Hitler Meets Finland’s General Mannerheim

This is the only recording of Hitler speaking in his everyday voice (not a speech but one on one to another person in a room).

Mannerheim was the general who led Finland’s defense which held back the Russian armies in the Soviet invasion of Finland in the Winter War of 1939-1940. When Hitler invaded Russia the next year, Finland invaded Russia, too, but only to retake the land that they lost in the Winter War. Mannerheim would not go beyond that line.

It is 1942. Hitler needs to convince an increasingly skeptical Mannerheim that he was going still win the war. However, Mannerheim was no fool. What could Hitler say? Lying would not work with this guy. Nor would he be bullied. So how was Hitler going to convince Mannerheim, and by extension Finland, to stay in the war. — And even to advance on the Russians beyond their former boundary?

As Hitler sat down to talk to Mannerheim, someone in the back turned a recorder on.