Ernst Hanfstaengl
A Harvard-educated confidant of Hitler who later turned informant for the United States, living a life of bizarre political duality.
1887–1975 (age 88)·German American businessman·Birthday: February 2·The Lost Generation
Biography
Ernst Hanfstaengl's life reads like a dark, picaresque novel of the 20th century. The son of a wealthy German art publisher and an American mother, he was a towering, eccentric figure who moved between the elite circles of Harvard University and the beer halls of Munich. His initial fascination with Adolf Hitler led him to become one of the Nazi leader's early foreign press secretaries and a frequent presence at his side, even using his skills as a pianist to soothe Hitler's moods. However, Hanfstaengl's partial outsider status—his American connections and sometimes flippant manner—eventually bred suspicion. After a falling out, he fled Germany, fearing for his life. In a remarkable second act, he offered his intimate knowledge of the Nazi hierarchy to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, becoming a paid advisor who analyzed propaganda and suggested psychological tactics against his former comrades. His story is one of profound irony: a man who helped cultivate Hitler's early image later dedicated himself to undermining it.
The Lost Generation
1883–1900
Came of age during World War I. Disillusioned by the carnage, they rejected the certainties of the Victorian era and built modernism from the wreckage — in art, literature, and politics.
Ernst was born in 1887, placing them squarely in The Lost Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Ernst Was Born
The biggest hits of 1887
Ernst's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1887Born
President: Grover Cleveland
1892Started school
President: Benjamin Harrison
1900Became a teenager
Boxer Rebellion in China
President: William McKinley
1903Could drive
Wright brothers achieve first powered flight
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1905Could vote
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1908Turned 21
Ford Model T goes into production
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1917Turned 30
Russian Revolution overthrows the tsar; US enters WWI
President: Woodrow Wilson
1927Turned 40
Lindbergh flies solo across the Atlantic; The Jazz Singer premieres
President: Calvin Coolidge"My Blue Heaven" — Gene Austin
1937Turned 50
Hindenburg disaster; Golden Gate Bridge opens
Gas: $0.20/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"A-Tisket, A-Tasket" — Ella FitzgeraldBest Picture: The Life of Emile Zola
1947Turned 60
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1957Turned 70
Sputnik launches the Space Age
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $10,550Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"All Shook Up" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: The Bridge on the River Kwai
1967Turned 80
Summer of Love in San Francisco; first Super Bowl
Gas: $0.33/galHome: $14,250Min wage: $1.40/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"To Sir, with Love" — LuluBest Picture: In the Heat of the Night
1975Died at 88
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Key Achievements
- Served as the foreign press secretary for the Nazi Party in its rise to power during the 1920s and early 1930s.
- Acted as a personal advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt on Nazi psychology and propaganda during World War II.
- Authored the memoir 'Hitler: The Missing Years', providing an insider account of the dictator's inner circle.
- Used his family's art reproduction business to help finance the early Nazi movement.
Did You Know?
He was a classmate of future U.S. poet T.S. Eliot at Harvard University.
Hanfstaengl was briefly engaged to the avant-garde American writer and artist Djuna Barnes.
He claimed to have suggested the chant 'Sieg Heil' to the Nazis, inspired by Harvard football cheers.
His nickname, 'Putzi', was a childhood moniker meaning 'little fellow' in Bavarian dialect.
“I introduced him to Harvard, and he introduced me to the abyss.”
