Forensic Science: Forgery & Counterfeiting Unit: Lab #3: Famous Forgery
CASE HISTORY
Hitler's Diaries
In 1981 a spectacular manuscript attributed to Adolf Hitler was disclosed by the brother of an East German
general. These documents included Hitler's twenty-seven-volume diary and an unknown third volume of his
autobiography, Mein Kampf. The existence of these works was both culturally and politically significant to the
millions who were affected by World War II.
Authentication was undertaken by two world-renowned experts, one Swiss and one American. Both declared the
handwritten manuscripts were identical to the known samples of Adolf Hitler's handwriting that they were given.
Bidding wars began for publishing rights, and a major national U.S. newspaper won with a price near $4 million.
The publishing company that originally released the documents to the world market undertook its own
investigation, which ultimately revealed a horrifying plot. The paper on which the diaries were written contained a
whitener that didn't exist until 1954, long after Hitler committed suicide. The manuscript binding threads
contained viscose and polyester, neither of which were available until after World War II. Further, the inks used
in the manuscript were all inconsistent with those in use during the year these pages were allegedly written.
Moreover, it was discovered that the exemplars sent to the Swiss and American experts as purportedly known examples of Hitler's handwriting were actually from the same source as the diaries. The experts were justified in
proclaiming the documents were authentic because they were written by the same hand. However, chemical
analysis of the inks later determined that the Hitler Diaries were in fact less than 1 year old--spectacular, but fake!
Introduction:
Forged signatures are not the sole domain of students and their detention slips. Criminals of all ages attempt to
defraud others by forging signatures, changing the dollar amount on a check, or even generating entire
documents.
Documents may be forged in as many ways as they may be lawfully created, but these exercises will focus on the
comparison of handwritten documents only. Among these are ransom notes, forged signatures, falsified checks, or
a bogus last will and testament.
There are numerous features that document examiners look for when examining and comparing handwriting. The
following are common aspects of variation in handwriting.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
The slant of the lines—to the right or left, or no slant at all
The size of the letters relative to one another, capitalization and width versus height of each letter
Connecting strokes—between capitals and lowercase or among lowercase letters
Unique style gestures like curls or flourishes at the end of a letter or word
Adherence to the line—writing above, below, exactly on a line, or any deviation from beginning to end
(starting on the line and trailing off below or above)
Crossing your "t's" and dotting your "i's"—presence or absence of these diacritics as well as their size,
shape, and placement relative to the rest of the letter and word.
EXERCISE 1 – A FAMOUS FORGERY!
In 1970, a man named Clifford Irving claimed to have made an agreement with the late Howard R. Hughes,
aviation tycoon and film producer, and the McGraw-Hill Publishing Company to author Hughes's biography. To
prove his claim, Irving produced signed letters addressed to himself from Hughes.
Forensic handwriting examiners were asked to determine the authenticity of the documents. Compare the
following examples using the previously listed features and test your skills against theirs!
Example 1 Pictured in the following figure are actual case materials from the famous 1970 last will and
testament forgery of aviation tycoon Howard Hughes.
The letters on the left are from the forgery. Examples of Howard Hughes's known handwriting are on the
right. Point out the differences between the two using specific examples.
Example 2 Shown in the following figure are examples of Howard Hughes's known signatures. Are they
identical to one another?
Example 3 Now compare the known signatures from Howard Hughes (from the previous figure) to the
questioned signatures that follow. Even though Howard Hughes never signed his name the same way
twice, a forger would not be able to disguise his own writing style. Point out similarities and
differences between the known and questioned signa tures. Attention should be paid to the letters "o"
and "w" in Howard; "g", "h", and "es" in Hughes.
Conduct a full handwriting analysis of both the originals and the forgery in example 1. When you are
done, identify features to believe that the forgery is truly a forgery. Compare example 2 and example
3 and identify at least 5 features that identify the forgery in example 2.
Results should be placed in your notebook.