Werner Maser: Leading Hitler Scholar, Dies at 84
The German historian Werner Maser, considered one of the leading experts on Hitler and his regime, died last Thursday in the west German city of Speyer. He was 84.
His death was announced by his family.
Mr. Maser won international acclaim with a biography of Hitler, “Hitler: Legend, Myth and Reality.” It was published in 1971 and translated into 22 languages.
Another work, “Hitler’s Letters and Notes,” gave insight into the dictator’s thoughts and theories.
Mr. Maser was praised for his painstaking research. He tracked down Hitler’s medical records from 1905 to 1945, which were for decades believed to have been lost, and was the first historian to assert, rightly, that the purported diaries of Hitler published by Stern magazine in 1983 were forgeries.
His credibility was compromised, however, when he claimed in the late 1970s to have tracked down Hitler’s illegitimate son, said to have been born of an 18-month liaison with a peasant girl....
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His death was announced by his family.
Mr. Maser won international acclaim with a biography of Hitler, “Hitler: Legend, Myth and Reality.” It was published in 1971 and translated into 22 languages.
Another work, “Hitler’s Letters and Notes,” gave insight into the dictator’s thoughts and theories.
Mr. Maser was praised for his painstaking research. He tracked down Hitler’s medical records from 1905 to 1945, which were for decades believed to have been lost, and was the first historian to assert, rightly, that the purported diaries of Hitler published by Stern magazine in 1983 were forgeries.
His credibility was compromised, however, when he claimed in the late 1970s to have tracked down Hitler’s illegitimate son, said to have been born of an 18-month liaison with a peasant girl....