A collector offers photos of Adolf Hitler to the BNF


Snapshots of the Führer’s visit to Paris after the invasion of France in 1940 were offered to the National Library of France by a collector, the institution announced on Wednesday.

British collector Charles Chadwyck-Healey, 82, photographer himself, publisher, donated a set of 20 shots of Aldolf Hitler’s visit to Paris, some of which have never been seen before at the BNF. “This portfolio was compiled by Heinrich Hofmann, Hitler’s official portrait painter since 1924. (…) On June 23, 1940, he followed and captured the short trip to occupied Paris”said the BnF in a press release.

“Of inestimable historical value, this object brings new elements to the crucial role of Hofmann as photographer and editor in the construction in images of the Hitlerian legend”she added.

After France’s surrender, defeated in the “Blitzkrieg” of May-June 1940, Hitler had arrived to visit the French capital via Le Bourget airport at dawn, traveled through a largely deserted city, and then departed for the Germany the same morning. He will return to France on October 24, 1940 to meet Marshal Pétain.

“During my professional career, I was able to forge close ties with the National Library of France, whose rich collections I knew. It is a great satisfaction to be able to donate this portfolio»commented the collector, quoted in a press release.

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