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Adolf (manga)
Encyclopedia
Adolf, known in Japan
as is a manga
series made by Dr. Osamu Tezuka
.
Adolf was published in English
by Cadence Books and VIZ Media
. The English manga is flipped to read left to right to conform to Western practice.
The story is set before World War II
and is centered on three men with the name Adolf. Adolf Kamil (アドルフ・カミル) is an Ashkenazi Jew living in Japan
. His best friend Adolf Kaufmann (アドルフ・カウフマン) is of both Japanese and German descent. The third Adolf is Adolf Hitler
(アドルフ・ヒトラー), the dictator of Germany
.
Adolf also features Sohei Toge (峠草平 Tōge Sōhei), a Japanese reporter.
to cover the Berlin Olympic Games
. Upon arriving, he finds that his younger brother, who has been studying in Germany as an international student, has been murdered. Furthermore, all traces of information regarding his younger brother's study in Germany has vanished. It was as if he had never existed. Investigating the matter, it is later learned that his murder is connected to a document he mailed to Japan with information regarding Adolf Hitler. This information is crucial to the Third Reich as it contains proof that Adolf Hitler has Jewish blood.
A member of the Nazi Party living in Japan named Wolfgang Kaufmann is ordered to find the documents. He expects his son, Adolf Kaufmann, to become a strong supporter of Adolf Hitler. However, Adolf Kaufmann has no interest in Nazi Germany as it would mean the killing of his good friend, Adolf Kamil, who is Jewish.
As events progress, the lives of the three Adolfs intertwine and become more and more tangled as Sohei Toge searches for his brother's murderer.
, Hans Frank
, a Nazi awaiting the gallows, made the claim that he had found evidence that Hitler's father Alois was an illegitimate child of Hitler's paternal grandmother, Maria Anna Schicklgruber
and a teenage son of her Jewish employer Leopold Frankenberger, when she worked as a cook for the Frankenberger family in Graz
, Austria
. Simon Wiesenthal
asserted that this was not true.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
as is a manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
series made by Dr. Osamu Tezuka
Osamu Tezuka
was a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
.
Adolf was published in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
by Cadence Books and VIZ Media
VIZ Media
VIZ Media, LLC, headquartered in San Francisco, is an anime, manga, and Japanese entertainment company. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ LLC. In 2005, VIZ LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media LLC, which is jointly owned by Japanese publishers Shogakukan and Shueisha, and...
. The English manga is flipped to read left to right to conform to Western practice.
The story is set before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and is centered on three men with the name Adolf. Adolf Kamil (アドルフ・カミル) is an Ashkenazi Jew living in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. His best friend Adolf Kaufmann (アドルフ・カウフマン) is of both Japanese and German descent. The third Adolf is Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
(アドルフ・ヒトラー), the dictator of Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
.
Adolf also features Sohei Toge (峠草平 Tōge Sōhei), a Japanese reporter.
Plot
The story of Adolf begins in 1936 as Japanese reporter Sohei Toge travels to BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
to cover the Berlin Olympic Games
1936 Summer Olympics
The 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
. Upon arriving, he finds that his younger brother, who has been studying in Germany as an international student, has been murdered. Furthermore, all traces of information regarding his younger brother's study in Germany has vanished. It was as if he had never existed. Investigating the matter, it is later learned that his murder is connected to a document he mailed to Japan with information regarding Adolf Hitler. This information is crucial to the Third Reich as it contains proof that Adolf Hitler has Jewish blood.
A member of the Nazi Party living in Japan named Wolfgang Kaufmann is ordered to find the documents. He expects his son, Adolf Kaufmann, to become a strong supporter of Adolf Hitler. However, Adolf Kaufmann has no interest in Nazi Germany as it would mean the killing of his good friend, Adolf Kamil, who is Jewish.
As events progress, the lives of the three Adolfs intertwine and become more and more tangled as Sohei Toge searches for his brother's murderer.
Was Adolf Hitler really Jewish?
This rumor plays a central role in this story. It concerns one of the most frequently asked question about Hitler's background. During the Nuremberg TrialsNuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
, Hans Frank
Hans Frank
Hans Michael Frank was a German lawyer who worked for the Nazi party during the 1920s and 1930s and later became a high-ranking official in Nazi Germany...
