Adolf Hitler in Private - The Mannerheim Conversation 1942

This is a unique piece of history. It is Hitler conversing in private completely unaware that he

was being recorded. All the other recordings of Hitler’s 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 conversation—with Hitler people were lectured at, not talked with. So if you’ve

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.

This excellent quality recording was made secretly on June 4, 1942, at Marshal Mannerheim's 75th

birthday party by Yleisradio engineer Thor Damen. Hitler never allowed himself to be photographed

or recorded in private situations so this recording had to be made in secret. When Hitler and

Mannerheim went into the salon wagon for coffee, Damen placed his microphone on the hat rack. And

remember this was in the days before tiny microphones, the thing was huge. The cords came through

the window, and the tape recorders themselves were in the next carriage.

There is about 11 minutes of their private conversation on tape. The recording was suddenly cut

off. Hitler's security men spotted the cords coming out of the window. They raised a fuss,

threatening Damen with a gesture suggesting cutting of the throat. I can’t imagine what Thor was

thinking playing with the Nazi’s like that—he either had balls of steel or a death wish. 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.

Hitler speaks with working class style language, grammar, and phrasing; which is not surprising

given his low level of education. And you might notice he pronounces Helsinki “Helsinski”.

As a side note, you might also be interested in Hitler’s Private World. It’s a documentary that

uses lip reading software to decode what is being said in Hitler’s silent home movies taken by

Eva Braun. It’s worth watch just to hear what Hitler says about Goering. I could not find a good

copy, but it is on youtube.

There is an English translation as a PDF included in the download.