Josef Greiner
Encyclopedia
Josef Greiner was an Austrian
writer. He supposedly knew Adolf Hitler
during Hitler's time in Vienna
and later published two memoirs on this topic, for which he is best known.
around 1908 and earned his living through various jobs, including as a sign painter, and as a lamplighter
for a cabaret
.
He lived in the Meldemannstraße dormitory
from January to April 1910; it was during this period that he first became acquainted with Adolf Hitler
, who moved in to the dormitory in February 1910 and stayed until 1913. According to an essay by Reinhold Hanisch
published posthumously in The New Republic
in 1939, during this period Greiner and Hitler at one point worked together in a job that involved filling old tin cans with paint and then going door to door to sell it.
In 1938, Greiner published a memoir
entitled Schrift Sein Kampf und Sieg. Eine Erinnerung an Adolf Hitler (His Struggle and Victory: A Memoir of Adolf Hitler). In it, he told of knowing Hitler during his time in the Meldemannstraße dormitory. He praised Hitler, calling him "Lord of Ostmark
", a "genius", and a "messiah". Greiner sent copies of this book to Hitler, Benito Mussolini
, Joseph Goebbels
, and Hermann Göring
, saying that the book could be mass distributed and used as part of Nazi propaganda
; Greiner hoped that this would make him rich. He also touted himself as a successful businessman who would be an ideal choice to head the Reich Economics Ministry. Instead, Hitler ordered the publisher to pulp the book. In the Nazi Party files of the time, Greiner is referred to as an "extortionist" and Greiner's repeated attempts to join the Nazi Party, beginning in May 1938, were rejected.
After World War II
and the downfall of the Nazi regime, Greiner took advantage of his rejection by the Nazis to portray himself as a resistance fighter. In 1947, he published Das Ende des Hitler-Mythos (The End of the Hitler Myth
). Greiner sent a copy of this book to Joseph Stalin
, offering his services to facilitate Soviet-German economic relations.
. He tells several stories about Hitler's anti-Semitic behavior at this time, including a story that he tormented one Polish
Jew with stink bugs and by giving children "Aryan
chocolate" to induce them to torment their Jewish playmate as a "filthy Jew". Greiner also claims that at one point Hitler attempted to rape
one of his models
(although Hitler in fact never painted people during his time in Vienna). He also claims that Hitler contracted syphilis
from a Leopoldstadt
prostitute. He also claimed that in 1945, Hitler did not commit suicide
, but instead fled from Berlin
in an airplane.
Greiner's claims to have been a heroic leader of the Austrian resistance
also appear implausible.
dismissed Greiner's claims as "palpable lies".
Robert G. L. Waite
concludes that Greiner could not have known Hitler, and speculates that the reason why so many historians have been willing to accept Greiner's work as legitimate is because a man named Greiner is mentioned as a companion of Hitler by Reinhold Hanisch
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
writer. He supposedly knew Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
during Hitler's time in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and later published two memoirs on this topic, for which he is best known.
Biography
Josef Greiner was born in Styria in 1886. He moved to ViennaVienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
around 1908 and earned his living through various jobs, including as a sign painter, and as a lamplighter
Lamplighter
A lamplighter, historically, was an employee of a town who lit street lights, generally by means of a wick on a long pole. At dawn, they would return and extinguish them using a small hook on the same pole. Early street lights were generally candles, oil, and similar consumable liquid or solid...
for a cabaret
Cabaret
Cabaret is a form, or place, of entertainment featuring comedy, song, dance, and theatre, distinguished mainly by the performance venue: a restaurant or nightclub with a stage for performances and the audience sitting at tables watching the performance, as introduced by a master of ceremonies or...
.
He lived in the Meldemannstraße dormitory
Meldemannstraße dormitory
The men's dormitory on Meldemannstraße 27 in Brigittenau district, Vienna, Austria was a public dormitory for men from 1905 to 2003. It is a subject of public interest primarily because it was the residence of Adolf Hitler, the later dictator of Nazi Germany, from 1910 to 1913.- The dormitory in...
from January to April 1910; it was during this period that he first became acquainted with Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
, who moved in to the dormitory in February 1910 and stayed until 1913. According to an essay by Reinhold Hanisch
Reinhold Hanisch
Reinhold Hanisch was an Austrian migrant worker and sometime business partner of the young Adolf Hitler. Hanisch, who published articles on Hitler, with whom he had lived in 1910, is, next to August Kubizek, one of the few witnesses to Hitler's Vienna years...
published posthumously in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
in 1939, during this period Greiner and Hitler at one point worked together in a job that involved filling old tin cans with paint and then going door to door to sell it.
