The book's release was preceded by various contradictory reports about Hitler's death, including from eyewitnesses. Under Joseph Stalin, the Soviets both claimed that Hitler died from cyanide and that he escaped Berlin. Much of the information presented in the book about how Hitler died (namely by poisoning or a coup de grâce) has been discredited, including by the author, as propaganda. Hitler's body was reputedly burned almost completely to ashes, leaving nothing to conduct an autopsy upon.[lower-alpha 2] Only the Soviet description of Hitler's dental remains, consisting of a golden bridge and a mandibular fragment with teeth, is regarded as reliable. The book includes previously unreleased photographs.
The key surviving witnesses to the immediate aftermath of Hitler's death: Heinz Linge, Otto Günsche, and Artur Axmann. The former two were interrogated by the Soviet Union and then the Western Allies; Axmann spoke only to U.S. officials (giving details of Hitler's death when photographed here).
Bezymenski's 1968 book on Hitler's death was presaged by various contradictory reports regarding that event and its primary investigations.
Initial Soviet surveys
The Führerbunker following its destruction (photographed in 1947)
On 9 May 1945, The New York Times reported that a body was claimed by the Soviets to belong to Hitler, but that an anonymous servant disputed this—claiming that the body belonged to a cook who was killed because of his resemblance to the (allegedly escaped) dictator.[9][10] By 11 May, two colleagues of Hitler's dentist, Hugo Blaschke,[lower-alpha 3] confirmed the dental remains of Hitler and Eva Braun;[11] both subsequently spent years in Soviet prisons.[12]
On 5 June, Soviet Marshal Georgy Zhukov's staff officers stated that Hitler's body had been examined and claimed that he had died by cyanide poisoning.[13] At a press conference on 9June, on orders from Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, Zhukov presented the official narrative that Hitler did not commit suicide, but had escaped Berlin—beginning a Soviet disinformation campaign suited to Stalin's desires.[14] The next day, newspapers quoted Zhukov as saying, "We have found no corpse that could be Hitler's," and Soviet Colonel General Nikolai Berzarin as stating, "Perhaps he is in Spain with Franco."[15] In early July, Time magazine cited the ongoing Soviet investigation as having produced no conclusive evidence and asserting that Hitler had ordered his men to spread news of his death.[16]
When asked at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945 how Hitler had died, Stalin said he was either living "in Spain or Argentina."[17] The same month, British newspapers quoted a Soviet officer as saying that a charred body they had discovered was "a very poor double." United States newspapers quoted the Russian garrison commandant of Berlin as claiming that Hitler had "gone into hiding somewhere in Europe," possibly with the help of Francoist Spain.[18] In mid-1945, a Soviet major told American sources that Hitler had survived and claimed of the place in the Reich Chancellery garden where his body was said to have been burned, "It is not true that Hitler was found there!". He went on to claim they did not find the body of Eva Braun either.[2][19][20] One Soviet major thought that Hitler, who held complex views on Christianity, might have faked his death in order to mimic the resurrection of Jesus.[21]
According to SS valet Heinz Linge, who was captured by the Soviets in early May 1945, his interrogators repeatedly questioned him about whether Hitler was dead or if he could have escaped and perhaps left a double in his place; the Soviets told him that they had found a number of corpses but were unsure about Hitler's remains.[22] In 1956, the German tabloidDas Bild quoted the Soviet People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) Captain Fjedor Pavlovich Vassilki as claiming, "Hitler's skull was [found] almost intact, as were the cranium and the upper and lower jaws."[23]
Eyewitness accounts
Reconstructions by West Germany (1956) depicting contrary eyewitness reports of how the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun were found
Three main eyewitnesses to the state of Hitler and Braun's bodies in the immediate aftermath of their deaths survived and provided their accounts: Linge, SS-SturmbannführerOtto Günsche, and Hitler Youth leader Artur Axmann.[24][lower-alpha 4] Contrarily, in a purported Soviet transcript of a statement made on 17 May 1945 (and not released for six decades), Günsche allegedly first saw the bodies after they had been wrapped in blankets.[27] British MI6 intelligence officer Hugh Trevor-Roper argued that discrepancies in truthful eyewitness accounts could be due to differences in "observation and recollection",[28] while German historian Anton Joachimsthaler interpreted them as possibly being due to poor memory formation during the turbulent event.[29] The three key eyewitnesses agree in their reports to Western authorities that Hitler was found seated upright at the end of the sofa (or in an armchair next to it) and Braun was next to him with no visible wounds.[30] (SS-OberscharführerRochus Misch was also interrogated by the Soviets; over half a century later, he told U.S. interviewers that he saw Hitler's head facedown on the table, contradicting himself about whether he saw blood. Braun's head was purportedly leaning against Hitler's leg.)[31][32]
