A shocking historical discovery has directly linked Adolf Hitler to the systematic looting carried out by his Nazi regime, revealing how he personally rewarded a loyal and brutal henchman with stolen goods.
The Paper Trail of Plunder
Newly uncovered letters and Christmas cards, found within a 75-page leather-bound diary, show the German dictator sending annual gifts to Otto Telschow, a fanatical regional Nazi leader, from 1941 to 1944. The documents, recently purchased by the Lüneburg City Archive for £6,000 after surfacing at a US auction, have been authenticated by experts who examined the paper, binding, ink, and handwriting.
In his notes, Hitler openly boasted that the presents came from plundered resources. In 1941, he sent Telschow a package of coffee, writing that it was from "the remains of a larger shipment that was donated to me from abroad." At the time, coffee was virtually unobtainable for ordinary German citizens.
The pattern continued. In both 1942 and 1943, Hitler's notes were almost identical, stating the gifts consisted of items "made available to me from abroad and from the occupied territories." Even in 1944, as Germany faced certain defeat, Hitler dispatched a final Christmas parcel, referring to "whatever I had left over."
The Brutal Enforcer on the Ground
The recipient of this loot was no ordinary official. Otto Telschow was the Gauleiter of Ost-Hannover, a powerful Nazi regional boss who ruled his area with an iron fist from 1930 until April 1945. His diary, which he began in March 1941 aged 65, details his diligent execution of orders and meetings with Hitler.
One entry even notes a minor injury to the Führer: "The Führer greeted us with his left hand, as his right is still swollen. But when he speaks, he is the same as always." Telschow was a committed National Socialist who freely used his authority to crush enemies, driving antisemitic persecution, repression, and forced labour in his region.
Unlike infamous figures like Goebbels or Himmler, Telschow represents the typical fanatical regional enforcer, largely unknown outside his domain but essential to implementing Nazi terror locally. He died in 1945, days after a failed suicide attempt.
Why This Discovery Matters
The significance of this find lies in its stark clarity. These are not vague orders but personal, written evidence of Hitler repeatedly and knowingly rewarding a known extremist with the spoils of conquest. It shows that the Nazi machinery of crime was fuelled not only by top-tier leadership but by a network of regional bosses whose brutality was quietly sanctioned and encouraged by the dictator himself.
The diary and its enclosed letters provide a chillingly direct paper trail, connecting the highest level of the regime to the concrete atrocities carried out across occupied Europe, all underscored by a grotesque annual tradition of stolen Christmas gifts.
