Hugo Jaeger and his Führer

by Ben Atlas on 09.6.2009.1:05pm · 19 comments

Adolf Hitler (back to camera) w. Inge Ley, blonde wife of labor ldr. Robert Ley during reception. (DATED 1940'S)

Adolf Hitler (back to camera) w. Inge Ley, blonde wife of labor ldr. Robert Ley during reception. (DATED 1940'S)

In Hugo Jaeger’s archive there are plenty of photographs with Hitler looking over various parades at the backdrop of cartoonish swastikas, etc. But Jaeger had the incredible access and those are really interesting shots. Adolf Hitler today is either a caricature suitable for YouTube parodies or an arch metaphor of evil. Oh, the retched catastrophe of the 20th century, the extraordinary ordinary dictators that dominated that era. An ordinary man like Hitler becomes a messianic metaphor by borrowing evil from the people. It’s far easier to treat Hitler as an arch evil; it redeems the humanity from the uncomfortable recognition. Indeed Hitler was only playing with the shadows, the dark gifts that people willingly gave him. But there is more to it; the caricature serves the benevolent dictators and the purveyors of the crowd adulation. The arch good ones want the power on the flip (good) side of this mass transaction. Christ triggers Antichrist, so the super evil must have a super man. But both good and bad are powerless without borrowing (stealing) from the people. Both good and bad heroes can’t bless or curse; they just point their dreadful fingers at the good and the evil of the humanity.

Adolf Hitler (black ink above his head last row) and his school mates, probably Fischlam, Austria in 1895 (Hugo Jaeger atchive)

Adolf Hitler and his school mates, probably Fischlam, Austria in 1895 (Hugo Jaeger archive)

Emmet comments: “Good photos, however the second picture from the top the boy with the black spot above his head is not Hitler. Hitler is on the extreme left of the image the third boy from the bottom. He is standing and looks to have a buzz hair cut. It is a common mistake that is made as it was incorrectly marked in the 1940’s.”

Grave of Adolf Hitler's grandmother, Maria Anna Hitler, Doellersheim, Austria. Hugo Jaeger, 1950

Grave of Adolf Hitler's grandmother, Maria Anna Hitler, Doellersheim, Austria. Hugo Jaeger, 1950

No, Hitler didn’t grow up in the South Bronx, he grew up in the most quaint, beautiful little town in Austria.

Fischlham, Austria where Hitler began school, Hugo Jaeger 1945

Fischlham, Austria where Hitler began school, Hugo Jaeger 1945

Fischlham, Austria where Hitler began school in 1895

Fischlham, Austria where Hitler began school in 1895

Lambach Austria, where Adolf Hitler attended Benedicitine Monastery

Lambach Austria, where Adolf Hitler attended Benedicitine Monastery

Adolf Hitler's Schoolmates in 1945

Adolf Hitler's Schoolmates in 1945

German soldiers comforting wounded comrade who has just had his arm (foreground) blown off in the bloody East Front fighting vs. Russia. Hugo Jaeger, 1942

German soldiers comforting wounded comrade who has just had his arm (foreground) blown off in the bloody East Front fighting vs. Russia. Hugo Jaeger, 1942

Hitler greeting two unidentified women at his 50th birthday celebration, Berlin, Germany, April 20, 1939

Hitler greeting two unidentified women (twins?) at his 50th birthday celebration, Berlin, Germany, April 20, 1939

An interesting photo from the KDF trip, more about KDF and Robert Ley, who hung himself in the American custody, later.

Hitler, wearing Arbeitsfront cap, aboard the KDF Ship Robert Ley on its maiden voyage with Mrs. Ley (Robert Ley's wife)

Hitler, wearing Arbeitsfront cap, aboard the KDF Ship Robert Ley on its maiden voyage with Inge Ley (Robert Ley's wife) 1939

Hitler centered among Austrian girls. 1939

Hitler centered among Austrian girls. 1939

Hitler and Generals at his 1941 Christmas party

Hitler and Generals at his 1941 Christmas party

Hitler's 1941 Christmas Party for Nazi party members

Hitler's 1941 Christmas Party for Nazi party members

Hitler's 1941 Christmas Party for Nazi party members

Hitler's 1941 Christmas Party for Nazi party members

Hitler at the International Auto Exhibition in Berlin Germany, 	February 17, 1939

