I saw this over at SimHQ and thought it was worth cross-posting over here.
This is a video of a recording (audio only with subtitles) of Hitler being interviewed(?) by someone named Mannerheim in 1942. The notes say this is the only known recording of Hitler speaking in his normal voice.
The content is fascinating, but what I found more interesting is just hearing his voice of how he speaks in normal conversation, rather than the loud speeches we've always heard his voice in. His voice is much lower and more normal sounding that I would have thought.
Yeah, someone on Reddit transcribed it the other day:
Hitler: ...a very serious danger, perhaps the most serious one - it's whole extent we can only now judge. We did not ourselves understand - just how strong this state [the USSR] was armed.
Mannerheim: No, we hadn't thought of this.
Hitler: No, I too, no.
Mannerheim: During the Winter War - during the Winter War we had not even thought of this. Of course...
Hitler: (Interrupting) Yes.
Mannerheim: But so, how they - in reality - and now there is no doubt all they had - what they had in their stocks!
Hitler: Absolutely, This is - they had the most immense armaments that, uh, people could imagine. Well - if somebody had told me that a country - with...(Hitler is interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing.) If somebody had told me a nation could start with 35,000 tanks, then I'd have said: "You are crazy!"
Mannerheim: Thirty-five?
Hitler: Thirty-five thousand tanks.
Another Voice In Background: Thirty-five thousand! Yes!
Hitler: We have destroyed - right now - more than 34,000 tanks. If someone had told me this, I'd have said: "You!" If you are one of my generals had stated that any nation has 35,000 tanks I'd have said: "You, my good sir, you see everything twice or ten times. You are crazy; you see ghosts." This I would have deemed possible. I told you earlier we found factories, one of them at Kramatorskaja, for example, Two years ago there were just a couple hundred [tanks]. We didn't know anything. Today, there is a tank plant, where - during the first shift a little more than 30,000, and 'round the clock a little more than 60,000, workers would have labored - a single tank plant! A gigantic factory! Masses of workers who certainly, lived like animals and...
Another Voice In Background: (Interrupting) In the Donets area?
Hitler: In the Donets area. (Background noises from the rattling of cups and plates over the exchange.)
Mannerheim: Well, if you keep in mind they had almost 20 years, almost 25 years of - freedom to arm themselves...
Hitler: (Interrupting quietly) It was unbelievable.
Mannerheim: And everything - everything spent on armament.
Hitler: Only on armament.
Mannerheim: Only on armament!
Hitler: (Sighs) Only - well, it is - as I told your president [Ryti] before - I had no idea of it. If I had an idea - then I would have been even more difficult for me, but I would have taken the decision [to invade] anyhow, because - there was no other possibility. It was - certain, already in the winter of '39/ '40, that the war had to begin. I had only this nightmare - but there is even more! Because a war on two fronts - would have been impossible - that would have broken us. Today, we see more clearly - than we saw at that time - it would have broken us. And my whole - I originally wanted to - already in the fall of '39 I wanted to conduct the campaign in the west - on the continuously bad weather we experienced hindered us.
Our whole armament - you know, was - is a pure good weather armament. It is very capable, very good, but it is unfortunately just a good-weather armament. We have seen this in the war. Our weapons naturally were made for the west, and we all thought, and this was true 'till that time, uh, it was the opinion from the earliest times: you cannot wage war in winter. And we too, have, the German tanks, they weren't tested, for example, to prepare them for winter war. Instead we conducted trials to prove it was impossible to wage war in winter. That is a different starting point [than the Soviet's]. In the fall of 1939 we always faced the question. I desperately wanted to attack, and I firmly believed we could finish France in six weeks.
However, we faced the question of whether we could move at all - it was raining continuously. And I know the French area myself very well and I too could not ignore the opinions, of many of my generals that, we - probably - would not have had the élan, that our tank arm would not have been, effective, that our air force could not been effective from our airfields because of the rain.
