Relics Hitler’s Era

 

 

 

Relics of Hitler’s Era

Left to rot: The abandoned Hitler Youth training school,

 

Rarely seen color photographs of the Third Reich by Der Fuhrer's own beloved personal photographer Hugo Jaeger give a startling glimpse into the larger than life celebrations from Hitler's heinous reign. Jaeger collected took nearly 2,000 as he traveled with the loathed dictator during the late 1930s and 40s. Hitler loved the photographer's work and even commented on first seeing Jaeger's photos: 'The future belongs to color photography.' Thankfully, the future did not belong to Hitler. Though, the prints survive because Jaeger successfully buried his film, as the Americans closed in at the end of the war, for fear his friendship with Hitler would get him arrested. Jaeger remained free and by the 1970s he'd been able to retrieve all his film along with their simultaneously brilliant and revolting content. He sold the prints to LIFE, who wrote of Jaeger's upon the publication of his work: 'We do not usually give so much space to the work of men we admire so little.' +11 Startling loyalty: League of German Girls Dancing during the Reichs Party Congress. The group was the girls branch of Hitler's youth, into which girls were initiated through peer pressure and propaganda at the age of 14. Up until 1936, membership in the group was optional but became compulsory that year +11 Massive crowds: Nazi leader Adolf Hitler saluting leaders and men of the Legion Condor, troops of the German Luftwaffe, an airborne wing of the military Hitler founded despite the Treaty of Versailles stipulation that Germany could have no such force +11 Terrifying imagery: Propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels speaking at the Lustgarden in Berlin. The master of mass psychology helped Hitler mold Germany into a nation bent on resisting the Allied forces +11 Art of power: Here, Hitler and Goebbels are seen in the Charlottenburg Theater's honor box as everyone salutes. A failed playwright himself Goebbels saw to it that no Jewish writers practiced their craft under Hitler's reign +11 Fierce loyalty: Crowds cheer Hitler's Austrian election campaign.In 1938, Hitler--who'd always seen Austria as a part of German--annexed the smaller country into greater Germany   +11 Ominous rites: Annual midnight swearing-in of SS-men in Feldherrnhalle. Short for Schutzstaffel, the SS was the powerful military police arm of the Third Reich which numbered some 50,000 at its largest +11 United in hate: Annual midnight swearing-in of SS recruits. The SS was basically Hitler's personal Army who, led by Heinrich Himmler, followed his orders alone +11 Dangerous sport: Hitler Youth seen here at the Reichs' Party Congress in Nuremburg showing off their physical prowess. While the young men of the Hitler Youth could enjoy games and sports with fellow boys, they were also indoctrinated into the Nazi beliefs via the group and its activities +11 'The Peoples Car': A thrilled crowd salutes Hitler and other Nazi officials along roadway to the Fallersleben Volkswagen Works cornerstone ceremony. The Volkswagen, long before its brief American popularity in the 1960s, came out of the struggle to create a cheap German car of the 20s and 30s +11 At the 1939 Fallersleben Volkswagen Works cornerstone laying ceremony, Hitler praised the Beetle and used it as part of his nationalist propaganda +11 Storm troops: Nazi Brown Shirts, soldiers from Germany's Sturmabteilung or SA. This was the Third Reich's storm division whose terrifyingly violent and ruthless methods helped pave the way to power for Hitler after he founded the group in 1921           Chilling archive of the teenage Nazi: Camping gear emblazoned with the Swastika, a six-inch dagger and a diary that reveals Hitler Youth member’s infatuation with the Fuhrer The Hitler Youth was used to train young Nazis for the army A chilling archive from a member is going up for auction in Britain It includes photos of youngsters who went on to die for the Third Reich A chilling archive belonging to an enthusiastic member of the Hitler Youth has emerged to highlight how the Nazis brainwashed youngsters. Teenager Helmut Nieboy kept detailed diaries, records and maps during his time with the German equivalent of the Boy Scouts from 1933. He also amassed a number of photographs showing youngsters who went on to fight and die for the Third Reich, sitting around a campfire, marching and at rallies.   Nazi zeal: Helmut Nieboy (left) during his time in the Hitler Youth, while the picture on the right shows how he signed off his diary entries with 'Heil Hitler' +14 Helmut Nieboy's 'KamaradSchaft Florian Geyer' Hitler Youth company on parade He kept his Swastika-emblazoned tent and trumpet and his sinister 6ins bladed dagger, a far cry from a simple penknife the British Boy Scouts would have used. The diaries include incredibly detailed maps showing route marches the young members were sent on as well as hand drawn portraits of the Fuhrer with patriotic slogans. The journals also contain lists of fellow members and those who failed to graduate, their ultimate fate left ominously unrecorded with a single red line through their name. +14 Up for sale: A Hitler Youth dagger with swastika on the handle and a portrait of Hitler with slogans in the diaries +14 Nieboy's dagger is a far cry from a simple penknife the British Boy Scouts would have used +14 Helmut Nieboy's Hitler Youth bugle, which will also be sold at the auction at Mullock's of Shropshire The records are written in Helmut's neat handwriting and his fanaticism is clear, on one page he takes great care to write 'Heil Hitler'. Helmut was one of 2.3million members of the Hitler Youth in 1933. The paramilitary organisation was for boys aged 14 to 18 who were brainwashed into being part of Hitler's twisted idyll to build an Aryan super-race. Members