The Normality of Terror: the Heinrich and Margarete Himmler Correspondence

After decades in which the correspondence was presumed to be lost, the private letters sent between Margarete and Heinrich Himmler have re-emerged and been published. The letters cover the period from 1928, when the pair first met, until April 1945. They expose the imperturbability of a German married couple who believed themselves to be taking part in an historic mission, seemingly incapable of recognising the enormity of their crimes. Historian and academic Professor Michael Wildt, who has worked closely with the letters, believes they are in no sense harmless and banal. Although genocide only emerges from the letters by insinuation, it does so in the language of petty-bourgeois hatred and violence toward Jews. As such they offer an unparalleled glimpse into the mentality of the most notorious and important perpetrators of the Holocaust. Two days after the lecture, there will be a special non-commercial film screening at JW3 cinema, showing 'The Decent One', a documentary film based on the Himmler correspondence, directed by Vanessa Lapa.

Suitable for
18+

Admission
free but booking essential as space is limited

Website
http://www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/Whats-On?item=159

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk//am52233?id=EVENT503137