Hitler
Was My Friend: The memoirs of Hitler’s Photographer
Hoffman —Heinrich Hoffman was a key part in the making of the
Hitler legend, the photographer who carefully crafted the image of
the Führer as a godlike figure. Hoffmann published his first
book of photographs in 1919, following his work as an official photographer
for the German army. In 1920 he joined the Nazi Party, and his association
with Hitler began.
He became Hitler's official photographer and traveled with him extensively.
He took over two million photographs of Hitler, and they were distributed
widely, including on postage stamps, an enterprise that proved very
profitable for both men. Hoffmann published several books on Hitler
in the 1930s, including The Hitler Nobody Knows (1933). Hoffmann and
Hitler were very close, and he acted not only as a personal confidante
- his memoirs include rare details of the Führer - but also as
a matchmaker – it is Hoffmann who introduced Eva Braun, his
studio assistant, to Hitler.
At the end of the war, Hoffmann was arrested by the US military, who
also seized his photographic archive, and was sentenced to imprisonment
for Nazi profiteering. This edition of a classic book includes photographs
by Hoffmann and a new introduction by Roger Moorhouse. 256p-hc