Hitler at the International Auto Exhibition in Berlin Germany, February 17, 1939

Ferdinand Porsche (in suit) presenting Hitler with a convertible Volkswagen for his 50th birthday. Berlin, April 20, 1939

Ferdinand Porsche (in suit) presenting Hitler with a convertible Volkswagen for his 50th birthday. Berlin, April 20, 1939

Hitler's girlfriend Eva Braun

Hitler's girlfriend Eva Braun, 1939

Wholesome and cute, complete with a cat… People like to say that Hitler was a “fag”. This says more about homophobia of these people than Hitler’s sexual orientation. I am still talking the ordinary theme here.

Hitler's girlfriend Eva Braun

Hitler's girlfriend Eva Braun, 1939

The House of German Art in Munich on the "Day of German Art". L: Goebbels, von Schoberth behind, Hitler, ?, Alfieri, Frau Troost, Bormann behind, ?, and Himmler. 1939

The House of German Art in Munich on the "Day of German Art". L: Goebbels, von Schoberth behind, Hitler, ?, Alfieri, Frau Troost, Bormann behind, ?, and Himmler. 1939

"Leda and the Swan" by Padua. Chosen by Hitler for display at "Day of German Art"

"Leda and the Swan" by Padua. Chosen by Hitler for display at "Day of German Art"

Not many dedicators can pull off somehting like that without a scandal. Killing people is the good old tradition but naked women, that is really taking it too far…

Sepp Hilz, with model and painting "Peasant Venus," chosen by Hitler fro display at "Day of German Art"

Sepp Hilz, with model and painting "Peasant Venus," chosen by Hitler fro display at "Day of German Art"

After battle of Rossee during the German invasion of Belgium, May 1940

After battle of Rossee during the German invasion of Belgium, May 1940

Unidentified, probally in the house of German Art, for the "Day of German Art"

Unidentified, probally in the house of German Art, for the "Day of German Art"

Jewish women and children in Gostynin Poland after the German invasion, October 1939

Jewish women and children in Gostynin Poland after the German invasion, October 1939

Professor Morrel, wife of Gauletier Forster and Hitler at Hitler's Obersalzburg house, 1939

Professor Morrel, wife of Gauletier Forster and Hitler at Hitler's Obersalzburg house, 1939

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Flea market in Warsaw ghetto. October 1939

Flea market in Warsaw ghetto. October 1939

Jewish teenagers in Warsaw, 	October 1939

Jewish teenagers in Warsaw, October 1939

Warsaw ghetto, October 1939

Warsaw ghetto, October 1939

Hitler at reception for German artists; in the Chancellery

Hitler at reception for German artists; in the Chancellery. Berlin 1940

In Hitler's private apartment in the Chancellery, Berlin 1939

In Hitler's private apartment in the Chancellery, Berlin 1939

Hitler's private apartment in the Chancellery, Berlin 1939

Hitler's private apartment in the Chancellery, Berlin 1939

A day before Friedrich Paulus gave up himself and his army under Stalingrad, Hitler radioed him and promoted Friedrich Paulus to Field Marshal. Hitler noted that not a single German or Prussian Field Marshal in history ever surrendered, therefore it was implicit command for Friedrich Paulus to end his life. In response Friedrich Paulus famously quipped to the officers around him: “I have no intention of shooting myself for this Bohemian corporal.”

The rest of the archive on this site could found here: Hugo Jaeger File.

Photos licensed for personal non-commercial use only by LIFE

Further reading:

{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }

Ami J Kopstein November 5, 2009 at 8:04 pm 1

That is quite a collection – that we should never forget this bastard and his likes.

Thanks for making this available.

Your blogs are an asset to humanity.