After his capture in December 1945,[25] Axmann told U.S. officials that he saw thin ribbons of blood coming from both of Hitler's temples and that his lower jaw seemed slightly askew, leading him to think that Hitler had shot himself through the mouth—with the temple blood a result of internal trauma.[33][34][lower-alpha 5][lower-alpha 6] Axmann did not check the back of the head for an exit wound.[33][37] Axmann made other contradictory statements thereafter, such as reportedly being told Hitler used the pistol and poison method for suicide and that the shot in the mouth destroyed his dental work.[38][34][33][24][39][lower-alpha 7][lower-alpha 8] In 1948, the Berlin Records Office cited Axmann's testimony from the Einsatzgruppen trial at Nuremberg that he had seen Hitler's body being carried in a blanket as insufficient evidence of the dictator's death; this led to an extensive investigation and for new testimony to be taken.[40]
In 1956, Linge, Günsche, and Hitler's pilot Hans Baur were released from Soviet captivity and brought to Berlin. They were again torturously interrogated, with the goal of obtaining statements to prove the Soviet narrative that Hitler killed himself with poison. Remaining loyal to Hitler, Baur told the two others to "Never say what really happened."[41] Both Linge and Günsche stated that they saw a wound the size of a small coin on Hitler's right temple with a puddle on the floor;[42] contrarily, Linge stated in 1965 that the entry wound was to the left temple, but he subsequently recanted this.[7][43][44][lower-alpha 6] The discrepancies between eyewitnesses spurred a criminological report for West Germany officials, which contrasted Axmann and Linge's description of the suicide aftermath against Günsche's, the latter claiming that Hitler was sitting in a chair next to the sofa. Hitler's death certificate was registered in 1956 as an assumption of death on the basis that no eyewitnesses had seen his body—which Joachimsthaler points out is false.[45]
SS-Rottenführer Harry Mengershausen also made contradictory statements, initially claiming that Stumpfegger killed Hitler with a cyanide injection, but later claiming to have seen the temple entry wound.[46]Reichssicherheitsdienst (RSD) guard Hermann Karnau stated that before the cremation began Hitler's skull was "partially caved in and the face encrusted with blood".[33] Günsche said that by this time "the bloodstains from the temple had spread further over the face".[47][lower-alpha 6] RSD guards Erich Mansfeld and Karnau testified that the remains were reduced to something between charred bones and piles of ashes which fell apart to the touch.[48] Various witnesses and analyses agree that there was more than enough petrol to achieve extensive burning,[49] although Trevor-Roper opines that the bones would not likely have completely disintegrated due to the burning taking place in open air.[50] Hitler's chauffeur, Erich Kempka (who stated falsehoods and retracted many of his statements about the entire affair)[51][52] stated in June 1945 about the cremations, "I doubt if anything remained of the bodies. The fire was terrifically intense. Maybe some evidence like bits of bone and teeth could be found but [the artillery shelling probably] scattered things all over."[16][19][lower-alpha 2][lower-alpha 7]
Further findings
In 1946, the successor to the NKVD, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, conducted a second investigation (known as "Operation Myth"). Blood from Hitler's sofa and wall was reportedly matched to his blood type and a partially burnt skull fragment was found with gun damage to the posterior of the parietal bone.[53][54][lower-alpha 9] These two discoveries led to the Soviet admission that Hitler died by gunshot, as opposed to cyanide poisoning (as claimed by the purported autopsy report published in Bezymenski's book).[53][57]
In the early 1950s, U.S. intelligence officer William F. Heimlich contended in the National Police Gazette, an American tabloid-style magazine, that according to U.S. tests the blood found on Hitler's sofa did not match his blood type. Heimlich also claimed that during their one day of access to the bunker grounds in December 1945,[58] the Americans sifted the garden dirt and found no trace of burnt bodies.[59][58] He upheld that Hitler's body would not have completely burned to ashes in the open air.[60][50]
