Question A
Study sources A and B. Which of the two sources
would a historian studying kristallnacht find more
useful
Source A is a summary by a historian of Fritz Hesse's account of a dinner with Hitler. Hesse wrote his account in 1954.
There are many concerns about source A. a major problem with source A is that Fritz Hesse did not write his account until 1954, which was 16 years after the event. Although it would have been an important event in Hesse's life, it would be highly unlikely that he could have remembered the event as vividly as it is wrote. This can make the information unreliable as Hesse could have forgotten information or wrongly remembered it, and also makes it secondary evidence. He could have even added bits in to enhance his story. This makes the evidence suspicious. There are also other suspicions to the source as it states that Hesse only heard Goebbels whispering and muttering to Hitler. This means that Hesse might have not heard everything, and could have made his own mind up to what they where talking about after only hearing a couple of words. Another concern is to why he would have written his account so long after the event had happened. This could have been to clear his name from the Nazis after the war, because he did not want to be punished for being a reporter for them. However, it could have simply been because he wanted the fame and publicity, as it would make him seem important as he was having dinner with Hitler and his associates. This could have made him a lot of money.
Study sources A and B. Which of the two sources
would a historian studying kristallnacht find more
useful
Source A is a summary by a historian of Fritz Hesse's account of a dinner with Hitler. Hesse wrote his account in 1954.
There are many concerns about source A. a major problem with source A is that Fritz Hesse did not write his account until 1954, which was 16 years after the event. Although it would have been an important event in Hesse's life, it would be highly unlikely that he could have remembered the event as vividly as it is wrote. This can make the information unreliable as Hesse could have forgotten information or wrongly remembered it, and also makes it secondary evidence. He could have even added bits in to enhance his story. This makes the evidence suspicious. There are also other suspicions to the source as it states that Hesse only heard Goebbels whispering and muttering to Hitler. This means that Hesse might have not heard everything, and could have made his own mind up to what they where talking about after only hearing a couple of words. Another concern is to why he would have written his account so long after the event had happened. This could have been to clear his name from the Nazis after the war, because he did not want to be punished for being a reporter for them. However, it could have simply been because he wanted the fame and publicity, as it would make him seem important as he was having dinner with Hitler and his associates. This could have made him a lot of money.
