The fake Hitler diaries

German magazine "Der Stern" held an international press conference in its office in Hamburg on April 25, 1983. TV teams and reporters from around the world attend as Stern reporter Gerd Heidemann proudly presents the diaries, which the magazine had bought. What he doesn't know is that he will soon be the laughing stock of the German media.

Gerd Heidemann worked as an investigative for "Der Stern" since the 1970s. A collector of Nazi-era memorabilia, he is heavily indebted after buying Hermann Göring's yacht. When he hears from a middleman that Hitler's alleged diaries might be on the market he senses that it might just be his big break.

British historian and Hitler expert Hugh Trevor-Roper as well as US history professor Gerhard Ludwig Weinberg attend the Hamburg press conference as experts, assuring the media that the diaries are the real thing. But only shortly afterwards their assessment is proven wrong by German experts.

On May 6, 1983, news agencies begin reporting that the diaries have been exposed as a hoax. German police specialists had proven that the documents were fake and had been written and bound after World War II.

The initials on the diaries also caused doubt. Instead of AH like Adolf Hitler, the cover of teh diaries had the initials FH. Some speculated that it was Führer Hitler but in the end it had nothing to do with Hitler whatsoever.

The forger was quickly found out. It was the Stuttgart painter Konrad Kujau. He'd contacted Heidemann through a middleman and had offered the alleged diaries for what today would be 4.75 million euros. Kujau throughout the deal had always used a fake name.

Both Kujau and Heidemann had to stand trial. Kujau admitted his forgery and gets a prison sentence of four years and six months. Heidemann was charged with having embezzled part of the money that "Der Stern" had paid for the diaries. He received a prison sentence of four years and eight months.

In 1992, the movie satire "Schtonk" picks up the story of the forged diaries. Only the names of the people involved get changed but the plot stays close to what actually happened.

Konrad Kujau got out of jail after three years for health reasons. After his release he uses his fame to open an art studio where people can buy "original Kujau forgeries." He dies in Stuttgart on September 12, 2000.

Heidemann was permitted to spend his sentence with minimal supervision and wasn't actually locked up in a cell. His journalistic career though was ruined. In 2002, the media uncovered past connections between Heidemann and the East German Stasi. Today, he lives in Hamburg.