Heinrich Hoffmann (1885 â 1957) served as Adolf Hitlerâs official photographer from when Hitler took control of the Nazi party in 1921 until his death in 1945. Hoffmann estimates he took over half a million photographs of Hitler over the course of his career. His portraits were the most significant source of Nazi propaganda materials published over the course of close to 25 years, everything from postcards, posters, magazines, postage stamps and picture books. Click on eachtheme below to see a complete photo albumdevoted to that particular event or topic.
Adolf Hitler loved cars (specifically Mercedes-Benz vehicles) and always preferred to ride in the front seat instead of in the back when he was being chauffeured around. One of his favorite pastimes was having his drivers race up and down the winding and narrow roads of rural Germany at very high speeds. Heinrich Hoffmann took most of these photos in the early to mid-1930âs while Hitler was out on one of his many joyrides or out touring and speaking around Germany.
Heinrich Hoffmann clearly posed this photograph of Adolf Hitler being chauffeured down a newly opened stretch of the Reichsautobahn in 1936, note how the rearview mirror is tilted in Hitlerâs direction instead of towards the driverâs side!Adolf Hitler usually wore his leather aviator cap when out riding around in his convertible Mercedes in the late 1920âs and early 1930âs.Photo from a 1936 Nazi coffee table book on Adolf Hitler titled âBilder aus dem Leben des FĂźhrersâ (Pictures from the Life of the FĂźhrer). This was sold as a blank book and the owner would purchase 200 photographs separately and manually paste them in to complete the book. Over 2 million of these books had been printed and sold by the year 1940.Adolf Hitler on the election trail in the autumn of 1932, accompanied by, from left to right, Julius Schaub, ‘Sepp’ Dietrich and Kurt Daluege (SA leader in Berlin and later successor to Reinhard Heydrich as Deputy Protector of Bohemia and Moravia).Adolf Hitler makes a short stop in a forest with Rudolf Hess and friends while out enjoying a ride in August 1931.Adolf Hitler enjoys relaxation and recuperation between Christmas and the New Year at his home in Berchtesgaden before returning back to Berlin on 29 December 1935.Adolf Hitler on a road trip around Germany in 1936.Julius Schreck in his capacity as Adolf Hitler’s personal SS bodyguard and chauffeur, April 1932. Political uniforms were banned at the time so Hitler campaigned in civilian clothes.Chancellor Adolf Hitler on a road trip around Germany during his April 1932 Presidential campaign.Photo from the 1936 book on Adolf Hitler titled âBilder aus dem Leben des FĂźhrersâ (Pictures from the Life of the FĂźhrer).Another photo of Hitler in his car from the 1936 book âBilder aus dem Leben des FĂźhrersâ (Pictures from the Life of the FĂźhrer).This photo appears to be from a private album but taken on the same day as the two photos above of Hitler on his tour of Germany in 1936..Adolf Hitler posing with his pride and joy, his Mercedes-Benz 16/50 PS vehicle purchased for him by Helene Bechstein in the early 1920âs. This model was extremely popular at the time since it was one of the first small and sporty cars. It was equipped with a six-cylinder inline-engine that had a capacity of 4.2 liters and was capable of achieving speeds of around 56 miles per hour (90 km/h).Adolf Hitler with his chauffeur Emil Maurice. Emil Maurice was an early member of the National Socialist German Workers’ Party and a founding member of the Schutzstaffel. He was Hitler’s first personal chauffeur, and was one of the few persons of mixed Jewish and ethnic German ancestry to serve in the SS, being declared an âhonorary Aryanâ by Adolf Hitler in 1935.Adolf Hitler with his newly purchased Mercedes-Benz 11/40 PS on 20 December 1924, the day of his release from Landsberg Prison.Early NSDAP party members pose with Hitler in his car, a 1921 Benz 10/30 PS, at the Deutscher Tag in Hof on September 16, 1923. Daimler-Benz provided Hitler with many vehicles and was a close ally of the Nazi party. Helene Bechstein also purchased Hitler a luxurious Mercedes-Benz 16/50 PS vehicle in the early 1920âs. It was this car that Hitler used to drive to the Burgerbraukeller in Munich shortly before launching his abortive putsch.Adolf Hitler touring Germany with his driver Julius Schreck c. 1931Chancellor of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler with his Mercedes on the Rhine River ferry in KĂśnigswinter, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany in 1937. In the background is the Petersberg Mountain.Photograph of Adolf Hitler taken on 2 April 1934 after leaving the Obersalzberg and driving back to Munich. Riding with Hitler in the car is Jakob Werlin, an Austrian auto salesman who had been acquainted with Hitler since 1923. Due to his early contact with Adolf Hitler, he became an honorary SS leader and Hitler’s primary interface with the Daimler-Benz company. Werlin would often visit Hitler’s alpine home, and would give Nazi officials very significant discounts on their cars.Hitler greeting the immense crowd at the Nuremberg Rally of 1936. This is one of my personal favorite photos of Adolf Hitler riding around in his car. I apologize for the watermark, but I had to include this one since this uniform is particularly flattering on him, and the outline of the Frauenkirche is striking.Adolf Hitler treats several children to a once in a lifetime ride in his Mercedes on 29 August 1935, the day the “Adolf Hitler-Koog” settlement was officially completed. This newly reclaimed farmland from the North Sea became a showcase project of new “living space” for hand-picked settlers that lived up to Nazi ideals of racial purity and loyalty to NSDAP ideology. Adolf Hitler examines a model of a new D-type racing car at the Berlin Motor Show automobile exhibition in Berlin, Germany in 1935. Adolf Hitler at the groundbreaking ceremony of the KDF-Wagen factory at Fallersleben on 26 May 1938. Adolf Hitler sits in the new Volkswagen prototype while Ferdinand Porsche and Robert Ley stand next to the door. Note Lutze’s arm is in a sling here.
