The forged diaries of Adolf Hitler are a series of sixty volumes of
journals created by Konrad Kujau (pictured) between 1981 and 1983. They
were purchased in 1983 for 9.3 million Deutsche Marks (US$3.7 million)
by the West German news magazine Stern through one of their journalists,
Gerd Heidemann. Stern sold serialisation rights to several news
organisations, including The Sunday Times. In April 1983, at a press
conference to announce the forthcoming publication, several
historians—including two who had previously authenticated the
diaries—raised questions over their validity, and subsequent forensic
examination quickly confirmed they were forgeries. As Stern's scoop
began to unravel, it became clear that Heidemann, who had an obsession
with the Nazis, had stolen a significant proportion of the money
provided. Kujau and Heidemann both spent time in prison for their parts
in the fraud, and several newspaper editors lost their jobs. The scandal
has been adapted for the screen twice: as Selling Hitler (1991) for the
British ITV channel, and the following year as Schtonk!, a German film.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_Diaries>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1658:
Anglo-Spanish War: English colonial forces repelled a Spanish
attack in the largest battle ever fought on Jamaica.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Rio_Nuevo>
1910:
The United States Congress passed the Mann Act, which
prohibited interstate transport of females for "immoral purposes".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mann_Act>
1940:
Second World War: The evacuation of nearly 200,000 Allied
soldiers from French ports was completed.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ariel>
1967:
More than 400 million people viewed Our World, the first live,
international satellite television production.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_World_(TV_special)>
2006:
Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was kidnapped in a cross-border
raid from the Gaza Strip on the crossing Kerem Shalom, and was held
hostage by Hamas until 2011.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilad_Shalit>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
Brexit:
(Britain, politics) The withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the
European Union.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Brexit>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of
lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia.
--George Orwell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_Orwell>