In 1963, author Cornelius Ryan interviewed General B.S. Telpuchovski, a Soviet historian who was allegedly present during the aftermath of the Battle of Berlin. Telpuchovski claimed that on 2 May 1945, a burnt body he thought belonged to Hitler was found wrapped in a blanket.[62][lower-alpha 10][lower-alpha 11] This supposed individual had been killed by a gunshot through the mouth, with an exit wound through the back of the head.[62][lower-alpha 5] Several dental bridges were purportedly found next to the body, because, Telpuchovski stated, "the force of the bullet had dislodged them from the mouth".[62][lower-alpha 7] According to Telpuchovski, a total of three burnt Hitler candidates had been produced, apparently including a body double wearing mended socks,[62] as well as an unburnt body.[63][lower-alpha 12] Prior to Bezymenski's book, Western historians referred to Hitler's remains as including a full mandible, as opposed to a fragment with teeth.[70][23]
Author
Soviet journalist Lev Bezymenski (1920–2007),[71] the son of poet Aleksandr Bezymensky, served as an interpreter in the Battle of Berlin under Marshal Zhukov.[72][73] Early on 1 May 1945, he translated a letter from Goebbels and Bormann announcing Hitler's death.[71][55] Bezymenski authored several works about the Nazi era.[71]
Content
English hardcover edition (1968)
The book begins with an overview of the Battle of Berlin and its aftermath, including a reproduction of the purported Soviet autopsy report of Hitler's body.[74] Bezymenski states that the bodies of Hitler and Braun were "the most seriously disfigured of all thirteen corpses" examined.[75] The appendix summarizes the discovery of the Goebbels family's corpses and includes further forensic reports.[76] On why the autopsy reports were not released earlier, Bezymenski says:
Not because of doubts as to the credibility of the experts. ... Those who were involved in the investigation remember that other considerations played a far larger role. First, it was resolved not to publish the results of the forensic-medical report but to "hold it in reserve" in case someone might try to slip into the role of "the Führer saved by a miracle." Secondly, it was resolved to continue the investigations in order to exclude any possibility of error or deliberate deception.[77]
Early in the book, Bezymenski contends that accounts written by those who lacked access to the autopsy reports "have confused the issue rather than clarifying it."[78] He cites The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1960), in which William L. Shirer states:
The bones were never found, and this gave rise to rumors after the war that Hitler had survived. But the separate interrogation of several eyewitnesses by British and American intelligence officers leaves no doubt about the matter. Kempka has given a plausible explanation as to why the charred remains were never found. "The traces were wiped out," he told his interrogators, "by the uninterrupted Russian artillery fire."[79]
What happened to the ashes of the two burned bodies left in the Chancellery Garden has never been discovered. ... Trevor-Roper, who carried out a thorough investigation in 1945 of the circumstances surrounding Hitler's death, inclines to the view that the ashes were collected into a box and handed to Artur Axmann. ... It is, of course, true that no final incontrovertible evidence in the form of Hitler's dead body has been produced.[80]
Box purportedly containing Hitler's badly burnt body; photograph from the book
Bezymenski then gives an account of the battle of Berlin, the subsequent investigation by SMERSH, supplemented by later statements of Nazi officers. Bezymenski quotes SMERSH commander Ivan Klimenko's account, which states that on the night of 3 May 1945, he witnessed Vizeadmiral Hans-Erich Voss seem to recognize a body as Hitler's in a dry water tank filled with other corpses outside the Führerbunker, before recanting this identification.[81] Klimenko noted that the corpse had mended socks, initially giving him doubt as well.[81] Klimenko then relates that on 4 May, Soviet Private Ivan Churakov found legs sticking out of the ground in a crater outside the Reich Chancellery.[lower-alpha 13] Two corpses were exhumed, but Klimenko had these reburied, thinking that the doppelgänger would be identified as Hitler. Only that day did several witnesses say it was definitely not Hitler's body, and a diplomat released it for burial. On the morning of 5 May, Klimenko had the other two bodies reexhumed.[83][lower-alpha 14] By 11 May, two colleagues of Hitler's dentist[lower-alpha 3] both confirmed the dental remains of Hitler and Eva Braun.[11]
As shown in the book, Hitler's dental remains consist of (left images) a metallic maxillar bridge and (right) a mandibular fragment sundered near the alveolar ridge.The mandibular fragment (color)—as well as the maxillar bridge—comprise Hitler's only confirmed bodily remains.
