was he or wasn't he?--The Mr. Grover Appreciation Writeoff
Written: Aug 28 '05 (Updated Mar 10 '06)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Prof. Machtan presents lots of evidence
Cons: it's all circumstantial
The Bottom Line: doesn't prove his point, though I must admit, Adolf's window treatments are looking pretty splendiferous
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| jkkelley's Full Review: Lothar Machtan - The Hidden Hitler |
In The Hidden Hitler, Lothar Machtan, a German professor of history, assembles the evidence for Adolf Hitler's homosexuality. As I was telling our host, my good friend eplovejoy: "Man, gay people just cannot catch a break. Like they'd want to claim this character?"
The author tells Hitler's life story, as best it is known, from early youth to the start of WWII. He lacks one thing: an explicit piece of evidence, a single piece, proving that Adolf Hitler ever engaged in homosexual intercourse. He does document, at length, that Hitler:
1) Hung out mainly with males;
2) Did his level best to quash rumours of his homosexuality;
3) Never quite succeeded in the above;
4) Resorted to increasingly more intimidating methods in the quashing process;
5) Launched heavy persecution against gay people after he came to power;
6) Purged his strong-arm personal militia, which was indubitably gay-dominated.
None of the above prove that Hitler was either a closeted or open homosexual. They are enough to make one wonder.
He could have been gay at heart, but never acted on it; that would explain some of the intense personal anger he unleashed in his lifetime. I've long suspected that a significant percentage of wife abuse stems from closeted homosexual inclinations, because as soon as most young boys learn there is such a thing as homosexuality, they learn that it would be the absolute worst social stigma they could endure. I believe that many simply 'clamp down' on it at early ages, with all the singleminded resolve of which the male gender is capable, battling to live heterosexual lives and hating every second of it. Even if they don't end up on the down low, the nearest target is the unfortunate woman whom society dictates that they should desire, marry and have sex with.
Was Eva Braun his beard? Perhaps so. Had Hitler wished to spend his every waking hour as a satyr, he could have; he got a steady flow of literary stripteases, offers of fruitful Aryan wombs, and general paeans from the women of Germany. One wonders if he might not have been asexual; he was certainly an ascetic of the first order, a vegetarian and abstainer. In a different and happier world, one suspects, he would have lived out a quiet and sedate life in some monastery.
If Adolf was in fact gay, he probably knew it from early youth; Machtan can shed no light on this question. Naturally, of course, for if young Hitler in fact crushed early homosexual desire as ruthlessly as he would one day crush the magnificent, forlorn Polish defenses, he would be the only witness, and obviously silent on the topic. From these days of Hitler's life would likely come the best evidence one way or the other, but Machtan doesn't provide it. Maybe there is none; maybe all those who might have shared it took it to their graves. Maybe it was destroyed. I don't fault him for failing to find it; I do fault him for glossing over the discussion.
Of course, had Machtan admitted that he had found no such evidence, it would have exposed a significant weakness in his presentation: the book is a conclusion in search of elusive proof. A professor of history really should know better. A more objective approach would have sought as hard for evidence of Hitler's heterosexuality and asexuality as his homosexuality, evaluated it all, and presented a reasonable conclusion. In The Hidden Hitler, there's very little discussion of Hitler's heterosexuality, little effort shown to discover it. Maybe there's no evidence for that, either. We don't know, and we don't learn from Machtan.
The big enchiladas in Prof. Machtan's body of evidence are the stories of several men who either tried to blackmail or 'out' Hitler, during or after his life. What I don't see is a sufficiently critical analysis of these men's credibilities, and that's unfortunate. Many people would have had motive to blackmail or embarrass Adolf Hitler. This is a book of history, or at least is intended as such, not a court of law. However, were the story a court hearing on Hitler's homosexuality, I think any competent defense counsel could perforate the credibility of Machtan's witnesses. At the very least, the doubt would go well beyond 'reasonable doubt.'
In the end, I don't think Professor Machtan proves his point. The mystery is not solved, and I doubt it will ever be. On the back cover, the blurb finishes with: 'Anyone who has read a previous biography of Adolf Hitler will read The Hidden Hitler and wonder, "How could they have missed entirely the homosexuality of Hitler and his entourage?"'
I might rejoin: "The homosexuality of his entourage isn't really in question, but a bunch of circumstantial evidence does not a proof make."
The thing most straight readers may forget--but I'll bet you the gay readers don't--is the underlying assumption the book and its reviewers tend to promote: that Hitler being gay would be a reason to look down on him. One apoplectic but articulate Amazon reviewer called this book 'filth,' which is silly; it contains no graphic sex, to say nothing of the obvious homophobia inherent in calling a book about homosexuality 'filth' to begin with. The question we should be asking is not whether Hitler was gay. We should rather ask, even as we remember that Hitler's true negatives are so tragically well documented: "Why would anyone consider homosexuality such a horrible negative about him, or indeed about anyone?" A hypocrisy, certainly, given his pink triangle persecutions--but a reason to despise him?
As if we didn't have a perfectly adequate supply of those without visiting his bedroom.
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This review is dedicated to Mr. Ed Grover, a warm, caring, wonderful man who has given Epinions much great writing and friendship. A perceptive, intelligent reviewer, Mr. Grover isn't feeling so well.
To that end, good reader, I ask a favour of you: rather than take energy to comment on this review, please direct that energy to two of Mr. Grover's, and leave him comments that will gladden these difficult days. You can give him a rare and special gift: the gift, in what may be the twilight of a long and meaningful lifetime, of letting him know that he has touched your life for the better.
Please don't doubt the value of this. To underscore that value, indulge me in a little story from my own recent life.
My mother's boyfriend, interestingly, was also named Ed and was also a Wisconsinite. He was a Vietnam veteran, a wonderful partner to a woman whose deceased husband--my father--had treated her abusively. Ed passed away earlier this year of bone and lung cancer. I called there one day to talk to her, in what proved to be Ed's last days. She suggested I talk to him, and I agreed, not really knowing what to say. I had the strong sense that it would be our last conversation, and I fumbled for how to handle it. I barely had time to remind myself: "No platitudes or soft-pedaling the reality."
I did the only thing I could think to do: I spoke from the heart. I told Ed that my mother was ten times healthier and happier now than she had been before they met, and that I attributed much of her healing and growth to his kindness. I remembered what she had been like growing up, a neurotic wreck, and there was no question in my mind that her transformation was a direct result of the healthy environment Ed had done his all to give her. All the good she would do for the rest of her life would be a tribute to his love, patience and caring, and that I for one would never forget it or him to the end of my days. I told him that his name would be spoken in honour in my home forever, the legacy of a fine and gallant man who brought my mother tremendous joy. I thanked him for all his kind deeds for her, and we said goodbye.
Ed Kotthaus passed away about a week later, but not before my mother told me the following: our conversation had given Ed a glimmer of real joy through all his pain. It had given him peace, a sense that his life had truly meant something. For a former alcoholic who couldn't tell me what he did in Vietnam because he spent the whole time so doped up he couldn't remember a damn thing, that was something. Now that he's gone, I'm so glad I did.
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Edit: as of 2/2006, Mr. Grover has passed on. Thanks to all who took the time to connect with this wonderful man and brighten his last days. But most of all, Mr. Grover, thank you for being our friend. I'll always remember you as a delightful combination of valiant, feisty and good-humoured: you met a hard end with the dignity and character with which you lived life.
A raise of the glass, and a clink of it: absent companions.
Recommended:
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jkkelley
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Location: Ana-Tolia
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Farewell, Mr. Grover.
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