Research reveals Adolf Hitler's heroic Great War exploits 'were a Nazi propaganda myth'
Adolf Hitler's heroic exploits during the First World War were an invention of the Nazi propaganda machine, new research has revealed.
The Nazi leader served as a messenger on the Western Front during the war and was awarded the Iron Cross for carrying messages.
He claimed in his autobiography, Mein Kampf, that he 'looked death in the eye' and risked his life 'probably every day' while he served as a messenger on the Western Front.
But a new book, Hitler's First War, by German historian Thomas Weber, reveals that Private Hitler was often stationed outside of the most dangerous areas and was rarely in the 'midst of the bombardment', as he claimed.
In the book Mr Weber shows that accounts of Hitler's bravery were deliberately fabricated by the National Socialists from 1925 onwards as the party built a cult of personality around their leader....
Read entire article at Daily Mail (UK)
The Nazi leader served as a messenger on the Western Front during the war and was awarded the Iron Cross for carrying messages.
He claimed in his autobiography, Mein Kampf, that he 'looked death in the eye' and risked his life 'probably every day' while he served as a messenger on the Western Front.
But a new book, Hitler's First War, by German historian Thomas Weber, reveals that Private Hitler was often stationed outside of the most dangerous areas and was rarely in the 'midst of the bombardment', as he claimed.
In the book Mr Weber shows that accounts of Hitler's bravery were deliberately fabricated by the National Socialists from 1925 onwards as the party built a cult of personality around their leader....