Ami

Reply

E. April 15, 2010 at 2:03 am 2

Good photos, however the second picture from the top the boy with the black spot above his head is not Hitler. Hitler is on the extreme left of the image the third boy from the bottom. He is standing and looks to have a buzz hair cut. It is a common mistake that is made as it was incorrectly marked in the 1940′s. Cheers

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T. December 31, 2010 at 5:29 pm 3

Hi,great collection of photographs.However I think that description of one of these “Warsaw ghetto, October 1939″ is not quite correct.Warsaw ghetto was established in october 1940.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warsaw_Ghetto

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Ben Atlas December 31, 2010 at 5:55 pm 4

Mr. T., Warsaw Ghetto as the area where Nazis kept the Jews walled off? But the Jewish Ghetto in Warsaw was there for decades. Please refer to this collection:
http://benatlas.com/2010/10/john-phillips-in-poland-and-czeslaw-milosz-on-the-lack-of-imagination/

Also the bombing started in Warsaw in 1939, right at the beginning of the German attack, hence the ruin photographed by Hugo Jaeger during his visit to Poland in 1939. Also please note Kutno Ghetto captured by Hugo Jaeger during the same trip:
http://benatlas.com/2009/06/life-in-the-kutno-ghetto/

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T. December 31, 2010 at 7:32 pm 5

BTW:Happy New Year.The point is:If you consider quarters mostly inhabited by Jewish people as a ghetto,then that description is true.But in the pre-war Poland there was no restrictions to live in a specified part of towns.The photo taken refers probably to bombed building in Warsaw inhabited by Jewish origin people.Explain ghetto.

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Johan January 27, 2012 at 3:31 pm 6

Nice pictures. I really wish we had torched all of it though. I can’t imagine the evil that surrounds his things or his house.

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Fabrice January 28, 2012 at 4:00 am 7

I disagree. Those are not “nice pictures” since you call for them to be destroyed. However one’s emotional stance towards images that depict an “era” (no matter how bad or good it was), those images must be safeguarded and shown. The history of humanity cannot simply be erased.

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JC January 27, 2012 at 4:13 pm 8

It figures that sick SOB would choose a painting of a bird having sex with a female. Not only was AH a cross-dressing bigot/fraud but he was also into bestiality. I feel sorry for those who followed this scumbag.

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Dick Farang January 28, 2012 at 2:53 am 9

Know your Classics.

Leda and the Swan was a popular mythological theme.

The swan was a disguise of the Greek upper god Zeus.

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Marcella Wilkerson January 27, 2012 at 6:25 pm 10

My grandparents were from Poland, my grandmother’s brother was hanged during WW2 by the Nazis. The photos break my heart. So many lives gone practically before they began. I’ll never forget the images, the dichotomy between the ghettoes and his apartment.

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odee January 27, 2012 at 8:13 pm 11

The face Of The Devil in this Photos.. Hitler took millions of Lives Just for his own Megalomaniac mind… never again this will happened. Dreams are bad..

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mootomoo January 27, 2012 at 10:02 pm 12

People like to forget the human side of Hitler. It is easier to label him as a complete monster, than to realize such evil may lie within ourselves…

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Fabrice January 28, 2012 at 4:07 am 13

Absolutely! The same person might come out of his/her car and shoot you because you cut them off. What an absurdity!

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Erika January 27, 2012 at 11:43 pm 14

who is commenting on them after the photo blurbs? That person needs spell check it’s atrocious. probally…..really, Jesus get a proofreader

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Lapsina January 28, 2012 at 4:14 am 15

Guess Who?

I was born in one country, & raised in another.

My father was also born in another country.

I was not his only child.

He fathered several children with numerous women.

I was very close to my mother, as my father showed no interest in me.

My mother died at an early age from cancer.

Although my father deserted me & my mother raised me, I later wrote a book

idolizing my father, not my mother.

Later in life, questions arose over my real name.

My birth records are sketchy.

No one was able to produce a legitimate, reliable birth certificate.

I grew up practicing one faith but converted to Christianity, as it was widely

accepted in my new country, but I practiced non-traditional beliefs & didn’t

follow Christianity, except in the public eye under scrutiny.

I worked & lived among lower-class people as a young adult, disguising myself as

someone who really cared about them.

That was before I decided it was time to get serious about my life and embarked

on a new career.

I wrote a book about my struggles growing up.

It was clear to those who read my memoirs, that I had difficulties accepting that

my father abandoned me as a child.

I became active in local politics in my 30′s then, with help behind the scenes, I

literally burst onto the scene as a candidate for national office in my 40′s.

They said I had a golden tongue & could talk anyone into anything.

