# Is This Story That Hitlers Body Was Not Found True? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 25, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134 "2015-07-25T03:35:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/1 "2015-07-25T03:35:23Z")
[http://zonnews.com/science-tech/677-historians-finally-admit-hitler-did-not-shoot-himself-in-the-head.html](http://zonnews.com/science-tech/677-historians-finally-admit-hitler-did-not-shoot-himself-in-the-head.html) > [@](#): > > DNA analyses on the skull performed by the University of Connecticut have shocked scientists, and have left experts debating whether Hitler survived and escaped Germany as many popular ‘conspiracy theories’ suggest. > > Russian officials claim this to be Hitler’s skull and has now been disproven by American historians > [@](#): > > But the skull fragment the Russians dug up outside the Führerbunker in 1946 could never have belonged to Hitler. The skull DNA was incontestably female. The only positive physical proof that Hitler had shot himself had suddenly been rendered worthless. The result is a mystery reopened and, for conspiracy theorists the tantalising possibility that Hitler did not die in the bunker. Anyone else hear anything about this? I just ran across this story on my FB feed. While I believe that the corpse the Soviets found may not have actually been Hitlers for political or propoganda purposes, is this scientific investigation real? ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/2 "2015-07-25T03:58:17Z")
Don’t know about the Hitler story specifically, but just skimming the page, it’s clear that conspiracy theories and extra-terrestrial alien stories are certainly well-represented on that site. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/3 "2015-07-25T04:09:22Z")
I had heard about the Connecticut scientist on a PBS doc about the end of Hitler. I suppose if the conclusions of the linked article were true then it would have been the story de jour in the media. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 10:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/4 "2015-07-25T10:32:11Z")
> [@](#): > > THIS is the picture that proves Adolf Hitler did not die in his bunker and escaped to Brazil where he lived to the ripe old age of 95, a Nazi-hunting author claims. > > The evil dictator fled to Paraguay, via Argentina, before settling in a small town in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil, according to a shocking new book. > > Hitler is said to have used the assumed name of Adolf Leipzig and was known to the 12,000 locals in Nossa Senhora do Livramento as “the Old German”. > > The man at the centre of the controversial claim is pictured, two years before his death in 1984, posing happily with his black girlfriend Cutinga. > **[The INCREDIBLE picture that proves Adolf Hitler lived to 95 with his...](https://www.express.co.uk/news/weird/455810/The-INCREDIBLE-picture-that-proves-Adolf-Hitler-lived-to-95-with-his-Brazilian-lover)** > > THIS is the picture that proves Adolf Hitler did not die in his bunker and escaped to Brazil where he lived to the ripe old age of 95, a Nazi-hunting author claims. ---
**Author:** ![coremelt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@coremelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/coremelt)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/5 "2015-07-25T10:49:00Z")
well that “grainy picture” is certainly convincing… um, not. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/6 "2015-07-25T11:39:56Z")
What happened to the Jesuit buried treasure this woman was searching when she found Hitler? ---
**Author:** ![Stinky\_Pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Stinky\_Pete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stinky_Pete)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/7 "2015-07-25T12:36:50Z")
Hitler left instructions to have his body burned after he committed suicide. When the Russians took the bunker they don’t seem to have did any special efforts to verify that the cremated corpse was definitely Hitler. So really there is no actual hard proof that the cremated body was in fact Hitler. So we can’t know for any degree of certainty that Hitler did not escape. As a long time WWII history buff I would say that Hitler escaping to save his own life would be out of character for the man. I don’t actually know what they did with Hitler’s corpse. What did the Russians do with it? ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/8 "2015-07-25T12:54:48Z")
> [@Stinky\_Pete](#): > > I don’t actually know what they did with Hitler’s corpse. What did the Russians do with it? The most likely story seems to be that all of the burned remains (which would have included Goebbels and his wife as well as Braun) were buried in a Red Army compound in Magdesburg. When the Soviets were about to turn the base over to the East Germans, the remains were exhumed, destroyed, and scattered. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Krupe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@Leo\_Krupe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Krupe)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/9 "2015-07-25T13:03:20Z")
I can see the possibility that the skull fragment the Soviets claimed was Hitler’s was in fact, not Hitler’s, but I see absolutely zero possibility that Hitler survived the war. After reading “The Mind of Adolf Hitler” by Langer, the most likely scenario is that he committed suicide. Hitler didn’t want to be displayed in a cage, nor did he want to be strung up like Mussolini. Sure, we’ll never have proof one way or the other, but I believe that, psychologically, Hitler wouldn’t have allowed himself to survive. The only other reasonable possibility I see is that he could’ve made himself out to be a martyr, and led (what was left of) his troops into battle against the Soviets, but ultimately, he was too cowardly to do even that. So suicide it is, as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![TSBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@TSBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TSBG)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/10 "2015-07-25T19:09:04Z")
