Luke Daly-Groves

Last updated

Luke Daly-Groves is an English historian and author who wrote the 2019 book Hitler's Death: The Case Against Conspiracy. [1]

Contents

Hitler's Death (2019)

Daly-Groves became fascinated with Hitler's death during his teenage years, [2] eventually leading to his 2015 dissertation, [3] providing the basis of his 2019 book, Hitler's Death: The Case Against Conspiracy. It sets out to re-affirm that Hitler died in 1945 and refutes claims of his surviving the end of World War II in Europe. [2] Daly-Groves cites recently declassified (and thus previously unexplored) British intelligence documents, which demonstrate that Hugh Trevor-Roper did not work in isolation in coming to the initial British conclusion that Hitler indeed died on 30 April 1945. [4] [lower-alpha 1] Daly-Groves takes a similar viewpoint as Michael Musmanno, [6] Anton Joachimsthaler, Joachim Fest and Ian Kershaw that Hitler's body was not discovered due to its being burnt to near ashes, with an alleged Soviet autopsy of his remains apparently being fraudulent and only his dental remains known to have been found. [7] (Contrarily, Trevor-Roper and Alan Bullock argue, in line with certain scientific studies, that bone withstands even indoor cremation.) [8] [9] [10] Daly-Groves also acknowledges 2009 DNA analysis which revealed that a skull fragment with gunshot damage, long claimed by Russian officials to belong to Hitler, actually belonged to a woman. [11] Further, Daly-Groves argues in favor of debunking conspiracy theories via objective analysis as opposed to dismissing their specific claims outright, saying the latter approach has weakened refutations of such theories, some of which cite exceptional documentary evidence. [12]

The book includes novelly published diagrams showing where Reichssicherheitsdienst (RSD) guard Hermann Karnau claimed he saw Hitler's remains buried in the Reich Chancellery garden, as if it were adjacent to the bunker itself, [13] [3] as well a diagram based on the testimony of RSD guard Erich Mansfeld, who said he was in the guard tower when he saw two bodies burning several metres to the north-northwest and that he thought the bodies were later buried in a bomb crater a few metres further northwest. [14] [lower-alpha 2] Daly-Groves claims Karnau's map "closely matches" Soviet diagrams [15] [lower-alpha 3] and cites a diagram by Chancellery guard Hilco Poppen which he says supports Karnau's scheme; [16] [lower-alpha 4] however, both uniquely lack specificity as to the Chancellery layout, with Karnau also omitting the burning site. [13] [lower-alpha 5] In 1945, an excavation team led by United States intelligence officer William F. Heimlich referenced Karnau's "rather sketchy map" in an unsuccessful hunt for evidence of Hitler's remains. [13] Heimlich later disregarded both Karnau and Mansfeld as lacking knowledge of the bunker layout. [19] Citing declassified U.S. Army intelligence files, Daly-Groves points that some information about investigations of Hitler's death was withheld from Heimlich "because higher-ranking American intelligence officers were aware that he was attempting to capitalise on sensational rumours" of Hitler's survival. [20]

Daly-Groves notes that Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's motivations in claiming Hitler's survival remain unclear, with most commentators asserting that he intended to secure disputed areas of West Germany on the basis that they would be safer under Soviet control if, somehow, Hitler returned. Alternatively, Stalin may have wished to override political underlings such as Marshal Georgy Zhukov (who had said that Hitler was dead) or motivate his totalitarian Communist forces (as claimed 72 years earlier in the U.S. book Who Killed Hitler? ), with the possibility of even leveraging attacks on nations ostensibly harboring Hitler. Daly-Groves concludes that the 2009 DNA analysis (showing the skull fragment to be from a female) supports the interpretation that the Soviets were unhappy with the quality of their investigations. [21] He believes that documentation likely remains unexplored in both the Stalin secretariat files and the British National Archives which could clarify investigations of past survival rumours and disprove more recent claims. [22] He also argues that known documents demonstrate that Western powers could not have staged a cover-up regarding purported knowledge of Hitler's alleged survival. [23] Daly-Groves suggests that although the evidence points to Hitler having shot himself, it should not be considered the "definitive answer", citing Fest's 2002 argument that eyewitness discrepancies had rendered Hitler's death "impossible to reconstruct". [24] However, Daly-Groves declares that a death by some kind of gunshot no longer carries "ideological baggage" and states his hope that his book would lay to rest various conspiracy theories, especially those surfacing since 2009. [25]

Additionally, the book includes over 20 images, including cleaned, high-resolution scans [lower-alpha 6] of the Soviet photographs of Hitler and Braun's alleged burnt corpses. [26]

Related Research Articles

<i>Führerbunker</i> Subterranean bunker complex for Adolf Hitler

The Führerbunker was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters (Führerhauptquartiere) used by Adolf Hitler during World War II.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of Adolf Hitler</span> 1945 suicide of the Nazi dictator