went on to become soldiers for the German military machine, with skilled fighters joining the Waffen SS. +14 A member of the Hitler Youth pictured blowing a bugle +14 Brainwashed: Helmut Nieboy's Kamaradschaft on manouveres +14 Vetting: Helmut Nieboy's 'KamaradSchaft Florian Geyer' Hitler Youth company with lines through those children seen as not suitable for the group During the war, the young members were drafted into the German Home Guard and then acted as the last line of the defence of Berlin in 1945. After the war most Hitler Youth members were keen to hide their affiliation and so archives such as Helmut's are rare today. His was recently unearthed in Germany but is now being sold at auction at Mullock's of Ludlow, Shropshire, with a pre-sale estimate of £4,000. Devoted to the cause: A diary entry about a 'Day of Work' Rally in Berlin with Hitler parading (left), while on the right is a detailed map of a Hitler Youth march to the capital +14 Round the camp fire: Nieboy's Youth company on a march in the early 1930s +14 Speech: Nieboy's company were at this Hitler Youth Rally in front of the Fuhrer in 1935 Richard Westwood-Brookes, from Mullock's, said: ‘This is a rare archive of material relating to the Hitler Youth. ‘The organisation was Third Reich's way of developing young men for their armed forces. ‘It was their equivalent of the Boy Scout movement and they did similar things but with an emphasis on Nazi ideology. ‘This archive is particularly interesting because of the detailed diaries kept in three volumes, the maps, photographs but also his possessions. +14 Training: The Hitler Youth was the Third Reich's way of developing young men for their armed forces ‘His tent, knife and trumpet are all among the collection that has remarkably stayed together. ‘Most similar archives would have been destroyed following the war as most people would want to erase evidence of their being in the Hitler Youth. ‘This youth was clearly committed and with his neat diaries and organisational skills I expect he had enjoyed promotion to the armed services by the time the war began. ‘Sadly, there is nothing to say what happened to Helmut.’ Also in the archive is a book of minutes and reports of the meetings of Helmut's group, notes of marching songs the boys sang and political discussions. It also includes diplomas for his prowess in sport and an account of his attendance at one of the Nuremberg rallies.       From buildings built by the Nazis to ornate theatres, burnt out hotels and eerie sanatoriums, these are the abandoned buildings that still litter the powerhouse of Europe. Photographer Daniel Barter, 30, from London travelled to the German capital Berlin and the surrounding countryside to capture buildings in need of work on film. Far from being resplendent in vintage glory, the deserted music venues and crumbling hospitals are a shadow of their former selves. An abandoned former Hitler Youth Training School pictured by British photographer Daniel Barter, 30, from London The Eagle and Iron Cross mural at Krampnitz Kaserne, a military complex, in Fahrland, Potsdam, created by the Germans during the rearmament period Warped parquet flooring at Krampnitz Kaserne. The site was also used as a driving training centre until the Russians took control of the area, taking over a day after the Germans abandoned it April 26, 1945 A gym/basketball court at Krampnitz Kaserne. The 35th Guards Motor Rifle Division was then stationed there until its abandonment in 1992, after the Soviet Union dissolved Decaying: A lecture hall at the former Hitler Youth training school pictured by Daniel Barter, 30 A view of the former Hitler Youth training school's lecture hall from the stage The inside of the former Hitler Youth Training School in Germany. The windows are open, but this room is still in good condition German eagle motifs flake off ceilings and concert halls designed for hundreds have not seen a show for years. Mr Barter said: 'I stumbled into photography via my degree, which was in restoration. My interest in abandonments started really young. 'When I was five my junior school had a derelict aeroplane in an adjoining field. Two of my friends and I climbed over the 10ft green wire mesh fence and entered the plane. 'If I close my eyes I can still picture the switches, dials and smell the leather. 'I find abandoned buildings to photograph by word of mouth or a little bit of research. 'To gain access to some of the locations is quite another story and can involve a lot of climbing, sneaking and hiding. 'The best and most interesting thing about photographing abandoned buildings in Germany has to be the clash between different opposing ideologies that dominated this region in the mid to late 20th century. 'There is almost nothing else similar to it around the globe. 'The way it effected the material fabric of these lost places and the way it continues to effect the region as a whole, is I believe unique.' There are more than 60 buildings at the sanatorium which are looking for a new lease of life An undamaged guest room in the burnt out hotel looks almost lived in, but very dated Seen better days: The main dining table in the abandoned and burnt out hotel Left to rot: A barber's chair in a manor house that once acted as a sanatorium The grand staircase at the Lung Sanatorium that has been daubed with graffiti. The site is south of Berlin. Building work started in 1898 Pictured here is an abandoned theatre that has not seen a show for years Mr Barter's photographs show even the powerhouse of Europe has its fair share of abandoned properties A restaurant in the site of a burnt out hotel where food hasn't been on the menu for years A corridor at the sanatorium. In its time it was also used as a hospital by the Russian Army until German reunification The arches around a courtyard inside the old sanatorium daubed with graffiti

