Fritz Bauer, prosecutor in Frankfurt, publicly declared that the German Republic has reliable information that Deputy Fuhrer Bormann is in South America.
Gerhard Schroeder, German foreign minister, told friends that Dr. Joseph Mengele, author of Hitler’s plan of genocide, is living “somewhere in Paraguay.”
These men slipped away during the collapse of the Nazi war machine. Many believe Hitler did also.
Marshal Georgi Zhukov, supreme Soviet commander in 1945, announced flatly in Berlin:
“We have found no corpse that could be Hitler’s. Hitler had good opportunity of getting away.
“He could have taken off at the very last moment for there was an airfield at his disposal.” (The “airfield” was an autobon adjacent to the Reich Chancellery where Hitler was staying.)
Major Gen. Floyd Parks, who led the first US airborne division into Berlin on July 1, 1945, told the Police Gazette that in the light of all available evidence he had received “Hitler may very well be alive.”
What were the facts of the time?
The bloodstains on the couch where Hitler was supposed to have shot himself were analyzed by US Military Intelligence during Col. Heimlich’s exhaustive probe.
They were not of the blood type Hitler was known to have. Nor were they of Eva Braun’s type.
Hitler reportedly shot himself on that couch. But there were no bullet holes in the couch or in the wall behind it.
Reports that Hitler’s body was drenched with gasoline and burned in the Reich Chancellery courtyard and his ashes strewn about the garden were disproved by US Intelligence agents.
They doused a 160-pound pig with 200 liters of gasoline and set fire to the dead animal. All they got was roast pork. The carcass remained.
A check with the Berlin Crematorium revealed that it was necessary to burn a body for three hours at 3,500 to 4,200 degree heat in an enclosed oven in order to reduce the body, including the large bones, to powder.
An inch-by-inch search of the entire courtyard was made under Col. Heimlich’s direction.
First, all debris was cleared up, such odds and ends of war as broken machine guns, ammunition, rifles, helmets, uniforms and bits of wood, leather and metal.
All were examined and piled in one corner of the courtyard.
Then, two screens were erected—one with mesh the size of chicken wire and, behind this, one with half-inch holes.
No Clue Discovered
Every shovelful of dirt in that yard went first through the wide screen and then through the narrower one. There was not the faintest sign of any part of a human body.
Col. Heimlich reported.
“After two days of excavation in an ever widening area we found no signs of any bodies and, more significantly, no evidence of burning or fire!” This was conclusive; the report that Hitler’s body had been burned in the courtyard was a hoax.
High United States officials authorized Col. Heimlich to publicly state afterwards:
“On the basis of present evidence, no insurance company in America would pay a death claim on Adolf Hitler.”
It was the decision of the Allied Powers, however, to keep the report of Col. Heimlich confidential. Authorities feared that anything promoting the belief that Hitler had escaped alive from Berlin would be disruptive in occupying Germany.
With the belief that Hitler was dead, the psychological defeat of Germany would be complete, they reasoned. It wasn’t until years later that the Police Gazette brought the Heimlich report into the open.
It is interesting to note that the last published list of “wanted war criminals” issued by the Allies, in 1948, included this cryptic notice:
“Wanted: Hitler, Adolf—Reichsfuhrer.”
Now, time is running out on the search for Hitler. Once the statute of limitations expires, on May 8, he can come out of hiding from his remote, guarded hideout in South America and breathe the air as a free man.
Hitler & Mussolini: Pen Pals
This section presents letters between Adolph Hitler and Benito Mussolini written from May 9, 1940, to December 31, 1940. The Police Gazette claims it’s the first mass-circulation magazine or newspaper to print them, which is not surprising. Along with the fun, irony, and nonsense, the Gazette at its best always included well-reported, serious news you might not get anywhere else.
The first letter is dated the day before Germany began its blitzkrieg against western Europe. Within six weeks, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg were all conquered, and British forces had been pushed back into the Channel. Italy joined the war on June 10, and by the end of the month, the two countries controlled all of continental Europe, not counting a few neutral nations. These were the salad days for Hitler and Mussolini. And their giddiness is infectious. You almost start rooting for Hitler to win … until you remind yourself he was a psychopathic mass murderer.
Hitler’s irrational hatred for Jews and Communists, among others, would be his downfall. By summer of 1940, only Britain stood in the way of total victory. But Hitler knew if he wanted to deal with Communism at its fountainhead, there was only one place to be. In Mussolini’s return letters, his puzzlement at Hitler’s dithering over how and when to attack Great Britain is evident. When Hitler writes him on December 31, 1940—the last letter printed by the Police Gazette—he looks forward to 1941 being the year they wrap things up, but never reveals the real reason he didn’t throw a full assault against Britain. His hatred for Communists had trumped his strategic vision, and he’d already begun preparations to attack the Soviet Union. The move meant complete suicide—figuratively, if not literally. But in the letters we see him luring Mussolini into following his lead without telling him his primary intent. He is a duped Duce, and would pay the ultimate price within five years.