Adolf Hitler, chancellor and dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, committed suicide via a gunshot to the head on 30 April 1945 in the Führerbunker in Berlin after it became clear that Germany would lose the Battle of Berlin, which led to the end of World War II in Europe. Eva Braun, his wife of one day, also committed suicide by cyanide poisoning. In accordance with Hitler's prior written and verbal instructions, that afternoon their remains were carried up the stairs and through the bunker's emergency exit to the Reich Chancellery garden, where they were doused in petrol and burned. The news of Hitler's death was announced on German radio the next day, 1 May.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alleged doubles of Adolf Hitler</span>

Although there is no evidence that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler used look-alikes as political decoys during his life, some stories propagated as early as 1939 assert his death and replacement with an imposter. Following Hitler's suicide during the Battle of Berlin, the Soviet Union claimed to discover a number of bodies resembling the dictator, bolstering a disinformation campaign asserting Hitler's survival. Only the dictator's dental remains were confirmed, purportedly due to the cremation of his body.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael Musmanno</span> American judge (1897–1968)

Michael Angelo Musmanno was an American jurist, politician, and naval officer. Coming from an immigrant family, he started to work as a coal loader at the age of 14. After serving in the United States Army in World War I, he obtained a law degree from Georgetown University. For nearly two decades from the early 1930s, he served as a judge in courts of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Entering the U.S. Navy during World War II, he served in the military justice system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heinz Linge</span> SS officer (1913–1980)

Heinz Linge was a German SS officer who served as a valet for the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, and became known for his close personal proximity to historical events. Linge was present in the Führerbunker on 30 April 1945, when Hitler committed suicide. Linge's ten-year service to Hitler ended at that time. In the aftermath of the Second World War in Europe, Linge spent ten years in Soviet captivity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Constanze Manziarly</span> Cook and dietitian to Adolf Hitler

Constanze Manziarly was born in Innsbruck, Austria. She served as a cook and dietitian to Adolf Hitler until his final days in Berlin in 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Günsche</span> Waffen-SS officer during World War II (1917–2003)

Otto Günsche was a mid-ranking officer in the Waffen-SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was a member of the SS Division Leibstandarte before he became Adolf Hitler's personal adjutant. Günsche was taken prisoner by soldiers of the Red Army in Berlin on 2 May 1945. He was held in various labour camps and prisons by the Soviet Union until 2 May 1956 and provided key testimony regarding Hitler's death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erich Kempka</span> Chauffeur for Adolf Hitler (1910–1975)

Erich Kempka was a member of the SS in Nazi Germany who served as Adolf Hitler's primary chauffeur from 1936 to April 1945. He was present in the area of the Reich Chancellery on 30 April 1945, when Hitler shot himself in the Führerbunker. Kempka delivered petrol to the garden behind the Chancellery, where the remains of Hitler and Eva Braun were burned. After Kempka's capture by United States forces, he served as an eyewitness as to Hitler's demise, albeit his self-admitted unreliability.

Johannes Hentschel was a master electro-mechanic for German dictator Adolf Hitler's apartments in the Reich Chancellery. He also served in the same capacity in Hitler's Führerbunker in 1945. He surrendered to Soviet Red Army soldiers on 2 May 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Högl</span> SS officer (1897–1945)

Peter Högl was a German officer holding the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer who was a member of one of Adolf Hitler's bodyguard units. He spent time in the Führerbunker in Berlin at the end of World War II. Högl died from wounds received during the break-out on 2 May 1945 while crossing the Weidendammer Bridge under heavy fire in Berlin.

Günther August Wilhelm Schwägermann served in the Nazi government of German chancellor Adolf Hitler. From approximately late 1941, Schwägermann served as the adjutant for Joseph Goebbels. He reached the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer (captain). Schwägermann survived World War II and was held in American captivity from 25 June 1945 until 24 April 1947.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goebbels children</span> Six children of Joseph and Magda Goebbels

The Goebbels children were the five daughters and one son born to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph and Magda Goebbels. The children, born between 1932-1940, were murdered by their parents in Berlin on 1 May 1945, the day both parents committed suicide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Possible monorchism of Adolf Hitler</span> Theory that Adolf Hitler only had one testicle

The possibility that Adolf Hitler had only one testicle has been a fringe subject among historians and academics researching the Nazi leader. The rumour may be an urban myth, possibly originating from the contemporary British military song "Hitler Has Only Got One Ball".

<i>Vorbunker</i> Adolf Hitlers air raid shelter

The Vorbunker was an underground concrete structure originally intended to be a temporary air-raid shelter for Adolf Hitler and his guards and servants. It was located behind the large reception hall that was added onto the old Reich Chancellery, in Berlin, Germany, in 1936. The bunker was officially called the "Reich Chancellery Air-Raid Shelter" until 1943, when the complex was expanded with the addition of the Führerbunker, located one level below. On 16 January 1945, Hitler moved into the Führerbunker. He was joined by his senior staff, including Martin Bormann. Later, Eva Braun and Joseph Goebbels moved into the Führerbunker while Magda Goebbels and their six children took residence in the upper Vorbunker. The Goebbels family lived in the Vorbunker until their deaths on 1 May 1945.