I know northern France myself. You know, I served in the Great War for four years. And - so the delay happened. If I had in '39 eliminated France, then world history would have changed. But I had to wait 'till 1940, and unfortunately it wasn't possible before May. Only on the 10th of May was the first nice day - and on the 10th of May I immediately attacked. I gave the order to attack on the 10th on the 8th. And - then we had to, conduct this huge transfer of our divisions from the west to the east.
First the occupation of - then we had the task in Norway - at the same time we faced - I can frankly say it today - a grave misfortune, namely the - weakness of, Italy. Because of - first, the situation in North Africa, then, second, because of the situation in Albania and Greece - a very big misfortune. We had to help. This meant for us, with one small stoke, first - the splitting of our air force, splitting our tank force, while at the same time we were preparing, the, tank arm in the east. We had to hand over - with one stroke, two divisions, two whole divisions and a third was then added - and we had to replace continuous, very severe, losses there. It was - bloody fighting in the desert.
This all naturally was inevitable, you see. I had a conversation with Molotov [Soviet Minister] at that time, and it was absolutely certain that Molotov departed with the decision to begin a war, and I dismissed the decision to begin a war, and I dismissed him with the decision to - impossible, to forestall him. There was - this was the only - because the demands that man brought up were clearly aimed to rule, Europe in the end. (Practically whispering here.) Then I have him - not publicly...(fades out).
Already in the fall of 1940 we continuously faced the question, uh: shall we, consider a break up [in relations with the USSR]? At that time, I advised the Finnish government, to - negotiate and, to gain time and, to act dilatory in this matter - because I always feared - that Russia suddenly would attack Romania in the late fall - and occupy the petroleum wells, and we would have not been ready in the late fall of 1940. If Russia indeed had taken Romanian petroleum wells, than Germany would have been lost. It would have required - just 60 Russian divisions to handle that matter.
In Romania we had of course - at that time - no major units. The Romanian government had turned to us only recently - and what we did have there was laughable. They only had to occupy the petroleum wells. Of course, with our weapons I could not start a, war in September or October. That was out of the question. Naturally, the transfer to the east wasn't that far advanced yet. Of course, the units first had to reconsolidate in the west. First the armaments had to be taken care of because we too had - yes, we also had losses in our campaign in the west. It would have been impossible to attack - before the spring of 19, 41. And if the Russians at that time - in the fall of 1940 - had occupied Romania - taken the petroleum wells, then we would have been, helpless in 1941.
Another Voice In Background: Without petroleum...
Hitler: (Interrupting) We had huge German production: however, the demands of the air force, our Panzer divisions - they are really huge. It is level of consumption that surpasses the imagination. And without the addition of four to five million tons of Romanian petroleum, we could not have fought the war - and would have had to let it be - and that was my big worry. Therefore I aspired to, bridge the period of negotiations 'till we would be strong enough to, counter those extortive demands [from Moscow] because - those demands were simply naked extortion's. They were extortion's. The Russians knew we were tied up in the west. They could really extort everything from us. Only when Molotov visited - then - I told him frankly that the demands, their numerous demands, weren't acceptable to us. With that the negotiations came to an abrupt end that same morning.
There were four topics. The one topic that, involved Finland was, the, freedom to protect themselves from the Finnish threat, he said. [I said] You do not want to tell me Finland threatens you! But he said: "In Finland it is - they who take action against the, friends, of the Soviet Union. They would [take action] against [our] society, against us - they would continuously, persecute us and, a great power cannot be threatened by a minor country."
I said: "Your, existence isn't threatened by Finland! That is, you don't mean to tell me..."
Mannerheim: (Interrupting) Laughable!
Hitler: "...that your existence is threatened by Finland?" Well [he said] there was a moral - threat being made against a great power, and what Finland was doing, that was a moral - a threat to their moral existence. Then I told him we would not accept a further war in the Baltic area as passive spectators. In reply he asked me how we viewed our position in, Romania. You know, we had given them a guarantee. [He wanted to know] if that guarantee was directed against Russia as well? And that time I told him: "I don't think it is directed at you, because I don't think you have the intention of attacking Romania. You have always stated that Bessarabia is yours, but that you have - never stated that you want to attack Romania!"
