Ernst Jacobi as Hitler and Lesley Anne Down as Unity Mitford
reading The Tatler (Image - Youtube)
Thursday August 8 was the 105th anniversary of the birth of Unity Valkyrie Mitford, the English socialite known for her relationship with Adolf Hitler. In 1981, BBC2 Playhouse made a film about her called "Unity." The script was written by John Mortimer and was based on the book "Unity Mitford: A Quest" by David Pryce-Jones. The part of Unity Mitford was played by Lesley Anne Down, Adolf Hitler was played by Ernst Jacobi.
It should be noted that David Pryce-Jones, whose mother was from a wealthy Viennese Jewish family, was a veteran Unity Mitford hater. Before his book was published in 1976, a lot of offensive and derogatory passages had to be removed from the proof copy to avoid lawsuits from the Mitford family. A review written for the Times Literary Supplement denounced Pryce-Jones for poor scholarship, misquoting and generally writing defamatory rubbish.
In May 1934, Unity Mitford left England for Germany. She had arranged to stay at the home of Baroness Laroche at 121 Königinstrasse in Munich. Baroness Laroche ran a finishing school for upper class young ladies. She employed a governess, Fräulein Eva Baum, who lived out and was pro-Nazi. Fräulein Baum taught German and Unity was eager to gain fluency as soon as possible so that when she met the Führer, as she felt convinced she would one day, she would be able to understand what he said.
The film begins in Munich in 1935. Several English girls, including Unity Mitford, are seen cycling behind Fräulein Baum, who is played by Ingrid Pitt, best known for her work in horror films. Unity and her friend Mary Armida Macindoe - whose name has been changed to Annie Macfarlane in the film - leave the group and make a diversion to the Osteria Bavaria, Hitler's favourite restaurant.
The Osteria Bavaria was a small Italian restaurant on the Schellingstrasse. The restaurant is still there today but has been renamed the Osteria Italiana. It was from Fräulein Baum that Unity learned that when Hitler was in Munich he often lunched there. Unity kept daily vigils at the restaurant so that she was always there whenever Hitler turned up.
In February 1935 Unity achieved her goal. In the film "Unity" she is seen sitting at a table with her friend Annie Macfarlane when one of Hitler's adjutants comes up to her and says, "The Führer invites you to his table." From that first meeting a friendship developed which lasted until the start of the second world war.
Although Unity's sister Jessica, who became a communist, described Unity as a plain looking woman, most people disagreed. In March 1932, the Daily Mail described Unity as possessing the most lovely natural colouring and as very attractive. Ernst 'Putzi' Hanfstaengel, who was an intimate friend of Hitler and a gifted pianist, described Unity as an outstanding Nordic beauty. Hitler himself described Unity as "a perfect specimen of Aryan womanhood."
Although the film "Unity" sticks fairly closely to the book some dates and events have been changed, for example, Unity's first meeting with Ernst Hansftaengl. Unity first met Hansftaengl in 1934 but in the film she meets him at Castle Bernstein in 1935, where she is staying as a guest of Janos Almasy and his wife. It was Hansftaengl who introduced her to many high ranking Nazis.
Unity got on particularly well with Julius Streicher, publisher of the anti-Semitic newspaper Der Stürmer, and in June 1935 he invited her to attend a midsummer festival in Hesselberg.
On 22 June 1935, as a guest of Streicher, Unity was a passenger in a column of black government Mercedes as they drove past uniformed S.A. men and a crowd of roughly 200,000 people. The mass of spectators and the Stormtroopers carried torches.
Julius Streicher gave a speech. He surprised Unity when he mentioned his English guest on the stage behind him. He called her "a brave English girl" and read excerpts from an unpublished letter she had written to Der Stürmer. He also presented the stunned Unity with a bouquet of flowers in front of the giant crowd. Unity wrote home, "He went on about me for ages... It was all so unexpected, I can still hardly believe it."
The following day, June 23rd, Unity Mitford attended further celebrations with Streicher. There was a large demonstration in the afternoon with uniformed S.A. and S.S. troops. Unity sat near the party leaders on Hesselberg Hill:
"We had seats on the Tribune, full in the blazing sun, so hot that not only my blouse but also my skirt and jacket stuck to my skin" (letter to her mother, 23 June 1935).Streicher once again mentioned Unity Mitford and her letter to Der Stürmer in his speech. Then he asked her to come forward. Unity wrote home to her mother about the occasion:
"I was pushed forward by a lot of men in uniform and climbed on to the speakers' little platform. The crowd cheered and I gave the Hitler salute. Then Streicher whispered 'You must say something to them'. Can you imagine anything more horrifying in front of two hundred thousand people? I said a few sentences into the microphone, then Streicher shook hands with me and thanked me."
Unity spoke to a crowd of 200,000 people at Hesselberg
This event is covered exceptionally well in the film "Unity." Black and white film footage of Lesley Anne Down is mixed with original German newsreel footage to make it look as if she was actually there.
Lesley Anne Down as Unity Mitford speaking at Hesselberg
Addressing the crowd she says:
"I pledge my solidarity to the German people! I pledge my solidarity to the struggle against international Jewry in England and in Germany! I pledge my solidarity in devotion to your wonderful leader!"This is followed by Nazi salutes and shouts of Sieg Heil.
The black and white film sequence continues with Unity being interviewed in which she says:
"The ordinary person in England has no idea of the Jewish danger. The Jews say Hitler wants war because they want to turn England against Germany."Hitler and Unity are then seen attending the opera together.
Other events covered in the film "Unity" include:
* Unity visiting an apartment in Munich, offered to her by Hitler, while the elderly Jewish couple who were to be evicted were still in residence. This was in 1938 when apartments were being requisitioned from Jews in the aftermath of Kristallnacht. Unity is reported in Pryce-Jones' book to have visited the apartment to discuss her decoration and design plans, while the soon-to-be-dispossessed couple sat in the kitchen crying.
* Unity's attendance at a rally in Hyde Park. The Spanish Civil War had been raging for some time and the Labour Party, assisted by its Communist allies in the so-called 'Popular Front,' were holding a "Save Spain" rally in Hyde Park. Unity attended the rally wearing her NSDAP badge given to her by Hitler. Her life was threatened by a section of the crowd and she was rescued by a policeman and two members of the British Union of Fascists (not shown).
* Unity's attempt to commit suicide in the Englischer Garten (English Garden) in Munich on 3 September 1939 where she took a pearl-handled pistol, given to her by Hitler for protection, and shot herself in the head. She is seen sitting on the stone bench below when she pulls the trigger.
Stone bench by Klenze in the Englischer Garten, Munich (Image Wikipedia)
She survived the suicide attempt, and was hospitalised in Munich, where Hitler frequently visited her. He paid all of her hospital bills and arranged for her safe return to England.
This film has recently been uploaded to Youtube but is in very poor quality. It doesn't seem to be available anywhere else.
References:
Unity Mitford: A Quest by David Pryce-Jones, published by Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1976
