[.ca] The Hidden Hitler (ISBN 0465043097)

Possible but no real factual evidence..:
Hitler is a true historic enigma. His was such a contradictory life that biographers can easily read just about anything into it. He was somehow both monstrous and banal at the same time but was he a homosexual? Machtan seems to think that he was. But what constitutes proof of such a claim? Hitler was a historical figure, much has been written about him even during his life. There is a wealth of documentation for just about every facet of his personality, his day to day existence as both a private and very public figure. So where's the proof? Machlan offers very little hard factual evidence that can be independently verified. Most of his proof are 'edited' interpretations of memoirs that are ambiguous at best. There just is no 'smoking gun' presented here just the same kind of innuendo that hints at everything and proves nothing. Was Hitler a raging heterosexual then? No. He seems, to me, to have been more asexual then anything else. There was some sort of emotional 'relationship' between him and his niece.. was it a sexual one as well? Eva Braun ..kept carefully hidden from the German public.. was considered his sexual mistress by most of his closest companions...was that all just a cover? There is much more verifiable proof that his sexual drive was both heterosexual (and low). So the thesis of this book? "Unproven" but probably not true is the best I can do. There are just too many blanks and too few hard facts given here to prove it.

Opportunistic destruction of scholarship and history itself:
I'll be concise: Hidden Hitler is tabloid-style speculation of the worst kind, full of idiotic non sequiturs and threadbare arguments, and overreliant on discredited sources.

Hidden Agenda?:
Machtan told Die Welt daily in an interview "there was also no irrefutable proof that Hitler was gay. " Machtan's speculation about Hitler's sexual orientation is, of course, just that. By his own admission Machtan's research and, indeed, the premise for his assumptions are without proof or empirical verification. Machtan said in one interview I read, that it is because no documented evidence exists that Hitler had a sexual encounter with a woman, that the conclusion therefore must be that Hitler was gay. There is no documented proof of any of my sexual relations with any women either, so I guess if he does my life story, he will find me to be a homosexual too. He also took out of context many quotes from the out of print book: "The Young Hitler I Knew" which I have a copy of and have read. Seeing his quotes from the book, and knowing the parts he purposely left out show this man is purposely wanting to spread lies that he knows are lies. He makes no mention of chapter 7, titled, and dedicated entirely to Stefanie, the girl Hitler was obsessed with at the time and said one day he would marry. He also tries to suggest that Kubizek and Hitler were homosexual lovers, when in fact, if you read the book written by Kubizek, you find this: For, in fact, this man had slipped Adolf a card without my noticing it, on which he had scribbled an invitation to visit him at the Hotel Kummer. "He's a homosexual," explained Adolf in a matter of fact manner. I was startled. I had never even heard the word, much less had I any conception of what it actually meant. So Adolf explained this phenomenon to me. Naturally this, too, had long been one of his problems and, as an abnormal practice, he wished to see it fought against relentlessly, and he himself scrupulously avoided all personal contact with such men. The visiting card of the famous manufacturer from Vocklabruck disappeared into our stove. It seemed to me quite natural that Adolf should turn with disgust and repugnance from these and other sexual aberrations of the big city. That from the very book this "historian" read and comes to the conclusion that not only is Hitler gay, but Kubizek too? Machtan falsly quotes: He got it when Kabizek went to join art student Hitler in Vienna and was greeted at the train with "joyful excitement," and a big old kiss, Here is the actual text from my copy of the book: He was obviously delighted to see me and greeted me warmly and, AS WAS THEN THE CUSTOM, kissed me lightly on the cheek. This can be found on page 143, in the very first paragraph of Chapter 14 of The Young Hiter I knew. Wrote Kabizek of the incident, "He lay down naked on the cloth. And I wrapped him up. He was greatly amused by the adventure - the whole romantic conclusion pleased him greatly." Again, taken so out of context for the exact purpose to make it look as if something from out of a gay porno. This was the early 1900's, they were on a nature hike miles from home, got caught in a rainstorm, found an abandoned cabin to take cover in, and removed their wet clothes as anyone would have back then, and slept separately (not together)until morning to make the trip back home. The use of the phrases like: "romantic" in this book are nothing more than a case of words having had different meanings than they do today, just as the word: "gay" meant something quite different only a few decades ago. If you read this book, you will realize that. In fact, throughout the entire book, Kubizek is constantly mentioning the obsession Hitler has with his love Stefanie. When ever Hitler would leave town he made Kubizek promise to watch her and report and write to him everything about her that was happening, just like a typical boy obsessed with a girl would do. Machtan even goes so far as to suggest these two are gay because they would go to the opera together. There were no rock concerts back 100 years ago, this was the popular music of the day! "Was fear of being outted the reason Hitler had thousands and thousands of gay men thrown into concentration camps?" Sounds like something a homosexual would do, doesn't it? Have all other homosexuals killed. Just like how a heterosexual would want to have all heterosexuals killed. Makes absolutely no sense. Anyone who just reads the book: "The Young Hitler I Knew" by August Kubizek, you will see that Machten could not have overlooked or made a mistake when he takes the quotes he does out of context and you will see there is no way any one could make the mistake of thinking Hitler was a homosexual from this book as Machten wants us to believe. (...)

An unproven conjecture:
The author rightly points out that the main biographies of Hitler portray him as an "unperson" with no real personality beyond a political facade. I agree that this could not possibly be correct. The author then tries to show that Hitler was either homosexual or had homoerotic tendencies. The evidence presented is suggestive but not at all convincing. We are left not knowing. The book is of value in pointing out that Hitler regarded homosexuality as a private affair that should not be of concern to the state. His stance, at least in public, only changed when it became politically expedient for him to change it.

A Rather Convincing Case:
This thorough and well-researched book makes a rather strong case that Hitler was homosexual. The nitpickers will have their gripes, but the evidence--albeit mostly circumstantial--is quite convincing. A great deal makes sense when you connect the dots, as Machtan does. Sex is a very powerful human drive. It is so powerful that, at least with regard to the famous, it simply can't be concealed. We have no doubts about Stalin's heterosexuality or Clinton's or Churchill's--or any leader's, in fact. Hitler produced no children, was no womanizer, and showed apparently no genuine sexual interest in women. We would know if he had. Machtan discusses Hitler's purely platonic relationship with Eva Braun. She and Hitler's niece both made suicide attempts (one of which succeeded) because of Hitler's controlling behavior, which at the same time included a severe lack of attention. Quite a bit now makes sense, including the Rohm purge, which was not just an attempt to wipe out people who knew of Hitler's homosexuality but to intimidate others who might consider blackmailing him. The people Hitler associated with, where he lived and slept, where he went, what he did and did not do--all this put together makes the case quite clear. Quarreling with a few points doesn't upset the big picture. That Hitler was gay is an astonishing revelation when you consider it. In one more respect Hitler was a living lie. That he was gay adds one more layer of irony to the man and the era.