Article of the day for June 25, 2016
The Article of the day for June 25, 2016 is Hitler Diaries.
The forged diaries of Adolf Hitler are a series of sixty volumes of journals created by Konrad Kujau (pictured) between 1981 and 1983. They were purchased in 1983 for 9.3 million Deutsche Marks (US$3.7 million) by the West German news magazine Stern through one of their journalists, Gerd Heidemann. Stern sold serialisation rights to several news organisations, including The Sunday Times. In April 1983, at a press conference to announce the forthcoming publication, several historians—including two who had previously authenticated the diaries—raised questions over their validity, and subsequent forensic examination quickly confirmed they were forgeries. As Stern's scoop began to unravel, it became clear that Heidemann, who had an obsession with the Nazis, had stolen a significant proportion of the money provided. Kujau and Heidemann both spent time in prison for their parts in the fraud, and several newspaper editors lost their jobs. The scandal has been adapted for the screen twice: as Selling Hitler (1991) for the British ITV channel, and the following year as Schtonk!, a German film.
The forged diaries of Adolf Hitler are a series of sixty volumes of journals created by Konrad Kujau (pictured) between 1981 and 1983. They were purchased in 1983 for 9.3 million Deutsche Marks (US$3.7 million) by the West German news magazine Stern through one of their journalists, Gerd Heidemann. Stern sold serialisation rights to several news organisations, including The Sunday Times. In April 1983, at a press conference to announce the forthcoming publication, several historians—including two who had previously authenticated the diaries—raised questions over their validity, and subsequent forensic examination quickly confirmed they were forgeries. As Stern's scoop began to unravel, it became clear that Heidemann, who had an obsession with the Nazis, had stolen a significant proportion of the money provided. Kujau and Heidemann both spent time in prison for their parts in the fraud, and several newspaper editors lost their jobs. The scandal has been adapted for the screen twice: as Selling Hitler (1991) for the British ITV channel, and the following year as Schtonk!, a German film.