According to the report on the purported forensic examination of Hitler's body conducted on 8 May,[lower-alpha 15] the "remains of a male corpse disfigured by fire[lower-alpha 16] were delivered in a wooden box".[87][lower-alpha 17] The upper dental remains consisted of a bridge of nine primarily gold teeth.[lower-alpha 18] The lower jawbone fragment had 15 teeth, 10 of them largely or entirely artificial;[lower-alpha 19] it was found loose in the oral cavity, and was broken and burnt around the alveolar process,[lower-alpha 16] the bulge that encases the tooth sockets.[68][lower-alpha 20][lower-alpha 21] Splinters of glass and a "thin-walled ampule" were found in the mouth, apparently from a cyanide capsule,[92] which was ruled to be the cause of death,[57] although no dissection of internal organs was recorded, making this unverifiable.[93] Ranking Soviet forensicist Faust Shkaravsky declared that "No matter what is asserted... our Commission could not detect any traces of a gun shot ... Hitler poisoned himself."[94]
The alleged body was estimated to be about 1.65 metres (5feet 5inches) tall.[68] (Hitler stood 1.76m or 5ft 9in tall.)[95][96] The report states that "On the body was found a piece of yellow jersey ...charred around the edges, resembling a knitted undervest."[87] The left foot[lower-alpha 22] and the left testicle were reportedly missing.[99][lower-alpha 23] Part of the skull was absent, and the fire-damaged brain could be seen in part, with an intact dura mater.[68][lower-alpha 24]
Bezymenski also criticizes discrepancies of prior reports. Günsche allegedly told the Soviets in 1950 that both Hitler and Braun were seated on the sofa, but in 1960, said both were on chairs. Bezymenski points out that Linge's 1965 claim of Hitler's entry wound being to the left temple is unlikely as Hitler was right-handed and his left hand trembled significantly.[43]
Bezymenski quotes testimony given to the Soviets by SS general Johann Rattenhuber, in which he claimed that before killing himself with cyanide, Hitler ordered Linge to return in ten minutes to deliver a coup de grâce-style gunshot to ensure his death. Bezymenski calls it "certain" that if anyone shot Hitler, it was not himself. To support this claim, he cites the little black dog found nearby, which was killed in a similar fashion.[102] The author also refers to a skull fragment recovered in 1946, which had a gunshot wound to the back of the head, saying it most likely belonged to Hitler.[68][lower-alpha 9]
Bezymenski asserts that sometime after the forensic examinations, the corpses of Hitler and the others were completely burned and the ashes scattered.[77][lower-alpha 12]
Appendix
The appendix includes the purported Soviet forensic reports on the bodies of Braun, the Goebbels family, General Krebs, and two dogs.
Eva Braun
The purported autopsy of the body presumed to be Braun's was conducted on 8 May 1945. The corpse is noted as being "impossible to describe the features of", owing to its extensive charring. Almost the entire upper skull was missing. The occipital and temporal bones were fragmentary, as was the lower left of the face. The upper jaw contained four teeth,[lower-alpha 25] while the lower jaw had six teeth on the left; the others were missing—according to the report "probably because of burning". The alveolar process of the maxilla was also absent. A piece of gold (probably a filling) was found in the mouth cavity, and a gold bridge with two false molars was under the tongue. The woman was judged to be no more than middle-aged due to her teeth being only slightly worn; her height was approximately 1.5m (4ft 11in). There was a splinter injury to the chest resulting in hemothorax, injuries to one lung and the pericardium—accompanied by six small metal fragments.[lower-alpha 26] Pieces of a glass ampule were found in the mouth, and the smell of bitter almonds which accompanies death from cyanide poisoning was present; this was ruled to be the cause of death.[104]
Goebbels family
Magda and Joseph Goebbels surrounded by their children, who (except for Magda's earlier son Harald Quandt edited into photo at top center), all died by cyanide poisoning in the bunker—the six children killed by their parents with the help of Dr. Stumpfegger.