In 1938, Greiner published a memoir
Memoir
A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...
entitled Schrift Sein Kampf und Sieg. Eine Erinnerung an Adolf Hitler (His Struggle and Victory: A Memoir of Adolf Hitler). In it, he told of knowing Hitler during his time in the Meldemannstraße dormitory. He praised Hitler, calling him "Lord of Ostmark
Ostmark (Austria)
Ostmark was the name used by Nazi propaganda to replace that of the formerly independent Austria after the Anschluss annexation of that country by Nazi Germany in 1938....
", a "genius", and a "messiah". Greiner sent copies of this book to Hitler, Benito Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
, Joseph Goebbels
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reich Minister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. As one of Adolf Hitler's closest associates and most devout followers, he was known for his zealous oratory and anti-Semitism...
, and Hermann Göring
Hermann Göring
Hermann Wilhelm Göring, was a German politician, military leader, and a leading member of the Nazi Party. He was a veteran of World War I as an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the coveted Pour le Mérite, also known as "The Blue Max"...
, saying that the book could be mass distributed and used as part of Nazi propaganda
Nazi propaganda
Propaganda, the coordinated attempt to influence public opinion through the use of media, was skillfully used by the NSDAP in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's leadership of Germany...
; Greiner hoped that this would make him rich. He also touted himself as a successful businessman who would be an ideal choice to head the Reich Economics Ministry. Instead, Hitler ordered the publisher to pulp the book. In the Nazi Party files of the time, Greiner is referred to as an "extortionist" and Greiner's repeated attempts to join the Nazi Party, beginning in May 1938, were rejected.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and the downfall of the Nazi regime, Greiner took advantage of his rejection by the Nazis to portray himself as a resistance fighter. In 1947, he published Das Ende des Hitler-Mythos (The End of the Hitler Myth
Hitler Myth
The Hitler Myth is a concept which embodies two key points in Nazi ideology; firstly it presents Hitler as a demigod figure, who both embodies and shapes the German people and thus giving him a mandate to rule. Secondly it presents Hitler as a mighty defender of the German people against its foes,...
). Greiner sent a copy of this book to Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
, offering his services to facilitate Soviet-German economic relations.
Greiner's Claims About Hitler
The End of the Hitler Myth contains several demonstrable errors about Hitler's life. For example, Greiner places Hitler in Vienna in 1907-1908, at which time Hitler was still living in LinzLinz
Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
. He tells several stories about Hitler's anti-Semitic behavior at this time, including a story that he tormented one Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
Jew with stink bugs and by giving children "Aryan
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
chocolate" to induce them to torment their Jewish playmate as a "filthy Jew". Greiner also claims that at one point Hitler attempted to rape
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
one of his models
Model (art)
Art models are models who pose for photographers, painters, sculptors, and other artists as part of their work of art. Art models who pose in the nude for life drawing are usually called life models...
(although Hitler in fact never painted people during his time in Vienna). He also claims that Hitler contracted syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
from a Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt
Leopoldstadt is the 2nd municipal District of Vienna . There are inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau , forms a large island surrounded by the Danube Canal and, to the north, the Danube. It is named after Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor...
prostitute. He also claimed that in 1945, Hitler did not commit suicide
Death of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler committed suicide by gunshot on Monday, 30 April 1945 in his Führerbunker in Berlin. His wife Eva , committed suicide with him by ingesting cyanide...
, but instead fled from Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
in an airplane.
Greiner's claims to have been a heroic leader of the Austrian resistance
Austrian resistance
The Austrian resistance to the Nazi rule that started with the Anschluss in 1938 had a prehistory of socialist and communist activism against the era of Austrofascism from 1934. These activists, limited primarily to adherents of the political far left, operated in isolation from the Austrian...
also appear implausible.
The Evaluation of Greiner's Writings as an Historical Source
In 1956, Franz JetzingerFranz Jetzinger
Franz Jetzinger was an Austrian clergyman, academic, politician, civil servant, editor and author. He remains especially famous as author of the book Hitler’s Youth.-Life and work:After graduating from school, Jetzinger studied at the theological faculty of the university of Salzburg...
dismissed Greiner's claims as "palpable lies".
Robert G. L. Waite
Robert G. L. Waite
Robert George Leeson Waite was a historian, psychohistorian, and the Brown Professor of History at Williams College who specialized in the Nazi movement—particularly Adolf Hitler....
concludes that Greiner could not have known Hitler, and speculates that the reason why so many historians have been willing to accept Greiner's work as legitimate is because a man named Greiner is mentioned as a companion of Hitler by Reinhold Hanisch
Reinhold Hanisch
Reinhold Hanisch was an Austrian migrant worker and sometime business partner of the young Adolf Hitler. Hanisch, who published articles on Hitler, with whom he had lived in 1910, is, next to August Kubizek, one of the few witnesses to Hitler's Vienna years...
.