"Hitler's Table Talk" Study Hour

March 6, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin  use their first program to introduce listeners  to some background information on this collection of what are basically after-lunch-or-supper monologues by Adolf Hitler in the company of his intimate circle. 52m

• How trustworthy is this text, since Martin Bormann assigned two of his aides to take the notes during meals, then turn them over to him for checking and safekeeping;
• Why it is valuable to study this book;
• Questions about the translation and translators – for example, did Francois Genoud tamper with the parts about Christianity;
• Of those offended by this book, Christians are #1 on the list, complaining that it does not agree with Hitler’s “public record” of positive remarks about Christianity in earlier years;
• David Irving and Albert Speer both confirmed that these recorded talks are authentically Hitler; Richard Carrier disagrees;
   
• Next week we’ll begin reading the text.

The edition being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

March 13, 2013

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Sat. July 5th through July 15th, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Fuehrer, as taken down by an adjutant and checked for accuracy by Martin Bormann. 59m. Some highlights from the program:

• Russians do not naturally incline toward a Western, Aryan type of organized state;
• Expansion into the East will create new tourist destinations reachable by autobahn;
• Moscow must disappear and Bolshevisim be exterminated;
• The dominion of natural law, no education in atheism, Christianity less tolerant than the ancient world;
• Moral law governs the actions of Germans, making them uniquely capable of a revolution in religion;
• Racial migrations, and “way of eating” a typically racial characteristic;
• Stalin an extraordinary figure in history.

Image: July 1941. A proud time: Hitler with Field Marshal Keitel and Reichsmarschall Goering (far right) in conversation with Knight's Cross winner Werner Mölders (left). [click on image to enlarge]

The edition being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

March 20, 2014

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the July 21st-28th, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Fuehrer, as taken down by an adjutant and checked for accuracy by Martin Bormann. Some highlights from the program:

•  Graditude to the Jesuits for the Counter-Reformation and its Baroque architecture, leaving the Gothic behind;
• Admiration for Mussolini and the glory of Italian art-architecture, superior to the French;
• Martin Luther credited with replacing the many regional dialects with  the great German language;
• English-German industrial competition and their comparison in the arts and culture;
• The merit of the German soldier, the prestige of the SS, and the weakness of the WWI command;
• How to control the Eastern regions with soldier-farmers as colonists;
• Wrong to exterminate the intelligentsia, but a class system is intolerable –cannot despise the man who sweeps the streets.

Image: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini walking in front of saluting military in Venice, as Hitler first arrives in Italy in 1934. (click to enlarge)

The edition being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

March 27, 2014

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the August 1st-10th, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Führer, as taken down by an adjutant and checked for accuracy by Martin Bormann. Some highlights from the program:

• Even though German functionaries are incorruptible, too much uniformity and fear of initiative is not a good thing;
• Hitler's sympathetic attitude toward workers, and his dislike of the bourgeoisie  and the plutocracy;
• Hydro-electric and gas works - the future will depend on water, wind and natural gas;
• The British method of ruling their empire was not to try to Anglicize the people, but to leave them to live according to their own ways;
• Hitler sees the combined forces of Germany, England, the Nordic countries and Italy as greater than the USA.

The edition being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

April 3, 2014

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the August 19 – Sept 21, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Führer, as taken down by an adjutant and checked for accuracy by Martin Bormann. In this program:

• Encouraging high level of births is more useful than preventing war – to kill a man before he is born is the worst;
• The people of Europe should not be dependent upon England, but the Ukraine and Volga Basin will be the granaries for us;
• Criminals and anarchists should be dealt with swiftly and harshly, not turned over to lawyers to get them light sentences;
• The “spirit of decision” in deciding on Operation Barbarossa, and the quality of the German soldier as “best in the world”;
• The industrious German nature compared to the indolent Slav nature is pointed out in several instances;
• His dislike of the Habsburg monarchy and his gratitude to Social Democracy for sweeping all royalties away;
• The duty of National-Socialism is to allow the best in the people to develop.

