#unity mitford

ft. Unity, Jessica and Nancy Mitford (played by Sharon Horgan, Samantha Spiro and Sophie Ellis-Bextor respectively), as well as Rebecca Front as The Therapist

I won't mince words: the fact that this diary was apparently "discovered" by The Daily Mail of all publications already makes me very wary. I wouldn't trust that rag to accurately report the time of day.

In addition to that, have we all forgotten about The Hitler Diaries and The Private Life of Adolf Hitler: The Intimate Notes and Diary of Eva Braun, both of which were published forgeries? Newspapers don't have the best track record when it comes to posthumously discovered diaries.

However, let's assume authenticity and meet this argument on its own terms. Let's say he did spend some time alone with her. Why does that equate to him sleeping with her? Hitler also spent time alone with Leni Riefenstahl and Magda Goebbels and Anni Winter (and probably Gerdy Troost?), and he didn't have sexual relationships with them.

I cannot believe I'm saying this, but: maybe give Hitler a slight presumption of innocence. Just because he's alone with a pretty woman does not mean he's having sex with her. I'm sure there were reasons beyond "He was never alone with other women" upon which the people around him based their testimonies of his fidelity to Eva. People seem to assume (with good reason, I'll admit) that Hitler had absolutely no principles whatsoever due to the crimes he committed and his other reprehensible moral failings.

Personally, I do think he held himself to a standard. He wasn't totally void of self-control, or consideration for others such as his secretaries or his Old Guard buddies. Why wouldn't this same sense of consideration also apply to his girlfriend?

I also think an affair with Unity simply wouldn't have been practical or beneficial to him beyond what a friendship with her was already providing.

Here's the scenario that I think is far more likely than the two of them having an affair (and members of his inner circle agree with this): We all know Hitler was wont to monologue people's ears off. And I'm sure he enjoyed that this pretty, well-connected woman would sit and stare at him, all quiet and doe-eyed, nodding in agreement with everything he said and then later parroting it all back as if he was speaking pure gospel. Especially when she was someone whom he considered to be of potential political value concerning his desire to make diplomatic inroads with England.

He was eternally getting frustrated with Great Britain's unwillingness to make an alliance with him. This was both a personal affront and a practical problem for him. And here was Unity, a member of the British aristocracy, someone Hitler assumed might have influence with those in power; confirming to him that all of his thoughts on the matter of Germany and England were correct, and how horrible it was that England should be refusing to work with him!

Obviously I don't know what details are contained within the book since it isn't out yet. But the news coverage at this point hasn't made any claims that any of her diary entries explicitly hint at or describe a sexual relationship between the two of them.

And don't forget, diaries are usually a reflection of our own thoughts and subjective interpretations. Sometimes we think people are more interested in us than they actually are, or have more serious intentions than they really do, especially if we're already emotionally invested.

In fact, Hitler himself complained about this, specifically in regards to Unity:

Unity’s attempted suicide made a profound impression on Hitler. Shortly after this tragic event he said to me, in a most unhappy tone: ‘You know, Hoffmann, I’m beginning to be frightened of women! Whenever I happen to show a little personal interest – by a look or by paying some little compliment – it is always misinterpreted. I bring women no luck! And that’s a fact which repeats itself in a most unusual and fateful way throughout my life!’ (Hoffmann, Heinrich. Hitler Was My Friend. 166-67)

Despite his affinity for England and his desire to ally Germany with it, I also don't think he would have slept with her simply because she wasn't German. For him, humanity, at its core, was a life and death struggle between the races. Everything boiled down to blood and race. I think his intense racism and nationalism would have kept him from taking such a step, even with her. She was a pretty woman he hoped to use as a pawn to further his goals of foreign diplomacy.

The fact that unity mitford was conceived in a town called swastika is so insane to me.

Communist. Fascist. Duchess. Hitler’s girlfriend. These are just a few words that have been used to describe the six Mitford sisters, who spent much of the 1930s in the headlines, moving within affluent social circles and causing scandal at every turn. The women—Nancy, Pamela, Diana, Unity, Jessica, and Deborah—have recently recaptured the public’s imagination in BritBox’s new drama,…