The first U.S. film to warn about the dangers of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime has been found in a Brussels film archive, having lain unnoticed for some 75 years. 'Hitler's Reign of Terror' was produced by Cornelius Vanderbilt, an heir to the wealthy American industrialist family, who visited Germany as Hitler was voted into power in 1933. The film revolves around footage that Vanderbilt shot and smuggled out, showing Nazi party rallies, book-burnings and the ransacking of Jewish shops. +8 Last copy: Bruno Mestdagh, the head of the digital collection at the Belgian cinema library, looks at footage of the recently-discovered 1934 U.S. anti-Nazi film, 'Hitler's Reign of Terror' which was directed by Cornelius Vanderbilt +8 +8 Cinematic treasure: The film as well-received when it premiered in New York, but thanks to a complaint by the German Embassy it was heavily censored for subsequent showings. The discovered copy was probably ordered by someone who wanted to show it in Belgium, but never collected it At its premiere in New York in 1934, the film was a big success, said Bruno Mestdagh, head of the digital collections at the Belgian film archive Cinematheque. 'The German embassy in the United States protested, so the film was censored and adapted. It was then shown in other cities but with much less success,' Mestdagh said. The version uncovered by the archive was most likely ordered by someone who wanted to show it in Belgium but never collected it, so the reel survived the war, and Nazi occupation, in the Belgian customs office. +8 Directed by: The film was produced by American journalist and railroad heir Cornelius Vanderbilt IV, above +8 Staged: One of the films stranger parts is when Vanderbilt, left, stages a reenactment of his brief interview with Adolf Hilter, center, before the newly-elected chancellor gave a speech at the Berlin Sports Palace in 1933 +8 See it in person: The Museum of Modern Art in New York plans to screen the film next month In the 1970s, it was transferred to the archive, which holds some 70,000 titles in its vast vaults in Brussels, 80 per cent of them foreign. But it was only two years ago that the curators realized they had the only surviving copy. The film has now been remastered and will be shown at New York's Museum of Modern Art in October. The film is arranged much like a newsreel, where Vanderbilt provides a voice-over to his own original footage, and mixes it with newsreel footage from other sources. +8 News of the day: The film is shot in the style of a newsreel with Vanderbilt providing a voice-over to his original footage, mixed in with newsreel footage from other sources +8 Bad omen: For the film, Vanderbilt traveled to the town in Austria where Hitler attended primary school and found he was one of the most unpopular kids. 'Nobody had a good word for him,' he said. 'Vanderbilt was able to capture some spectacular footage but he just had a few minutes and they constructed a complete film around it. But that wasn't done by professional film-makers, so the film has a sometimes amateurish feel to it,' Mestdagh said. Part of that feel comes from the somewhat clunky re-enactments of a brief interview that Vanderbilt snatched with Hitler as he prepared to address a rally in Berlin's Sports Palace after winning the 1933 election.   