Famous Hitler rally picture probably faked

Hef is old, but not that old!

 

Coloured shot.

 

Maybe, maybe not?

 

In the doctored photos of the thirties I have seen before (mostly russian) have looked faked. Can't see it here though. Faking a film would be harder still. My guess is it is him or somebody they picked out who resembled him.

 

and if you consider the propaganda value of doing it at a time when people thought photos were gospel truth, you can be sure the Germans invested a lot of research in this area, hitler photos aside.

 

I fully agree that Hitler went to great lengths to control his public image and there certainly is much documentation that he did so. My problem is the cost benefit side of the equation. How much real value is there in a photo of him cheering in a pre-WWI crowd? They already possesed real photos and army documents that showed Hitler had served in the Imperial German Army and had been honorably wounded.

I could see investing in new technolgy if you wanted an image of Hitler behind a Maxim gun, hundreds of cartridge's scattered at his feet and dozen's of Tommy's heaped in front of his gun, but just him in a cheering crowd wearing a suit?

The fact that there seems to be both a film and a photo tends to make me feel that they and the man (whether he is Hitler or a doppleganger) are real. We live in a brave new world where we can no longer trust our eyes, but sometimes a photo is just a photo and not a conspiracy.

 

What does it really prove if it was Adolf in the crowd?

PLENTY of Germans and Austrians celebrated the outbreak of The Great War in a similar fashion. This behaviour was not confined to the citizens of the Central Powers either. European cities recorded cheering crowds on both sides of the fence. All agreed as to the righteousness of their 'cause', (whatever that was), and ALL expected a short war with a victorious end.

Again I ask, what exactly does this 'reveal' about the personality of Adolf Hitler?

All it shows, to my mind at least, is that Mr. Schickelgruber was nothing more than a product of his times. Nothing remarkable really.

Must we examine EVERY aspect of the life of this individual and read something into it?

 

This will become one of those things that will never be answered to anyones satisfaction. It could be Hitler. It could be some bloke that just happens to look a bit like Hitler. Or it could be faked. We'll never know for sure. Just go with your gut instinct. Mine says it was some guy the Nazis saw in the photograph and said "Hey, we can tell the people that is Hitler!" Who would have disputed it then?