
WW2 category: Hitler's remains -- See latest WWII news here.
DNA tests reveal that Adolf Hitler's skull fragment in Russia belongs to a woman guardian.co.uk :: 2009-09-27
In Adolf Hitler biographies the story of Fuhrer's last hours is traditionally this: he committed suicide with Eva Braun by taking a cyanide pill and shooting himself on 30 April 1945. Some historians wondered if the Führer had shot himself, speculating that stories of Hitler's death had been embellished to present his suicide in a heroic light. But a fragment of skull with bullet hole - taken from the bunker by the Russians - seemed to settle the argument. Until now. DNA test by American researchers revealed that the skull fragment, held by Soviet intelligence, belonged to a woman under 40.
With Hitler to the End: The Memoir of Hitler's Valet by Heinz Linge [book review] dailymail.co.uk :: 2009-08-05
Heinz Linge was never far away from Adolf Hitler - and stood by him until the end in Berlin in 1945, where he helped to burn Hitler's body. Linge joined the Waffen-SS in 1933, and was later picked out to serve on Hitler's household staf fat Berghof - becoming his personal valet after the start of World War II in 1939. "On April 27, 1945, Hitler called me into his study: 'I am going to shoot myself here together with Eva Braun. You will wrap our bodies in woollen blankets, carry them up to the garden and then burn them.' Three days later he was dead. Opening the door to Hitler's room, I saw a sight that will never leave me. He and Eva were slumped on the floral sofa." [Buy from Amazon: US, UK, CA, DE, FR] [Adolf Hitler]
Last Living Aide - Interview with Hitler's bodyguard Rochus Misch spiegel :: 2007-07-31
The last living member of Hitler's entourage, Rochus Misch, SS bodyguard and fuehrerbunker telephone operator, is publishing a book about his time with the Führer. "He wasn't a monster, he wasn't an Übermensch..." Hanna Reitsch wanted to fly the Goebbels' 6 children out of Berlin. Misch says Goebbels wanted to rescue the children but that his wife Magda had them all killed out of loyalty to Hitler. He recalls seeing Eva Braun sitting dead in the corner of the sofa. On May 2, 1945 Goebbels dismissed him: "We knew how to live, we will also know how to die." Misch said farewell to Johannes Hentschel (who stayed in the bunker), and left the bunker through a cellar window. [Rochus Misch]
Body of Adolf Hitler reburied 8 times Pravda :: 2005-08-06
A badly charred corpse of Hitler was found in a bomb crater in the Imperial Chancellery's garden 60 years ago. His mortal remains were reburied 8 times and eventually destroyed by fire. The first burial took place on April 30th, 1945. The Fuhrer, his newly-fledged wife Eva Braun, and his two dogs were buried in the garden of the Imperial Chancellery. A Russian soldier Ivan Churakov found two unidentified corpses in a crater on May 4th. The Russians removed the remains but put them back into the ground on the same day because Hitler's body was thought to have been already found. [Adolf Hitler]
MI5 - Hitler's last days in his bunker below the Reich Chancellery beentheredunnit.com :: 2005-04-30
30 April 2005 marked the 60th anniversary of the suicide of Adolf Hitler in his bunker below the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. Eyewitness accounts provide a fascinating insight into Hitler's final days in April 1945. In June 1945, the Soviets announced - falsely - that Hitler's remains had not been found and that he was probably still alive. This announcement caused a predictable flurry of "Hitler sightings" across Europe. Allied officers sought to establish beyond possible doubt that Hitler had indeed died in his bunker. To that end, they interrogated various members of Hitler's personal staff who had been with the dictator in late April 1945. [Hitler's remains]
Hitler aide SS officer Otto Guensche dies - helped to burn Hitler's body bbc :: 2003-10-13
An aide to Adolf Hitler who says he helped to burn his body in Berlin in the final days of WWII has died at the age of 86. Otto Guensche was an SS officer and a member of Hitler's inner circle. He was captured by Red Army troops, but was released after several years to live quietly in western Germany. He was with Hitler when he survived an assassination attempt in July 1944, and was in the bunker in 1945 where Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide. In a recent interview, he said that the Fuehrer had personally ordered him to burn his body. He added that he threw the rag which started the fire after chief of staff Martin Bormann had failed to ignite the bodies. [Last days & final hours in Berlin führerbunker]
Russia displays part of Adolf Hitler's skull bbc :: 2000-04-27
"The Agony of the Third Reich: The Retribution" -exhibition shows part of a skull which was Adolf Hitler's. The fragment, with a bullet hole through it, has been kept in a secret vault for decades. The exhibition has documents on Soviet project to id Hitler's remains, and Hitler's belongings from bunker. Hitler shot himself in his Berlin bunker on 30 April, 1945 (Eva Braun took cyanide). The bodies were taken outside by staff, doused with petrol and set ablaze. They were buried in a shallow grave outside the bunker. Soviet troops dug up the remains and reburied them in Magdeburg. [Hitler's remains]