"Yes," he told me, but he wanted to know more precisely if this guarantee...(A door opens and the recording ends.)
Mannerheim was in charge of the Finnish defenses during much of WW2.
Here's more on the recording from Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_and_Mannerheim_recording
Really interesting...didn't know that recordings of Hitler that were not speeches are that rare.
^ Neither did I. Weird.
Fascinating. Great find. Thanks for sharing.
+1. Thanks for posting this, Toonces. I've never heard him speak in his normal voice.
almost makes him seem human doesnt it?
i feel very odd about it for some reason
Creepy
I've listened to that video a few times over the years and still find it fascinating. To me at least, Hitler's sigh during his talking is quite revealing in that it shows he's admitting that he probably made a mistake.
Apparently that was the recording Bruno Ganz used as his baseline in his role as Hitler in Downfall.
edit: Just saw that was mentioned in the wiki link..
It's very interesting, how deep his normal voice is, and how he changes his cadence to keep his audience/listeners hooked.
A national leader not sounding heroic when not making a speech or using a teleprompter? Unheard of!
Quote from: Gusington on December 06, 2015, 02:12:51 PM
Really interesting...didn't know that recordings of Hitler that were not speeches are that rare.
Until I read that, I hadn't noticed that I had seen plenty of silent films of Hitler (home movies, office promotionals for newsreels, that kind of thing), but had really never heard him talking normally. I'd
seen him talking normally, not
heard him.
Quote from: WallysWorld on December 07, 2015, 12:14:56 AM
I've listened to that video a few times over the years and still find it fascinating. To me at least, Hitler's sigh during his talking is quite revealing in that it shows he's admitting that he probably made a mistake.
I'm not sure he felt he had made a mistake -- his rationale is still, we
had to go because they would have crippled us at best had we waited; and then after the fact he learned they had been even more prepared (in some ways) far beyond his expectations.
(Gosh, I wish
I had 36,000 tanks in my Barbarossa game vs Bart right now! >:D I immediately thought of Glantz' analysis when I heard/saw that... I guess I should buckle down to Grigsby's
War in the East eventually, hm?)
I think he's feeling now (at the time of the interview) that it was
always hopeless and that his one shot never stood a real chance after all.
It's weird hearing him sound less evil and insane; and although glimpses of that creep in occasionally, there are also glimpses of the heroic and moral and responsible leader he could have been instead. I've always wondered if the big difference between Hitler and Stalin at bottom, was that despite everything Hitler really did care for his people (in his own way) which is why, in perverting that, he built his system on the value of a Master Race, while Stalin never really cared at bottom for people (except maybe his daughter) and so put his faith in holding to the top of the supposedly inevitable wave of an abstract system.
I almost expected him to break-out into song!
And now, the end is near;
And so I face the final curtain.
My friend, I'll say it clear,
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain.
I've lived a life that's full.
I've traveled each and every highway;
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Regrets, I've had a few;
But then again, too few to mention.
I did what I had to do
And saw it through without exemption.
I planned each charted course;
Each careful step along the byway,
And more, much more than this,
I did it my way.
Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew
When I bit off more than I could chew.
But through it all, when there was doubt,
I ate it up and spit it out.
I faced it all and I stood tall;
And did it my way.
I've loved, I've laughed and cried.
I've had my fill; my share of losing.
And now, as tears subside,
I find it all so amusing.
To think I did all that;
And may I say - not in a shy way,
"Oh no, oh no not me,
I did it my way".
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught.
To say the things he truly feels;
And not the words of one who kneels.
The record shows I took the blows -
And did it my way!
Yes, it was my way.
Makes you wonder if they weren't intentionally suppressed to prevent any sort of humanization of him, as absurd as that sounds.
Quote from: Bison on December 08, 2015, 12:51:33 PM
Makes you wonder if they weren't intentionally suppressed to prevent any sort of humanization of him, as absurd as that sounds.
