Obscure and uncommon books about the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler and Nazism

[George L Gregory]

I’m interested if people can name any obscure and uncommon books they have about the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler and Nazism.

I’ve read all of the major books, so I am after something that is a little out there.

Any suggestions?

[Hans1906]

Hi George,

I stumbled across this 1921 german publication a few days ago, probably "obscure" enough...

The book is av. online as a PDF file, download size is 44,7 megabyte. (428 pages)
A early anti semitic publication, published in Berlin in the year 1921, scanned by the United States Holocaust Museum in
excellent quality, very interesting to look at, strange stuff, please see yourself.

The link to the PDF file is easy to find, not from me please.
Original copies are also offered online, I do not have a copy in my collections.


Hans

[Hans1906]

The above book is of course very dubious, but nevertheless a very typical example of such works from the years before the National Socialists came to power in Germany.

One should look through it in peace, a lot can still be found in the current propaganda.
The old stereotypes are the same, little has changed, everything is still used today.

And that actually applies to all propaganda, even today, this 100-year-old concoction is still shocking.
Little or nothing will change about that in the future either, ("good") propaganda is timeless, and usually "evil", that's the meaning behind all the dirt...

Eduard Fuchs https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduard_Fu ... schaftler)


Hans
P.S. In the "remains" of my family, I never found such books, the people were "german-national" orientated, not anti-semitic, and no books were
destroyed after 1945.
My mother Ingrid, born in 1935, probably had never seen or read such books, I am very sure about this.

[jeffhan373]

George -

When you say "out there", what do you mean? There are loads of truly weird Hitler books out there, if that's what you're looking for.

A recent title might be of interest: "The Saucer and the Swastika" by S.D. Tucker. This is ostensibly about the myth of Nazi UFOs, but there is a lot of weird stuff in it about Hitler himself and his modern acolytes/disciples. Tucker is a terrific columnist for "Fortean Times" and he approaches this subject with a lot of humor, yet also with insightful analysis on how such foolishness spreads.

Tucker goes into "Esoteric Hitlerism" in some depth, if that's the kind of thing you're interested in.

Weird books about Hitler came out very soon after his death (unless he didn't die, and was flown to Antarctica in a Nazi UFO, as one theory goes!) and have continued right up to today. How about "Two Days with Hitler in Yellowstone Park" by Jesse Hance (1972). This was Hance's follow-up to "When Hitler lived in the United States, Book 1" (1968).

Apologies If this isn't what you're looking for. I think these books are weirdly funny, and I try to get them when they come my way.

[J. Duncan]

Responding to Hans above, I have that book and it’s quite a production. Fuchs was some kind of art historian who also published big books on erotica (couple of his titles were “Geschichte Erotischen Kunst”). He also did a book titled “Wagner in Der Karikatur” which is quite well made (I have a copy of that also). Wagner was lampooned in many periodicals of his time which Fuchs collected into a large art book. Wagner is portrayed as a demon, a Satyr, a Jew…he had many enemies. I have to say, Germany made extremely high quality books during that time . The designs and bindings were well crafted and unbelievably sturdy. The copies I possess are still strong after being well over 100 years old.
As to the subject, one obscure book I found interesting is “Hitler as Philosophe” by Laurence Birken. It shows Hitlers ideas rooted in Enlightenment philosophy. Another is Robert A Pois “National Socialism and the Religion of Nature”. My particular interest is in the realm of ideas. It might be helpful to narrow the swath a bit and say exactly what angle of Hitler you are interested in. Like Jeff said, it’s a vast field of study. One of the best books on the ideology of the SS comes to us from a study of the SS newspaper Das Schwarze Korps . It is a hard to find and expensive book by Stephen Combs titled “Voice of the SS”. It was a highly revolutionary (and in many ways , counter-revolutionary) publication which Combs illustrates through its history and select articles.
Jeff, you always provide good tips on books so I’m going to get the Saucer book. I think it might be a good companion to Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke’s “Black Sun”.

[Hans1906]

Hi J. Duncan,

thanks for your reply, I only know of the online edition of this book and it is a reflection of those years.

I personally would not want to look for an original edition, it would also be too expensive for me.
There are a large number of such Anti-Semitic early "works", many of which I know myself, but please do not necessarily have these books in my collection.

Today it is very rare to stumble upon such books at German flea markets, even German antiquarian bookshops rarely offer these books, if so then under the counter, but who am I telling.
Thank you for your little "excursion", an answer is difficult, as a collector you actually take everything, even if there is a "kind of blood" on these works.

The own disgust, the discrepancy, that makes these works interesting, without wanting to emphasize a single one of these books, it what it is.
I wouldn't even name some of the books in my collection, for good reason.

Hans

[George L Gregory]

I am looking for books such as lesser-known biographies of any of the Nazis, the roots of Nazism (National Socialism), Esoteric Hitlerism, earlier works about the economics of the Third Reich, etc.

[VanillaNuns]

The book about Hans Kammler and his post war fate gets excellent reviews. I've even seen a couple of die-hard naysers on here admit it's possible that Kammler survived and was spirited away by the CIA.

The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil

by Colm Lowery, Dean Reuter, and Keith Chester