The partly burnt body of Joseph Goebbels and the remains presumed to be Magda Goebbels were discovered near the bunker emergency exit by Ivan Klimenko on 2 May 1945, reportedly after a German notified him of their presence.[106] The next day, Senior Lieutenant Ilyin found the bodies of the Goebbels children in one of the rooms of the Chancellery bunker. The bodies were identified by Vizeadmiral Voss, cook Lange, and Karl Schneider (referred to as the head garage mechanic), "all of whom knew [the Goebbels family] well."[107] The autopsies of two of the children are listed as taking place on 7 and 8 May; all six children were determined to have died from cyanide poisoning.[108] Autopsies for Joseph, Magda and General Krebs were conducted on 9 May.[109]
Joseph Goebbels's body was "heavily scorched", but was identified by his size, estimated age, shortened right leg and related orthopedic appliance, as well as his head characteristics and dental remains, which included many fillings. His genitals were "greatly reduced in size, shrunken, dry." Chemical testing revealed cyanide compounds in the internal organs and blood; cyanide poisoning was judged to be the cause of death.[110]
The body presumed to be Magda's was scorched beyond recognition. Voss identified two items found on the corpse as having been in her possession: a cigarette case inscribed "Adolf Hitler—29.X.34", which she had used for the last three weeks of her life, and Hitler's Golden Party Badge, which the dictator had given her three days before his suicide.[111][112] Additionally, a reddish-blond hairpiece was identified as matching the color of one Magda wore. Her dental remains, including both a maxilla and mandible with dental work, were found loose on the corpse along with splinters from a thin-walled ampule; the cause of death was ruled to be cyanide poisoning.[111]
General Krebs
General Krebs is erroneously listed in the autopsy report as "Major General Krips" (as Bezymenski notes). Cyanide compounds were detected in the internal organs and the smell of bitter almonds was recorded, leading the commission to conclude that Krebs' death was "obviously caused by poisoning with cyanide compounds." Three light head wounds were presumed to have been obtained from his death fall onto a protruding object.[113]
Dogs
A German Shepherd matching Hitler's dog Blondi's description appears to have died from cyanide poisoning.[114] A small black bitch, about 60 centimetres (2ft) long and 28cm (1ft) tall, was poisoned by cyanide before being shot in the head.[115]
Photographs
Sixteen pages of previously unreleased photographs[116] include those of Ivan Klimenko, head of autopsy commission Faust Shkaravsky, the locations of Hitler's burning and burying site outside the Führerbunker's emergency exit, SMERSH agents exhuming Hitler and Braun's remains, a diagram of where the corpses of Hitler, Braun, Joseph and Magda Goebbels were burned, Hitler and Braun's alleged corpses in boxes[lower-alpha 17] (angled so that unidentifiable mounds of flesh can be seen), front and back views of Hitler's golden upper dental bridge and a lower jawbone fragment connecting his lower teeth and bridges, a sketch drawn by Hitler's dentist's assistant Käthe Heusermann on 11 May 1945 to identify Hitler's dental remains, Braun's dental bridge, the first and last page of Hitler's autopsy report, the Soviet autopsy commission with both Kreb's and Joseph Goebbels' corpses, the bodies of the Goebbels family, the bodies of Krebs and the Goebbels children at Plötzensee Prison,[117] and Blondi's corpse.[118]
Criticism and legacy
Upon the book's publication, Hugh Trevor-Roper wrote that it was "remarkable that [Bezymenski's] book is apparently for Western consumption only", with no Russian release and the book's original language apparently being German. Trevor-Roper says, "No explanation is offered of these interesting facts, which suggest a propagandist rather than an historical purpose."[72] A paperback edition was published in English in 1969, claiming on the cover to "prove how Hitler died ... for the first time".[119] In his 1971 book about Hitler, German historian Werner Maser expresses doubt about Bezymenski's book, including the autopsy's insinuation that Hitler had only one testicle.[101][lower-alpha 23]
In 1972, forensic odontologistsReidar F. Sognnaes and Ferdinand Strøm reconfirmed Hitler's dental remains based on X-rays of Hitler taken in 1944, the 1945 testimony of Käthe Heusermann and dental technician Fritz Echtmann, as well as the purported Soviet forensic examination of the dental remains.[120] Soviet war interpreter Elena Rzhevskaya claimed to have seen Hitler's charred corpse in the Chancellery garden. According to her, the dental remains were removed during the alleged autopsy (at which Bezymenski asserts she was not present),[121] and the pages of the report about them were recorded on "two large non-standard sheets of paper".[65] Rzhevskaya safeguarded the dental remains until they could be identified by Hitler's dental staff. Shkaravsky (d.1975) wrote to her that the commission had been forbidden to photograph Hitler's body for unknown reasons and suggested that the damage to Braun's chest could have been from shrapnel.[65] According to Lindloff, who cremated Hitler and Braun's bodies, after only 30 minutes the bodies were "already charred and torn open", in part caused by shrapnel.[122]
In his 1975 book The Bunker, journalist James P. O'Donnell dismisses the book's implication that a poisoned Hitler could not have shot himself, pointing out that "few if any poisons act instantly, [and] certainly not cyanide".[123][124] O'Donnell dismisses the supporting claim that Hitler would not have been able to pull the trigger due to hand tremors, as only his left hand shook badly. O'Donnell further exhorts: "Hitler lacked many human qualities; but, really, did he lack a strong will?"[123]
