Buzz
Several well-known images of Adolf Hitler have been exposed as fakes. While Hitler himself did manipulate some photographs for propaganda, other versions have been created by writers, social media users, and the press for various motives. Some of these fakes even appeared during Hitler's lifetime, and he struggled to prove they were not authentic.
In addition to photographs, some crafty forgers have also created fake paintings, often falsely claiming them to be original works by Hitler. While it's true that Hitler did produce some art during his life, many of these fakes were made by fraudsters seeking to make a quick profit.
10. Baby Hitler
In 1931, Harriet May Warren captured a photo of her two-year-old son, John May Warren, outside their home in the US. She forgot about the picture until seven years later when she saw it featured in Life magazine. However, the image wasn't exactly the same as the one she had taken years earlier, and Life certainly didn't identify the baby as hers.
Instead, Life claimed the photograph showed a young Adolf Hitler. The image of baby John had been altered to resemble Hitler. His hair was styled into Hitler's signature parting, and his expression and posture were modified to make him appear more intimidating. The so-called 'Baby Hitler' looked furious, as if ready to fight.
Harriet reached out to Life to set the record straight, informing them that the baby in the photo was her son, John, not Hitler. Life published a retraction, but by then it was too late. Other newspapers and magazines in the US and Europe continued to spread the image, still claiming it showed Hitler.
The photo eventually reached the real Hitler, who was furious. He ordered his Nazi agents to clarify that he was not the baby in the image. The Nazi ambassador in the US even sent a more flattering photo of baby Hitler to the Chicago Tribune and demanded a retraction of the doctored image of baby John.
The Nazi efforts proved ineffective, and Western media persisted in circulating the fake photo. Some even altered the picture to make the baby look even more sinister than before. The propaganda campaign continued after World War II broke out in 1939, with Nazi forces in occupied Poland distributing a book containing authentic images of baby Hitler to debunk claims that the menacing baby was him.
Unfortunately, John died a few months after the doctored pictures first appeared in Life. He was riding home on a bicycle when he fell, breaking the bottle of milk he was carrying. Fragments from the bottle punctured his heart as he hit the ground. He was eight.
9. Hitler At A Rally
One of the more famous photographs of Adolf Hitler purportedly shows him attending a pro-war rally in Munich on August 2, 1914, at the beginning of World War I. The photographer was Heinrich Hoffmann, who would later become Hitler’s personal photographer.
However, investigations by German historian Gerd Krumeich indicate that the photo could be a forgery. Krumeich reached this conclusion after he could not find Hitler in several pictures taken by other photographers. He also found another edited version of the famous photo that depicted Hitler’s hairstyle a bit differently.
There are signs that Hoffmann and the Nazi party altered the photograph for propaganda purposes. The image first appeared in the March 12, 1932 edition of a Nazi newspaper after rivals accused Hitler of lacking patriotism. The caption accompanying the photo read, 'Adolf Hitler, the German patriot…in the middle of the crowd stands with blazing eyes—Adolf Hitler.'
8. Hitler and Modi
In 2019, Divya Spandana, a former member of the Indian parliament and social media manager for the Indian National Congress (INC) party, shared a side-by-side image of Adolf Hitler and Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India. The images depicted both leaders holding the ears of children. Spandana posted the tweet with the caption, 'What are your thoughts?'
7. Hitler Outside Landsberg Prison
One of the well-known photographs shows Hitler standing outside the gates of Landsberg Prison in Bavaria, Germany. In this image, Hitler is seen next to a Mercedes car, with the imposing prison gates looming in the background.
The photo is indeed authentic, but it was deliberately miscaptioned. The photographer, Hoffman, took the photo right after Hitler's release from prison on December 20, 1924. Hitler had been serving a five-year sentence for treason but was pardoned after just nine months.
Hoffman initially attempted to capture an image of Hitler outside the prison gates, but was halted by a guard who threatened to confiscate his camera. So, they traveled to the southern gate of the town of Landsberg, the Bayertor or Bavarian Gate, where Hoffman decided to take the photo. He later explained that he chose this location because it resembled the entrance of a fortress.
6. Hitler In Disguise
By 1944, Germany was clearly losing the war, and the Allies knew that it was only a matter of time before the German military collapsed. This raised concerns that Hitler and other top Nazi officials might alter their appearances to escape and evade capture after the defeat.
