Oechsner was told that after one of her 
visits in Berchtesgaden some of her underwear was found in Hitler's 
bedroom. Wiedemann, according to Hohenlohe, says that she has sometimes 
spent the entire night in Hitler's bedroom in Berlin. It is reported 
by Norburt (605) that Eva moved into the Chancellory on 
December 16, 1939 and it is said that Hitler intends to marry her 
when the war is over. Beyond that, we know nothing about this affair 
except that Eva Braun has twice tried to commit suicide and that one of 
Hitler's bodyguards hurled himself from the Kehlstein because he was in 
love with her but could not respass [sic] the Fuehrer's domain.

The affair with Eva Braun was not exclusive, however. During this period 
he has also seen a good deal of at least two moving picture actresses. 
These have been more enduring than most of his associations with actresses 
and much more intimate. Both of these girls were frequently invited 
alone to the Chancellory late at night and departed in the early hours 
of the morning. During their stay they were alone with Hitler behind 
closed doors so that not even his immediate staff knows what 
transpired between them. The first of these relationships was with 
Renarte Mueller who connitted suicide by throwing herself from the 
window of a Berlin hotel. The other was with Leni Riefenstahl who 
continued to be a guest at the Chancellor up to the outbreak of the war. 

Hitler's associates know that in respect to women Hitler is far from 
the ascetic he and the Propaganda Bureau would [00010090.GIF  Page 84]
like to have the German public believe. None of them with the possible 
exception of Hoffmann and Schaub (his personal adjutant), know the 
nature of his sexual activities. This has led to a great deal of 
conjecture in Party circles. There are some who believe that his sex 
life is perfectly normal but restricted. Others, that he is immune 
from such temptations and that nothing happens when he is alone with 
girls. Still others believe that he is homosexual.

The latter belief is based largely on the fact that during the early 
days of the Party many of the inner circle were well-known homosexuals. 
Roehm made no attempt to hide his homosexual activities and Hess was 
generally known as "Fraulein Anna". There were also many others, 
particularly in the early days of the movement, and it was supposed, 
for this reason, that Hitler, too, belonged to this category. 

In view of Hitler's pretense at purity and the importance of his 
mission for building a Greater Germany, it is extraordinary that he 
should be so careless about his associates. He has never restricted 
them in any way except at the time of the Blood Purge 
in 1934 when his excuse was that he had to purge the party of these 
undesirable elements. At all other times, he has been liberal to a 
fault. Lochner reports: 

"The only criterion for membership in the Party was that the applicant 
be 'Unconditionally obedient and faithfully devoted to me'. When 
someone asked if that applied to thieves and criminals, Hitler said, 
'Their private lives don't concern me.'"

Ludecke (179) claims that in speaking of some of the moralists who 
were complaining about the actions of his S.A. men, [00010091.GIF  Page 85]
Hitler said: 

"He would rather his S.A.men took the women than some fat-bellied 
moneybag. 'Why should I concern myself with the private lives of my 
followers ... apart from Roehm's achievements, I know that I can 
absolutely depend on him.'"

Rauschning says (264) that the general attitude in the Party was: 
"Do anything you like but don't get caught at it."

This attitude towards his associates certainly did not make for high 
standards in the Party. Capt. von Mueke resigned from the Party on 
the grounds that: 

"Die Voelkische partei ist nicht mehr die Partei der anstaendigen 
Leute, sie ist herunter gekommon und korrupt. Kurz, das ist ein 
Saustall"(614)

Rauschning (276) expresses a similar sentiment:

"Most loathsome of all is the reeking miasma of furtive, unnatural 
sexuality that fills and fouls the whole atmosphere around him, like 
an evil emanation. Nother [sic] in this environment is straightforward. 
Surreptitious relationships, substitutes and symbols, false sentiments 
and secret lusts - nothing in this man's surroundings is natural and 
genuine, nothing has the openness of a natural instinct."

0ne of Hitler's reactions which is carefully hidden from the public 
is his love for pornography. He can scarcely wait for the next edition 
of DER STUERMER to appear and when it reaches him he goes through it 
avidly. He seems to get great pleasure out the dirty stories and the 
cartoons that feature this sheet. (658: 261). To Rauschning Hitler 
said that the STUERMER "was a form of pornography permitted in the 
Third Reich".  In addition, Hit-[00010092.GIF  Page 86]ler has a large 
collection of nudes and, according to Hanfstaengl and others, he also 
enjoys viewing lewd movies in his private theatre, some of which are 
prepared by Hoffmann for his benefit. 

