"Hitler's Table Talk" Study Hour: Episode 39

Carolyn Yeager and Ray Goodwin read and comment on the May 20-June 4, 1942 lunch and dinner table monologues by the German Leader, as taken down in shorthand by aide Henry Picker. Included in this episode:

• Hitler explains how he raised the standard of living for showgirls and dancers;
• He describes in detail his assumption of power, including  his negotiations with Von Papen, Generals Schleicher and Hammerstein, and the "Old Gentleman" Hindenburg;
• How his relationship with Hindenburg became very warm and close;
• Treatment of spies and war-time criminals must be the most severe -- compares them to the idealist at the Front;
• Approves of a movie film about Lola Montez and Ludwig ! of Bavaria;
• Artists should be recognized in their lifetimes -- Mozart, Bruckner and Haydn -- Vienna compared to Munich as art capitals;
• Hitler advises to follow nature in designing aircraft and ships -- the importance and difficulty of invention;
• Murder in Prague -- Hitler reacts angrily to the assassination of the"irreplaceable" Reinhard Heydrich and orders that all must obey regulations intended to ensure their safety.