Museum Public Programs in New York to Feature Diary of Nazi Ideologue

NEW YORK, NY—The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum presents “Inside the Mind of a Nazi Perpetrator: The Search for the Rosenberg Diary” on Wednesday, September 10, and on Wednesday, October 1, at 7 p.m. at the Academy Theater at Lighthouse International on 111 East 59th Street. 

Alfred Rosenberg's ideas, writings, and speeches became a formative part of Nazi ideology and the pursuit of Lebensraum, or living space, for the German people. After a relentless 17-year search for Rosenberg's diary, the Museum shares the significance of this recent acquisition to its permanent collection by taking individuals into the mind of a major Nazi ideologue. Rosenberg was a close confidant of Adolf Hitler and instrumental in the "Final Solution.” The diary consists of more than 400 pages of loose-leaf paper that cover the years 1936 through 1944, when Rosenberg was responsible for looting valuables in lands occupied by the Nazis and planning Nazi rule of conquered Soviet territories.

Henry Mayer, the Museum’s senior advisor on archives, said he feels a sense of fulfillment after years of searching for the diary. “To have it in safe hands, that is a great victory,” he said.

Other featured speakers at the event will include Steven Luckert, curator of the Museum’s Permanent Exhibition, and Suzy Snyder, curator for art and artifacts at the Museum. 

Following clues about its location, the Museum worked for more than a decade to locate the diary. In early 2013, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agents in Wilmington, Delaware, tracked the diary to an individual in upstate New York. They later seized it. As a piece of evidence gathered for the Nuremberg trials, the diary belongs to the US government, and on December 17, 2013, ICE transferred the diary to the Museum. 

The Museum is in a race against time to rescue the evidence of the Holocaust—archives, documents, photographs, videos, and artifacts—to help better understand this history and to bring its lessons to future generations. 

As part of the Museum’s collections, the diary is available for scholarship and can be viewed online. While Museum scholars have yet to fully study its contents, Mayer said, “It does give details that one would never know about the politics within the top leadership of the Nazi party and the state.”

“The Rosenberg diary is a significant addition to the Museum’s collection that will provide a rare look into the thoughts and actions of one of Adolf Hitler’s most trusted allies,” said Andi Barchas, director of the Museum’s Northeast Regional Office. “With the diary now at the Museum, people from around the world can view it online, and guests at our lecture will gain firsthand insight into the beliefs and behaviors of those responsible for the Holocaust and what its lessons mean for us today.”

The events are free and open to the public. Due to overwhelming response, registration is no longer available for the September 10 event. Registration is available for the encore presentation on Wednesday, October 1, to be held at the same location at 7 p.m.

For questions about the events, contact the Museum’s Northeast Regional Office at 212.983.0825 or northeast@ushmm.org.

Related Links

• Special Focus: The Alfred Rosenberg Diary

• Holocaust Encyclopedia: Alfred Rosenberg