Hitler's Irish Translator: Nazi Sympathiser or Following Orders?

Irish History Podcast

Fin Dwyer

Ireland, Irish History, Norman Invasion, Great Hunger, Vikings, Interviews, History, War Of Independence, Great Famine

4.7 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 29 January 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In March 1939, James Murphy, a Cork man, became a wanted figure in Nazi Germany. As Europe hurtled towards war, Murphy published an unedited English translation of Hitler’s notorious book, Mein Kampf, which revealed Hitler’s long-held intentions to invade Eastern Europe. However, Murphy's story is complicated. Often presented as an opponent of the Nazis, he had also, for a time, worked in the Third Reich.

The full story behind the translation is intriguing. It reveals how Murphy was manipulated by a secret anti-Nazi group known as the Red Orchestra. It also explores why Murphy, who was aware of many of the darker aspects of the Nazi regime, did not draw attention to them.

Sound: Kate Dunlea

Additional Narrations: Aidan Crowe

Support the show and get an ad-free version of the episode at Patreon.com/irishpodcast.

Selected Sources:

Maume P. Murphy, James Vincent, Dictionary of Irish Biography https://www.dib.ie/biography/murphy-james-vincent-a6080

Barnes, J. & P. James Vincent Murphy: Translator and Interpreter of Fascist Europe, 1880-1946

Evans, R. The Hitler Conspiracies The Third Reich and the Paranoid Imagination

Murphy James: Adolf Hitler; the drama of his career https://archive.org/details/Bellerophon5685_yahoo_AHDC/page/n69/mode/2up?q=Jews

Murphy, John Why did my grandfather translate Mein Kampf?

https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-30697262

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Transcript

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0:45.0	In March 1939, James Vincent Murphy, a native of County Cork, had become a wanted man in Nazi Germany.
0:53.3	As Europe hurtled towards war, Murphy had published Adolf Hitler's book, Mindcamp in the English language,
0:56.0	which outraged the Nazis. Even though the book had sold millions of copies in Germany,
0:59.0	Hitler and his regime had been extremely careful about publishing the book in English.
1:05.0	The only available translation had been heavily edited to remove Hitler's more provocative statements. However, as Europe stood on the brink of the Second World War in 1939, James Murphy had published a full unedited version of the book in English.
1:21.7	People across the English-speaking world could now see in black and white that Adolf Hitler had long held territorial ambitions
1:29.0	and his claim that he only wanted to protect Germany rang hollow. It was clear he had long wanted
1:35.1	to invade large parts of East and Central Europe. Now while it has since been claimed that James
1:41.7	Murphy damaged the Nazis by this move. The story of how he
1:46.4	published Mankhamf is far more complex. Until 1938, Murphy had in fact worked for the Nazis
1:54.2	and shared many of their world views. Whatever damage the publication of Mankham did, that was not because of Murphy.
2:02.3	He had, however, been manipulated by an anti-Nazi organisation known as the Red Orchestra.
2:07.8	Now, that alone highlights just how fascinating this story is, of how the son of a cork farmer
2:13.9	ended up publishing the first full translation of what is one of the most notorious books in history.
2:20.3	It's a story with many layers.
	...

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