A diary believed to have been written by Adolf Hitler has been found in an attic and sold for around £26,000.
It has 113 handwritten pages with references to high-ranking Nazi official Hermann Göring and German Hollywood star Marlene Dietrich.
In the notebook, Hitler allegedly declared his love for the German actress.
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This book offers lots of material for speculation, but it has yet to be authenticated as being written by the Nazi leader.
An expert at least confirmed that the paper dates from the period.
The notebook was first offered to author Olaf Haubold, 74, who was unable to match the seller’s asking price.
He then brokered a deal with a collector he knew, who ended up paying a reported fee of around £26,000 (€30,000).
Olaf, who lives in Thuringia, told Need To Know: “In 2008, an elderly gentleman came to my office and offered me documents from Adolf Hitler’s estate.
“It seemed suspicious to me at first, but I asked him to show me a sample.
“He then came with a notebook and several documents that initially appeared to be authentic.
“Because I lack expertise in this area, I sought help from historians, and we concluded that there was a possibility of its authenticity.
“But the asking price was too high for me, given the uncertainties.
“At the time, I knew a wealthy collector who had also sponsored some of my projects.
“He was prepared to pay the asking price for the entire collection.
“I don’t know the exact fee, the price mentioned in reports is an estimate.”
The seller said he found the notebook in an attic, but Olaf wasn’t convinced that part was true.
He said: “The gentleman who offered the collection didn’t want to say anything about its origin.
“The ‘attic find’ explanation was too vague for us.
“Some documents bear stamps of the Ministry for State Security of the former GDR, otherwise known as the Stasi.
“It’s possible it came from somewhere like that.”
After brokering the sale, Olaf secured the rights to use the collection for his 2025 book ‘The Collection – Hitler’s Secret Records’.
He was granted permission to analyse the material with East German writer Martin Stade before his death in 2018.
The buyer has also passed away since procuring the notebook, and it is now owned by his children.
Olaf said: “I only have the publication rights from the collector and now from his heirs.
“The collection is still complete and has not yet been offered publicly at auction or in any other way.
“The notebook is old; whether it contains Hitler’s handwriting is unproven.
“Despite the uncertainties, I decided to publish the material.
“The esteemed reader may form their own opinion.”
In his own opinion, Olaf said it’s “very likely” the work was produced by Hitler’s hand.
In the first pages, Hitler is quoted as criticising the Reich Chancellery before moving in.
“The building is in a state of complete decay. Ceiling and floor are rotten. Wallpaper and flooring are decayed.
“The highlight was a bath in the bathroom. Should I bathe in everyone’s sewage? Never!”
After a birthday party, he is said to have written the following about his deputy: “Göring ate like a pig again.”
And about Marlene Dietrich, he said: “I have to try to bring her back to Germany.
“I’ve had all of Dietrich’s new films sent to me.
“I think I’ve fallen in love with her.
“Eva doesn’t stand a chance against Dietrich.
“But I won’t let on. The woman has to come to Germany, even if it’s by force. I’ll set the intelligence service on her.
“Dietrich is hanging around with the Americans now. I’ll write her another letter.
“The best thing would be to offer her money. Women will do anything for money, you can see that with Eva.
“I’ll use Eva as a test subject and study her behaviour.
“I’m going to make Dietrich a money offer and see if she takes the bait.
“So, let’s get to work. Because I am the Führer.
“The secret service says it won’t be so easy to get hold of Dietrich.
“What is easy anyway! I told them to put in the effort. I want to see results.
“That’s what they’re paid for, and not badly at that.”
It’s not the first time a journal has been attributed to Adolf Hitler.
In 1983, the German magazine Stern bought the ‘Hitler Diaries’, a series of 60 volumes of journals allegedly written by the Nazi leader.
But they were later found to have been forged and two men were convicted of defrauding Stern of 9.3 million Deutsche Marks, about £2.3 million.
The case provided the basis for the 1992 film Schtonk!’
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