Koblenz - After 40 years: Forged Hitler diaries in the Federal Archives
40 years after the publication of the forged Hitler diaries, the files have been handed over to the Federal Archives in Koblenz (Rhineland-Palatinate). This was announced by the Bertelsmann Group on Thursday. In 1983, the magazine "Stern", published by Gruner + Jahr (Hamburg), had published supposed diaries of Adolf Hitler, which turned out to be forgeries a few days later. It was one of the biggest media scandals in the Federal Republic of Germany.
It was reported that 52 diaries had been handed over to the Federal Archives. Following an archival inventory, they are to be digitized and made available in digital form in accordance with the Federal Archives Act. Two files are also on display at the House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bonn, three at the Hamburg Police Museum and one at the Fondation Cartier in Paris.
According to a statement, Federal Archives President Michael Hollmann said that the forged diaries had the potential to trivialize the brutal crimes of National Socialism in the 1980s. "It is good that the evidence of this difficult chapter of post-war history in the Federal Republic of Germany can now be secured in the Federal Archives and identified as forgeries in the context of the authentic sources."
Bertelsmann Group CEO Thomas Rabe emphasized that the handover would ensure the proper archiving of the Kladden. "It also opens up the possibility of dealing with the forged diaries in a transparent, scientific and independent manner."
A Bertelsmann spokesperson told Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the diaries were brought to Koblenz by a van at the beginning of December. The volumes had been stored for decades at Gruner + Jahr, then for a few weeks in armored cabinets at Bertelsmann, where they were archived. "We are very happy that the Federal Archives now have the files. That's where they belong, where they can be stored and made archivally accessible."
Statement
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- The forged Hitler diaries, which caused a major media scandal in Germany in 1983, have been handed over to the Federal Archives in Coblenz, Rheinland-Palatinate, by the Bertelsmann Group.
- The diaries, consisting of 52 volumes, were published by the magazine "Stern," which is a part of Gruner + Jahr based in Hamburg.
- The president of the Federal Archives, Michael Hollmann, stated that the forged diaries could potentially trivialize the brutal crimes of National Socialism, making it important for them to be identified as forgeries in the context of authentic sources.
- Bertelsmann Group CEO Thomas Rabe highlighted that the handover ensured proper archiving of the diaries and opened up the possibility for dealing with them in a transparent, scientific, and independent manner.
- The diaries were transported to Koblenz at the beginning of December and had been stored for decades at Gruner + Jahr before being moved to armored cabinets at Bertelsmann for archiving.
- The files, now in the care of the Federal Archives, will be digitized and made available in digital form, following an archival inventory, in accordance with the Federal Archives Act.
Source: www.stern.de
