An evening with David Irving

David Irving and me

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David Irving is a terrific raconteur. It occurs to me that most historians must have been.

All good historians and history teachers know how to tell a good story.  How I remember dear Miss Young who taught me O level history goose-stepping from the front of the class to the back of the class!

I am agnostic on the Holocaust since I was not there and even if I had been it would have been impossible to tell how many were killed and for what reason in a war situation.

As far as I can see, this Holocaust thing is a hangover of the conflict between Judaism and Christianity, which will one day be resolved when we have Secular Koranism in Britain.   Sadly, not many people understand it, though it is really very simple.

The debate between how history is established and taught will rage on forever more, just like politics.

David Irving makes a point of using only primary sources.  His books are popular and readable because they contain the necessary details to bring it all to life, eg the colour of the wallpaper, the weather on the day.  His books read like novels, I imagine.

He refers to Ian Kershaw as a "conformist historian", and said Kershaw would refer to his books in order to write his conformist version.

David also told us of how a postcard which Hitler sketched himself was stolen by a man who now lives in Tallahasee whose name is Michael Hesse, I think.

He mentioned the "birdy spoon" which his daughter Jennifer used for her cereal, which has been through the dish washer many a time.  I believe it must be something along the lines of the spoons found at http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.l2557&item=170833719843&nma=true&rt=nc&si=atqdK2KCATIogCrl0ZIgpXg5J14%253D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc#ht_2909wt_699

Anyway, I found it a charming story.

There was a book called ADOLF HITLER with some great photographs of the Fuhrer looking happy and glorious in  it, but it was in German, priced at £100.

Apparently, the Soviets tried to suppress the fact that Hitler shot himself, and claimed he merely poisoned himself like a woman.  The fact was that he did both.  It is also incredibly difficult to shoot yourself in the temple because of the kickback, and he recounted an occasion when a top Nazi attempted it twice and failed, only managing to graze the top of his head.  Someone else had to finish the job for him.

So that is why if you want to do it properly, you put the gun into your mouth.   Hitler managed to successfully shoot himself in the head, in case you were wondering.

He found most of the Hitler's private staff very approachable, though they would not have been quite so to approachable to any other "conformist historian" with an anti-Hitler axe to grind.

The story that charmed me most about Hitler was the one about how a fly saved Hitler's adjutant Fritz Darges's life.  It was high summer and the Russians were about to invade.  Hitler was in a conference with the leaders of the German Armed Forces.   There was a fly bothering Hitler, and he demanded that Fritz  Darges get rid of it.

Fritz Darges's response was that, since it was a creature on wings, it should be the job of the Lutwaffe.

His levity resulted in his being sent to East Prussia as punishment that very day.  Three days later, the bomb that was meant to kill Hitler went off.   If Fritz Dagen had been in his usual place, he would have died.

So there you go, one should have a sense of humour.

This rather indicated to me that Hitler did usually have a sense of humour, or doubtless Fritz Dagen would not have made such a joke under any circumstances.

This rather endears Hitler to me.

I asked what sort of a man Irving thought Hitler was, and, unhesitatingly, he said: "A very kind man.  He was compassionate, incorruptible, honest and decent."

He always asked after the health of the family of his generals and was kind to those who served him.  Indeed, he once demanded the stenographers be given electric heaters so they were not too cold in the draughty huts they had to work in.

I had an idea that he was a kind a man anyway, from Chrita Schroeder's book, which is eminently readable http://www.amazon.co.uk/He-Was-My-Chief-Secretary/dp/1848325363

So there we have it:  Churchill was a warmongering drunk and known for being horrid to his servants, and Hitler was a teetotaller and was kind to his servants and never would have invaded Britain, according to David Irving.

I feel sorry for the British who haven't had a decent foreign policy since the days of Palmerston.