampf made Hitler rich. He bought a large plot of land in Berchtesgaden in the Bavarian Alps and there had his country retreat, the Berghof, built. Fifty existing homes, hotels and a home for disabled children were compulsorily bought, their owners threatened with concentration camps if they dared to object, and six thousand workers, of whom fourteen died, were involved in its construction.

Hitler, who never wore a watch, was a night person, often working through to the small hours. He would get up late, usually around lunchtime, receive his daily dose of stimulants from his personal physician, Doctor Theodor Morrell, attend to urgent business then disappear into his private cinema to watch the latest films, including many that had been banned by his regime. He would go to bed in the early hours of the morning.

Hitler was adamantly anti-smoking, and although he drank in the earlier days he later became virtually teetotal. He also avoided tea and coffee, preferring instead herbal infusions, and, following the suicide of his niece in 1931, became a vegetarian. After the seventeenth assassination attempt on his life in July 1944, Hitler became convinced that he risked being poisoned and ordered constant checks on his food, soap and toothpaste.

Hitler had two Alsatians called Blondi, one after the other. The first he had shot when she became elderly and the second he took into the bunker with him. Once, when the

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