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This Is The Only Known Recording Of Hitler's Normal Speaking Voice

This Is The Only Known Recording Of Hitler's Normal Speaking Voice

The only known recording of Hitler's normal speaking voice has emerged. It was made secretly by a Finnish sound engineer in 1942.

Mischa Pearlmen

Mischa Pearlmen

Adolf Hitler was one of the most evil men to ever live and, as leader of Germany's Nazi party, was responsible for the mass-extermination of six million European Jews between 1941 and 1945.

By now, most people have seen a video or heard a recording of one of his public speeches, so are probably aware of distinctive way of spitting out words to incite anger and whip crowds up into a frenzy of racist hatred.

The reason he was able to do that was because he was - objectively speaking - a truly great orator, one who could sway the masses with what French-American novelist George Steiner described as a 'spellbinding' voice.

As reported by The Independent, Steiner, in Ron Rosenbaum's book Explaining Hitler, described the impact of hearing Hitler's voice on the radio as a young child.

PA
PA

"I was born in 1929, so from '33 on my earliest memories are sitting in the kitchen hearing the voice [of Hitler] on the radio," Steiner said.

"It's a hard thing to describe, but the voice itself was mesmeric ... The amazing thing is that the body comes through on the radio. I can't put it any other way. You feel you're following the gestures."

It's that voice which has become forever associated with Hitler, but now, the only known recording of his normal speaking voice has come to light via a conversation secretly recorded by a Finnish sound engineer in 1942.


The conversation was between Hitler and Finland's defense leader, Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, and 11 minutes of it were recorded by the engineer before he was caught by the SS.

In the conversation, he sounds almost normal and a far cry from the fierce and ferocious speaker he was in public and so serves as a fascinating glimpse at the tyrannical dictator and highlights just how he used persuasive public speaking techniques to manipulate his audiences.

He made over 5,000 speeches in that affected voice and the results - as we all know - were devastating and deadly. He shot himself in the head on April 30th 1945 to avoid capture by the advancing Soviet troops.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, News, WWII, Interesting, History, Germany