"Putzi" together with Hitler, during the time when he acted as his Press Agent

Ernst Franz Sedgwick Hanfstaengl (Munich, February 2, 1887 - November 6, 1975) was the only person known to have worked directly for both Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler. Image File history File links Putzi. ... Image File history File links Putzi. ... Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich: St. ... February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1887 (MDCCCLXXXVII) is a common year starting on Saturday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. ... November 6 is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 55 days remaining. ... 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Hitler redirects here. ...

Early Life

Ernst Hanfstaengl, nicknamed "Putzi", was born in Munich, Germany, the son of a wealthy and famous German art publisher and an American mother. He spent most of his early years in Germany and later moved to the United States. His mother was Katharine Wilhelmina Heine, daughter of William Heine, a (lithographer, Union General) and a cousin of John Sedgwick. His godfather was Duke Ernst II. He attended Harvard University where he composed football songs and became acquainted with Walter Lippmann and John Reed. He graduated in 1909. Munich: Frauenkirche and Town Hall steeple Munich (German: München pronunciation) is the state capital of the German Bundesland of Bavaria. ... Lithography is a method for printing on a smooth surface, as well as a method of manufacturing semiconductor and MEMS devices. ... In this map:  Union states prohibiting slavery  Union territories  Border states on the Union side which allowed slavery  Kansas, which entered and fought with the Union as a free state after the Bleeding Kansas crisis  The Confederacy  Confederate claimed and sometimes held territories During the American Civil War, the Union... Major General John Sedgwick John Sedgwick (September 13, 1813 – May 9, 1864) was a teacher, a career military officer, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. ... Ernst II of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1818-1893) was the second sovereign duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... United States simply as football, is a competitive team sport that is both fast-paced and strategic. ... Walter Lippmann (September 23, 1889 - December 14, 1974) was an influential United States writer, journalist, and political commentator. ... John Reed John Jack Silas Reed (October 22, 1887 – October 19, 1920) was a journalist and communist activist, famous for his first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ten Days that Shook the World. ...

He moved to New York and took over management of the American branch of his father's business, Franz Hanfstaengl Fine Art Publishing House. Each morning, he would practice piano at the New York Harvard Club, where he became acquainted with both Franklin and Theodore Roosevelt. Among his circle of acquaintances were newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, author Djuna Barnes, and actor Charlie Chaplin. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr. ... William Randolph Hearst (April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper magnate, born in San Francisco, California. ... Djuna Barnes [1] [2] [3] (June 12, 1892 - June 18, 1982) was an American writer who played an important part in the development of 20th century English language modernist writing by women and was one of the key figures in 1920s and 30s bohemian Paris after filling a similar role... Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin, Jr. ...

At the outbreak of WWI, he asked the German military attache in New York to smuggle him back to Germany. Slightly baffled by the proposal, the attache refused and Hanfstaengl remained in the US during the war. From 1917 onwards, the American branch of the family business was confiscated as enemy property. WWI may be an acronym for: World War I World Wrestling Industry This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists pages that might otherwise share the same title. ...

On February 11, 1920, Hanfstaengl married Helene Elise Adelheid Niemeyer of Long Island. They had their only son, Egon Ludwig, almost a year later (he eventually enlisted in the US Army air corps). A daughter, Hertha, died at 5. February 11 is the 42nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Mercator projection of Long Island Long Island is an island in New York, USA. It has an area of 1,377 square miles (3567 km²) and a population of 7. ... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

Hitler's Confidante

Returning to Germany in 1922, he was living back in his native Bavaria when he first heard Hitler speak in a Munich beer hall. A fellow member of the Harvard Hasty Pudding club who had become a U.S. Embassy official asked Hanfstaengl to assist a military attache sent to observe the political scene in Munich. Just before returning to Berlin the attache, Capt. Truman Smith, suggested that Hanfstaengl go to a Nazi rally for him and report on his impressions of Hitler. Hanfstaengl was so impressed with Hitler that he soon became one of his most intimate followers, although he did not formally join the Nazi party until 1931. "What Hitler was able to do to a crowd in 2½ hours will never be repeated in 10,000 years," Hanfstaengl said. "Because of his miraculous throat construction, he was able to create a rhapsody of hysteria. In time, he became the living unknown soldier of Germany." National Socialism redirects here. ... The Unknown soldier can refer to: The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier The Unknown Soldier, a 1954 novel by Väinö Linna The Unknown Soldier, two Finnish films made in 1955 and 1985, respectively Unknown Soldier is the first CD from Finnish progressive metal band Warmen Unknown Soldier is a...

