Hitler's Fate: The Final Story

by H.D. Baumann

Despite the historical consensus that Hitler killed himself at the end of World War II, there still linger many unanswered questions and doubts. In this well-researched book, Baumann, a survivor of World War II himself, paints a vivid picture of the last days of the German dictator Adolf Hitler, and provides answers to such compelling questions as: Was the Russian leader J. Stalin telling the truth when he told U.S. President Harry Truman and others that Hitler had escaped? Why was it that the Russians never found the corpses of Hitler or Eva Braun? If Hitler shot himself in the right temple (as is claimed), why do the Russians exhibit what is claimed to be Hitler's cranium, showing a bullet hole in the back of his head? Why did the Russians refuse to allow the Western Allies to see Hitler's presumed autopsy report? Why did the Russians exhibit the corpse of Hitler's double, believing it to be the real thing? What was the reason for the disagreement between the Russian military intelligence (SMERSH) and the Russian secret state police (NKVD) regarding Hitler? For what reason did Hitler's plane land in Barcelona, Spain, on April 27, 1945, three days before the alleged suicide? Why did three German submarines land at the coast of southern Argentina more than two months after the end of World War II? H. D. Baumann, an established author, exposes the rumors, politically-inspired falsehoods, criminal mischief, false leads, and conspiracies revolving around the last days of the most despised person of the twentieth century. His fascinating and cogent reconstruction of the closing scenes in the drama of the Third Reich gives us all the forensic detail needed to plant sufficient doubt in our minds that Trevor-Roper's and other accounts of Hitler's suicide may not be wholly accurate.

Genres: History

199 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2008

Reviews

[Stig · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author believes that Hitler and Eva Braun secretly left Berlin on April 22, 1945, and that the Führer who died in the Bunker was a double. To prove this he goes through witness accounts and intelligence reports, and I will admit he seems to prove a good many inconsistencies in the stories about Hitler's (or perhaps it should be "Hitler"'s) last days. To his credit, Baumann is not shrill in his argumentation and freely admits that there are events he cannot be sure about. I am not convinced, though.

While there are certainly problems with the published accounts of the events of late April 1945, I am not at all convinced by Baumann's account of what happened after Hitler had left. He argues that Hitler eventually ended up in Argentina where he died in the summer of 1959, but the evidence offered for this is tenuous and some of the most intriguing bits of information are given without documentation. Of minor problems, there are also inconsistencies in Baumann's work - the name of Hitler's pilot is variously given af "Hans Baur" and "Hans Bauer", for example, and while this is not in itself enough to disprove his theory, it does show a certain sloppiness which shouldn't be found in a supposedly serious book.