'In the hour-and-a-half that Hitler talked to that packed audience, he was as effective as a barker at a side show, traveling with a circus,' Vanderbilt comments in the voice-over. He also visits Leonding, the Austrian town where Hitler attended primary school, explaining: 'From all I could gather, he was one of the most unpopular kids in the neighborhood. Nobody had a good word for him.'           A crime museum is displaying the bullet-ridden skull of a pro-Nazi officer who was executed with his own gun as part of a macabre exhibition of Holocaust relics. The display also features gold teeth extracted from Jews as they entered Auschwitz, muzzles used to German Shepherd dogs who patrolled the camps and attacked prisoners, and a series of syringes used in brutal medical tests on prisoners. An SS officer's boot - with foot bones still inside - clogs used by Jews at a Nazi death camp, and toys taken from Jewish children also make up the collection at Littledean Crime Through Time Museum in Gloucestershire. +10 A crime museum in Gloucestershire is displaying the bullet-ridden skull of a pro-Nazi officer who was executed with his own gun as part of a macabre exhibition of Holocaust relics +10 Medical Syringes recovered from Auschwitz at the time of liberation. It is believed they were used to carry out gruesome medical tests on camp prisoners +10 Gold dental caps that were removed by the Nazis from Jewish inmates on their arrival to Auschwitz during the holocaust years Museum curator, Andy Jones, 52, said: 'The new exhibit features a collection of artefacts recovered at the end of the holocaust. 'The muzzle worn by a German Shephard dog in Auschwitz is the only one on display in the world. 'The prison guards would remove the muzzles and unleash the poison fanged hounds onto the prisoners - including pregnant Jewish women. 'Artefacts like the Jew's gold teeth reveal the brutal side of the holocaust. 'The Nazis would remove the prisoners crowns and gold teeth as they came into the camp. 'The guards would wrench them out with pliers and melt them down to create gold bars.' The skull belongs to a Utase Black Legion Officer. +10 Toys taken from Jewish children as they entered Auschwitz also make up the collection at Littledean Crime Through Time Museum in Gloucestershire +10 A boot still containing the bones of the foot from a Nazi SS soldier +10 Well-worn homemade clogs used by inmates at a Nazi death camp It shows that his nose brutally smashed as he was pistol-whipped then executed with his own gun. The Black Legion were a pro-Nazi group who massacred Chetniks, Partisans and Serb civilians during the holocaust. It is believed that the officer's fatal injuries were inflicted when the prisoners were liberated - and then turned on their captors. +10 The collection also features Nazi SS insignia rings believed to have once belonged to officers +10 The uniform striped hat belonging to a concentration camp inmate +10 The hat is in stark contrast to this original Nazi SS NCO peak cap which will also be displayed +10 A pair of spectacles removed from a Jewish inmate at Auschwitz The collection also shows medical syringes recovered from Auschwitz - the implements were used in the brutal medical tests performed at the camp by the Nazis on the helpless prisoners. Uniforms worn by inmates of the death camps and wrist restraints used by the Gestapo are a reminder of the atrocities committed during the war, and caps and honour rings worn by SS officers stand in sharp contrast to the tiny dolls confiscated from Jewish children as they entered the death camps.

