Selling Hitler

by Robert Harris

(1986)

Publisher: Penguin Books

Written with the pace and verve of a thriller, this is the story of the biggest fraud in publishing history. On April 1, 1983, the authoritative historian Hugh Trevor-Roper received a phone call from the “Times” deputy director, Colin Webb, who asked him to authenticate absolutely explosive material from the “Stern” magazine: none other than the private diaries of Hitler.

It seemed that one of the most startling discoveries of the century had been made, and that one of the world’s most sought after documents had finally come to light – the private diaries of Adolf Hitler. What followed was a fiasco of fakery, greed, the duping of experts, and the exchange of extraordinary sums of money for worldwide publishing rights. But that was just the beginning of the story. . .

The con job of the century–the faking of the Hitler “diaries”. How could some of the most distinguished historians of the Hitler era, and some of the most aggressive and street-smart publishers in the business have been taken in by these documents?

This lively, witty account conveys a sobering picture of the ease with which those who profess to purvey the truth can convince themselves of almost anything.