Here’s an article NOT from a site for nutters about the story in question. The bone fragment, according to the archaeologist’s analysis, was not Hitler’s, but he does not believe Hitler survived. [From Forgotten Graves to Foreign Dictators (and Vampires, Too) - UConn Today](http://today.uconn.edu/2014/07/from-forgotten-graves-to-foreign-dictators-and-vampires-too/) ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/11 "2015-07-25T19:13:17Z")
Hitler shot himself, after shooting Eva Braun (they had just been married). The bodies were dragged up the stairs and placed in a shell crater, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. From what i understand, the remains were not found until weeks after the end of hostilities. I think that these stories came about because Stalin had the remains locked up, and did not release any information until 1949? or so-why he did this is a mystery. How was DNA testing conducted on the skull fragment? Does Hitler have any living relatives? ---
**Author:** ![desertmonk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@desertmonk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/desertmonk)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/12 "2015-07-25T20:37:50Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Hitler shot himself, after shooting Eva Braun (they had just been married). The bodies were dragged up the stairs and placed in a shell crater, doused with gasoline, and set on fire. From what i understand, the remains were not found until weeks after the end of hostilities. > I think that these stories came about because Stalin had the remains locked up, and did not release any information until 1949? or so-why he did this is a mystery. > How was DNA testing conducted on the skull fragment? Does Hitler have any living relatives? I’ve never read anything saying he shot Eva. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/13 "2015-07-25T20:39:07Z")
> [@desertmonk](#): > > I’ve never read anything saying he shot Eva. Cite? I think Konrad Heiden (“Der Fuhrer”) stated it. ---
**Author:** ![APB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8e8cbc/32.png) [@APB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/APB)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/14 "2015-07-25T20:40:36Z")
There are two important points to bear in mind. The first is that the Russians discovered what they believed was Hitler’s body in May 1945, but the skull fragment wasn’t discovered until the following year. So there were doubts as to whether they were from the same person even before the DNA tests. We have only the Russians’ word that they came from the same body. The other point is that the standard Western version of what happened to Hitler’s body, which is still mostly that proposed by Hugh Trevor Roper, was set out before it was known that the Russians had recovered any remains. Trevor Roper’s argument was that, even without a body, the eyewitness accounts were sufficient to prove that Hitler had committed suicide and that an attempt had then been made to cremate the body. Most other historians have agreed. That argument remains just as strong even if none of the remains the Russians found were actually Hitler’s. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/15 "2015-07-25T20:42:04Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > How was DNA testing conducted on the skull fragment? Does Hitler have any living relatives? IIRC at some point post WWII he did. And the person/guy?/gal? that did made a calculated decision to NOT procreate, for understandable reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Stinky\_Pete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Stinky\_Pete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stinky_Pete)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/16 "2015-07-25T21:55:33Z")
Hitler doesn’t appear to have any known descendants but he did have relatives who did survive the war. As I understand they have all changed their last names and would rather not be associated in any way with Hitler. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/17 "2015-07-25T22:52:12Z")
> [@Stinky\_Pete](#): > > Hitler doesn’t appear to have any known descendants but he did have relatives who did survive the war. As I understand they have all changed their last names and would rather not be associated in any way with Hitler. One lived on Long Island according to a History Channel doc. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2015, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/18 "2015-07-25T22:52:16Z")
> [@Stinky\_Pete](#): > > Hitler doesn’t appear to have any known descendants but he did have relatives who did survive the war. As I understand they have all changed their last names and would rather not be associated in any way with Hitler. Adolf had siblings and half-siblings who survived the war. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/19 "2015-07-26T03:54:48Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > IIRC at some point post WWII he did. And the person/guy?/gal? that did made a calculated decision to NOT procreate, for understandable reasons. Couldn’t get a date? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2015, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134/20 "2015-07-26T10:47:00Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > …Does Hitler have any living relatives? > [@](#): > > … > …The July 17 2000 issue of The New Yorker had a long article on Hitler’s relatives, some of whom wound up in Long Island, NY. An [abstract of the article](http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2000/07/17/hitlers-lost-family)is on line. from SD [Who maintains the grave of Hitler’s parents?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=612054) Another CNN ref there. But mine, being mine, is the awesomest. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-story-that-hitlers-body-was-not-found-true/726134.md?page=2)