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The Political Testament of Adolf Hitler by Hitler: Recorded by Martin Bormann
Now re-published, are the previously unavailable texts assembled from the personal record of Hitler's informal conversations with Martin Bormann and other friends. These texts are the classic collection of Hitler's night-time monologues with his entourage, covering mostly non-military subjects and long-range plans. Hitler lets his thoughts wander, never failing to provide an opinion on every subject. Here read the private, off the record, informal conversations of a man who, more than anyone else, came close to destroying the western world. Possibly the single most important record of Hitler's character there is, enlightening readers with his opinions and inner-most thoughts. This is a fascinating glimpse and a hitherto unknown look into the mind of one of the 20th century's most terrifying figures.
76 pages, Paperback
First published April 29, 1945
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About the author
Adolf Hitler
348 books1,870 followersAustrian-born Adolf Hitler, known as “der Führer,” from 1921 led the Nazi party of Germans with
Mein Kampf
, which from 1925 to 1927 embodies his fascist philosophy, which attracted widespread support; from 1933 served as chancellor of the Third Reich; after 1934 ruled as an absolute dictator; pursued aggressive nationalist policies; resulted in the invasion of Poland in 1939 and the subsequent outbreak of World War II as his infamous regime exterminated millions of persons, especially Jews of Europe; and with the imminent collapse, took his own life in 1945.
For role in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, people executed Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Franz von Papen served as chancellor in 1932 and then from 1933 as vice to 1934.
Adolf Hitler rose to power as the leader and then the title. He initiated conflict on 1 September 1939. Military operations closely involved him, who centrally perpetrated the genocide of millions of other victims. He committed his suicide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_H...
For role in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, people executed Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
Franz von Papen served as chancellor in 1932 and then from 1933 as vice to 1934.
Adolf Hitler rose to power as the leader and then the title. He initiated conflict on 1 September 1939. Military operations closely involved him, who centrally perpetrated the genocide of millions of other victims. He committed his suicide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_H...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 22, 2020
There is concern regarding the authenticity of the manuscript of which this is based.
"Ian Kershaw views this text with considerable scepticism. He writes in his Hitler biography:
The main problem with the authenticity of the text is that no reliable and certifiable German version exists. It is impossible, therefore, to be certain. A great deal has to be taken on trust; and even then no safe mechanism for checking is available. … [The] English version contains a very loose and untrustworthy translation of the German text – itself not guaranteed to be identical with any long-lost original or the lost copy of that original – which was eventually published only in 1981 …. Further examination of the text in the meantime – though this was not mentioned by the German publishers – by Professor Eduard Baumgarten had established that the translation back into German from the French (carried out by a Dutchman) contained between the lines a second German text, written in the hand of François Genoud. The available German text is, therefore, at best a construct; neither the original nor the copy of that original exists. Baumgarten tended, since the content was consonant with Hitler’s thinking and expression, to accept the authenticity of the text. There is, however, no proof and, therefore, no reliable German text whose authenticity can be placed beyond question." from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full...
"Ian Kershaw views this text with considerable scepticism. He writes in his Hitler biography:
The main problem with the authenticity of the text is that no reliable and certifiable German version exists. It is impossible, therefore, to be certain. A great deal has to be taken on trust; and even then no safe mechanism for checking is available. … [The] English version contains a very loose and untrustworthy translation of the German text – itself not guaranteed to be identical with any long-lost original or the lost copy of that original – which was eventually published only in 1981 …. Further examination of the text in the meantime – though this was not mentioned by the German publishers – by Professor Eduard Baumgarten had established that the translation back into German from the French (carried out by a Dutchman) contained between the lines a second German text, written in the hand of François Genoud. The available German text is, therefore, at best a construct; neither the original nor the copy of that original exists. Baumgarten tended, since the content was consonant with Hitler’s thinking and expression, to accept the authenticity of the text. There is, however, no proof and, therefore, no reliable German text whose authenticity can be placed beyond question." from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full...
December 27, 2018
Har intet at gøre med Adolf Hitler s personlige og politiske testamente.
Blot en bog om hans ytringer i Fuhrerbunkeren.
Blot en bog om hans ytringer i Fuhrerbunkeren.
December 21, 2025
[Dec 17, 2025] I did not know this book existed until reading Hitler Redux, by Mikael Nilsson. Nilsson is a controversial expert on Hitler and the Third Reich. Mostly he is controversial for his views on Hitler’s religious beliefs. However, Nilsson's view that this book is forged does not seem to be controversial, but is accepted by many if not most scholars.
Confusingly this book goes by a couple of different titles in English. The one Nilsson uses in Hitler Redux is The Testament of Adolf Hitler. But it also goes by The Political Testament of Adolf Hitler, which is closer to the German title: Hitlers Politisches Testament. Confusingly there is another Political Testament of Adolf Hitler (which is likely why Nilsson does not use this title) which is a completely different document and in German is Mein Politisches Testament.
According to Nilsson, "the text contains statements that cannot reasonably have been uttered by Hitler and that cannot be the result of Bormann's misunderstandings, either." He gives as an example a statement in the Testament, supposedly uttered by Hitler, that the Jews were not a race. That, of course, goes against everything Hitler says about the Jews elsewhere, but is in accord with the views of François Genoud. Of course, this makes one wonder if Genoud could be the forger. Hugh Trevor-Roper doubts this, and instead thinks Genoud's Nazi confidant, Hans Rechenberg, was the forger.
