The Leader's Struggle in the East 3 Miniature "button book" issued for charitable contributions by the Winter-hilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.000 inches (5.08 cm) | Width: 1.375 inches (3.493 cm) | Depth: 0.100 inches (0.254 cm)
Creator(s)
- Winter-Hilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes (Publisher)
- Heinrich Hoffmann (Author)
Biographical History
Heinrich Hoffmann (1885-1957) was a German photographer and Nazi propagandist. The son and nephew of photographers, he worked in the Hoppé studio in London before setting up in Munich as a portraitist and photojournalist. His photograph of cheering crowds on 2 August 1914 unwittingly captured the young Adolf Hitler, an event which would later benefit Hoffmann's career. Drifting to the far right after the First World War and revolutionary events in Bavaria, he joined the Nazi Party in 1920 and convinced an initially camera-shy Hitler of photography's political value. Hoffman’s assistant, Eva Braun, became Hitler’s mistress in 1930. After 1933, his virtual monopoly of Hitler photographs, as ‘the man who sees the Führer for us’, made him one of the Third Reich's major profiteers. His scenes of carefully constructed intimacy, presenting his master, especially in the regime's early years, as a clean-living, nature-loving man of the people, were massively disseminated. After 1945, though claiming to have been a mere chronicler of events, he was fined and imprisoned. His extensive photo archive survives, including photographs of German political and religious figures, as well as actors, painters, and musicians.
Archival History
The miniature propaganda book was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2007 by Diane Keeley.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of Diane Keeley
Scope and Content
Miniature "button book" printed by the Nazi German government and given as a token gift to those who had donated to the Winter-hilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes. The booklet could be worn on coat buttons as a sign that the wearer had donated to the charity. Found by the donor and her siblings, circa 1950, while they were billeted in the home of a German family when her father was stationed in Germany with the US Army following WWII.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Miniature propaganda book attached to string; photo on front shows man looking through binoculars; title: "DES fuhrers /kampf im Osten 3." Back cover is blue with "Winter - hilfswerk / Des Deutschen Volke" above and below an eagle perched on a swastika.
People
- Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945--Pictorial works.
Corporate Bodies
- Nazi Party
Subjects
- World War, 1939-1945--Germany--Pictorial works.
Genre
- Object
- Books and Published Materials
- Miniature books--Specimens.