I think what I find most unsettling about Diana is on full display in the famous 1977 “Good Afternoon” interview with Mavis Nicholson: she was obviously very sharp and quick-witted, yet her attitude to Hitler was beyond unrepentant or equivocal. At one point she remarks that the funny thing was that he hardly ever talked about the Jews, the implication being, I suppose, that the Holocaust was really something entirely separate from Hitler, perhaps done in his name, but like something in a parallel or at least disconnected universe. Either she could lie at a level which was pathological, or she had somehow brought herself to believe her own version of events, and I don’t know which explanation would trouble be more.
I have seen that and totally agree. My grandpa said he once met someone who lived near a concentration camp and they told him that people in town definitely knew what was going on at the time. While I know media was not as available today, and I don’t think every person knew, she was certainly privy to a lot of information… and to be so cavalier about it just astounded me. I wonder if it meant she had to admit she was wrong and so she just couldn’t do that?
looking forward to Part 3!
Thank you for reading!
I think what I find most unsettling about Diana is on full display in the famous 1977 “Good Afternoon” interview with Mavis Nicholson: she was obviously very sharp and quick-witted, yet her attitude to Hitler was beyond unrepentant or equivocal. At one point she remarks that the funny thing was that he hardly ever talked about the Jews, the implication being, I suppose, that the Holocaust was really something entirely separate from Hitler, perhaps done in his name, but like something in a parallel or at least disconnected universe. Either she could lie at a level which was pathological, or she had somehow brought herself to believe her own version of events, and I don’t know which explanation would trouble be more.
I have seen that and totally agree. My grandpa said he once met someone who lived near a concentration camp and they told him that people in town definitely knew what was going on at the time. While I know media was not as available today, and I don’t think every person knew, she was certainly privy to a lot of information… and to be so cavalier about it just astounded me. I wonder if it meant she had to admit she was wrong and so she just couldn’t do that?
How happy was I to find your Substack, McKenzie! And at the first sight of the Mitford's, you had me hooked....
I’m so glad! Welcome, and thank you for reading!