Evil of Adolf Hitler in Living Color

Life.com publishes vivid photos of the Nazi dictator

The first-ever publicly released color photos taken of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler made their way onto the Web Thursday, showing the evil German leader hobnobbing with supporters, giving speeches and touring the country during World War II.

The photos, taken by personal Hitler photographer Hugo Jaeger, were found by American soldiers when they raided Jaeger's house in 1938 -- but Jaeger managed to hang on to and bury them so they wouldn't be taken by the U.S. forces.

He sold the images to Life in 1965 --  and the magazine restored the some 2,000 transparencies, showing Hitler in his personal and private life as head of Nazi forces.

The images capture everything from Hitler's time stumping the Nazi agenda to Germans to his extravagant birthday celebrations featuring gemstone-encrusted tableware, all shown in perfect color for the first time.

Several images show key events in Nazi history, from the Beer Hall Putsch to Kristallnacht, or the Night of the Broken Glass, while others show Hitler rubbing elbows with German elite and entertainers.

Select images are available to view on Life.com, and others will be available in the magazine's next issue.

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