Whoever wrote it, I have always been interested in passages that may shed light on Hitler's religious beliefs. I found two in this document. First, "Christianity is not a natural religion for the Germans, but a religion which has been imported and strikes no responsive chord in their hearts and is foreign to the inherent genius of the race." Second, "The universalists, the idealists, the Utopians all aim too high. They give promises of an unattainable paradise, and by doing so they deceive mankind. Whatever label they wear, whether they call themselves Christians, communists, humanitarians, whether they are merely sincere but stupid or wire-pullers and cynics, they are all makers of slaves. I myself have always kept my eye fixed on a paradise which, in the nature of things, lies well within our reach. I mean an improvement in the lot of the German people."
The second quote sounds more Hitlerian to me (based on my recollections from Mein Kampf). Also sounds somewhat Nietzschian. Of course, if Mikael Nilsson is correct that the whole thing is a forgery, then it’s a moot point.
[update: Dec 21, 2025] I first read this book before I had read the chapter on it in Hitler Redux by Mikael Nilsson, and I felt I needed to read it again after having read that book. There were certain things I was looking for, specifically mentions of the Holocaust and the entry on Frederick the Great (Frederick II). According to Nilsson, the entry on Frederick really seals the deal that the Political Testament is a forgery.
Entry number five is the one that talks about the Jews the most and seems to seal the deal about Hitler's knowledge of the Holocaust: "I have always been absolutely fair in my dealings with the Jews. On the eve of war, I gave them one final warning. I told them that, if they precipitated another war, they would not be spared and that I would exterminate the vermin throughout Europe, and this time once and for all. … Well, we have lanced the Jewish abscess; and the world of the future will be eternally grateful to us." This, of course, is suspicious because in Table Talk there is no open mention of the Holocaust. Of course, if the Political Testament is a forgery written after the end of the war, there would be no reason to pretend Hitler didn’t know about the Holocaust.
Outside of entry number five Jews were talked about less. One thing I found humorous was the supposed references to FDR as catering to the Jews. In one place, he is referred to as a Jew-ridden man. This tracks with comments Hitler makes (or is said to have made) about FDR in Table Talk.
One thing I was not looking for but awakened a recollection was entry sixteen on Dunkirk. In Hitler Redux, Nilsson cites this entry also as evidence of forgery.
Confusingly this book goes by a couple of different titles in English. The one Nilsson uses in Hitler Redux is The Testament of Adolf Hitler. But it also goes by The Political Testament of Adolf Hitler, which is closer to the German title: Hitlers Politisches Testament. Confusingly there is another Political Testament of Adolf Hitler (which is likely why Nilsson does not use this title) which is a completely different document and in German is Mein Politisches Testament.
According to Nilsson, "the text contains statements that cannot reasonably have been uttered by Hitler and that cannot be the result of Bormann's misunderstandings, either." He gives as an example a statement in the Testament, supposedly uttered by Hitler, that the Jews were not a race. That, of course, goes against everything Hitler says about the Jews elsewhere, but is in accord with the views of François Genoud. Of course, this makes one wonder if Genoud could be the forger. Hugh Trevor-Roper doubts this, and instead thinks Genoud's Nazi confidant, Hans Rechenberg, was the forger.
Whoever wrote it, I have always been interested in passages that may shed light on Hitler's religious beliefs. I found two in this document. First, "Christianity is not a natural religion for the Germans, but a religion which has been imported and strikes no responsive chord in their hearts and is foreign to the inherent genius of the race." Second, "The universalists, the idealists, the Utopians all aim too high. They give promises of an unattainable paradise, and by doing so they deceive mankind. Whatever label they wear, whether they call themselves Christians, communists, humanitarians, whether they are merely sincere but stupid or wire-pullers and cynics, they are all makers of slaves. I myself have always kept my eye fixed on a paradise which, in the nature of things, lies well within our reach. I mean an improvement in the lot of the German people."
The second quote sounds more Hitlerian to me (based on my recollections from Mein Kampf). Also sounds somewhat Nietzschian. Of course, if Mikael Nilsson is correct that the whole thing is a forgery, then it’s a moot point.
[update: Dec 21, 2025] I first read this book before I had read the chapter on it in Hitler Redux by Mikael Nilsson, and I felt I needed to read it again after having read that book. There were certain things I was looking for, specifically mentions of the Holocaust and the entry on Frederick the Great (Frederick II). According to Nilsson, the entry on Frederick really seals the deal that the Political Testament is a forgery.
Entry number five is the one that talks about the Jews the most and seems to seal the deal about Hitler's knowledge of the Holocaust: "I have always been absolutely fair in my dealings with the Jews. On the eve of war, I gave them one final warning. I told them that, if they precipitated another war, they would not be spared and that I would exterminate the vermin throughout Europe, and this time once and for all. … Well, we have lanced the Jewish abscess; and the world of the future will be eternally grateful to us." This, of course, is suspicious because in Table Talk there is no open mention of the Holocaust. Of course, if the Political Testament is a forgery written after the end of the war, there would be no reason to pretend Hitler didn’t know about the Holocaust.
Outside of entry number five Jews were talked about less. One thing I found humorous was the supposed references to FDR as catering to the Jews. In one place, he is referred to as a Jew-ridden man. This tracks with comments Hitler makes (or is said to have made) about FDR in Table Talk.
One thing I was not looking for but awakened a recollection was entry sixteen on Dunkirk. In Hitler Redux, Nilsson cites this entry also as evidence of forgery.
January 22, 2024
A fascinating read for academic purposes.
Hate speaks.
Hate speaks.
August 29, 2024
okay I admit I fell asleep during most of the audiobook, but the subject matter was amazing. Can't recommend it more!!!
November 16, 2025
This is a forgery, but it's amazing as a piece of historical fiction, lol.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews