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Issue of “The broadcast – Weekly Radio” dated April 14, 1933 - words of admiration for Adolf Hitler upon his rise to power and on the occasion of his 44th birthday, by Baldur von Schirach - Die Sendung – Rundfunkwoche - “The broadcast  – Weekly Radio”. Published by Verlags Hermann Reckendorf. Berlin, April 14, 1933 - with Hitler’s rise to power and on the occasion of his 44th birthday, an article expressing admiration for his figure by the Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach, who escaped the death penalty in the Nuremberg Trials. On the cover, a photograph of Hitler as the new Chancellor of Germany. Rare. The editorial at the opening of the issue, by the Hitler Youth leader Baldur von Schirach, is titled: Hitler Experiences. In the introduction it is written: “On April 20, the Reich Chancellor celebrates his 44th birthday. All German radio stations will mark this day with special programs. The author of our article is the Reich Youth Leader of the Nazi Party and a member of the Reichstag.” Schirach continues with unreserved words of admiration for the Führer: “April 20, 1933, is a day of celebration for the German nation. It is also the day on which, more than ever, the attention of the people is focused on Adolf Hitler. Once again, on such a day, the great, incomprehensible miracle stands before us: “How did a single man, without external assistance, without rank and without a name, succeed in captivating an entire nation, how did he manage to imprint the mark of his will upon an entire people. This suggestive power of the German Reich Chancellor is the essential historical context: the beginning of 1933 is the period immediately following Adolf Hitler’s rise to power... In the time when we were a small group of a few thousand people, we had no real sense of Nazism; in those difficult years when declaring allegiance to this movement meant persecution and constant danger to life, even then the belief in Adolf Hitler among his fellow fighters was unshakable. This belief did not need to grow; it was already as strong in the founding years of Nazism as it is today. For the comrade-in-arms of the leader, the final victory was never in doubt. It simply was so. A self-evident fact, whose inner justification lies in the personality of Adolf Hitler... Allow me to say a few words on the occasion of his birthday, referring to several personal impressions. My first encounter with Adolf Hitler took place in Weimar in 1925. The few words the Führer spoke to me there bound me to his movement forever. Only two years later, I had the privilege of working in his entourage, and from 1928 onward, he drew me even closer, entrusted me with increasing responsibility, and placed ever greater confidence in me. Thus, I had more and more opportunities to experience the leader: on journeys, in conversations and meetings, in immense work, or even in the few precious hours he could spare. He allowed himself little relaxation. What seemed, and still seems to me, most striking is that Adolf Hitler, even in his private life, is one of the few personalities who always ‘radiate’, always convey something distinct. It would be too simplistic to say ‘he fascinates’ - that word remains superficial. More precisely: he commands. Not through orders, but through a power of persuasion inherent in his very being, one that requires no words. His simplicity is almost proverbial. In this sense as well, Adolf Hitler was a man of the people. We will not speak here of the statesman. He is visible and tangible to all. Without him, there would be chaos today. Millions upon millions feel this when they look at Adolf Hitler: he is order, and he is the state.” Schirach, the author of the editorial, was later convicted in the Nuremberg Trials held at the end of the war, primarily on charges of crimes against humanity, due to his role as Gauleiter of Vienna and his involvement in the deportation of the city’s Jews. At the same time, he was acquitted of other charges (such as conspiracy to commit crimes against peace), in part because he was not regarded as a central planner of war or extermination policy at the highest level, although the judges were aware that he was among the individuals most responsible for the rise of the Third Reich. During the trial, he was one of the few defendants who expressed a degree of remorse and acknowledged moral responsibility, which was taken into account in sentencing. In addition, his status was perceived as less senior compared to figures such as Göring or Ribbentrop, and therefore he was not sentenced to death. He served his sentence in Spandau Prison and was released in 1966 after completing 20 years. Two years after his release, he was interviewed by David Frost on British television and spoke openly about his connections with Hitler. In 1967, he published his memoirs under the title I Believed in Hitler, in which he claimed that he had not known about the “Final Solution.