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Heinrich Hoffman

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Photographer

The Resume

    (September 12, 1885-December 15, 1957)
    Born in Furth, Germany
    Official photographer of Adolf Hitler
    Took an estimated 2.5 million photos of Hitler
    Published the photo books 'The Hitler Nobody Knows' (1933), 'Youth Around Hitler' (1934), 'Hitler in Italy' (1938), 'The Face of the Fuhrer' (1940), and 'With Hitler in the West' (1940)
    Wrote the memoir 'Hitler Was My Friend' (1955)
    Father-in-law of Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach
    Imprisoned for four years for war profiteering (1946-50)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was an early member of the Nazi Party, joining in 1920.
    He actively collaborated with Hitler in burnishing his public image.
    He made himself and Hitler multimillionaires by arguing that they deserved royalties for Hitler's image being used on postage stamps.
    When he accompanied Foreign Minster Joachim von Ribbentrop to Moscow during the negotiating of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact (1939), Hitler asked him to take some close-up photos of Josef Stalin's earlobes, by which the Fuhrer believed he could determine if the Soviet leader was Jewish. (Conclusion: Stalin did not have attached earlobes, satisfying Hitler that he was not Jewish.)
    He looted artworks from museums in occupied countries and from collections left behind by Jews who had fled Europe, with one analysis calling him one of 'the greatest parasites of the Hitler plague.'

Why he might not be annoying:

    He tried to make up for Hitler's failure to match the tall and blonde Aryan ideal by focusing on his 'hypnotic' gaze.
    Hitler considered Hoffman's home in Munich one of the few places he could relax from the pressures of politics.
    He introduced his studio assistant Eva Braun to Hitler. (Although, considering how that relationship ended, maybe this should be in the 'Annoying' section instead.)
    His photo archives were seized by the United States after World War II.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying