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Most have probably never been seen before with this clarity, he said.

“What makes this digitization project special is that the ensuing image has been reproduced from the original negative, rather than it being a copy or copy of a copy,” Schneider said in an email. “This results in unmatched quality.”

Photo by National Archives and Records Administration

Plans are to make the photographs available online soon, according to Billy Wade, a supervisory archivist.

Many of the fragile glass plates were broken and had to be reassembled. “There were more shattered plates of [Hitler] than perhaps any other subject,” Schneider said. “I don’t know if that was purposeful or coincidental.”

Putting them back together “was a little scary, as if I could hear him say, ‘Danke [thank you] for making me whole again.’ ” he said. “Anytime I came across a picture of him looking at me, it sent shivers.”

“And remember, [Hitler] may not have been anything … if it weren’t for the millions of people that rejoiced in his every word — thus, the foreboding rally shots,” he said.

Schneider, an Archives special projects preservationist, began studying and digitizing the glass negatives last summer and finished last month.

Hoffmann, in whose Munich studio many of the portraits were made, took thousands of Nazi photographs, starting in the 1920s.

His pictures helped craft the image of Hitler as the benevolent and heroic savior of Germany who was loved and admired by millions. Children, the working man, young people, dogs, all adored the fuhrer, according to Hoffmann’s portrayal.