Another thing these letters show is Hitler during lucid moments. There are no rants against the groups mentioned above. He is kind, courteous, thoughtful, articulate. Without the psychosis, Hitler is Napoleon. Just another in a long line of European strongmen who want to unify the continent by force. In France, to this day, Napoleon is a hero. Without the systematic torture and genocide, might Hitler have been viewed that way as well?
THE SECRET LETTERS BETWEEN HITLER AND MUSSOLINI
How they plotted to rule the world—told in their own words!
For Adolph Hitler, the Spring of 1940 marked the peak of his world-shaking career. The seeds of destiny, planted long ago, had grown, blossomed and burst into full bloom like the roses in the gardens behind the Reichschancellery.
He could see the roses from the office where he sat down on May 9 to write a letter to his friend Il Duce, who had the face of a bull dog, the voice of a lion, and the heart of a chicken. Roses as red as the blood that bathed Norway and Denmark, red as the poppy fields of Holland, Luxemburg, Belgium, and France that soon would be crushed by the German war machine.
The time for a massive attack on the Western Front was only hours away as the little man with the Charlie Chaplin mustache bent over his massive mahogany desk and scrawled a page of history, wooing Mussolini with a word bouquet from Der Fuehrer’s garden of destiny. These are the words in which he announced the beginning of the Nazi attack on the West:
Adolf Hitler to Benito Mussolini
Berlin, May 9, 1940
Duce:
When you receive this letter I shall already have crossed the Rubicon.
The information which we received some days ago about the conversation between Chamberlain and Reynaud is undoubtedly exact. It emanates from the first concrete information about the impending operation by the British against Norway. I can therefore personally vouch for the exactness of the contents.
In spite of this the conviction within me has been reinforced that just as in the case of Norway a grandiose false maneuver is involved here too which is certainly aimed at inducing me to withdraw troops from the decisive front.
In the last few days there has been an increase in the number of reports th
at England, having learned from her experiences in Norway, is now resolved to carry out a surprise occupation of a certain number of important military bases in Holland. For this purpose England has demanded of the Dutch Government that it agree to the landing of British troops on its territory and to the occupation of airfields. The attitude of the Netherlands Government is uncertain. In any case they will not offer serious resistance. Their ties with British interests are too strong as is also the influence exerted by British money.
Halifax’s speech yesterday suddenly let us know that the Norwegian adventure was to be regarded as having been abandoned in order to continue the struggle in another place. Troops have already been embarked or are being embarked at numerous places on the English coast. It is absolutely out of the question that their destination is the Mediterranean.
You can see for yourself, Duce, the true sentiments and attitude of Holland and Belgium, from the documents which I am enclosing for you herewith. The records of the threatening events of the last few days are still required to make them complete. The military situation is clear.
It will be impossible in future to cut Germany off from the north and deprive her of supplies of ores.
An attempt to attack the German Western Front from the Rhine to the frontier of Luxembourg is likewise out of the question. Any attempt would be drowned in a sea of blood.
Nor would it be possible to end the war in the Allies’ favor by cutting Germany off from her sources of petroleum supplies since, as a result of our domestic measures directed toward autonomy and our Four-Year Plan, we shall already be in a position to supply our own requirements in the course of this year.
The only possibility for France and England to hope for a success would be to destroy the Ruhr or at least paralyze production there. From the beginning, all Anglo-French military plans have been directed toward this objective.
As, judging from the situation, we have been threatened since yesterday by immediate danger, I have therefore decided today to give the order to attack on the Western Front at 5:35 a.m. tomorrow to ensure the neutrality of Belgium and Holland, above all by military measures.
I beg you, Duce, apart from any feelings, to understand the force of the circumstances which compel me to act. It is a question of life or death for my people and the Reich for the next 500 or 1,000 years.
I should be failing in my duty if I did not fulfill what my judgment and necessity demand of me.
I hope that I shall be successful in creating shortly that situation to which I referred at our last meeting.
I will keep you informed as to the operations and you will thus be in a position to consider in complete freedom the decisions for which you deem it advisable to assume responsibility in the interests of your people.
With the greetings of an old comrade,
Yours,
(Signed) A. Hitler
Hitler’s letter was a stirring call to arms but Mussolini, ever cautious, wasn’t quite ready to embrace the grim Goddess of War. His reply was a careful one, offering congratulations and hope for success, but not yet naming the date when Italy would start shooting.
He added little to the faint, half-hearted promises made on his last meeting with Hitler two months before at the Brenner Pass. Then he said Italy soon would be ready to back up Germany’s military offensive, but he pointed out that “financial limitations” would prevent his country from sustaining any long-drawn-out war effort. The heavy-jawed dictator wanted a quick knockout, not a close decision after 10 rounds.
Benito Mussolini to Adolf Hitler
Rome, May 10, 1940
Fuhrer:
I thank you for the message you sent at the moment when your troops were receiving the order to march to the west. As in the case of the campaign in Norway, the press and action of the Party will guide the mind of the Italian people toward understanding the necessity with which you were faced.
I feel that time is pressing for Italy, too, and I am deeply grateful for your promise to keep me informed of developments in the operations in order to put me in a position to make my decisions.
As for the Italian armed forces, the navy is ready and by the end of May two army groups in the east and west and also the air force and the antiaircraft formations will be ready.