The edition being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

April 10, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Sept 22 to Sept. 25, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Führer, as taken down by an adjutant and checked for accuracy by Martin Bormann. In this program:

• The separate worlds of Europe and Asia are not marked by the Ural Mountains, but Asia penetrates into Europe without any sharp break;
• Germany obtains the right to extend into the East by it’s awareness of what it represents – success justifies everything;
• National-Socialism will never ape religion by establishing a form of worship;
• The Russian soldier of the 1st World War was more good-natured than the cruel Bolshevik-led soldier of the current time;
• The Four-Year Plan of 1936-40 with the aim of German self-sufficiency, not dependent on exports;
• Russia as a source of raw materials for Germany and a consumer of simple German-made items such as cotton goods and household utensils.

The edition being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

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April 24, 2014

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Sept.  25 to early October, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Führer, as taken down by an adjutant and checked for accuracy by Martin Bormann. Main topics in this episode:

• Life is a cruel struggle
• Soldiering makes a man
• Vienna's art treasures
• Antonescu of Germanic origin
• National types of Christians, and more.
   

The edition being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

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May 1, 2014

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the October 13-14, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German leader, as taken down by a trusted adjutant.

• Economic opportunities in the East for all Northern European people;
• Lunacy of First World War High Command;
• How Hitler makes wise use of his time;
• Disadvantages of a Concordat with the Churches;
• More thoughts on Christianity.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

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May 8, 2014

Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the October 14-19, 1941 dinner table conversation and monologues by the German Leader, taken down in shorthand by trusted aide Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• Suggestions for improvement of meteorological forecasts;
• Hitler describes the challenges involved in his party's conquest of power;
• Lesson in economics and the cause of inflation;
• The progress made under Antonescu in Rumania, and the great promise of Ukraine;
• May 10, 1940 (start of Western Offensive) compared to June 22, 1941 (start of Barbarossa);

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

May 15, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the October 18-22, 1941 dinner table conversation and monologues by the German Leader, taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim.  Topics included in this episode:

• Britain's oligarchic, money-grubbing politicans don't represent the people;
• Germany needs to remain autarkic and independent from British imports even after the war;
• Need to improve standardization of construction and building products;
• Christianity and Bolshevism, and their relationship to St. Paul of Tarsus;
• Hitler identifies himself as "Prussian," compares Berlin favorably to Munich;
• Hitler: "I wish to be a builder." Monuments outlast the battles that inspired them.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

May 22, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the October 24-30th, 1941 dinner table conversation and monologues by the German Leader, taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim.  Topics included in this episode:

• Religion and the Church versus science;
• The beauties of the Ancient World and the destruction of antiquity and the past;
• The fate of Europe's Jews for their responsibility in bringing on war;
• Vision of a strong and great Europe with the addition of Ukraine;
• Thoughts on motorized war, the qualities of Croatians, National-Socialism, training of teachers, the art and culture of Paris;
• A number of distinguished guests were present at these meals.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

May 29, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the October 30-November 2, 1941 dinner table conversations and monologues by the German Leader, taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim.  Topics included in this episode:

• The Fuehrer discusses a hunting-trip taken by some of his Ministers and Reichsleaders;
• Sharp criticism of the Foreign Office for its lack of ingenuity;
• For high officials, the interests of the State and private investment conflict;
• Plan to improve the Civil Service and Judiciary;
• Social justice before everything - Masses are the source of the elite - Soldiers recognize a commander.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

June 5, 2014

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Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Nov. 2nd-6th 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Topics included in this episode:

• The dimensions of Europe have changed over the years;
• Criminals cannot be tolerated in society during wartime but juvenile criminals need special treatment;
• Diet and long life, and freedom from disease;
• Progress of the Germanic race and peculiarities of the Jewish mind;
• Standards for promotion, and fairness in handing out awards

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

June 12, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the November 11th-16th, 1941 dinner table conversations and monologues by the German Leader, taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim.  Some highlights of this episode:

• Monarchy is an out-of-date form - example, the Thuringian Royal House lived off the state;
• Keeping the friendship of the Church is too costly, but we're glad to have its cultural monuments - the great Cathedrals;
• Frederick the Great's reaction against the Church in defense of the State was definitive;
• The Germanic Spirit will penetrate the East and bring the people all they need;
• The success of the Four Year Plan is explained by setting everybody to work within a closed circle economy, not by rearmament;
• Too many officials, too much paperwork - Hitler wants more local autonomy;
• Legal system is too lenient; there are no "extenuating circumstances" for treason.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

