Hitler-Marshal Mannerheim Private Converstaion Tape (1943) [with English Translation]

Hitler-Marshal Mannerheim Private Converstaion Tape (1943) [with English Translation]


It is Hitler conversing in private completely unaware that he was being recorded. All the other recordings of Hitlers voice are from stage managed productions wherein he was performing, fully aware that he was being recorded. Actually it is more of a monologue than a conversationwith Hitler people were lectured at, not talked with. So if youve ever wondered what Der Fuhrer sounded like in everyday speech, here is your chance to listen to him.
It has been authenticated by the German Central Criminal Police acoustics laboratory.
The voice on the tape is low-pitched and somewhat hoarse, with sentences rambling, and breaking off repeatedly into pauses for thought.
In the worlds only recording in which Adolf Hitler speaks privately, taken in 1942, he has a conversation with the Finnish military commander, Marshal Carl Gustav Mannerheim, on progress on the war front - its victories, and its setbacks.
Hitlers voice modulation and use of the language on the tape is quite different from the intensity of his public speeches of agitation - in which he seems to be in a trance - which were rehearsed to the last detail right down to the intonation of the sentences.

This recording was used by German actor Bruno Ganz when he rehearsed Hitlers manner of speaking for the role of the Führer in the controversial new film Der Untergang or The Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich.
Ganz was quite successful. His speech rhythms and the tones of his voice are astoundingly similar to those of the authentic Hitler on the tape.

The recording by the Finnish Broadcasting Company (Yleisradio) was made secretly on June 4, 1942, at Marshal Mannerheims 75th birthday party.
To everyones surprise Hitler showed up himself to congratulate Mannerheim in the special train at Immola station near Imatra where the celebration was held.
After the official speeches, the two leaders continued their conversation in the adjacent salon wagon.
For security reasons the train where the celebrations were held was moved to the forested area of Immola, a small station that was easy to guard, which was nevertheless as close as possible to the command headquarters in Mikkeli.
Hitlers visit to Finland was short, lasting only about six hours.

The unique recording of Hitler speaking off-guard was made by Yleisradio engineer Thor Damen, who had been ordered to record the official birthday speeches and Mannerheims responses.
Hitler never allowed himself to be photographed or recorded in private situations, says Lasse Vihonen, head of the Yleisradio archives.
This recording was made in secret. When Hitler and Mannerheim went into the salon wagon for coffee, Damen placed his microphone on the hat rack. The cords came through the window, and the tape recorders themselves were in the next carriage, Vihonen explains.
The recording contains about five minutes of Hitlers official speech and Mannerheims response. After that 11 minutes of their conversation came on tape.
The recording was suddenly cut off. Hitlers security men spotted the cords coming out of the window. They raised a fuss, threatening Damen with a gesture suggesting cutting of the throat.

According to Vihonen, the security men demanded that the tape be immediately destroyed, but Yleisradio was allowed to keep the reel, after promising to keep it in a sealed container.
One of the tapes ended up in the hands of the head of the state censors office Kustaa Vilkuna, and he later gave it to Yleisradio in 1957.
The second tape was kept by Damen himself, who died in 1965. It was found in 1992 by his son Henrik Damen, hidden away in his fathers garage.
Now one of the two tapes is in the Yleisradio archive and the other has been donated to the Lahti Radio and TV Museum.
Journalist Jürgen Schielke transcribed the words on the tape, and it was also translated into Finnish. Schielke was surprised at the working class language used by Hitler and his turns of phrase which reflect the speakers educational shortcomings.
To top it all off, Hitler pronounces the name of the Finnish capital Helsinki Helsinski.


N.B. I would like to emphasize that I am in no way, shape or size a supporter of Nazi ideology.