While I for one could never fathom being in Hitler’s fan club, thousands of Nazi-era admirers were once clamoring to do so. German historian Henrik Eberle compiled some of the führer’s fan mail in a new book, Briefe an Hitler (Letters to Hitler), which includes a sampling of the tens of thousands of letters he received from 1925-1945. The book is only available in German, but you can meet some of Hitler’s devotees in the Independent, which recently showcased choice lines from some of the letters. Of particular interest: One writer asked permission to bake a new dictator-inspired dessert, the “Hitler Cake,” and another generous fan wrote that she wanted to will her house plants to him. (I have to wonder–what did Hitler hate mail look like?)
Oh, and the prospective Hitler Cake baker was denied–on the grounds that his idea was too “kitschy.” —Anna Cynar