Hanfstaengel introduced himself to Hitler after the speech and began a close friendship and political association that would last through the 1920s and early 1930s. After participating in the failed 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, he sheltered Hitler in the attic of his home in Uffing, outside of Munich. There his wife Helene reportedly prevented Hitler from committing suicide, disarming him with a judo grip her husband had taught her. The Beer Hall Putsch was a failed coup détat that occurred between the evening of Thursday, November 8 and the early afternoon of Friday, November 9, 1923, when the Nazi partys Führer Adolf Hitler, the popular World War I General Erich Ludendorff, and other leaders of the... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life. ... Judo , gentle way) is a martial art, combat sport, and philosophy which originated in Japan. ...

For much of the 1920s, Hanfstaengel worked to introduce the future Nazi leader to Munich high-society and polish his image in the eyes of the world. He also helped finance publication of Hitler's Mein Kampf and the NSDAP's official newspaper Völkischer Beobachter. Hitler was named godfather to Hanfstaengl's son Egon. Hanfstaengl wrote Brownshirt marches based on his Harvard football songs and, he later claimed, devised the chant of "Sieg Heil". Included among Hanfstaengl's friends during this period were Hanns Heinz Ewers and fellow Nazi party worker and journalist Kurt Lüdecke. Cover of Mein Kampf (First Edition) Mein Kampf (English translation: My Struggle) is the signature work of Adolf Hitler, combining elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitlers political ideology of Nazism. ... The Nazi swastika The National Socialist German Workers Party (German: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei), better known as the NSDAP or the Nazi Party was a political party that was led to power in Germany by Adolf Hitler in 1933. ... One of the last editions of the Völkischer Beobachter (April 20, 1945) hails Adolf Hitler as man of the century on the occasion of his 56th birthday, ten days before his suicide. ... The seal of SA The   (SA, German for Storm Division, usually translated as stormtroops or stormtroopers) functioned as a paramilitary organization of the NSDAP – the German Nazi party. ... Sieg Heil is a German phrase, which literally means Victory, Hail. ... Hanns Heinz Ewers (November 3, 1871, Düsseldorf - June 12, 1943, Berlin) was a German actor, poet, philosopher, and writer of short stories and novels. ...

As a native English speaker with many connections to higher society in both England and America, he became head of the Foreign Press Bureau in Berlin. Aside from this official position, much of his importance lay in his friendship with Hitler, who enjoyed listening to "Putzi" play the piano. Hanfstaengl later claimed to have participated in the Reichstag fire. Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: God Save the King/Queen Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... The Reichstag fire was a pivotal event in the establishment of Nazi Germany. ...

Fall From Power

As the NSDAP gathered power, several disputes arose between Hanfstaengl and Germany's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. He was shunted off of Hitler's staff in 1933. He and Helene divorced in 1936. Hanfstaengl fell completely out of Hitler's favour after he was denounced by Unity Mitford, a close friend of both the Hanfstaengls and Hitler. Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels (29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945), Nazi German politician, was Minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda throughout the regime of Adolf Hitler from 1933 to 1945. ... 1936 (MCMXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Hon. ...

In 1937 Hanfstaengl received orders to parachute into an area held by the nationalist side of the Spanish Civil War, to assist in negotiations. Immediately suspecting a plot against his life, onboard the plane he pressed for more details from the pilot, who eventually admitted he'd been ordered to drop Hanfstaengl over loyalist-held territory, which would have meant almost certain death. Hanfstaengl convinced the pilot to let him escape at a fuel stopover by faking a machine damage. Eugène Delacroixs Liberty Leading the People, symbolizing French nationalism during the July Revolution. ... Combatants Spanish Republic CNT-FAI UGT POUM Soviet Union International Brigades Spanish State Falangists Carlists Fascist Italy Nazi Germany Army Comrades Association Commanders Manuel Azaña Francisco Largo Caballero Juan Negrín Francisco Franco Casualties Civilians killed/wounded = hundreds of thousands The Spanish Civil War, which lasted from July 17...

Another version of this story, related by Albert Speer in his memoirs, suggests that this "mission" to Spain was nothing more than an elaborate practical joke concocted by Hitler and Goebbels, designed to punish Hanfstaengl after he'd displeased the Fuhrer. The plane, according to Speer, was merely circling over Germany containing an increasingly disconcerted Hanfstaengl, and finally landed in Leipzig after the joke had played itself out. Hanfstaengl, however, was so disconcerted by the event that he defected soon afterward. Albert Speer, c. ...