PRINCESS DIANA

 

 

 

 

Taken in 1990, the throwback Thursday snap was posted on Instagram by Mr Giammetti - captioned: 'Summer is here TBT princess Diana on the TMblue 1990.' In it, Diana looks as impossibly stylish as she always did; sporting a printed bikini, an over-sized purple shirt tied effortlessly in a knot above her stomach, and a pair of black sunglasses. +6 Effortless cool: Princess Diana has appeared in a rare candid photo, posted to Instagram for throwback Thursday, which was taken aboard fashion designer Valentino's yacht in 1990 (pictured) +6 The people's princess: The summery photo of Diana (pictured here in 1997) was shared by Giancarlo Giammetti, her former friend and the partner of Valentino, who frequently dressed her The photo, taken on board the Valentino-owned T.M.Blue One yacht, also depicts pals Rosario Saxe-Coburg, wife to the Prince of Preslav, Bulgaria, and a young boy presumed to be Prince William as a child. The doe-eyed former princess was known to frequent the luxury yachts of her rich and famous friends, partly because they offered her relative freedom from the prying eyes of the paparazzi, who hounded her relentlessly for most of her adult life. Mr Giametti was with Diana seven years later, on August 31 1997 - mere hours before the car crash that ended her life - as she languished on her boyfriend Dodi Al Fayed's Jonikal yacht, which was anchored next to the T.M.Blue One. 'She knew the paparazzi were there, but she didn't care,' he later told Harpers Baazar, recalling that he invited her for lunch that fateful day.   Swimwear Savvy: A true summer style icon, Diana is pictured (left) in 1991 on vacation in Sardinia, (center) in the South of France in 1997, a month before her tragic death, and (right) also in France +6 Daydreaming: Diana (pictured in St. Kitts in 1993) is remembered as one of history's most iconic royals; revered for her compassion, style and charisma Diana, dubbed 'the people's princess' in her native Britain, is remembered as one of history's most iconic royals. Mother to princes William, now 32, and Harry 29; she was revered for her compassion, style and charisma, and was the long-suffering target of intense media scrutiny. She first entered the spotlight after marrying Prince Charles in 1981, but the couple were rocked when, in 1992, Charles was exposed as having an affair with Camilla Parker-Bowles - now his wife. Charles and Diana split as a result, and divorced in 1996. Diana struck up a romance with Egyptian mogul Dodi Fayed in 1997, but both their lives were tragically cut short later that year, when they were killed in the infamous Paris car crash. Kate Middleton, wife to Prince William, today wears Diana's engagement ring as a tribute to the mother-in-law she never met.    Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, march down the aisle of St. Paul's Cathedral at the end of their wedding ceremony on July 29, 1981 in London. (AP Photo) # 31 Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer are shown on their wedding day at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981. (AP Photo) # 32 Prince Charles and his new bride Diana, Princess of Wales, pose for a family portrait with other members of the royal family, in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace, on their wedding day July 29, 1981. (AP Photo) # 33 Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, pose in the Throne Room of Buckingham Palace for this picture made after their wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral today. Back row, left to right: Edward van Cutsem, Lord Nicholas Windsor, Sarah Jane Gaselee, Prince Edward, Prince Charles, The Princess of Wales, Prince Andrew and Lady Sarah Armstrong-Jones. Front row, left to right: Catherine Cameron, seated, India Hicks, standing, and Clementine Hambro, seated. (AP Photo, BIPNA, Pool) # 34 Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, are shown on their wedding day on the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London, July 29, 1981. Children are unidentified. (AP Photo) # 35 Lady Diana Spencer arrives with her father, the Earl Spencer, at St. Paul's Cathedral in London on July 29, 1981, for her wedding ceremony. (AP Photo) # 36 Prince Charles and his bride Diana, Princess of Wales, march down the aisle of St. Paul's Cathedral at the end of their wedding ceremony on July 29, 1981 in London. The bride's maids and the groom's brothers Prince Andrew, top left, and Prince Edwards, top right, march behind them. (AP Photo) # 37 Prince Charles and his wife Diana, the Princess of Wales, walk down the steps of St. Paul's Cathedral in London July 29, 1981, after their marriage ceremony. (AP Photo/Press Association/Pool) # 38 Lady Diana Spencer waves to crowds of well-wishers from a horse-drawn carriage en route to St. Paul's Cathedral, London, where she will marry Britain's Prince Charles, heir to the throne, July 29, 1981. (AP Photo/Pool) # 39 Prince Charles motions to lend a hand to the former Lady Diana Spencer as they enter their carrriage outside St. Paul's Cathedral at the ed of their wedding ceremony in London, July 29, 1981. (AP Photo/Pool) # 40 Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer are shown at their wedding at St. Paul's Cathedral on July 29, 1981, in London. (AP Photo) # 