Josef Greiner
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Josef Greiner (28 June 1886 in
Preding Preding is a municipality in the district of Deutschlandsberg in the Austrian state of Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area ...
,
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
— 4 September 1971 in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
) was an
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n writer. He supposedly knew
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
during Hitler's time in
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
and later published two memoirs on this topic, for which he is best known.


Biography

Josef Greiner was born in
Styria Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
in 1886. He moved to
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
around 1908 and earned his living through various jobs, including as a sign painter, and as a
lamplighter A lamplighter is a person employed to light and maintain candle or, later, gas street lights. Very few exist today as most gas street lighting has long been replaced by electric lamps. Function Lights were lit each evening, generally by means ...
for a
cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
. He lived in the
Meldemannstraße dormitory The men's dormitory on Meldemannstraße 27 in Brigittenau district, Vienna, Austria was a public dormitory for men (''Männerwohnheim'') from 1905 to 2003. It is a subject of public interest primarily because it was the residence of Adolf Hitler, ...
from January to April 1910; it was during this period that he first became acquainted with
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
, who moved into the dormitory in February 1910 and stayed until 1913. According to an essay by Reinhold Hanisch published posthumously in ''
The New Republic ''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
'' in 1939, during this period Greiner and Hitler at one point worked together in a job that involved filling old tin cans with paint and then going door to door to sell it. In 1938, Greiner published a
memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobi ...
entitled ''Sein Kampf und Sieg. Eine Erinnerung an Adolf Hitler'' (''His Struggle and Victory: A Memoir of Adolf Hitler''). In it, he told of knowing Hitler during his time in the Meldemannstraße dormitory. He praised Hitler, calling him "Lord of
Ostmark Ostmark is a German term meaning either Eastern march when applied to territories or Eastern Mark when applied to currencies. Ostmark may refer to: *the medieval March of Austria and its predecessors ''Bavarian Eastern March'' and ''March of Pann ...
", a "genius", and a "messiah". Greiner sent copies of this book to Hitler,
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
, Joseph Goebbels, and
Hermann Göring Hermann Wilhelm Göring (or Goering; ; 12 January 1893 – 15 October 1946) was a German politician, military leader and convicted war criminal. He was one of the most powerful figures in the Nazi Party, which ruled Germany from 1933 to 1 ...
, saying that the book could be mass distributed and used as part of
Nazi propaganda The propaganda used by the German Nazi Party in the years leading up to and during Adolf Hitler's dictatorship of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 to 1945 was a crucial instrument for acquiring and maintaining power, and for the implementation o ...
; Greiner hoped that this would make him rich. He also touted himself as a successful businessman who would be an ideal choice to head the Reich Economics Ministry. Instead, Hitler ordered the publisher to pulp the book. In the
Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
files of the time, Greiner is referred to as an "
extortionist Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
" and Greiner's repeated attempts to join the Nazi Party, beginning in May 1938, were rejected. After
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the downfall of the
Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, Greiner took advantage of his rejection by the Nazis to portray himself as a resistance fighter. In 1947, he published ''Das Ende des Hitler-Mythos'' (''The End of the Hitler Myth''). Greiner sent a copy of this book to Joseph Stalin, offering his services to facilitate Soviet-German economic relations.


Greiner's Claims About Hitler

''The End of the Hitler Myth'' contains several demonstrable errors about Hitler's life. For example, Greiner places Hitler in Vienna in 1907-1908, at which time Hitler was still living in
Linz Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846. In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
. He tells several stories about Hitler's
anti-Semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
behavior at this time, including a story that he tormented one
Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...
Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
with
stink bugs Stink bug or stinkbug is a common name for several insects and may refer to: * Any of several bugs in the true bug (hemipteran) family Pentatomidae **''Halyomorpha halys'', or brown marmorated stink bug **''Chinavia hilaris'', or green stink bug * ...
and by giving children "
Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
chocolate" to induce them to torment their Jewish playmate as a "filthy Jew". Greiner also claims that at one point Hitler attempted to
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
one of his
models A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...
(although Hitler in fact never painted people during his time in Vienna). He also claims that Hitler contracted
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, an ...
from a
Leopoldstadt Leopoldstadt (; bar, Leopoidstod, "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal district of Vienna (german: 2. Bezirk) in Austria. there are 103,233 inhabitants over . It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau (20th distr ...
prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...
. He also claimed that in 1945, Hitler did not
commit suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...
, but instead fled from
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
in an airplane. Greiner's claims to have been a heroic leader of the
Austrian resistance The Austrian resistance launched in response to the rise in fascism across Europe and, more specifically, to the Anschluss in 1938 and resulting occupation of Austria by Germany. An estimated 100,000 people were reported to have participated i ...
also appear implausible.


The Evaluation of Greiner's Writings as an Historical Source

In 1956,
Franz Jetzinger Franz Jetzinger (3 December 1882 in Ranshofen in Upper Austria – 19 March 1965 in Ottensheim in Upper Austria) was an Austrian clergyman, academic, politician, civil servant, editor and author. He remains especially famous as author of the book ...
dismissed Greiner's claims as "palpable lies".
Robert G. L. Waite Robert George Leeson Waite (February 18, 1919 – October 4, 1999) was a Canadian historian, psychohistorian, and the Brown Professor of History (1949–1988) at Williams College who specialized in the Nazi movement, particularly Adolf Hitler ...
concludes that Greiner could not have known Hitler, and speculates that the reason why so many historians have been willing to accept Greiner's work as legitimate is because a man named Greiner is mentioned as a companion of Hitler by Reinhold Hanisch. The English-language version of ''
Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler ''Shigeru Mizuki's Hitler'', originally titled , is a manga by Shigeru Mizuki about the life of Adolf Hitler. In 1971 it began serialization in ''Weekly Manga Sunday''. In November 2015, it was published in English by Drawn & Quarterly, translated ...
'' stated in its notes section that " reiner'sbooks have been dismissed as easily disproved lies and self-aggrandizement." - Note: Page 293 is shown at place 294 of 316 on the Internet Archive


References

This page is based on this page on
German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia (german: Deutschsprachige Wikipedia) is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on March 16, 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia (after the English Wikipedia), ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Greiner, Josef 1886 births 1971 deaths Works about Adolf Hitler