Reality shows us that very little is actually absurd. You could have hit the nail on the head.
Quote from: Centurion40 on December 08, 2015, 12:57:24 PM
Quote from: Bison on December 08, 2015, 12:51:33 PM
Makes you wonder if they weren't intentionally suppressed to prevent any sort of humanization of him, as absurd as that sounds.
Reality shows us that very little is actually absurd. You could have hit the nail on the head.
I'm sure you're right, Bison.
I don't know that I've ever heard any recordings of Stalin's voice either. I was reading some journal articles on Soviet political development and learned that Stalin was actually small in stature. I'd always had this mental image of him being a physically imposing person.
Good point; I've watched archival docs on the Russian side and don't recall hearing Stalin's normal speaking voice either.
Consequently, I have a mental sound-image of him sounding like Michael Caine in When Lions Roared. ::)
Quote from: JasonPratt on December 08, 2015, 01:52:28 PM
Good point; I've watched archival docs on the Russian side and don't recall hearing Stalin's normal speaking voice either.
Consequently, I have a mental sound-image of him sounding like Michael Caine in When Lions Roared. ::)
In my mental image of him now that you've all made me think about it, he sounds like Mike Tyson. I mean, it would explain a lot...
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 06, 2015, 06:07:33 PM
almost makes him seem human doesnt it?
i feel very odd about it for some reason
That's the thing though: he was. I think people may have done the world a disservice in the end by turning him into such a caricature of evil. It makes people think that it takes some sort of almost supernatural being to do the sort of things that the Nazis did, when in fact all it takes is regular humans.
Fascinating listening. I hadn't realized that I'd never actually heard him speak outside of newsreel footage of speeches.
Quote from: panzerde on December 08, 2015, 10:27:38 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 06, 2015, 06:07:33 PM
almost makes him seem human doesnt it?
i feel very odd about it for some reason
That's the thing though: he was. I think people may have done the world a disservice in the end by turning him into such a caricature of evil. It makes people think that it takes some sort of almost supernatural being to do the sort of things that the Nazis did, when in fact all it takes is regular humans.
Fascinating listening. I hadn't realized that I'd never actually heard him speak outside of newsreel footage of speeches.
It was Hannah Arendt who coined the phrase 'The banality of Evil' after chronicling the Adolph Eichmann trial. The most extraordinary of evils can be instigated by the most ordinary of people.
Quote from: panzerde on December 08, 2015, 10:27:38 PM
Quote from: undercovergeek on December 06, 2015, 06:07:33 PM
almost makes him seem human doesnt it?
i feel very odd about it for some reason
That's the thing though: he was. I think people may have done the world a disservice in the end by turning him into such a caricature of evil. It makes people think that it takes some sort of almost supernatural being to do the sort of things that the Nazis did, when in fact all it takes is regular humans.
A most excellent point.
Short clip of Stalin giving a speech while speaking in his normal voice. He also pours himself a drink during the clip:
Certainly not the same kind of public speaker as Hitler. Seems more devious to me.
Guy gets a rousing round of applause every three words! ::)
Quote from: Centurion40 on December 09, 2015, 01:05:48 PM
Guy gets a rousing round of applause every three words! ::)
or be shot :-\
But he does sound a little like Mike Tyson...
You know that you have nothing to worry about when you can get loaded whilst giving a speech! :o
Quote from: Centurion40 on December 09, 2015, 01:22:32 PM
You know that you have nothing to worry about when you can get loaded whilst giving a speech! :o
Yeah, my thought as well. Or...that's just how they do it in Russia. I remember some video clips of Boris Yeltsin... :D
Quote from: Airborne Rifles on December 09, 2015, 03:32:43 PM
Quote from: Centurion40 on December 09, 2015, 01:22:32 PM
You know that you have nothing to worry about when you can get loaded whilst giving a speech! :o
Yeah, my thought as well. Or...that's just how they do it in Russia. I remember some video clips of Boris Yeltsin... :D
Boris! The good old days when Russia drink you!