He also likes to present himself as a great authority and lover of 
good music. One of his favorite pastimes is to lecture on Wagner and 
the beauty of his operatic music. There can be no doubt concerning his 
enjoyment of Wagnerian music and that he gets considerable 
inspiration from it. Oechsner (675) reports that he has been able to 
observe Hitler closely while he was listening to music and saw, 
"grimaces of pain and pleasure contort his face, his brows knit, his 
eyes close, his mouth contact tightly." Hitler has said, "For me, 
Wagner is something godly, and his music is my religion. I go to his 
concerts as others go to church." According to Hanfstaengl, however, 
he is not a lover of good music in general (895). He says that about 
85% of Hitler's preferences in music are the normal program music 
in Vienna cafes. This is probably why Hitler rarely attends concerts 
and in later years, seldom goes to the opera. His preferences now seem 
to run to musical comedies and cabarets in addition to the movies he sees 
at the Chancellory. Pope (229) says that Hitler frequently visited the 
MERRY WIDOW in which an American actress played the lead. He says, "I 
have seen Hitler nudge his gauleiter, Wagner, and smirk when Dorothy 
does her famous backbending number in the spotlight." In this number, 
Dorothy's costume consists of a pair of transparent butterfly wings, 
or some-[00010093.GIF  Page 87] times nothing at all. Hitler watches the 
performance through opera glasses and sometimes has command 
performances for his private benefit.

Much has been written by the Nazi propaganda bureau about his modest way
of living. This, through the eyes of his associates, has also been vastly
overrated. Although he is a vegetarian, most of them feel that his meals
are scarcely to be considered as a form of deprivation. He eats large quantities
of eggs prepared in lO1 different ways by the best chef in Germany and there
are always quantities and a large variety of fresh vegetables prepared in
unusual ways. In addition. Hitler consumes incredible quantities of pastries
and often as much as two pounds of chocolates in the course of a single
day. Nor are his personal tastes particularly inexpensive. Although his
clothes are simple, he has an incredible number of each article of clothing.
All are made of the finest materials that can be procured and made up by
the best workmen. 

He also has a passion for collecting paintings and when
he has his heart set on one, the sky is the limit is far as price is concerned.
The only thing that is really modest about his living arrangements is his
bedroom which is extremely simple and contains only a metal bed (decorated
with ribbons at the head), a painted chest of drawers and a few straight
chairs. Friedelinde Wagner and  Hanfstaengl, both of whom have seen the
room with their own eyes, have described it in identical terms: namely that
it is a room that one would expect a maid to have and not a Chancellor.

[00010094.GIF  Page 88]

Although he is presented to the German public as a man of extraordinary
courage, his immediate associates frequently have occasion to question this.
Several occasions have been reported on which he has not carried through
his own program because he feared opposition. This is particularly true
in connection with his Gauleiters. He seems to have a particular fear of
these people and rather than meet opposition from them, he usually tries
to find out on which side of an issue the majority have aligned themselves
before he meets with them. When the meeting takes place, he proposes a plan
or course of action which will fit in with the sentiments of the majority.
(718) 

According to Hohenlohe he also backed down before three Army generals when
they protested against the rapid developments in the Danzig question, and
that before Munich, he decided to postpone the war because he discovered
that the crowds watching the troops marching under the Chancellory windows
were unenthusiactic (661). 

Furthermore, they must wonder about the necessity of the extreme precautions
that are taken for his safety. Most of these are carefully concealed from
the German public. When Hitler appears he looks for all the world like an
extremely brave man as he stands up in the front seat of his open car and
salutes. The people do not inow of the tremendous number of secret service
men who constantly mingle with the crowds in addition to the guards who
line the streets through which he is to pass. Neither do they know of all
the precautions taken at the Chancel-[00010095.GIF  Page 89]lory 
or at Berchtesgaden. 

Before the war his house at Berchtesgaden was
surrounded with eight miles of electrified wire. Pillboxes and anti-aircraft
batteries were set up in the surrounding hills (Morrell, 462). When he visited
at Bayreuth, troops were sent in weeks in advance to set up machine-gun
nests and anti-aircraft batteries in the hills immediately adjoining (Wagner,
934). Lochner (158) reports that when he travels in a special train he is
accompanied by 200 SS guards who are more heavily armed than the retinue
of any German emperor. After the war started, his train was heavily armored
and equipped with anti-aircraft fore and aft. And, yet, when the newsreels
show him at the front, he is the only one who does not wear a steel helmet.

There is, consequently, a considerable discrepancy between Hitler as he
is known to the German. people and Hitler as he is known to his associates.
Nevertheless, it appears that most of his associates have a deep allegience
to Hitler personally and are quite ready to forgive or ignore his shortcomings.
In many cases, it seems as though his asociates are quite oblivious to the
contradictory traits in his character - to them he is still the Fuehrer
and they live for the moments when he actually plays this role.

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