He made his way to Switzerland and after securing his son Egon's release from Germany, moved to England where he was imprisoned as an enemy alien after the outbreak of World War II. He was later moved to a prison camp in Canada. In 1942 Hanfstaengl was turned over to the U.S. (likely after Roosevelt's personal intercession) and worked for the President's 'S-Project,' informing on 400 leading Nazis. He provided 68 pages of information on Adolf Hitler alone including personal details of Hitler's private life, plus he helped Professor Henry A. Murray, Director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic, and psychoanalyst Walter C. Langer and other experts to create a 1943 report for the OSS designated as the "Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler." In 1944, Hanfstaengl was handed back to the British, who returned him to Germany after the end of the war. William Shirer, a CBS journalist who resided in Nazi Germany until 1941 and was in frequent contact with Hanfstaengl described him as an "eccentric, gangling man, whose sardonic wit somewhat compensated for his shallow mind." Combatants Major Allied powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Major Axis powers: Nazi Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Harry Truman Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... Henry A. Murray (b. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ... Psychoanalysis is the revelation of unconscious relations, in a systematic way through an associative process. ... Walter Charles Langer (February 5, 1899 - July 4, 1981) was a Cambridge, Massachusetts psychoanalyst best known for his role in preparing a psychological analysis of Adolf Hitler that predicted his suicide. ... The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was a United States intelligence agency formed during World War II. It was the wartime (but not direct) precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency. ... Commissioned by Office of Strategic Services head, WilliamWild Bill Donovan, in 1943 a team of specialists brought together by William L. Langer prepared an Analysis of the Personality of Adolph Hitler. ... William Lawrence Shirer (1904 - 1993), U.S. historian & journalist. ... CBS (an abbreviation for Columbia Broadcasting System, its former legal name) is one of the largest television networks, and formerly one of the largest radio networks, in the United States. ...

Hanfstaengl wrote Unheard Witness (1957) about his experiences. In 2004, his story was told by author Peter Conradi in his book Hitler's Piano Player: The Rise and Fall of Ernst Hanfstaengl, Confidante of Hitler, Ally of FDR. Peter Conradi is an author and journalist who should not be confused with Peter J. Conradi, another author with a similar name. ...

In popular culture

Hanfstaengel has rarely been mentioned or portrayed in dramatizations of Hitler's life or of life Nazi Germany. He was, however, an important supporting character in both the TV movie Hitler: The Rise of Evil (in which he was portrayed by Liev Schreiber) and author Ron Hansen's historical fiction novel Hitler's Niece. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Liev Schreiber (born Isaac Liev Schreiber on October 4, 1967) is a Tony Award-winning American actor. ... Ron Hansen can refer to different people: Ron Hansen, a former Canadian politician Ron Hansen, a former MLB shortstop This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... A historical novel is a novel in which the story is set among historical events, or more generally, where the time the action takes place in predates the time of the first publication -- distinguish and contrast the genre of alternate history. ...

Further reading

• Hanfstaengl, Ernst 'Putzi'. Hitler: The Missing Years. London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1957. Arcade Publishing, reprint 1994 ISBN 1-55970-278-8
• Peter Conradi Carroll & Graf. Hitler's Piano Player: The Rise and Fall of Ernst Hanfstaengl, Confidante of Hitler, Ally of FDR, 2004 ISBN 0-7867-1283-X
• Metcalfe, Philip. 1933. New York, The Permanent Press, 1988. ISBN 0-9329-6687-X

Peter Conradi is an author and journalist who should not be confused with Peter J. Conradi, another author with a similar name. ...

See also

• List of Adolf Hitler books
• Hitler: The Rise of Evil

Adolf Hitlers Mein Kampf. ...

External links

• imdb link: A German documentary

• UK resources for school work
• Neemeyer Genæology
• Putzi Lives!
• Yale Alumni Magazine
• Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler by Antony C. Sutton
• The Holocaust Gallery
• "Hitler's Americanization" by Nikos Raptis (Z Magazine)
• Sedgewick Genæology
• Historian: Harvard Was Tied to Nazis
• The Nazi Who Returned to Harvard
• He played piano for Hitler — and FDR; Otto Doelling, Associated Press 2/23/71