Harvard Professors Suspicious Of Hitler Diaries' Authenticity

Several Harvard history experts yesterday said they doubt the authenticity of the purported diaries of Adolf Hitler, which last week gained worldwide attention when a German magazine announced their discovery.

Although the four Harvard professors contacted said that they have not seen any of the documents firsthand, each expressed skepticism as to the authenticity of the diaries.

Stern magazine has called in numerous experts to verify the documents in their possession, but no conclusive results have yet surfaced. The fact that Stern still refuses to reveal how the documents were obtained has set off much controversy in the academic community.

Other Possibilities

Doubting the diaries' validity, Warburg Professor of Economics Emeritus John Kenneth Galbraith said in his capacity as a director of the U.S. Strategic Bombing Survey in 1945 he personally interviewed Albert Speer and other key Nazi officials.

'The major source of my suspicion is that this ground was so thoroughly covered by so many people that it is highly improbable that the diaries could have existed without anyone knowing of them," Galbraith said.

Galbraith added that he had interviewed Hitler's associates who had been in the bunker with Hitler until the last moments.

"Speer, in particular, was very anxious to tell all that he knew. It is most improbable that he was keeping secrets," Galbraith said.

Erich Goldhagen, who teaches a Social Analysis course on the Holocaust, said he is inclined to think the diaries are forgeries due to the dubious circumstances of their discovery.

"Excepts from the diary also suggest that this is not the authentic Hitler speaking, because they depict Hitler in a relatively favorable light," Goldhagen added.

Professor of History Simson M. Schama said that the diary issue had resulted in "quite a few" informal faculty discussions.

Schama said that a principal reason for his skepticism is Hitler's poor physical condition towards the end of his life, which would have rendered it very difficult, if not impossible, for Hitler to have written the final entries in the diary.