Intercultural knowledge
“I Saw Hitler!”
US reporter Dorothy Thompson met Adolf Hitler for an interview at Berlin’s Kaiserhof Hotel in December 1931. She describes this encounter – which was just as disturbing as it was enlightening – in her book entitled “Ich traf Hitler!”, which was first published in English in 1932 under the title “I Saw Hitler!”. Oliver Lubrich of the University of Bern has now for the first time published a complete German translation of one of her works in this illustrated report/essay.
Dorothy Thompson (1893–1961) was a pioneer of modern journalism. In her book, she explores the secret of populism and develops a psychological profile of Adolf Hitler. The author analyzes not only his rhetoric, but also the psychology of his followers – and finds answers that remain valid to this day.
“I saw Hitler!” was published just a few months before the Nazis seized power and resulted in the US journalist’s spectacular deportation from Germany when she returned in August 1934.