41 The formal wedding portrait of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales, taken at Buckingham Palace on July 29, 1981, after their marriage at St. Paul's Cathedral, London. (AP Photo) 42 Prince Charles and his bride Diana, the new Princess of Wales, wearing a coral silk dress and matching hat, ride toward Waterloo Station in an open carriage on their way to their honeymoon at Broadlands, July 29, 1981. (AP Photo) # The echoes of a royal wedding from an earlier era are difficult to ignore. The backdrop is the same: the opulent red-and-gold decor of the grand Throne Room at Buckingham Palace. And the mischievous smiles on the faces of some of the bridesmaids and page boys – and endearingly bewildered expressions on the others – are strikingly similar. But, 30 years after the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, the official wedding picture of Prince William and Kate Middleton also reflects the differences between the two couples' relationships. Pen pals: Diana writes about her 'cosy nest', left, and the 'happiness William brought them' Signing herself as ‘Miss Diana’, the letters provide a glimpse into the private life of the couple, whom she dubbed simply ‘Mr & Mrs Wales’. In a poignant echo, her son Prince William and his new bride are also said to call each other Mr and Mrs Wales in private. Diana wrote about her ‘heavenly’ honeymoon in Balmoral and her plans to make Highgrove a ‘cosy nest’. And she confided to a friend her nerves over a  visit to Wales – one of her earliest royal duties  – and, with William’s arrival, described the joy of becoming a mother. But the image conjured by the hand-written letters is starkly at odds with Diana’s later claims that she was desperately unhappy. Years later, she would reveal she had thrown herself down stairs while pregnant with William, and had attempted suicide several times before 1986. In 1986 she wrote to Mrs Hodge to thank her for sending a card to mark her fifth wedding anniversary. ‘The five years have flown by,’ she wrote. But she was later to confess to beginning an affair with Major James Hewitt in 1986, and Charles said he rekindled his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles in the same year. Mrs Hodge, 69, said: ‘I know she was very much in love with Prince Charles and she just wanted to be loved in return.’ The letters are expected to sell for around £20,000 when they go up for auction in Colchester on June 21. Lot item: The collection of letters will form part of a Royal Memorabilia auction Mrs Hodge's collection will be sold by auctioneers Reeman Dansie in a Royal Memorabilia auction, which also includes letters Diana wrote to her late financial adviser Joseph Sanders thanking him for a pair of Chanel earrings. Reeman Dansie Royal specialist James Grinter said: 'This is a charming collection of personal letters and cards written by Diana to Mrs Hodge after they worked together at the Young England kindergarten and went on to become close friends. 'The Princess' letters give a fascinating glimpse into her life in the early years of her marriage to Prince Charles and we are expecting a lot of interest from collectors from around the world.' Mrs Hodge added: 'I was very privileged because my friendship with Diana continued after her wedding and we were in contact until her death in 1997. 'She was a very busy lady, but she took time to meet up in a coffee shop a couple of times and she also invited me to tea at Kensington Palace. 'I know she was very much in love with Prince Charles and she just wanted to be loved in return. 'And I know Diana would have been so proud when Prince William married Catherine and the fact he gave her his mother's own ring when they got engaged.' Happy: William and Kate surrounded by, clockwise bottom right, The Hon. Margarita Armstrong-Jones, Miss Eliza Lopes, Miss Grace van Cutsem, Lady Louise Windsor, Master Tom Pettifer, Master William Lowther-Pinkerton # TALKING brightly of nest-building and the joy of time alone with her husband, these  are the letters of an apparently  blissful bride. Yet as was to become all too clear, Diana’s marriage to Prince Charles was riddled with tensions from the start. Despite this, the previously unpublished personal correspondence reveals the Princess of Wales was, in those early years at least, able to keep up appearances. Enlarge On sale: Mrs Hodge's collection will be sold by Colchester auctioneers Reeman Dansie Lot number 9: Lady Diana Spencer handwritten letter to Mrs Hodge, dated July 29th 1986 In her letters – which are littered with exclamation marks and the odd spelling mistake – Diana wrote of the pride she felt about her ‘two little men’, her young sons William and Harry. One note is daubed with inky smudges, which Diana said were William’s fingerprints. The correspondence was revealed for the first time yesterday as it was put up for sale by its recipient, retired school principal Margaret Hodge. The two women became friends when they worked together at the Young England kindergarten in Pimlico, London, before Diana’s marriage. It was a friendship that continued until the Princess of Wales’s death in 1997. Flashback: Picture of Lady Diana in 1981, as a teaching assistant at the Young England nursery in Pimlico, London with teacher and close friend Margaret Hodge

