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This rare Third Reich award set of 12 Nazi Heinrich Hoffmann photo books on Adolf Hitler is **SOLD**.

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Richard Walther Darré was the Reichsminister für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft (Minister of Nutrition and Agriculture) from 30 June 1933 until 23 May 1942 and held the honorary rank of General in the SS. He was responsible for all agricultural agencies from Blut und Boden to animal breeding, bee keeping, etc. His job was very important because it involved feeding a nation of over 80 million people and an Army and Navy at war.

It is interesting that Darré selected a series of twelve Heinrich Hoffmann photo studies of the life of Adolf Hitler, and Hitler's impact on the history and people of Germany to be boxed in a presentation case and given as the Honor Prize for "Superb Achievement in the Field of Animal Breeding."

The books are in exceptional condition, probably never read. There are no pages torn or stuck together and the bindings are tight as new. The dust jackets are all complete and in very good condition but have some abrasions here and there from rubbing together while being transported. That wear is quite minimal and we have tried to show it as accurately as possible in our photos. One book, Hitler befreit Sudetenland, has a dust jacket that was varnished at the time it was printed (a common practice to make the paper shiny) that is darkened somewhat with age. These books were all printed on high-quality paper so the black & white photos are in excellent condition.

The case for these books appears to have been professionally re-taped at some point, and the bottom panel of the box is a replacement. There is a name hand-written in ink in the upper right corner of the front panel of the box (above the right wing of the eagle and swastika).

In our experience this cased set of Heinrich Hoffmann Bildbänder is unique, and as a prize from a well-known Reichsminister, it is certainly a very desirable collectible. The books themselves, as a set printed probably in 1941 or 1942, should appeal to any collector because of their wonderful condition and the fact that they are all from what might have been the last edition. We offer them to a serious collector of Hoffmann / Hitler material for around the value of the books themselves.

Heinrich Hoffmann was born 12 September 1885 in the town of Fürth, just outside of Nürnberg. He was trained in photography by his father and his uncle who were both well known photographers in the highest circles of German royal society. He worked under Hugo Thiele, the court photographer of the Grand Duke of Hesse in Darmstadt, for Langbein in Heidelberg and Theobald in Frankfurt aM. After moving to London he published art books in addition to his work as a photographer. In 1910 Hoffmann returned to Germany and opened his own studio in München (Munich). He was very successful, and during the First World War he served as a photographer in the Bavarian Army. In 1919 he published his first photo book in Germany; the same year he met Hitler. Hoffmann joined the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (National Socialist German Worker Party, NSDAP or Nazi Party) in 1920, was quickly admitted to the inner circle and became a confidant of Adolf Hitler.

Upon Hitler’s release from incarceration in Landsberg Prison in 1924 Hoffmann became his personal photographer. He alone was franchised to make and sell pictures of the Führer. By 1929 Hoffmann had opened branch offices in Berlin, Wien (Vienna), Frankfurt aM, Paris and Den Haag (The Hague), and hired a new shop assistant, a woman who was to dramatically effect his future. She was Eva Anna Paula Braun, the 17 year old daughter of a München school teacher.

When Hitler succeeded to the office of Reichschancellor in January 1933, Hoffmann’s fortunes took another positive turn. He then published his most successful book, Hitler wie ihn keiner kennt (The Hitler Nobody Knows) which made him very wealthy. It was followed over the next few years by many other books including the two from which this book was produced. Hoffmann was a close friend of Wilhelm Ohnesorge who became Minister of the Post (Postmaster) under Hitler. With his knowledge of book and photographic royalties, Hoffmann worked with Ohnesorge to establish the system by which Hitler was paid a royalty for each time his likeness was used on a German stamp. Hoffmann’s daughter Henny (Henriëtte) married Hitler Youth Leader Baldur von Schirach, which further served to weave the Hoffmann family into the fabric of upper-class Nazi society. In 1938 Hitler appointed Hoffmann “Professor” out of respect for his craft and his artistic sense.

It was Hoffmann who preselected works of art which were to be displayed at annual exhibitions at the Haus der Deutschen Kunst (House of German Art) in München. In 1940 Hoffmann was elected to the Reichstag from the district of Düsseldorf-East. The series of photographs and books which Heinrich Hoffmann produced and sold while he was Hitler’s official photographer had made him wealthy, and the most sought-after photographer of the Third Reich. Hoffmann was jailed by the Allies at the end of World War II and tried as a Nazi “profiteer” in 1947. The court sentenced him to 10 years in prison (later reduced to 3 years, then increased to 5 years) and confiscated nearly all of his personal fortune. He died in München on 16 December 1957.