Recently discovered journals of Unity Mitford, a British socialite, provide insights into her personal relationship with Adolf Hitler. The Daily Mail claims to have found the leather-bound diaries, which span from 1935 to 1939 and chronicle 139 meetings between Mitford and the Nazi leader.
Several historical experts have validated these documents as authentic, despite previous incidents of forged Hitler-related materials. The historian Andrew Roberts told the Daily Mail: “It is extremely rare in modern times for the diaries of a well-known figure of the Nazi movement to be discovered and published.”
In one entry from February 1935, Mitford writes about being invited to Hitler’s table at the Osteria Bavaria restaurant, describing it as “the most wonderful day of my life.” She notes that Hitler wrote on a postcard for her and that the waitress told her he had never invited anyone like that before.
The journals chronicle how the 20-year-old aristocrat actively pursued Hitler in Munich. The entries portray Unity, one of the notable Mitford sisters, as an antisemitic Nazi supporter who shared Hitler’s prejudices.
A significant entry from February 1935 describes her first personal encounter with Hitler at the Osteria Bavaria restaurant. She wrote: “Lunch Osteria 2.30. THE FUHRER comes 3.15 after I have finished lunch. After about 10 minutes he sends the Wirt [owner] TO ASK ME TO GO TO HIS TABLE.
“I go and sit next to him while he eats his lunch and we talk. THE MOST WONDERFUL DAY OF MY LIFE. He writes on a postcard for me. After he goes, Rosa [waitress] tells me he has never invited anyone like that before.”
Unity’s personal writings from 1935 to 1939 document 139 encounters with Hitler, the leader responsible for the Holocaust’s genocide of six million Jews.
Unity Mitford, an ardent Nazi supporter, regarded the dictator with religious reverence, consistently addressing him as ‘the Führer’ or using capitalised pronouns ‘He’ and ‘Him’.
At age 20, she relocated to Munich, deliberately pursuing the Nazi leader until she gained his attention, causing significant tension with Eva Braun, Hitler’s companion.
Her personal journal, bound in black leather and measuring 19cm x 12cm, reveals previously unknown details about her intimate relationships with prominent Nazi officials. This discovery prompts questions about possible intimate encounters with Hitler, who was significantly older than her.
‘The Fuhrer was heavenly… he is an angel.’ Her writings detail their developing relationship as she became integrated into the Nazi leadership’s inner circle before the war.
As Britain prepared for conflict, this London-born aristocrat, conceived in Swastika, Canada, witnessed events unfold from within Germany.
Her final diary entry dates September 1, 1939, coinciding with Germany’s invasion of Poland. Lord Redesdale’s daughter and Clementine Churchill’s cousin attempted suicide in Munich’s English Garden when war was declared. Though she survived with brain damage, she later died in Britain in 1948, aged 33.
After 86 years, these accounts are now public through Mail’s investigation, led by Literary Editor Sandra Parsons and Editor-at-Large Richard Kay.
The diary traces her transformation from an obsessive follower to Hitler’s confidante. Her February 9, 1935 entry, marking their first meeting, states: ‘The most wonderful day of my life.’
London-born Mitford became so integrated into Hitler’s close circle that it reportedly caused tension with Eva Braun, Hitler’s companion.
Mitford, born in London, managed to integrate herself into Hitler’s inner circle, reportedly causing jealousy from his lover, Eva Braun. Throughout the diaries, Mitford consistently refers to Hitler as “the Führer” and later describes him as “very sweet and gay.”
