Adolf Hitler’s handwritten notes for 1925 Munich beer hall speech where he declared his absolute authority over Nazi party is tipped to sell for £26,000
- Adolf Hitler’s handwritten speech notes will go to auction tomorrow in Spain
- The previously-unseen documents were for his speech on February 27, 1925
- It offers insight into how he cemented his ideology and plans for the Nazi Party
- The document comes from a private collection and is tipped to sell for £26,000
A chilling set of handwritten notes prepared by Adolf Hitler ahead of his 1925 speech that marked the start of Nazism have emerged after nearly 100 years.
The previously-unseen documents offer an insight into the moment the future dictator cemented his ideology and plans for the Nazi Party of Germany.
Hitler’s notes start with him circling the year 1918 followed by the words ‘what went wrong?’ He then goes on to attack other political parties, describing those on the left as ‘criminal’ and those on the right as ‘too cowardly’ to use violence.
The exceptionally rare notes are for sale at International Autograph Auctions of Malaga, Spain, from the private collection of an anonymous European collector. The document is tipped to sell for £26,000.
A chilling set of hand-written notes prepared by Adolf Hitler ahead of his first speech that marked the start of Nazism have emerged after nearly 100 years. Hitler is pictured giving a speech in 1925
Hitler delivered the speech on February 27, 1925 to 3,000 people in the same Munich beer hall where he had launched his failed putsch two years earlier.
Having just been released from prison he needed to stamp his authority on the newly reformed National Socialist German Workers Party, which was banned during his imprisonment.
He vented his resentment about the 1918 armistice when Germany lost the war and became crippled with reparation debts.
The future dictator also positioned the Nazi party as the only hope of saving Germany – and declared himself its absolute ruler.
He used the speech to ‘whip up a frenzy of support’ among the party ranks gathered in the cramped beer hall.
The previously unseen documents offer an insight into the moment the future dictator cemented his ideology and plans for the Nazi Party of Germany
Hitler’s notes start with him circling the year 1918 followed by the words ‘what went wrong?’ He then goes on to attack other political parties, describing those on the left as ‘criminal’ and those on the right as ‘too cowardly’ to use violence
In the top left hand corner of the notes, Hitler underlined the year 1918 and annotated it with the questions: ‘What had happened’ and ‘just what went wrong?’
Then, he wrote: ‘During all this the nation is destroyed, plundered domestically and internationally. Could anything still help? Founding of the NSDAP..’
The notes include a diagram of political parties in Germany, labelled ‘on the left… Proletariat… Marxism… finished for good due to criminality’ and ‘on the right…Bourgeoisie**bourgeois parties*.broke down due to cowardice.’
In another section, he wrote: ‘Parties reject violence – cowardly’.
Hitler referred to the division of the Nazi party during his imprisonment and the ‘lies’ of other party leaders like Ernst Rohm.
Rohm founded the SA, the party’s militia, but was executed in the Night of the Long Knives in 1934 after Hitler felt threatened by his rising influence.
Finally he asserted his unconditional authority over the factious party, writing: ‘If anyone comes and tries to make conditions to me then I say to him: friend, wait and see what conditions I have to make to you.
‘After a year you shall judge, my party comrades. If I have not acted correctly, then I shall place my office in your hands again.
‘But until that moment this is the rule: I lead the movement alone, and no one shall set me conditions so long as I personally bear the responsibility.. And I once more bear entire responsibility for everything that happens in the movement.’
The ‘extremely rare’ speech will be sold at the auction tomorrow.
Hitler’s (pictured) exceptionally rare notes are for sale at International Autograph Auctions of Malaga, Spain, from the private collection of an anonymous European collector. The document is tipped to sell for £26,000
‘Autograph material of Adolf Hitler is extremely rare in any form, and the present notes are of particular significance in Hitler’s rise to power, this particular speech representing a landmark moment in the re-establishing of the Nazi Party and the cementing of his position as ‘der Fuhrer,” said Richard Davie, a specialist at the auction house.
‘This speech galvanised his ideology and his vision for the future – and this is the first time he presented that to his party.
‘Holding these notes in my hands, they conjure images of Hitler in this beer hall surrounded by his cronies and whipping up enthusiasm – and of course we all know what happened next.
‘It really resonates with what is happening right now and reading it sent shivers down my spine. The way he is declaring himself absolute ruler and all those around him just nod their heads.
‘I was distinctly reminded of how he would go on to annex Austria and later Czechoslovakia and Poland in much the same way as Putin first went for the Crimea and then Ukraine.’
Hitler was released from prison in December 1924 after serving only nine months for his failed revolution and the ban on his party was removed.
Less than a decade later, in 1933, he had outlawed all other parties and claimed absolute control over Germany.