History Daily The Hitler Diaries Hoax
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May 6, 2026 A scandal over purported Hitler diaries and the forger who built a fake Nazi memorabilia business. How local experts and a magazine's secrecy and rush led to validation of the papers. Forensic tests that exposed modern ink, paper, and copied errors. The legal fallout, resignations, and the forger’s later notoriety.
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Collector Bought Hundreds Of Fake Hitler Artifacts
- Fritz Stiefel became convinced he owned genuine Hitler artifacts after buying hundreds from Conrad Kuyau over several years.
- Kuyau forged items including a fake Mein Kampf manuscript and a crudely made 'Hitler diary' that Fritz kept in his safe.
Forger Boasted Of 27 Supposed Hitler Volumes
- Conrad Kuyau bragged at a dinner that he controlled 27 volumes purportedly from Hitler, which hooked former SS officer Jakob Tiefenthaler.
- Kuyau then spent years writing and aging fake diary entries, smuggling one volume at a time to sustain the ruse.
Sensationalism Short-Circuited Proper Authentication
- Stern's team largely avoided skepticism because the allure of Hitler's personal diaries blinded them to obvious flaws.
- They did minimal vetting, sent limited samples to handwriting analysts, and accepted forged comparison documents provided by Kuyau.