Adolf Hitler's sexuality
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Adolf Hitler's sexuality has been the subject of much speculation and controversy. Some historians argue that Hitler was completely heterosexual, others argue that he was either homosexual or bisexual. The reason for this great deal of speculation may be the fact that Hitler presented himself publicly as a man without an intimate domestic life, dedicated to his political mission.
In 1943, the American Office of Strategic Services (OSS) published A Psychological Analysis of Adolf Hitler: His Life and Legend. In the course of the 281-page report, the authors describe Hitler "(1) as he appears to himself, (2) as he has been pictured to the German people, and (3) how he is known to his associates."[1] Using this information, they then perform a "psychological analysis ... in which an attempt is made to understand Hitler as a person and the motivations underlying his actions."
The authors describe Hitler as having, "possibly even a homosexual streak in him." Some even said that he was sexually involved with Heinrich Himmler, his second-in-command and his secretary.
Somewhat more credible arguments that Hitler may have been homosexual were put forward in a book by historian Lothar Machtan called The Hidden Hitler, based primarily upon the "Mend Protocol", a series of allegations made to the Munich Police in the early 1920s by a former soldier colleague of Hitler's. In 2004, HBO produced a documentary film based on Machtan's theory, titled Hidden Fuhrer: Debating the Enigma of Hitler's Sexuality. Mend was a convicted fraudster, and historian Anton Joachimsthaler (TV interview for BBC2 in 2002) is among those who regard the protocol as unreliable.
A controversial book, The Pink Swastika, written by religious right writer Scott Lively and Kevin Abrams, released in 2002, dealt with similar topics. A line-by-line rebuttal, The Annotated Pink Swastika, outlines in detail numerous alleged factual inconsistencies in Lively and Abrams' book.[2]
Jack Nusan Porter, from the University of Massachusetts Lowell, writes: "Did Hitler despise homosexuals? Was he ashamed of his own homosexual identity? These are areas of psychohistory that are beyond known knowledge. My own feelings are that Hitler was asexual in the traditional sense and had bizarre sexual fetishes."
[edit] Incest claims
There have been claims that Hitler had an incestuous affair with his half-niece, Geli Raubal. This has been fuelled partly by the fact that Adolf's own mother Klara was his father Alois's cousin. Geli died young, either by suicide or an assassination, and this has caused much speculation.
The 2005 film Uncle Adolf,[3] starring Elaine Cassidy as Geli, and Ken Stott as Adolf Hitler is about Hitler in the Führerbunker reminiscing about his relationship with Geli. In this fictional portrayal, it is suggested that there was a sexual element.
[edit] References
- ^ Langer, Walter; Henry Murray, Ernst Kris, Bertram Lewin (1943). Preface (GIF). A Psychological Analysis of Adolf Hitler: His Life and Legend. Office of Strategic Services. Retrieved on 2006-03-23.
- ^ The Annotated Pink Swastika
- ^ IMDb.
- Rosenbaum, Ron. Explaining Hitler: The Search for the Origins of His Evil. New York: Harper Perennial, 1999. ISBN 006095339X.
[edit] External links
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