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Adolf Hitler's first biography written by the Fuhrer himself, according to new evidence
For 70 years, historians studying the life of Adolf Hitler have worked on the basis that Mein Kampf was his only attempt at an autobiography. Written partly in his cell at Landsberg prison in Bavaria, his two-volume memoir is the prime source for understanding the roots of his warped ideology.
History may have to be revised, however, after a professor from the University of Aberdeen uncovered evidence that suggests an earlier work, Adolf Hitler: His Life and Speeches, was “almost certainly” written by the future Führer himself.
Published in 1923, two years before Mein Kampf, the book was purportedly authored by German serviceman Baron Adolf-Viktor von Koerber, and appeared to be no more than a hagiography by a loyal follower.
But according to historian Professor Thomas Weber, von Koerber was merely a front to disguise the fact that Hitler had likened himself to Jesus in an act of “shameless self-promotion”.
Prof Weber has unearthed evidence in von Koerber’s private papers in Johannesburg that the First World War pilot, who turned to journalism in the 1920s, had agreed to put his name to the book to make it appear to be an objective appraisal of Hitler.
He said: "I found a signed testimony given under oath by the wife of the book's publisher stating that Viktor von Koerber had not written the book and that Hitler had asked General Ludendorff [who had taken part in a failed coup with Hitler in 1923] if he could find a conservative writer without any connection to the Nazi party to put his name to it.
"Subsequently, in Germany, I found a document from 1938 in which von Koerber alludes to Hitler writing the book, stating that it was written 'on the initiative of and with the active participation of Adolf Hitler'.”
Von Koerber later turned against the Nazis and spied for Britain, spending part of the war in a concentration camp. He later wrote a letter to a fellow inmate that gave details about Hitler’s authorship of the book, said Prof Weber, before he died in South Africa in 1969.
He said: "Taken together, the pieces of evidence build a compelling picture that this was indeed an autobiography written to boost Hitler's profile as the 'German saviour' and that even at this early stage of his career he was an astute and manipulative political operator."
Hitler had been leader of the Nazi Party for two years when the book was published, and months later he led the Beer Hall Putsch in a failed attempt to seize control of power in Bavaria, which led to his imprisonment. It would be another 10 years before he became Chancellor.
The book argues that it should become “the new Bible of today” and uses terms such as “holy” and “deliverance”, likening Hitler’s moment of politicisation to Jesus' resurrection.
German-born Prof Weber said: "To find it was actually written by Hitler himself demonstrates that he was a conniving political operator with a masterful understanding of political processes and narratives long before he drafted what is regarded as his first autobiography, Mein Kampf.
"It also challenges the accepted view that at this stage in his life he did not see himself as the man to lead the German revolution.
"The fact Hitler wrote the biography and collated the speeches himself and put it together under a different name speaks to the fact that at a much earlier time he saw himself in this 'saviour' role and that he started in a very manipulative way to plot his way to the top."
He said the book was crucial in helping Hitler build his profile among the more conservative elements of German society in anticipation of an imminent national revolution.
It was for that reason that von Koerber was handpicked as the writer to create the impression that Hitler already had widespread support among traditional conservatives as he built his power base.
Professor Weber presents his findings in a new book, due to be published in the UK next year, which has the working title Metamorphosis - How Adolf Hitler Became a Nazi.