Scotland Yard  said they were assessing the credibility of new information relating to the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed including an allegation that they were murdered by a member of the British military. It said it was 'scoping' the information, which surfaced in the second court martial of Sergeant Danny Nightingale, the SAS sniper convicted of illegally stashing a pistol and 338 bullets in his bedroom. The allegation was contained in a letter from the parents-in-law of Soldier N, Sgt Nightingale's former housemate, which was sent to the SAS's commanding officer in September 2011. Scroll down for video +4 Police have said they are 'assessing' information it has recently received in relation to the deaths of Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed It is understood the information was passed to the Metropolitan Police through the Royal Military Police. The letter says Soldier N claimed the SAS 'was behind Princess Diana's death' and it had been 'covered up', the Sunday People has reported. The letter said: 'He (soldier N) also told her (his wife) that it was XXX who arranged Princess Diana's death and that has been covered up.' A statement issued by Scotland Yard said: 'The Metropolitan Police Service is scoping information that has recently been received in relation to the deaths and assessing its relevance and credibility. 'The assessment will be carried out by officers from the specialist crime and operations command. 'This is not a re-investigation and does not come under Operation Paget.' Police said they are not prepared to discuss the matter further, while a royal spokeswoman said there will be no comment on the matter from Prince William or Prince Harry, or from Clarence House. +4 Police said the deaths of Diana and Mr Al Fayed were 'thoroughly investigated' and examined by an inquest led by Lord Justice Scott Baker at the Royal Court of Justice in 2007 to 2008 Diana, Dodi and chauffeur Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in the tunnel, which left the Ritz Hotel on the morning of August 31 1997. The hearing into the deaths of Diana and Dodi lasted more than 90 days with evidence from around 250 witnesses. The inquests concluded on April 7, 2008, with a jury returning a verdict that the 'People's Princess' and her boyfriend were unlawfully killed. After the hearing, Metropolitan Police said they had spent £8 million on services arising from the inquest and the Operation Paget investigation from 2004 to 2006. +4 Diana, Mr Al Fayed (pictured) and chauffeur Henri Paul died after their Mercedes crashed in a tunnel in Paris on the morning of August 31, 1997 That money includes the cost of the legal team which represented the force's commissioner at the inquest, police protection for the inquest jury and paying for the Paget inquiry, reported to have cost £3.6 million. Former Met Police Commissioner Lord Stevens's Paget investigation was launched in 2004 at the request of Michael Burgess, the Royal Coroner, who was then overseeing the future Diana inquest. The former top policeman published his report in December 2006, rejecting the murder claims voiced by some, including Dodi's father Mohamed al Fayed. Lord Stevens's investigation found that Diana was not murdered by British spies nor by the Duke of Edinburgh and she was not pregnant nor engaged to boyfriend Dodi. Operation Paget concluded, just like the French investigation in 1999, that driver Henri Paul was drunk and driving at excessive speed. The investigation dismissed the endless conspiracy theories sparked by the fatal accident. Mr Paul had an alcohol level of around 1.74 grams per litre at the time of the crash - about twice the British drink-drive limit. The black type S280 Mercedes was being driven through the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris at around 61 to 63mph - twice the speed limit for that section of road. Lord Stevens said allegations that Diana was murdered were 'unfounded' and that he found nothing to justify further inquiries with members of the Royal Family. A spokesman for Mr al Fayed yesterday said he had no comment to make, but said he will be 'interested in seeing the outcome', adding that he trusts the Met will investigate the information 'with vigour'. The Ministry of Defence said tonight it was not commenting on the matter. Police assessing new information into Princess Diana's death +4 The jury in the 2008 inquest concluded its verdict as 'unlawful killing, grossly negligent driving of the following vehicles and of the Mercedes', the Met said Timeline of events leading to the Diana report Princess Diana and Dodi al Fayed wait at the rear service exit of the Ritz Hotel in Paris on August 31, 1997 August 31, 1997 -  Diana, Dodi and their chauffeur Henri Paul die when their S280 Mercedes crashes in the Pont de l'Alma tunnel in Paris after leaving the Ritz Hotel. Bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones is badly injured but survives. A number of photographers and a press motorcyclist are held for questioning. September 1, 1997 - Analysis of blood samples indicate Paul was drunk. September 2, 1997 - French prosecutors open an official inquiry headed by Judge Herve Stephan. And Dodi's father Mohamed al Fayed files a civil action in Paris and asks for a widening of the inquiry to include possible charges of violation of privacy against Dodi and Diana. September 6, 1997 - Diana's funeral is held at Westminster Abbey, watched by millions around the world. Her son Princes William and Harry walk through the streets behind her coffin. September 17, 1997 - Examination of debris found at the scene of the