World Domination and Genocide: The ‘Lochner Version’ of Hitler’s Speech from 22 August 1939, a Key Document of National Socialist Ideology

Abstract

ABSTRACT On August 22, 1939, only days before the German invasion of Poland, Adolf Hitler delivered an infamous secret speech before the leading Wehrmacht generals at the Obersalzberg. The American foreign correspondent Louis Lochner, as head of the Berlin bureau of Associated Press, was a key figure in securing, spreading, and publishing this speech during the World War II. Despite Lochner’s presence throughout the Nuremberg trials 1945/1946 as a reporter for AP, he was not called as witness to testify regarding the document which today is usually referred to as ‘Lochner Version’ of the secret Hitler speech. Later, while verifying this source during the 1960s, Lochner’s role was too underappreciated and even distorted by German historians. Therefore, until today, the Lochner Version of Hitler’s speech is either unknown, underestimated or misjudged. To reassess this central source for Hitler’s worldview and the global aspirations of National Socialist ideology, this article reconstructs its historical background and context for the first time. It argues that the Lochner Version is indeed the most authentic and reliable version available of this speech by Hitler. Only the Lochner Version reflects Hitler’s two ultimate goals: World conquest and genocides of all ‘inferior races’. Furthermore, it proves that all leading German generals knew of Hitler’s planned crimes against humanity even before World War II started.