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David Irving’s Relations with the German Federal Archives

Bundesarchiv and Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv

[All items are in German unless otherwise stated].

OVER the years from 1965 onwards David Irving donated to the German Federal Archives originals or copies of vital historical documents he had obtained during his researches. In July 1993, the ministry of the interior ordered him banned from the archives “in the interests of the German people”. Mr Irving asked for his documents back. 550 kilos of these documents were returned to him in England in 2003, but vital components were missing (e.g. the Canaris-Lahousen Fragments). In the real interests of the German people, Mr Irving continued to connect the BA with owners of original wartime documents, particularly of Adolf Hitler, Alfred Rosenberg, Hans Frank, and the SS. In 2003 the chief of the archives ordered this secret collaboration to end and instructed his officials to have no further contact with Mr Irving.

• 1967-1969 Mr Irving donated microfilm copies of diaries of Field Marshal Erhard Milch to Bundesarchiv
• Jul 1977: Refuting allegations by Gitta Sereny, Mr Irving writes to “The Sunday Times” about work he and his assistant Dr Elke Fröhlich did in Bundesarchiv for his book Hitler’s War
• 1978: At instance of Mr Irving, Bundesarchiv has the stenographic diary of Rudolf Brandt (Himmler’s ADC) expertly transcribed
• Feb 1978: Prof Eberhard Jäckel informs Mr Irving that the Bundesarchiv has now found and indexed the missing Schlegelberger Document | Kempner on this
• Sep 7, 1979: Bundesarchiv thanks David Irving for latest addition to his WWII Collection in the archives
• Eichmann’s handwritten comments on Höss memoirs
• Bundesarchiv agrees, 1986, that it is Eichmann’s handwriting and provides a sample of his handwriting from Mar 19, 1962
• Mar 1988: A tip from Mr Irving to Bundesarchiv leads to arrest of deputy director of the Berlin Document Center for theft of thousands of files
• May 1992: Mr Irving deposits his collection with Bundesarchiv, as requested [Radical’s diary]
• May 5, 1992: in closing speech to Munich court, Mr Irving recounts how for 30 years he has donated his files to Bundesarchiv (in German)
• July 1992: Mr Irving asked Bundesarchiv to authenticate sample pages of Goebbels Diaries he retrieved from Moscow (referred to in opening speech, Lipstadt Trial)
• Nov 1992: Mr Irving records in a speech that he gave the Eichmann papers to the Bundesarchiv even before he had had a chance to read them fully himself
• Jul 3, 1993: David Irving records in diary extraordinary meeting at which Bundesarchiv officials ban him from building
• Jul 19, 1993: David Irving reports in a circular letter that the BA has expelled him, and he is withdrawing his WWII Collection from the archives
• Dec 30, 1993: Mr Irving writes to “Die Zeit” about the ban imposed on him by Bundesarchiv
• Jan 18, 1994: David Irving demands back (with complete list) the documents he had deposited with the German Federal Archives — the Bundesarchiv

• Oct 1994: Instructs lawyer Dr K A R Schütz to act against Bundesarchiv to demand documents’ return
• Feb 1995: Again instructs lawyer Dr K A R Schütz as above
• Apr 1996: Mr Irving recounts details of dispute with Bundesarchiv, in letter to New York Times
• Jun 1996: Tina Rosenberg of The New York Times writes that the Bundesarchiv denies Mr Irving gave them missing Goebbels diaries from Moscow archives
• Mar 1998: Mr Irving recalls how he donated copies of the missing Himmler diaries 1935 and 1939 to the Bundesarchiv
• Apr 1998: Mr Irving offers to mediate with California owner Erich von B., to enable BA to acquire large quantity of original NS documents stolen from Nuremberg
• Email, David Irving an Dr W Lenz vom Bundesarchiv, 10. Juni 1998
• Jul 15, 1998: Bundesarchiv faxes willingness to buy files from B.
• Aug 1998: Mr Irving offers to mediate with US owners of original papers of Erich Kempka, William Rasmussen, Lina Heydrich, Paula Hitler, Hedwig Potthast
• Oct 1998: Mr Irving informs Bundesarchiv of High Court order giving Lipstadt access to documents of Sammlung Irving
• Nov 1998: Mr Irving informs Bundesarchiv that he will not accept a partial return of his collection
• Nov 1998: Dr Joel Hayward of New Zealand confirms he worked in same archives as Mr Irving including Bundesarchiv and cannot flaw his sources or methodology
• Jun 1999: Mr Irving tells Institut für Zeitgeschichte he has offered secret RSHA file on Hess, found in California, to Bundesarchiv
• Jan – Mar 2000: Frequent references to the Bundesarchiv in the transcripts of the 32 day libel action by David Irving against Deborah Lipstadt [e.g. Days 1, 7, 15, 16, 18, 26, 29, 31, 32]
• Feb 7, 2000: Mr Irving asks Bundesarchiv to supply copy of whole file containing the Mueller document of Aug 1, 1941 | But In closing speech, Mr Irving reports that Bundesarchiv has denied to him that Müller document of Aug 1, 1941 was in the file claimed by Lipstadt’s defence | and index | and speech
• Mar 2000: thousands of Eichmann papers found in Bundesarchiv outpost
• BA is referred to in Sources of Prof Christopher Browning Report at Lipstadt Trial
• BA is referred to in Sources of Prof Longerich Report at Lipstadt Trial
• Refuting a Bundesarchiv untruth, Mr Irving states he donated a set of the Goebbels Diaries he had obtained from the Moscow KGB archives to the Bundesarchiv on Jul 1, 1993 (shortly before being banned from the building)
• … and see David Irving’s witness statement in Lipstadt trial on this point
• Jun 2001: Bundesarchiv expresses keen interest in the Kempner files
• Jul 2001: Mr Irving sends samples of B. files to Bundesarchiv
• Aug 2001: Mr Irving sends list of B. files to Bundesarchiv
• Sep 2001: Mr Irving draws Bundesarchiv’s attention to Nachlass Rosenberg in papers of late Robert Kempner, purchased by salvage collector in Philadelphia
• Oct 18, 2001: Mr Irving writes to Bundesarchiv again about the B. files
• Oct 2001: a further letter in the Kempner files matter
• Jan 2002: Mr Irving writes to Bundesarchiv about B. and Kempner files
• Jan 2002: Mr Irving gives Bundesarchiv seven days to offer for B. files
• June 3, 2002: Bundesarchiv, in its fiftieth anniversary Press Release, smears David Irving
• March 2003: Bundesarchiv finally returns the Sammlung Irving to England (Radical’s Diary)
• Jun 2003: Mr Irving calls attention of Bundesarchiv to the Florida collection of Adolf Hitler documents
• Jun 25, 2003: Bundesarchiv president has ordered his officials to have no contact with Mr Irving
• Nov 2, 2003: Mr Irving sends to Bundesarchiv the US Govt court-ordered inventory of the Kempner papers, and his own listing made in Sept 2001
• A PASSAGE FROM THE MEMOIRS OF DAVID IRVING: 1993: Banned from the German Federal Archives – “In the Interests of the German People”

“Irving is a historisches Trüffelschwein,” groused the Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archives) in a press release after he donated the Adolf Eichmann papers to them in January 1992 — and the archives hinted darkly that he had “contacts to the political right wing” to thank for his good fortune in finding such nuggets.