crash suggests the involvement of a white Fiat Uno. Identity checks are carried out on 40,000 Fiat Uno owners, but it is never found. March 1998 - Mr al Fayed tells investigators he believes the crash was part of a plot to kill Diana by MI6 July 1999 - A French appeals court rejects a request by Mr al Fayed for further official inquiries into the crash. September 1999 - Judge Herve Stephan’s reports finds that that Diana and Dodi were killed because their chauffeur, Henri Paul, was driving at high speed under the influence of drink and anti-depressant drugs. The photographers and press motorcyclist are formally cleared of manslaughter charges. Mr al Fayed announces he will appeal. July 2000 - Mr al Fayed loses his High Court battle for joint, or concurrent, inquests into the deaths of Diana and Dodi. In July 1999 a French appeals court rejected a request by Mohammed al Fayed for further inquiries into the crash November 2001 - Mr al Fayed loses a £100,000 claim for damages over what he had called a ‘flawed’ part of the inquiry into Diana's death. October 2003 - Three photographers who snapped pictures of Diana and Dodi at the crash scene go on trial in Paris accused of invading the couple's privacy. They are cleared a month later. November 2003 - A privacy violation civil case, brought by Mr Fayed against three of the photographers who were following the Princess's car on the night she died, Lord Stevens released his report after three years of investigation - it concludes the couple and their chauffeur died in a traffic accident in a Paris underpass in August 1997 January 6, 2004 – Separate inquests into Diana and Dodi’s deaths are finally opened and adjourned. On the same day, the Daily Mirror publishes a letter from Diana to her butler Paul Burrell 10 months before her death in which she claimed her former husband, the Prince of Wales, was plotting to kill her in a crash. January 7, 2004 - Former royal coroner John Burton, who was present at the princess's autopsy, says she was not pregnant when she died. The Scotland Yard inquiry - codenamed Operation Paget - is stepped up. July 6, 2004 - The Diana memorial fountain opens in Hyde Park. August 2004 - A French court orders a new investigation into the alleged falsification of alcohol and drug tests on Henri Paul, his parents have always rejected the original post-mortem examination's findings. May 2005 - Detectives are said to have quizzed Britain's two most senior spy chiefs John Scarlett, the head of MI6, and Eliza Manningham-Buller, the MI5 director general. July 2005 - The wrecked Mercedes is brought to Britain for forensic examination.. December 2005 - The Prince of Wales is finally questioned by Lord Stevens, signalling that the investigation is drawing to a close. He is said to have been asked if he ever plotted to assassinate the Princess. July 2006 - Royal coroner Michael Burgess quits the inquests, blaming a ‘heavy and constant’ workload. He is later replaced by Britain’s top female judge Lady Butler- Sloss December 2006 - Lord Stevens finally releases his report after three years of investigation – it finds that there was no conspiracy to murder the Princess lover and no cover-up afterwards. Instead it concludes that the couple and their chauffeur Henri Paul died in a simple traffic accident in a Paris underpass in August 1997. Lord Stevens stressed that if the Princess had been wearing a seatbelt she might have survived the crash.           It is the luxury Spanish villa where the young Diana Spencer spent summers and now the so-called 'Mallorcan Castle' is for sale. And despite its staggering £30million price tag, Madonna is said to be interested in buying the luxury bolthole. The grand villa is where the young Diana enjoyed summers before marrying Prince Charles and the Material Girl is reported to be interested even though she is yet to see the property. But the wealthy owner who snaps up the villa will also get a private cave and a pontoon for 30metre yachts included. The 1,400 square metre property includes a sauna, gym, piano lounge and billiards room. Guest houses, a swimming pool, gardens and terraces also feature in 6,000 square metres of land. The Puerto de Andratx property, 20 minutes from Palma, is the most expensive in Mallorca. Neighbouring properties have previously sold for £21,500 per square metre. Other former guests include ex-German chancellor Christian Wulff. +10 Grand design: The property known as Castilla Mallorca - Mallorca Castle in English- is on sale for a whopping £30million   Celebrity bolthole: Princess Diana (R) used to spend her summers at Castillo Mallorca and Madonna is reportedly interested in buying the property +10 Pool with a view: The property overlooks the sea and comes with gardens and terraces as well as its own cave and a yacht pontoon +10 Precarious setting: With sea views on both sides of the property, and a staircase straight down into the water, the luxury villa is billed as the most expensive on the Balearic island +10 Royal hat trick: Princess Diana, Prince Charles and former Spanish Queen Sofía spent a summer holidaying on the Balearic Island, where Diana also spend many childhood summers +10 Dine in style: Guests can enjoy stunning views of the Mallorcan coastline from the villa's open-air dining room +10 Room with a view: The villa's many bedrooms are decorated to a high standard and, of course, offer sweeping views of the coast +10 Hefty price tag: The Puerto de Andratx property - which is located 20 minutes from Palma - is the most expensive in Mallorca +10 On the waterfront: The luxury villa covers 1,400 square metres and its location is second to none