Himmler confides to his diary

Heinrich started writing in his diary when he was 10 years old, which is one of the most interesting facts about Heinrich Himmler. Entries therein demonstrated how his ideas and ideology evolved. According to his diary, Himmler was very interested in current affairs, duels, and "the serious talk of religion and sex."

Antisemitism persisted and thrived in Germany and other areas of Europe even though numerous laws that discriminated against non-Christians including Jews and other minority groups had been removed with the unification of Germany in 1871. By the time he entered university, Himmler was antisemitic, but not particularly so; pupils at his school would shun their Jewish friends.

He first encountered Ernst Röhm, a founding member of the Nazi Party and the Sturmabteilung, in his second year of college (Storm Battalion). As a decorated combat veteran that Himmler respected, Röhm persuaded Himmler to join the Imperial War Flag Society, an antisemitic nationalist organization. Himmler's diary entries from 1922 show a rise in antisemitic statements and a lot of conversations about Jews with his classmates as he became increasingly interested in the "Jewish topic".

Indeed, Himmler's diary documents his ideological development from a rebellious youngster to one of the most prominent figures in Nazi Germany.