Hitler and Race Cars
Adolf Hitler, being an avid car enthusiast, saw victories in international auto racing as an area where Germany could showcase its superiority in automotive engineering. Adolf Huhnlein was put in charge of the National Socialist Motor Corps (NSKK), and with NSKK oversight, the Third Reichâs participation at the Grand Prix was seen as having enormous propaganda potential and was accompanied by all the usual Nazi pomp and glory. The NSKK trained a multitude of men in motor skills, and all race car drivers had to become members of the NSKK. In 1934, Daimler-Benz requested 1 million marks from the Reich for a racing subsidy, but received only half. The government grant was also shared with Auto Union, since Hitler believed that two competing racing enterprises would further Germanyâs international standing.
Mercedes developed the revolutionary W25, a light machine that kicked up to 500 hp, while Auto Union released the P-Wagen, a vehicle designed by Porsche. With their sleek aluminum cast bodies, both cars resembled silver bullets on wheels and were dubbed the âSilberpfeileâ or âSilver Arrowsâ. German victories swiftly followed and for the course of the next 4 years, as the Silver Arrows outmatched their French and Italian counterparts at many of the premier Grand Prix events.
Adolf Hitler at the launching of the new Mercedes open Grand Prix racing car ‘Silver Arrow’ model W25 in January 1934, with Hans Nibel, Mercedes designer. Apparently the sound of the loud engine really startled the FĂźhrer!
Dr. Hans Nibel explains the Mercedes-Benz W25 to Adolf Hitler, as Goebbels (third from the left) and Alfred Neubauer (right) look on.The new Mercedes-Benz W25 Grand Prix racing car was presented to Adolf Hitler in January 1934 and then went to Monza for testing. At the time, no one could have imagined how this racing car – along with its arch rival, the Auto Union – would revolutionize the racing scene in Europe. Mercedes won the 1934 Grand Prix season and the first European Championship in 1935.The new Mercedes-Benz W25 Grand Prix racing car was presented to Adolf Hitler in January 1934 and then went to Monza for testing. At the time, no one could have imagined how this racing car – along with its arch rival, the Auto Union – would revolutionize the racing scene in Europe. Mercedes won the 1934 Grand Prix season and the first European Championship in 1935.Hitler and the Mercedes Benz Managing Director, Jakob Werlin, looking at the new Mercedes racing car in the new Munich sales room. Jakob Werlin sold Hitler his first Benz in 1923.
Adolf Hitler inspecting a W25 Grand Prix car. The Silver Arrow W 25 won 11 Grand Prix championships between 1934-1936 and could run a mile in a mere 30.76 seconds at an average top speed of 197 mph.
Adolf Hitler and other dignitaries inspecting and admiring the new Mercedes W154 Grand Prix entrant in Berlin in 1938. The Mercedes-Benz W154 was a Grand Prix racing car designed by Rudolf Uhlenhaut. It competed in the 1938 and 1939 Grand Prix seasons and was used by Rudolf Caracciola to win the 1938 European Championship. The FĂźhrer, an active supporter of the automobile industry, considers a small model of a race car.Adolf Hitler together with prominent racing drivers in the Reich Chancellery. In the front row from left: Bernd Rosemeyer, Rudolf Caracciola, Adolf Hitler, Hanns Stuck, NSKK Corps leader Adolf Huehnlein, Ernst Henne. In the 2 row left: Manfred von Brauchitsch, in the middle Walfried Winkler, Arthur Geiss, right behind Henne Josef Stelzer. At the back in the middle is the President of the DDAC, Baron von Egloffstein on 11 December 1935.Adolf Hitler receiving winner Rudolf Caracciola and second place driver Manfred Von Brauchitsch in the German Grand Prix at Bayreuth in 1937, also with Joseph Goebbels (back to camera).
I love history and have always been infatuated with the design and style of the 1920âs. Unfortunately I canât time travel back to this era, so I live vicariously through books, movies and photos.
[…] Adolf Hitlerâs extensive journeys and exponential travels across Europe on Planes, Trains and Automobiles⌠somehow I totally skipped ships!! So here it is! Itâs certainly well past time we see Hitler […]
Enjoyed seeing Hitler in various different settings, especially with the racing cars. Will show them to my husband who likes old cars and follows Grand Prix/Formula One.
I just recently added the race car photos, arenât they amazing! Iâm thinking the topic of Hitler and Race Cars might need itâs own separate post – and Iâm also working on a post about Hitler at the annual Berlin Motor Show for next month.
[…] und sieg der NSDAPâ with the caption âTwo workers for Germany shake hands.â Hitler loved to travel by car around Germany to have intimate meet and greet encounters with the German public. Every eye is on […]
Heinrich Hoffmann Photo Gallery 