I had a virtually non-existent resume, little work history, & no experience in

leading a single organization.

Yet I was a powerful speaker & citizens were drawn to me, as though I were a

magnet & they were small roofing tacks.

I drew incredibly large crowds during my public appearances.

This bolstered my ego.

At first, my political campaign focused on my country’s foreign policy.

I was very critical of my country in the last war, & seized every opportunity to

bash my country.

But what launched my rise to national prominence were my views on the country’s

economy.

I pretended to have a really good plan on how we could do better, & every poor

person would be fed and housed for free.

I know which group was responsible for getting us into this mess.

It was the free market, banks & corporations.

I decided to start making citizens hate them, & if they became envious of others

who we hated, the plan was clinched tight.

I called mine a ‘People’s Campaign’.

That sounded good to all people.

I was a surprize candidate because I emerged from outside the traditional path of

politics & was able to gain widespread popular support.

I know that, if I merely offered the people ‘Hope’ together we could ‘Change’ our

country & the rest of the world.

So, I started to make my speeches sound like they were on behalf of the

downtrodden, poor, ignorant to included ‘Persecuted Minorities’.

My true views were not widely known & I kept them unknown, until after I became

my nations leader.

I had to carefully guard my reality, as anybody could have easily found out what

I really believed. If they had simply read my writings & examined the people I

associated with. I’m glad they didn’t.

Then I became the most powerful man in the world, & then the world learned the

truth.

Who am I?

I AM ADOLF HITLER.

(I read this earlier on a website posted by another yahoo user, alluding to the fact that the american president right now has many similarities. It was shocking but it does seem so.) T

he tragedy is, that this can and probably will happen again, as history repeats itself. after reading all of the articles posted today on different sites and then reading some of the comments-there is still a spirit alive and well that wanders after the shadow of this beast, and even glorifies him. People knew nothing of hitler’s past or real beleifs, but rather were swayed by his smooth talking, and convinced into blame and murder by stirring up the hatred that lies in all of us. We need to always blot that out with kindness, love, compassion, and try to be humble so that this doesn’t happen again.

Christians get singled out a lot now, but there are so many sects of Christians and even the american president, who developed and pass abortion laws, and called the koran holy and wouldn’t put his hand on the Bible when sworn into office, consider himself a christian. Hitler hijacked the true Words and meanings of the Bible and used religion to persecute others, and this my friends, this can happen again. be careful not to harbor hatred, or bitterness, it can lead to a movement and lead to something very ugly like this . Unbeleivable and disgusting.

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Milly January 30, 2012 at 3:48 pm 16

Yes, it is unbelievable and disgusting that an evil man like Hitler could lead so many others to help him to accomplish and be complicit in his atrocities. However, the Hitler and the whole Hitler experience is not an anomoly and was caused by the fallen nature of man as discussed throughout the Bible. Modern Christianity has dowplayed and even eliminated the doctrine of the depravity of man which is a core teaching of Holy Scripture. We humans are by nature drawn to sin and we must stay aware of this truth. The lies that Hitler told appealed to the downtrodden feelings of those in Natzi Germany.They are the same lies of self autonomy that are told today and have been told to deceive man’s souls throughout history. We need to remain watchful of our own decietful hearts and minds and recoginze that this kind of evil is never originally promoted as evil, but is veiled in light. We too are decieved by evil masquerading as good. When we don’t rely on God in Holy Scripture to tell us what is good, we seek after our own imagination of good and whatever false idols that satisfy our flesh. If we don’t follow God, we follow Satan. There is no neutral. The Hiler experience should be a reminder of how educated men can and do sink into pure self-seeking experiences and why we need God’s word to see this. If you have never really read the Bible for yourself, it is a most intellegent and wise book and very unlike what most critics say about it. It’s the primary tool God uses to reveal himself and to change depraved hearts that He has chosen to regenerate. I pray that You have mercy upon our souls, Oh God. Our hearts are deceitful and only You, oh Lord, can have mercy upon us and spare us from your wrath that we so justly deserve. Give us faith in the atoning sacrifice of your perfect son, Jesus Christ, so that His death on the cross may save our souls. Put the right desires into our hearts by renewing our fallen minds and help us to seek you and to forsake all that is not of you.

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