Introduction

     The death of Adolf Hitler can be seen as an anticlimactic ending for a very infamous man, but is the story of his death entirely true? There are two conspiracy theories surrounding Hitler's death. The first conspiracy is that Hitler was able to escape Germany and make his way to South America. The other is that the U.S.S.R. brought on the suspicion that Hitler had escaped Germany to confuse and mislead the Allies. The question comes down to whether Hitler got away or was this belief fabricated to distort the truth and push forward an agenda. 

     The first conspiracy is that Hitler escaped to South America. This idea is not completely outlandish when you look into the fact that many Nazi officials “found new lives in South America” (Tzvi). Latin America is known to have had an extensive German population during World War Two and following the war. Along with having a large German population, Argentina's President Juan Peron was a strong supporter of the Nazi regime and other fascist governments. He is also known to have helped many Nazis escape Europe via “secret channels"—dubbed "ratlines"—to ferry thousands of Nazis from ports in Spain and Italy out of Europe and into Latin America” (Tzvi). 

     However, when the idea of Hitler's escape is explored and properly investigated, its credibility does not seem to hold up. All eyewitnesses to Hitler's final days place him in his bunker and confirm that Hitler, and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide. Their bodies were crudely cremated and “hastily buried in a shallow bomb crater” (Hitler’s Last Days). These eyewitness testimonies further cement the idea that Hitler did not escape Germany. The testimonies of these people should, however, be brought into question since they would be considered to be in Hitler's inner circle, and it is not completely unlikely that they would lie for him; therefore, we have the forensic evidence. The supposed skull of Hitler was recovered by the U.S.S.R. and “identified by dental staff familiar with the intricacies of Hitler’s mouth” (Robinson). This helps to better confirm the idea that it was indeed Hitler's remains that they discovered.

     Even so, whatever the U.S.S.R. said or confirmed should be looked at with suspicion for obvious historical reasons. There was another forensic investigation that took place in 2016 through 2017 that can be seen as a more trustworthy source. They used more modern forensic tools to better confirm the identity of the skeletal remains, and the results were “that the skull section shows signs of being buried—at least briefly—and that it bears marks that can only be ascribed to carbonization from burning. The skull also displays an exit wound from a gunshot” (Robinson). This goes along with the eyewitness testimony that Hitler was cremated and then buried.

     However, in a war setting, a partially burned body that was briefly buried is not going to be a rare occurrence, so to get a better picture of who the remains are, they also examined the teeth. In the process, they would find “blue residue on some of Hitler’s original teeth.” (Robinson). This blue residue can be determined as cyanide since “hydrogen cyanide is a pale blue” (The Facts About Cyanides). It is believed that Hitler took a cyanide pill and then proceeded to shoot himself; the forensic evidence seems to confirm this idea. These confirmations do seem to indicate that the skull was Hitler's. But to better confirm it, they also examined the tartar of the teeth, and “Analysis of these small fragments would find traces of vegetable fiber but no meat.” (Robinson). This provides more conceivable evidence that these are Hitler’s remains since Hitler was known to be a “self-proclaimed vegetarian” (Rochat). This forensic evidence has properly concluded that Hitler did not escape Germany, let alone escape death.

     The second conspiracy theory is that the U.S.S.R. concealed Hitler's death, which is a more plausible idea and helps to better understand how the first theory came to be. The capture of the Nazi capital and the death of Hitler brought on the end of the war in Europe and gave light to a new conflict soon to emerge, the Cold War. During World War Two, the two opposing ideologies of capitalism and communism had a common enemy Hitler and his fascist regime. With the death of Hitler and the collapse of his regime, “tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States and Great Britain intensified rapidly as the war came to a close and the leaders discussed what to do with Germany” (The End of WWII and the Division of Europe).

     With this rising conflict on the horizon, the Soviet Union would be looking for a way to turn the tides in their favor and give themselves an upper hand. With this in mind, the death of Hitler would have given them the opportunity that they needed. Concealing his death would “throw a veil of silence over the issue at best and use it to spread distrust and suspicion among the victorious allies” (Robinson). This cover-up would, in hopes, send the Allies on a wild goose chase and give the Soviet Union an advantage. This facade though, could not have come about unless someone with enough influence and authority made it happen. That being said, the evidence seems to point to the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin. Stalin is known to have “spread rumors that “Hitler” was alive in South America” (Ainsztein, Reuben). This confirms that the story of Hitler's escape was most likely fabricated by Stalin in perhaps an attempt to delude and throw off the Allies.

     The tales of Hitler's escape seem to be a hoax, and the real story behind his death appears to be that Hitler met his end in Germany at his own hands. The idea of Hitler's escape seems to originate from Stalin in an attempt to deceive and gain an advantage over the Allies. This evidence can hopefully clear the muddy waters of this conspiracy and provide a clear understanding of what actually happened.