The Hitler Diaries

<p>The <strong>Hitler Diaries</strong> (<a title= "German language" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_language">German</a>: <em lang="de" xml:lang="de">Hitler-Tagebücher</em>) were a series of sixty volumes of journals purportedly written by <a title= "Adolf Hitler" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>, but forged by <a title="Konrad Kujau" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Kujau">Konrad Kujau</a> between 1981 and 1983. The diaries were purchased in 1983 for 9.3 million <a title="Deutsche Mark" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsche_Mark">Deutsche Marks</a> (£2.33 million or $3.7 million) by the West German news magazine <em><a title="Stern (magazine)" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stern_(magazine)">Stern</a></em>, which sold serialisation rights to several news organisations. One of the publications involved was <em><a title= "The Sunday Times" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sunday_Times">The Sunday Times</a></em>, who asked their independent director, the historian <a title="Hugh Trevor-Roper" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugh_Trevor-Roper">Hugh Trevor-Roper</a>, to authenticate the diaries; he did so, pronouncing them genuine. At the press conference to announce the publication, Trevor-Roper announced that on reflection he had changed his mind, and other historians also raised questions concerning their validity. Rigorous forensic analysis, which had not been performed previously, quickly confirmed that the diaries were fakes.</p>