In 1982, a second edition of the book was released in German,[125] which included an English translation of the odontological report by Sognnaes and Strøm.[126][101] Additionally, Bezymenski attempts to account for the failure to produce evidence of Hitler's death by gunshot.[101] He also expounds on Mengershausen's claims, saying that he was extensively interrogated by the Soviets as a key witness, in June 1945 providing the exact locations where he supposedly buried Hitler and Braun.[127][23]
In 1992, Bezymenski wrote that Hitler's corpse was cremated in April 1978, despite asserting in 1968 that it had already been done.[128][lower-alpha 12] A 1992 Der Spiegel article claims that Bezymenski had now learned that the cremation took place in 1970.[129] The article further asserts that the blood type was not determined in 1946 (contrary to contradictory Soviet and U.S. claims) and that during the 1946 investigation, the Soviets found trickle-like bloodstains on Hitler's sofa, interpreted by Der Spiegel as implying Hitler died slowly. Bezymenski, who described himself as having been "aproduct of the era and a typical party propagandist", stated that "It is not difficult to guess why the KGB [did not give me findings suggesting Hitler's slow death, asI] was supposed to lead the reader to the conclusion that all talk of a gunshot was a pipe dream or half an invention and that Hitler actually poisoned himself."[129] In a 2003 episode of National Geographic's Riddles of the Dead, Bezymenski elaborates that the KGB only granted him access to the documents in the Soviet archive on the basis that he would maintain the narrative that Hitler died by cyanide and say his remains had been cremated by June 1945.[55]
In 1995, journalist Ada Petrova and historian Peter Watson wrote that they considered Bezymenski's account at odds with Trevor-Roper's report, published as The Last Days of Hitler (1947).[130] Though Petrova and Watson used Bezymenski's book as a source for theirs,[131] they note issues with the SMERSH investigation.[93] A main issue they cite is that the autopsies on the alleged remains of Hitler and Braun did not include a record of dissection of their internal organs, which would have shown with certainty whether poison was a factor in their deaths.[93] (Extensive internal organ examinations were recorded in some of the commission's other autopsies.)[132] Petrova and Watson also opine that it was dissatisfaction of this first investigation, along with concerns of the findings of Trevor-Roper, that led to Stalin ordering a second commission in 1946.[133] Petrova and Watson also cite Hitler's alleged autopsy report to refute Hugh Thomas's theory that only Hitler's dental remains belonged to him, saying that the entire jawbone structure[lower-alpha 7] would have had to have been found loose on the alleged body while clamping down on the tongue, which "would presumably be a very difficult arrangement to fake".[134][lower-alpha 20]
In 1995, Joachimsthaler criticized Bezymenski's account in his book on Hitler's death, reaching the same conclusion put forward 45 years earlier by U.S. jurist Michael Musmanno (presiding judge at the Einsatzgruppen trial) that the dictator's corpse was almost completely burned to ashes—meaning that no body would have remained to perform an autopsy on.[lower-alpha 2] Joachimsthaler implies that another body must have been examined instead, while also pointing out that hydrogen cyanide would have been evaporated by the fire and thus not left an odor. He quotes German pathologist Otto Prokop[de] as saying about the alleged autopsy: "Bezemensky's report is ridiculous.... Any one of my assistants would have done better... the whole thing is a farce... it is intolerably bad work... the transcript of the post-mortem section of 8 [May] 1945 describes anything but Hitler."[135] Similarly, historian Luke Daly-Groves states that "the Soviet soldiers picked up whatever mush they could find in front of Hitler's bunker exit, put it in a box and claimed it was the corpses of Adolf and Eva Hitler", and also denounces "the dubious autopsy report riddled with scientific inconsistencies and tainted by ideological motivations".[136] Only the report's coverage of the dental remains has been substantially verified, with 2017–2018 analysis led by French forensic pathologist Philippe Charlier concluding that the extant evidence "[fits] perfectly" with the Soviet description.[69] Contradicting previous Soviet accounts of the finding of the dental remains, Joachimsthaler asserts that the Soviets sifted them from the dirt in the manner Heimlich claimed without evidence that the Americans searched the garden in December 1945 (implying that Heimlich learned of this method from a Soviet officer and incorporated it into his account).[137][58] To explain the lack of finding a bullet or a bullet hole in the wall of Hitler's study, Joachimsthaler theorizes that the bullet, fired at contact range from a Walther PP or PPK, passed through one temple and became lodged inside the other, causing internal bleeding; he cites the statistical possibility (according to a 1925 study) of 7.65-mm bullets fired from pistols at living persons becoming lodged.[138][lower-alpha 24]
In their addendum to The Hitler Book (2005), Henrik Eberle and Matthias Uhl quote Bezymenski as admitting in 1995 that his work included "deliberate lies" and criticize his book for advocating the theories that Hitler died by poisoning or a coup de grâce.[139] Despite this, in 2018, investigative journalists Jean-Christophe Brisard and Lana Parshina asserted that Hitler could have commissioned Linge to shoot him through the temples because thedictator's poor health—particularly his hand tremors—would have made it difficult for him to do.[41] However, Brisard and Parshina also dismiss Bezymenski's book as largely propagandistic.[95]
Martin Ludwig Bormann was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery, private secretary to Adolf Hitler and a war criminal. After the war, he was convicted and sentenced to death-in-absentia for crimes against humanity. Bormann gained immense power by using his position as Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information and access to Hitler. He used his position to create an extensive bureaucracy and involve himself as much as possible in the decision making.
