Konrad Kujau's Hitler Diaries

Konrad Kujau

On June 27, 1938, the Kujau family of Löbau, Germany, welcomed the birth of their first and last son whom they named Konrad. The third of five children, Konrad was raised in a modest middleclass household headed by his father who was a shoemaker and active supporter of Adolf Hitler.

Little information is known about Konrad's childhood except that when Konrad was six, his father died and from then on his family faced financial hardship. According to Robert Harris' Selling Hitler, the lack of money became so insufferable that Konrad's mother was forced to send her son and four daughters to live at various orphanages. It was all she could do to ensure that they would be fed, schooled and given a proper upbringing.

At the time, Konrad was a delightful young boy who showed promise. He was intelligent, creative and demonstrated advanced artistic ability. One of his favorite pastimes was sketching Germany's then ex-Chancellor Adolf Hitler, who was his most favorite and revered boyhood hero. Little did his superiors know that the young boy's intense interest in the Fuehrer, coupled with his other talents, would propel him into the spotlight and gain him worldwide recognition years later.

Konrad was successful in school, yet there are conflicting accounts concerning whether he finished his studies or not. Some reports suggested that he dropped out of school in his mid-teens. Yet, Konrad often boasted that he not only completed a high school education but went on to attend the Dresden Academy of Art until he was 18. He claimed to have discontinued with his studies due to a lack of funds and was then forced to seek out work.

After Konrad dropped out of school, he worked a series of jobs, including locksmith, window washer and waiter; but none of his positions lasted long. In June 1957, he moved from East Germany to the suburbs of Stuttgart where he began a life of crime. Over the years, he was arrested on various charges ranging from theft and burglary to brawling in public.

His crimes were usually petty and warranted only a brief period in the local jail. His longest sentence, for theft, lasted approximately 8 months. However, in 1963, Konrad embarked on a new phase in his criminal career: forgery.