Hitler used secret photos to rehearse ‘best-looks’ for public speeches

London: A collection of Adolf Hitler‘s private photographs showing the Nazi leader in a series of bizarre poses to rehearse his public speeches has been released.

Taken by his personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann, the album features black and white images of Hitler using expressive hand gestures and unusual poses. In one, he is seen raising his fist in the air while in another, he appears to be pointing to an imaginary audience. He is also seen leaning against a tree wearing lederhosen, the Telegraph reported. The photographs, taken in the late 1920s to show the dictator how he appeared to the German public, were later banned from being published by Hitler for being “beneath one’s dignity”. But they were published in Hoffmann’s memoirs entitled Hitler was my Friend in the 1950s, which have now been re-issued in English. Historian Roger Moorhouse, who wrote the introduction to the new book, said: “It makes perfect sense that he would be doing this. “We have this image now of Hitler almost as a buffoon, but he had a lot of charisma and his speeches made people sincerely believe he would lead them back to greatness. “He was an absolutely spellbinding public speaker and these pictures show that it was something he worked very hard on,” he stated. The nine photographs were vetted by Hitler, who used them to decide how to address crowds. After seeing one in which he wore an SA cap, he ditched the hat and never wore it again. ANI