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.
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.
Although there is no evidence that Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler used look-alikes as political decoys during his life, some stories propagated c. 1939–1945 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 him, incepting disinformation efforts. Only Hitler's dental remains were confirmed, probably due to the cremation of his body.
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.
The Bunker, also published as The Berlin Bunker, is a 1975 account, written by American journalist James P. O'Donnell and German journalist Uwe Bahnsen, as to the history of the Führerbunker in 1945, as well as the last days of German dictator Adolf Hitler. The English edition was first published in 1978. Unlike other accounts O'Donnell focused considerable time on other, less-famous, residents of the bunker complex. Additionally, unlike the more academic works by historians, the book takes a journalistic approach. The book was later used as the basis for a 1981 CBS television film of the same name.
Ludwig Stumpfegger was a German doctor who served in the SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was Adolf Hitler's personal surgeon from 1944 to 1945, and was present in the Führerbunker in Berlin in late April 1945.
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. After being held in various prisons and labour camps in the Soviet Union, he was released from Bautzen Penitentiary on 2 May 1956.
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 the petrol to the garden behind the Reich Chancellery, where the remains of Hitler and Eva Braun were burned.
Gerda Christian, nicknamed "Dara", was one of Adolf Hitler's private secretaries before and during World War II.
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.
Werner Haase was a professor of medicine and SS member during the Nazi era. He was one of Adolf Hitler's personal physicians. After the war ended, Haase was made a Soviet prisoner of war. He died while in captivity in 1950.
Eva Anna Paula Hitler was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich when she was a 17-year-old assistant and model for his personal photographer, Heinrich Hoffmann. She began seeing Hitler often about two years later.
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.
Hugo Johannes Blaschke was a German dental surgeon notable for being Adolf Hitler's personal dentist from 1933 to April 1945 and for being the chief dentist on the staff of Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler.
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".
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.
Elena Moiseevna Rzhevskaya was a writer and former Soviet war interpreter. In April and May, 1945, she participated in the Battle of Berlin. According to her memoirs, called in English Memories of a War-time Interpreter, she was a member of the Soviet unit searching for Adolf Hitler in the ruins of the Reich Chancellery. Hitler's charred remains were, according to her own words, found by soldier Ivan Churakov on 4 May 1945. Four days later, on 8 May, Colonel Vassily Gorbushin gave her a small box that contained Hitler's dental remains. During the identification of the corpse, the Soviet team worked in top-secret conditions. Rzhevskaya and Gorbushin managed to find in Berlin, Käthe Heusermann, an assistant of Hugo Blaschke, Hitler's personal dentist. Heusermann confirmed the identity of the Nazi leader. The information was, however, suppressed by Joseph Stalin, who later ordered the facts not to be publicized. She was a recipient of the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Writer's Civic Courage.
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.