, a Nazi awaiting the gallows, made the claim that he had found evidence that Hitler's father Alois was an illegitimate child of Hitler's paternal grandmother, Maria Anna Schicklgruber
Maria Schicklgruber
Maria Anna Schicklgruber was Adolf Hitler's paternal grandmother.- Family :Maria was born in the village of Strones in the Waldviertel area. She was the daughter of Theresia Pfeisinger , and farmer Johannes Schicklgruber...
and a teenage son of her Jewish employer Leopold Frankenberger, when she worked as a cook for the Frankenberger family in Graz
Graz
The more recent population figures do not give the whole picture as only people with principal residence status are counted and people with secondary residence status are not. Most of the people with secondary residence status in Graz are students...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
. Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal
Simon Wiesenthal KBE was an Austrian Holocaust survivor who became famous after World War II for his work as a Nazi hunter....
asserted that this was not true.
Characters
- Sohei Toge: A Japanese reporter sent to Germany to cover the 1936 Olympics only to find his younger brother murdered. He then proceeds to investigate who killed his brother and why, leading him into a dangerous web of espionage during World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. - Isao Toge: A Japanese international student studying in Germany. When he discovers a shocking secret, he is brutally murdered.
- Adolf Kaufmann: A half-Japanese, half-German boy living in Kobe and who has no real interest in the Nazi Party at first, but later joined SicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienstSicherheitsdienst , full title Sicherheitsdienst des Reichsführers-SS, or SD, was the intelligence agency of the SS and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. The organization was the first Nazi Party intelligence organization to be established and was often considered a "sister organization" with the...
, then GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
. - Wolfgang Kaufmann: Adolf Kaufmann's father and a strong follower of Adolf Hitler. He works for the German Consulate General in Kobe.
- Yukie Kaufmann: Wolfgang's wife and mother to Adolf. She is unaware of what her husband is doing for the Nazi Party.
- Adolf Kamil: A Jewish-German boy who considers himself Japanese, and who accidentally learns the secret behind Adolf Hitler's ancestry.
- Isaac Kamil: Adolf Kamil's father and a Jewish man who seeks to actively help other Jews around the world. He was murdered by Adolf Kaufmann while in Germany.
- Acetylene LampAcetylene LampFor the lighting device, see Acetylene lamp, also known as Drake, is a fictional character created by Osamu Tezuka who recurrently appears in his works, usually in a villainous role.-Description:...
: A member of the Nazi Party and the Far East Chief of German Intelligence. - Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
: The German dictator himself. - Richard SorgeRichard SorgeRichard Sorge was a German communist and spy who worked for the Soviet Union. He has gained great fame among espionage enthusiasts for his intelligence gathering during World War II. He worked as a journalist in both Germany and Japan, where he was imprisoned for spying and eventually hanged....
: A Communist Russian spy who existed outside of fiction and plays a prominent role towards the end of the story.
Publications
Volumes of English translations, in order:- Adolf: A Tale of the Twentieth Century
- Adolf: An Exile in Japan
- Adolf: The Half-Aryan
- Adolf: Days of Infamy
- Adolf: 1945 and All That Remains
See also
- Osamu TezukaOsamu Tezukawas a Japanese cartoonist, manga artist, animator, producer, activist and medical doctor, although he never practiced medicine. Born in Osaka Prefecture, he is best known as the creator of Astro Boy, Kimba the White Lion and Black Jack...
- List of Osamu Tezuka manga
- Osamu Tezuka's Star SystemOsamu Tezuka's Star SystemOver the course of his career, Osamu Tezuka reused the same characters in different roles in different stories. The way that Tezuka used the characters in his "star system" can be seen as somewhat analoguous to a film director frequently casting members of a regular "stable" of actors in different...
- History of Jews in KobeHistory of Jews in Kobe-Jews and Kobe: is a port city in the Kansai region of Japan on the main island of Honshū. An important city throughout Japanese history, Kobe also has a significant Jewish history. Already housing a modest Jewish community by the start of World War II, Kobe existed as a safe haven for thousands of...