Lord Dacre ( Hugh Trevor-Roper ) has died.

He most famous work was 'The Last Days of Hitler' which remains a brilliant piece of research and intelligence work carried out 'in the field' under great pressure. It remains the framework for all subsequent 'Fuhrerbunker' literature.

The tragedy ? Every newspaper has headlined his obituary 'Historian Who Was Hoaxed Over The Hitler Diaries'.

When he realised his error and tried to explain at a press conference, he was memorably and famously described as ' a Victorian gentleman trying to pedal backwards on a Penny-Farthing whilst trying to retain some dignity '. Poor Trevor-Roper ! So this is his most lasting legacy - the world of academics is cruel indeed.....

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Wow...to be honest...I thought he had died already. Shame on me!

I was fascinated by his Last Days of Hitler. Was the tragedy about that he said that those diaries of Hitler were genuine, while it turned out later that some German memorabilia collector/seller (or something like that) had spent many an hour writing them himself? All this happened halfway through the eighties, right?

Very sorry to hear of his loss. Thanks for letting us know, Martin.

__________________
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson

'On April Fool's Day, 1983, the distinguished historian, Hugh Trevor-Roper ( Lord Dacre ), received a telephone call from The Times . Would he, they asked, authenticate a remarkable offer from the German magazine Stern - the private diaries of Adolf Hitler ?

It was to be the most expensive and sensational fraud in the history of publishing....'

So begins the hilarious account of the 'Hitler Diaries Affair' - Selling Hitler by Robert Harris.

Basically, the gentlemanly Trevor-Roper was placed under great pressure and virtually hoodwinked by Rupert Murdoch ( owner of The Sunday Times and The Times - and definitely not gentlemanly ).

At his 'back pedalling' press conference, Trevor-Roper said :
'As a historian, I regret that the, er, normal method of historical verification, er, has, perhaps necessarily, been to some extent sacrificed to the requirements of a journalistic scoop'.

When told of this, Murdoch replied with an order which has entered Fleet Street legend :

' F*ck Dacre ! Publish ! '

If ever you feel like some light relief from serious WWII history, I highly recommend Harris' book. It is very funny indeed and, incredibly, it's all true ....

[ 27. January 2003, 11:34 AM: Message edited by: Martin Bull ]

__________________
"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

On April Fool's day no less....

Thanks for that Martin, will look out for that book.

__________________
"Facts are meaningless. You could use facts to prove anything that's even remotely true!" - Homer Simpson