There were fears that Hitler could change his iconic hairstyle and mustache or modify other identifiable features. He could even go so far as to grow a beard or wear glasses, which would make him harder to recognize.
In response to these concerns, The New York Times hired Eddie Senz, a renowned Hollywood makeup artist, to create a series of images illustrating various versions of Hitler, both with and without his distinctive features. It’s rumored that Senz and the newspaper worked alongside the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) to produce these images.
Senz created several photos showing Hitler with different appearances, such as a beard, a new hairstyle, glasses, a bald head, or even a different mustache. The New York Times published these altered images in 1944.
5. The Mountain Paintings
Hitler had an interest in art, attempting to enroll at the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts twice, though he was rejected both times. Undeterred, he continued to work as an artist while holding a second job as a laborer in the early 20th century.
Hitler later claimed to have produced three paintings each day during his artistic period. However, after becoming fuhrer, he had most of his unsold works destroyed. Despite this, some of his paintings survived and are now sold for considerable sums.
This has led to the creation of an entire market for counterfeit paintings falsely attributed to Hitler. In January 2019, German police raided the Kloss auction house in Berlin and seized three fake paintings just before they were set to be auctioned.
The paintings all feature mountains. One shows a man sitting by a stream with a mountain in the background. Another depicts a mountain range with some bushes in the foreground, while the third shows a river with mountains in both the foreground and background.
4. 63 More Paintings
In February 2019, German police raided the Weidler auction house in Nuremberg and seized 63 counterfeit paintings claimed to be created by Hitler. Weidler had intended to auction 23 of the paintings alongside a vase, tablecloth, and chair that were also allegedly owned by Hitler.
As a result, five paintings, which were still believed to be Hitler’s, failed to sell at the auction, along with the chair. The most expensive of these paintings, featuring a mountain and a lake, had a starting bid of €45,000 ($51,000). Only the tablecloth and vase found new owners.
3. Hitler The Liberator
Bandera was a revolutionary who fought for the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union after World War II. However, there are accusations that he had cooperated and worked with the Nazis during the war. This time, it seemed like Russian media doctored the photo and replaced his portrait with Hitler’s to stir anti-EU sentiment in Ukraine.
This doctored photo appeared not long after Viktor Yanukovych, the pro-Russian president of Ukraine, was pressured to resign after series of protests by pro-EU protesters. Russian media often referred to the protesters as pro-Nazis. Yanukovych’s resignation was followed by the infamous Russian annexation of Crimea and the War in Donbass.
2. Even More Paintings
In September 2006, auctioneer Ian Morris planned to auction 21 paintings supposedly done by Hitler. The authenticity of the paintings was reportedly confirmed by historian Hugh Trevor-Roper, who reached his conclusion after comparing the signatures on the paintings with a diary supposedly owned by Hitler.
In 1945, a diary was discovered alongside a collection of paintings at the site of a plane crash. Morris later claimed the paintings had been lost, only to be rediscovered in the 1980s. Trevor-Roper confirmed the authenticity of the diary and paintings, noting that their signatures matched.
Jonathan Jones of The Guardian, however, argues that both the paintings and the diary are forgeries. Each item was designed to make the other appear genuine and deceive historians. These fakes were created by Konrad Kujau, a notorious forger known for producing several counterfeit items he falsely attributed to Hitler.
1. Hitler And Cutinga
It is widely accepted that Hitler took his own life in his bunker as Allied forces closed in on Berlin. Nonetheless, some challenge this explanation. Conspiracy theorists suggest Hitler escaped Germany and lived out his days elsewhere, with some claiming he went to a South American country, while others propose he fled to Antarctica or even the Moon.
Simoni Renee Guerreiro Dias, the author of Hitler in Brazil—His Life and His Death, suggests that after World War II, Hitler escaped to South America. According to Dias, he sought refuge in the town of Nossa Senhora do Livramento, located in Mato Grosso, Brazil. She claims that Hitler adopted the name Adolf Leipzig and had a black girlfriend named Cutinga.
Dias presents a grainy photograph as evidence, showing the alleged Hitler alongside Cutinga. She speculates that Hitler chose a black girlfriend to reduce the chances of his identity being discovered. However, Dias did not clarify why Hitler retained his original first name. She also states that Hitler lived until 1984, passing away at the age of 95.