Ewald Lindloff was a Waffen-SS officer during World War II, who was present in the Führerbunker on 30 April 1945, when Hitler committed suicide. He was placed in charge of disposing of Hitler's remains. Lindloff was later killed during the break-out on 2 May 1945 while crossing the Weidendammer Bridge under heavy fire in Berlin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conspiracy theories about Adolf Hitler's death</span> Conspiracy theories as to Hitlers death

Conspiracy theories about the death of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, contradict the accepted fact that he committed suicide in the Führerbunker on 30 April 1945. Stemming from a campaign of Soviet disinformation, most of these theories hold that Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun, survived and escaped from Berlin, with some asserting that he went to South America. In the post-war years, the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) investigated some of the reports, without lending them credence. The 2009 revelation that a skull in the Soviet archives long (dubiously) claimed to be Hitler's actually belonged to a woman has helped fuel conspiracy theories.

Anton Joachimsthaler is a German historian. He is particularly noted for his research on the early life of the German dictator Adolf Hitler, in his book Korrektur einer Biografie and his last days in the book Hitlers Ende, published in English as The Last Days of Hitler.

<i>The Death of Adolf Hitler</i> 1968 book by Lev Bezymenski

The Death of Adolf Hitler: Unknown Documents from Soviet Archives is a 1968 book by Soviet journalist Lev Bezymenski, who served as an interpreter in the Battle of Berlin. The book gives details of the purported Soviet autopsies of Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun, Joseph and Magda Goebbels, their children, and General Hans Krebs. Each of these individuals are recorded as having died by cyanide poisoning; contrary to the Western conclusion that Hitler died by a suicide gunshot.

William F. "Bill" Heimlich was an American intelligence officer and director of the RIAS after World War II.

<i>Who Killed Hitler?</i> 1947 book

Who Killed Hitler? is a 1947 American book edited by Herbert Moore and James W. Barrett, with an introduction by U.S. intelligence officer William F. Heimlich. The book contends that rather than commit suicide or escape Germany, Nazi leader Adolf Hitler was assassinated in an attempted coup d'état by Schutzstaffel (SS) leader Heinrich Himmler. The book criticizes claims of Hitler's survival and has also been criticized for bolstering them.

References

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Daly-Groves notes that National Archives material related to MI6 activities in Germany in 1945 remains classified. [5]
  2. ↑ Though not drawn by him, the diagram based on Mansfeld's statements visualises the bunker exit almost as far west as Hermann-Göring-Straße, omitting a large park between those two areas. [15]
  3. ↑ One of these was a photograph SS- Rottenführer Harry Mengershausen used to specify the burning and burials sites to the Soviets, which is close to the location given by Mansfeld. [15]
  4. ↑ Poppen's diagram vaguely relates a burial several metres to the northwest of the burning site (in fact agreeing with Mansfeld), but disregarding any locational reference to the bunker grounds.
  5. ↑ Karnau made numerous contradictory statements as to the burnings, including the date and time, as well as the various states in which he ostensibly saw the remains. [17] [18]
  6. ↑ Compared to those published by Soviet journalist Lev Bezymenski in 1968 and 1982

Citations

  1. ↑ "Authors :: Luke Daly-Groves". Andrew Lownie Literary Agency . Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  2. 1 2 Daly-Groves 2019, pp. xvii, 173.
  3. 1 2 Daly-Groves, Luke (January 2016). "The Death of Adolf Hitler: British Intelligence, Soviet Accusations and Rumours of Survival". ResearchGate . Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  4. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. xvii, 16, 29, 163.
  5. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 164, 216.
  6. ↑ Musmanno, Michael A. (1950). Ten Days to Die. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. p. 233.
  7. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 156–158.
  8. ↑ Trevor-Roper, Hugh (2002) [1947]. The Last Days of Hitler (7th ed.). London: Pan Macmillan. p. 182. ISBN   978-0-330-49060-3.
  9. ↑ Bullock, Alan (1962) [1952]. Hitler: A Study in Tyranny. New York: Konecky & Konecky. p. 800. ISBN   978-1-56852-036-0.
  10. ↑ Multiple sources:
  11. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, p. 158, 215.
  12. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 9–10, 15, 23–24.
  13. 1 2 3 Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 138–139.
  14. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 142–143.
  15. 1 2 3 Vinogradov, V. K.; Pogonyi, J. F.; Teptzov, N. V. (2005). Hitler's Death: Russia's Last Great Secret from the Files of the KGB. Chaucer Press. pp. 67, 80–81. ISBN   978-1-904449-13-3.
  16. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 140–141.
  17. ↑ Moore & Barrett 1947, pp. 135, 155–156, 159–160.
  18. ↑ Joachimsthaler 2000, pp. 213–214.
  19. ↑ Moore & Barrett 1947, pp. iii, 114.
  20. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, p. 15.
  21. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 93, 94.
  22. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, p. 164.
  23. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 124, 163.
  24. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, pp. 20, 164, 165.
  25. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, p. 165.
  26. ↑ Daly-Groves 2019, plate 13.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.