The photographs Hitler wanted to ban from the world – Reproduced in a new book

Adolf Hitler certainly did not like all of the photographs that were taken of him. So much so that if he thought a photograph was undignified he would have it banned from publication.

Hitler banned publication of this image from an early Nazi propaganda book [Via]

Veteran British soldier, Private Alf Robinson, was one of the first troops on the ground in devastated Berlin. Whilst on patrol he found an original Nazi propaganda book in the ruins of a bombed house. He kept the book as a ‘souvenir’ along with a couple of German-made weapons. (Express)

Adolf Hitler despised this ‘undignified’ picture of him  [Via]

Alf kept the book all these years, unable to read it because it was in German, but kept it as a part of his war time memories. 70 years on and the book is about to be re-published and versions produced in other languages including English.

The reason it is being re-published is to show the craze and fanaticism of the Nazi regime. Deutschland Erwache or Germany Awaken, as it was known, was an official Nazi publication aimed at the younger generation. The one Alf found was written in the 1930s when the Nazis were rising in power.

The book describes Hitler as honest and humble and is strong and kind. Images of Hitler posing in shorts are some of the most humorous in the book.

Hitler hated images of him in shorts which showed his bare legs [Via]

It wasn’t until later, during the war, that Hitler decided that these kinds of photographs of him in shorts were a little humiliating and thus he banned them.

Other photographs show scenes of Hitler’s travels amongst the German people including with children, workers and his own close circle of Nazi leaders and advisors.

A young Hitler during his days as a Lance Corporal in the German Army [Via]

Hitler grinning inanely in another picture he tried to ban [Via]

Captions that accompanied the images made claims of how Hitler was worthy of worship, and that all German people loved him.

The author of this particular book, von Schirach, first met Hitler in 1925 and gradually made his way up the Nazi party career ladder.

Von Schirach was awarded the Nazi’s Iron Cross for his voluntary service. But after he was put in charge of the deportation of the Jews from Vienna, he became deeply unsettled by the wrong doing of the task. When he and his wife openly criticised the deportation they both fell out of favour with the Nazi leadership.

After the war, Von Schirach was sentenced as part of the Nuremberg trials and spent 20 years in a Berlin prison. He died later in 1974.

The Rise Of Hitler by Trevor Salisbury, £11.99, published by Pen & Sword