Did Hitler speak English?

Site Issues 2006 Archive Room
#1

Did he? If so how well?

#2

No, he did not speak any language other than German.
He was sometimes called “Czech corporal”…
As you see even that was not justified.

Cheers,

Lancer44

#3

Who did his translations at the meetings with Neville Chamberlain? Did he have a personal translator?

#4

Dr. Paul Schmidt.
After the war Schmidt wrote book:"Statist auf Diplomatischer Buhne 1923-45 (Bonn, 1949).

Lancer44

#5

Hey lancer you know your stuff!

#6

Salute Generalissimo! 8)

Lancers usually do…
Much better than foot sloggers. :smiley:

Lancer44

#7

I’m afraid that Lancer does not know his stuff – Hitler was never referred to as the “Czech corporal”, but as the “Austrian corporal” since he was a) Austrian (taking German citizenship sometime in the 1920s) and b) a corporal during the First World War.

#8

Hi Men of Stoat,

I insist that he was called Czech corporal by some members of July 44 putsch. Of course he was Austrian, but todays Czech Republic was part of Habsburgs Austrian Empire.
During WWI Czech soldiers, very much pacifists, were the laughing stock of German-Austrian army.
Many high ranking German officers started career in that army.
For them “Czech corporal” was synonym of stupidity.
I think that Hindenburg was first that called Hitler “der Bohemische Kapral”.

I will look for more sources and dig up book in my garage, but meanwhile;
Hitler was born in Braunau. There is town in Czech Republic called Broumov - in German Braunau. It is different place than Austrian Braunau but when Hindenburg learned where Hitler was born he connected it to Broumov. His “mistake” become famous and hence Hitler become “Czech corporal”.

http://www.crwflags.com/fotw/flags/cz-na-br.html

And please be careful next time you say “Lancer doesn’t know his stuff…”
:smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

Cheers,

Lancer44

#9

MoS …If you have something to correct to other member please do that in more mild manners, thanks.

And by the way, no, A.H did not speak english.

#10

MoS …If you have something to correct to other member please do that in more mild manners, thanks.

And by the way, no, A.H did not speak english.[/quote]
yes, please be more polite toward other members, thanks

#11

We are getting a bit off topic but MoS just has a certain way he replies I dont think he means to be offensive even thou it sounds like it.

Lancer…What do you mean buy July 44 putsch…the assination attempt on Hitler. Just usually the “putsch” is related to the Beer Hall attempt of Hitler to seizer power during the Weimar Republic.

The Braunau - Braunau link seems a bit confusing but plausible… check out the see also in the link below. Doesnt state which was which during the wars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braunau_am_Inn

Although if you google “czech corporal” you dont seem to get any links to hitler as you do when you use austrian. So maybe both were used but the austrian version was more popular.

And im pretty sure Hitler didnt speak english. Even in germany today there are loads of people that dont speak english. Mostly older people thou.

#12

I found a site, Its seems this was used as term to degrade Hitler as it was made by Hindenburg, since it was a derogartory term its quite possible it was used by people wanting to overthrow Hitler. BTW Putsch can be any uprising hence “Beer Hall/Munich Putsch”.

later in 1933 when he betrayed his protector Marshall von Hindenburg who had been earlier more lucid: “Hitler is a queer fellow who will never become Chancellor, he said in 1931, the best this Czech corporal can hope for is to head the Postal Department.”

Source: http://www.schikelgruber.net/war.html

#13

In October 1931, Hindenburg and Hitler had their first meeting. The Hindenburg-Hitler meeting was a disaster as both men took an immediate and immense dislike to one another. In private, Hindenburg disparagingly referred to Hitler as “that Austrian corporal”, “the Bohemian corporal” and sometimes just simply as “the corporal”.

Hitler in turn, often described Hindenburg as “that old fool” and “the old reactionary”. Right up until January 1933, Hindenburg often stated that he would never appoint Hitler as Chancellor under any circumstances. On 26 January 1933, Hindenburg told a group of his friends: "Gentlemen, I hope you will not hold me capable of appointing this Austrian corporal to be Reich Chancellor

Quoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_von_Hindenburg
My bold

Later edit: It seems that only Hindenburg called Hitler as “the Bohemian corporal”.
http://www.historyhome.co.uk/europe/hitrise.htm
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Holocaust/hitler.html

#14

I did not took Man of Stout post as an offensive. :slight_smile:
Looking at it that way even my answer and word “be careful” can be taken as threatening… :smiley:

Yes, I used word “putsch” talking about assasination attempt and Operation “Valkyrie”. I would not call it “uprising” nor German Resistance effort… I think such vocabulary would be quite derogatory to French Maquis, Yougoslav partizans, soviet partizans and Polish Home Army.
And the only uprisings in Europe during WWII were:

  • Warsaw Ghetto
  • Slovak Uprising
  • Paris Uprising
  • Warsaw Uprising
  • Prague events you can hardly call riots.
    German press for some time is trying to portrait some opposition to Hitler and Nazi ideology as Resistance.
    It is just funny…

Bohemian corporal = Czech corporal. Bohemia it’s a large part of Czech Republic…

Regards,

Lancer44

#15

Of course Lancer.