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Some of Adolf Hitler's most candid moments as leader of the Nazi Party have been revealed in fascinating photographs taken during private speech rehearsals.

Following his release from Landsberg prison in 1924, Hitler, then age 34, was hungry to seize power in Germany.

To do so, he saw it necessary to polish one of his most famous talents: public speaking.

The Austrian dictator was revered as a master of rhetoric, regularly giving barnstorming speeches in front of huge crowds of fawning followers.

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(Image: Getty)

It is said he developed this talent for hate-mongering oration in German beer halls, where he would hypnotise his audiences with his fervent - and beer-fueled - ramblings.

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(Image: Getty)

His confidence in his abilities, however, was not as resolute as you might think, for Hitler was supposedly extremely self-conscious of his appearance.

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(Image: Getty)

To overcome this, in 1925 he asked his personal photographer Heinrich Hoffmann to snap photos of him rehearsing speeches in private.

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(Image: Getty)

Striking some of his most candid poses and expressions, Hitler studied the photos to ensure his actions were as loud as his words.

Presumably embarrassed, Hitler then ordered the pictures to be destroyed, saying they were "beneath one’s dignity".

(Image: Getty)

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But little did the burgeoning despot know, Hoffmann would keep the photos.

The pics first emerged in the 1950s in Hoffmann's book Hitler Was My Friend, then again in 2012 when the book was reissued in English.

They have been republished recently in the German press before being spread worldwide.