It is superfluous for me to tell you that I am following the progress of your troops with confidence and in a spirit of comradeship.
(Signed) Mussolini
The defenses of Holland, Belgium and Luxemburg were cracked like egg shells. On May 10, 1940, the first day of the Western Front campaign, Luxemburg fell. On the second, Holland was overrun by Germany troops. On the third, demoralized French troops began pulling out of Belgium. The skies poured down a steady black rain of bombs, bullets and paratroopers. German tanks ruled the roads, German planes ruled the airways, Germany guns smashed all opposition. Frightened France clung to the desperate hope that the Maginot Line would hold, but Hitler knew the Swastika flag soon would fly over Paris.
Flushed with victory, Der Fuehrer detailed his conquests in a new dispatch to Mussolini. And his enthusiasm infected the Roman dictator.
Adolf Hitler to Benito Mussolini
The Fuhrer’s Headquarters, May 13, 1940
Duce:
Pray accept first of all my grateful thanks for the understanding which you showed for the pressure under which were forced to act. Your personal attitude, which, as I know, is also that of your party, press and public opinion is a factor which is operating greatly to our advantage.
Today, I can give you, Duce, a general survey of the results of our initial operations. I should like to preface it with the assurance that here, just as in Poland or Norway, our opponents, lacking direct successes, will naturally have recourse to the most nonsensical lying reports. I consider this policy stupid, for it will be repudiated by the reality in the shortest possible time.
The following are the events of the last few days: The attack began on the front between Groningen and the southern tip of Luxembourg, This is therefore an air line of about 450 km. Since yesterday morning advance troops have also been working their way forward in turn toward the Maginot Line at various places on the front between the Moselle and the Rhine.
Paratroopers in Action
The first three days’ offensive on the abovementioned 450 km. front resulted in a breakthrough at all the frontier and fortified positions. Parts of these were extremely strong installations whose powers of resistance were greatly strengthened by the integrated system of rivers and canals. In spite of this, the whole of northern Holland, that is the province of Groningen, has already been occupied, the Issel position breached or opened up, and gaps made in the Grebbe Line at several important points. Independently of these, however, paratrooper, and airborne troops have also been dropped between The Hague, Rotterdam, Dordrecht and Norddeich. These formations, planted some 120–130 km. in front of our lines, have fought with unprecedented bravery; they safeguarded the bridges which they occupied, gained ground and repulsed all attacks by the Dutch and probably by several smaller English units also.
Since last night they have been joined by the vanguard of the first armored and motorized units, who had overcome great obstacles and resistance. Infantry divisions are proceeding by the same route by forced marches. Contact has thus been established and the fortress Holland breached from within. South of this the Juliana Canal, the Meuse, the Willems Canal, the Meuse and Scheldt Canals and the Albert Canal have been crossed. German units are here converging on Antwerp.
Difficulties Slow Advance
The most difficult problem, Duce, was the crossing of the Meuse and the Albert Canal near Maastricht. This sector is covered on its flanks by the fortress of Liege which was greatly strengthened and enlarged after the World War. Already the Meuse is a difficult obstacle. But west of this the Albert Canal provides an absolutely first-class artificial reinforcement. All the bridges over it had been prepared for demolition. The bridges, moreover, were under fire from the Ebe
n-Emael fort, the strongest defensive works on the whole of the western front. The Maginot Line has no fort similar to this in extent and armor. This fort and the bridges over the Albert Canal, which actually cannot be replaced in a short time, were subjected to a lightning attack at 5:30 a.m. on May 10. The fort was silenced a few minutes later. Of the three bridges over the Albert Canal, two are completely undamaged and the Belgians were able to damage the third only slightly. Only the Dutch succeeded in blowing up the bridges in Maastricht as the result of an unfortunate failure on our part. However this was less important, for these could at once be replaced by military bridges. The attack on the fortress of Liege itself began simultaneously with this. It was broken into, block by block and fort by fort, and I have just received the report that the Swastika flag is flying over the citadel at Liege. The divisions which had meanwhile been thrown across the Meuse and the Albert Canal hurled back the Belgian units and repulsed French counterattacks. They will begin an offensive in a westerly direction immediately on being brought up to strength.
South of Liege thickly wooded country, which was extremely strongly fortified and prepared for demolition by months of work, had to be broken through. The area through which we had to fight our way has a depth of 100 km, in the air line from the German frontier to the Meuse south of Namur. This area was so penetrated in the fighting that last night sections of the spear heads reached the Meuse, and were encamped a few kilometers away. Since this morning the bulk of the divisions have been linking up everywhere. Luxembourg was overrun on the first day. French advance posts in the southern part of Luxembourg and Belgium were attacked and thrust back to the Maginot Line. In this way, the necessary cover has been created for the further operations by the northern wing against the Dutch and Belgian coasts.
These are the territorial results of the first 3 days! The material results: A large number of Dutch and Belgian divisions were attacked, partly overrun and partly destroyed. French attempts to delay or hinder developments in the situation by sending forward their armored and motorized units were repulsed everywhere. The number of prisoners already runs into tens of thousands.
Hitler Is Alive! Page 28