References
Footnotes
1 2 Initially released in German as Der Tod des Adolf Hitler: Unbekannte Dokumente aus Moskauer Archiven, the 1982 German second edition was re-subtitledDer sowjetische Beitrag über das Ende des Dritten Reiches und seines Diktators (lit.'The Soviet Contribution to the End of the Third Reich and Its Dictator').[1]
1 2 3 In his 1950 book about Hitler's death, U.S. jurist Michael Musmanno argues that "there never was any authoritative account that Hitler's and Eva Braun's bodies were found intact."[2] Contrarily, in 2003, German forensic biologist Mark Benecke argued that body water would inhibit an open-air cremation.[3]
1 2 Dental assistant Käthe Heusermann helped locate Hitler's X-rays and directed the Soviets to dental technician Fritz Echtmann, who had made Hitler's bridges.[11]
↑ Axmann evaded Soviet capture but was arrested by the U.S. Army in December 1945.[25] Linge and Günsche were captured by the Soviets and spent a decade in captivity, undergoing extensive questioning under torturous conditions.[26]
1 2 Two of the three eyewitnesses to the immediate aftermath of Hitler's suicide said he did not die by a gunshot through the mouth and none reported seeing a wound in the back of his head.[66] Further, in 2017–2018, forensic analysis was conducted on Hitler's dental remains, which did not detect any gunpowder.[67]
1 2 3 After Hitler's body was wrapped in a blanket, SS-Hauptsturmführer Karl Schneider purportedly saw coagulated blood on both temples and SS-Rottenführer Harry Mengershausen reputedly saw an entry wound on the right temple.[35][36]
↑ Axmann also stated both that he saw no blood coming from Hitler's mouth[33][37] and that the mouth "was bloody and smeared".[38] Additionally, Axmann said Günsche told him that Hitler had taken poison then shot himself;[34][33] Günsche later denied telling Axmann that Hitler took poison.[24]
1 2 In 2003, forensic anthropologist Marilyn London argued that internal trauma caused by the gunshot could have facilitated the detachment of the skull fragment.[55] In 2009, DNA and forensic tests indicated that it belonged to a woman less than 40 years old.[56]
↑ In his 1966 book, The Last Battle, Ryan describes this body as being Hitler's, saying it had been buried "under a thin layer of earth".[63]
↑ According to Soviet war interpreter Elena Rzhevskaya, this is the day Joseph Goebbels and a woman presumed to be his wife[64] were discovered, but Hitler's body was not unearthed until 4May.[65]
1 2 3 Soviets also told Cornelius Ryan in 1963 that Hitler's body had by that time been cremated.[62]
↑ Later in the book, Bezymenski credits Churakov with "[pulling] the dreadfully disfigured corpse of Adolf Hitler from the rubble", though Klimenko describes the exhumation as a group effort.[82]
↑ A 2005 book containing previously unpublished KGB files includes a Soviet field report dated 5May 1945 about the retrieval of a pair of "badly burnt" bodies, male and female, corroborating the date.[84]
↑ Bezymenski explains that the initial report was handwritten. Because it was typewritten at a later date, it mentions the 11 May identification of the dental remains by Blaschke's assistant Käthe Heusermann.[85]
1 2 The report states that "the skin is completely missing; only remnants of charred muscles are preserved."[68] In his 2018 analysis, French forensic pathologist Philippe Charlier pointed out muscle remnants near the burnt areas of the jawbone fragment (e.g. the depressor anguli oris and orbicularis oris).[86]
1 2 The boxes containing the remains of Hitler and Braun were ammunition crates.[88]
↑ According to Bezymenski,[89] Käthe Heusermann (assistant to Hitler's dentist, Hugo Blaschke) noticed where the maxillary bridge had been sawn through (behind the second premolar) by Blaschke in 1944.[90]
↑ Charlier et al. 2018 describes a number of upper and lower teeth as conglomerates of natural and artificial elements. Only the four lower incisors and the lower right first premolar were not largely bridgework.
1 2 Despite the mandible fragment being unattached to flesh, the tip of the burnt tongue is claimed to have been "locked between the teeth of the upper and lower jaws." Bezymenski says the alveolar processes of the "jawbone" they found were "broken in the back".[68]
↑ The dental remains were subsequently stored at the KGB's headquarters.[91] By 2017, the jawbone fragment had separated into three pieces and Philippe Charlier confirmed the Soviet description.[69]
↑ Karnau claimed that "the flesh on the lower parts of [Hitler's body] had burned away, and [his] shinbones were visible."[97] Additionally, Mengershausen, who claimed to have reidentified Hitler's remains in July 1945, stated that "Thefeet had been entirely consumed."[23][98]
1 2 Bezymenski says that "This congenital defect [ofamissing testicle] had not been mentioned anywhere in the existing literature. But Professor Karl von Hasselbach, one of Hitler's physicians, remembers that the Führer always refused categorically to have a medical check-up."[90] Historian Sjoerd de Boer opined that the story of only having one testicle suited Stalin's desire to portray Hitler as a coward who died by either poison or a coup de grâce.[100]
1 2 In the 1970s, ranking Soviet forensicist Faust Shkaravsky claimed that there was no damage to Hitler's brain (as in from a bullet).[101]
↑ These comprised three molars and a loose canine, in addition to a detached root.[103]
↑ Bezymenski attributes this to splinters from Soviet shelling while the bodies were burning in the garden.[75]
↑ Angolia, John (1989). For Führer and Fatherland: Political & Civil Awards of the Third Reich. R. James Bender Publishing. p.183. ISBN978-0-912-13816-9.
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