Remarkable group of pages from the guest book of Reichsleiter Philipp Bouhler, taken as a souvenir by a young Philadelphia major while overseas with the Seventh Army and later displayed in a Philadelphia museum. The pages, each measuring 9.25 x 12.75, are signed by an assortment of major Nazi officials and their family members, with dates from 1937 to 1939. One page features a rare inscription and signature by Hitler, (translated), "With hearty greetings and best wishes, Adolf Hitler, 23 May 1939," and is signed below by his aides-de-camp Wilhelm Bruckner, Sepp Dietrich, and Karl Brandt. Signatures on the other pages include: Joachim von Ribbentrop, Annele Ribbentrop, Baldur von Schirach, Emma M. von Schirach, Hans Frank, Brigitte Frank, Hans-Heinrich Dieckhoff, Eva Dieckhoff, Joseph Goebbels, Magda Goebbels, Viktor Lutze, Paule Lutze, Walter Darre, Charlotte Darre, Heinrich Himmler, Marga Himmler, Gudrun Himmler, and Gerhard Himmler. Number strips associated with the museum exhibit are affixed to a few of the sheets, and accompanying descriptive cards are included. In overall very good to fine condition, with small splits along horizontal folds, and edge paper loss to the Hitler sheet not affecting any of the signatures. Accompanied by a newspaper clipping describing the pages of Bouhler's guest book in an article which was syndicated throughout the United States; one of the exhibit cards describes a signed photo of Hitler (no longer present) that was mutilated by a displaced Polish person who came upon it in the American soldier's office. Provenance: Swann Galleries, 1984.
Major Charles W. Sudlow 'liberated' these guest book pages from the home of Reichsleiter Philipp Bouhler when his anti-aircraft artillery brigade requisitioned Bouhler's home in South Germany as a command post just before V-E Day. Bouhler was both a Reichsleiter and Chief of the Chancellery of the Fuhrer of the NSDAP, and he oversaw some of the greatest atrocities committed by the Nazi regime. After being arrested by American troops in May 1945, he committed suicide. These pages from his guest book offer a rare compilation of autographs from the leadership of the Nazi Party, along with their wives and children.
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