June 19, 2014

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Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Nov. 19th-Dec. 14th 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Topics included in this episode:

• The Struggle for Power, the necessity to follow Nature's laws, and the peculiar German sense of duty;
• Hitler tells stories about the Party's trip to Coburg in 1922, the Volkischer Beobachter NSDAP newspaper, and the reason for uniforms;
• On Germans married to Jews, and the Jewish role as a destroyer;
• Highest aim of every man should be the preservation of the species;
• Catholic Church better at appreciating culture and beauty than the Protestant.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

June 26, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Dec. 17-31, 1941 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Some highlights of this episode:

• Hitler tells stories about Karl Lueger and Georg von Schoenerer of Vienna, plus other mayors of German cities;
• The difficulty of building an art collection when Jews are dishonest dealers - finding the Bordone Venus;
• More on how cooked food causes disease, and the achievements of the Party men;
• Hitler defends Julius Streicher, who has been removed as Gauleiter of Nuremberg - says Dietrich Eckart had also thought men like Streicher were necessary;
• Hitler treats his political opponents well;
• Ruhr industrial district - the need for increased production of coal and iron;
• Some thoughts on the Japanese. 

July 3, 2014

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Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the dinner table monologues by the German Leader from Jan. 1st to 5th, 1942, as taken down by trusted aide Heinrich Heim.  Included in this episode:

• The importance of that which transcends understanding and the inspiration received at Obersalzberg;
• The sacrifice demanded of the SS and other elite forces and the extraordinary qualities of Heinrich Himmler;
• The personality of Sepp Dietrich and the leadership of Goering and Viktor Lutze;
• The importance of optimism and comparison of the American, English and Russian soldier;
• The meaning and importance of the title "Fuehrer";
• The three great mistakes of the Italian High Command and the future of tank warfare.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

July 10, 2014

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Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the Jan. 5th-7th, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Some highlights of this episode:

• Japan and the Jews, the stupid Americans, the Spanish soldier;
• Stalin identifies with the Tsars and Pan-Slavism more than Boshevism - Slavs and Asians can copy but not invent;
• Corruption in Freemasonry, fictitious wealth of gold, guilt of Jews;
• Changes at Rome, Hitler removes Brauchitsch as Army chief;
• Churchill's faults, the decline of England, the decay of America.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

July 17, 2014

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Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the dinner table monologues by the German Leader from Jan. 8-13, 1942, as taken down by trusted legal aide Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• Hitler reminisces about schoolboy pranks and other youthful experiences;

• More reminiscences about the dangers of airplane travel, plus campaigning by air vs motor-car in 1931-32, and building autobahns in the East;

• Japan's sudden wealth, plus Britain's wealth is in India;

• Discussion of following orders and supply problems on Eastern Front, plus better preparations for foreign conditions in the future;
   
• Churchill's policies favor no one but Jews, and how the British rule India.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.

July 24, 2014

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Ray Goodwin and Carolyn Yeager read and comment on the Jan. 13-17, 1942 dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by trusted aide, attorney Heinrich Heim. Included in this episode:

• Hitler talks about Czechs in general and Emil Hacha in particular;
• Men of genius like Austrian composer Anton Bruckner, who was unappreciated for so long, must be encouraged;
• High birthrate at the time in India, in Russia, but also in Germany;
• A woman of genius: Angelica Kauffmann was a very great painter, says Hitler;
• The early days in Obersalzberg wth Dietrich Eckart - he was known only as Herr Wolf until he began giving public speeches - how he bought his house "Wachenfeld";
• Recalls the many friends from those days, which were the best days in his life, and how he enjoyed the ladies and pretty girls;
• Hitler mentions "the second volume of my book" being written in the Deutsche Haus in Berchtesgaden;
• Praises Dietrich Eckart, calls him the "polar star" to the early National Socialists and his death a great loss.

The edition of Hitler's Table Talk being used was translated by Norman Cameron and R.H. Stevens, published by Enigma Books, New York, and can be found as a pdf here.