Hitler Rehearsing His Speech In Front Of The Mirror, 1925
Hitler rehearsing his public speech in front of the mirror.
Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, strikes a pose for photographer Heinrich Hoffmann whilst rehearsing and listening to his recorded speech.
The album, features black and white images of the Nazi leader in a series of poses, using expressive face and hand gestures, which he would practice and review before addressing the German public.
They capture the meticulous training Hitler undertook to perfect his famous speeches and give a rare insight into his vanity and controlling personality.
Once he saw the pictures, he would decide whether to incorporate the various gestures and poses into his speeches and appearances.
The photos were reportedly taken in 1925, soon after Hitler was released from a nine-month stint in prison during which he dictated his autobiography, Mein Kampf.
After seeing the photographs, Hitler requested Hoffmann to destroy the negatives, but he didn’t obey. They were published in his memoir, “Hitler was my friend”, which came out in 1955.
Hoffmann, who introduced Hitler to his then-studio assistant Eva Braun, survived the war and spent four years in prison for Nazi profiteering. He died in 1957, aged 72.
Roger Moorhouse, a historian who wrote the introduction to the photographer’s book, said:
He was an absolutely spellbinding public speaker and these pictures show that it was something he worked very hard on.
These pictures give an important insight into how he practiced. He was a showman and rehearsed his gestures to get a particular reaction from his audience.
He experimented with his own image and asked Hoffmann to take photographs for him to review. Then he’d look at them and say “no, that looks silly” or “I’m never doing that again”.
He used Hoffmann as a sounding board but never intended the images to be published. Hitler was a very modern politician in that way. He was concerned about how he looked and his public persona.”
The photos, taken by his personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann, were apparently intended to give the Führer an insight into how he looked to the German public.
These photos aided Hitler’s self-analysis and improved his hold over an audience.
The shots were taken shortly after his release from prison in 1925.
Adolf Hitler didn’t want anyone to see these photos so he ordered his photographer to destroy them.
He used them to practice the most charismatic postures.
The vetoed pictures were reportedly stored in Hoffmann’s studio until his arrest at the end of the war and disappeared into various archives.
Hoffmann introduced Hitler to his then-studio assistant Eva Braun.
Nazis didn’t wanted these photos to be published.
These images were published in the photographer’s memoir “Hitler was my friend”, which came out in 1955.
They offer a rare insight into his vanity and controlling personality.
He was concerned about how he looked and his public persona.
(Photo credit: Heinrich Hoffmann / Life Magazine).
