Could one of the worst dictators in history really survived World War II? It’s the end of World War II and the Soviets are closing in on Berlin. Hitler and some of his officers went into a hidden bunker where they continued to play out the rest of the war, when he realized it was all over. There are multiple theories on what happened: he escaped and left a double, he fled to the artic or Argentina, or he could have really died. Let's look at the facts and see if these theories hold up under scrutiny.
Adolf Hitler: The Powerful and Cruel Man
Adolf Hitler was one of the most powerful men to ever live but he was also the cruelest. Hitler’s strategies and his outnumbering forces made him so powerful he was able to push back the Soviets. Hitler’s discrimination toward Jews and other ethnic groups led to the murder of millions and the poor treatment of the countries occupied. In this essay, I will go over how he is both powerful and cruel.
Being the head of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler became one of the most powerful dictators in history. He showcased this power during World War II by invading France and taking over the rest of mainland Europe, a feat that the German Empire could not accomplish in World War I. The way he accomplished this was through the creation of a new military tactic: the blitzkrieg. The German word for “lightning war,” Hitler used this new tactic to maximum effectiveness: he conquered Denmark and Norway by April 1940 and Holland and Belgium by May of 1940 (History.com). Not only did Hitler attack the Western Allies, but he also fought the Soviets on the Eastern Front. Hitler was able to conducted the largest land invasion in history: more than 3 million men marched into the Soviet Union. Successfully executing the operation, codenamed Barbarossa, Hitler was able to invade the USSR by moving simultaneously starting from the border, which was 2,738 miles. Hitler divided his forces into 3 different Army Groups: North made it to Leningrad and besieged it, Center made it all the way to the outskirts of Moscow, and South successfully captured Stalingrad before being pushed back. This showed how Hitler’ organization and planning was effective, even with a large army. With good organization, he was also able to keep steady supply lines until the winter.
Adolf Hitler besides being a powerful military strategist, was responsible for tens of millions of deaths and the poor treatment of hundreds of millions of people. Hitler’s hate and discrimination of Jews and other minority groups led directly to the Holocaust. According to the United States Memorial Holocaust Museum, the Holocaust was “the systematic, state-sponsored persecution and murder of six million Jews by the Nazi regime and its allies and collaborators.” Hitler used various means to carry out the Holocaust, which included the use of gas chambers, firing squads, and forced labor camps. Along with the genocide of Jews was the poor treatment of people in German-occupied areas. An example of this poor treatment is through the Putten Remembrance Day. In Putten, Netherlands, someone from the Underground shot and killed a SS officer. This caused a reprisal from the Nazis. The authorities rounded up all the men and sent them to concentration camp after no one came forward and took responsibility for the killing. This action led to kids being fatherless, food shortages due to no men working in the fields, and a crash in the local economy (Personal interview, Oct. 5, 2021).
In conclusion, this essay shows how cruel and evil Adolf Hitler was but also was the most powerful. He treated his citizens poorly and discriminated against Jews and other ethnic groups. He was able to take most of Europe and pushed deep into USSR and showed the world how powerful he was.
Hitler’s Conspiracies
Could one of the worst dictators in history really have survived World War II? It’s the end of World War II and the Soviets are closing in on Berlin. Hitler and some of his officers went into a hidden bunker where they continued to play out the rest of the war when he realized it was all over. There are multiple theories on what happened: he escaped and left a body double (for both him and his wife), he fled to the Antarctic or Argentina, or he could have really killed himself. Let us look at the facts and see if these theories hold up under scrutiny.
It was common among World War II-era leaders to have body doubles. “Leaders like Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Hitler were known to have body doubles” (Channel 5, “Is Adolf Hitler Still Alive,” 3:06). One of the theories was that Hitler used a body double to fake his death instead of committing suicide. Towards the end of the war, Hitler still wanted to continue the Third Reich. Hitler’s private secretary, Martin Bormann, suggested the idea of using a body double. “Once the swap was made and it was confirmed that Hitler escaped safely, Bormann ordered the Gestapo Chief, Heinrich Muller, to execute the doubles of Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun” (Channel 5, “Is Adolf Hitler Still Alive,” 6:00). After the Battle of Berlin, the Soviets started their search for Hitler’s body. They discovered what they thought to be Hitler’s body near the Reich Chancellery. After further examination of the body, they determined it was not Hitler.
After Hitler left his body doubles, people further speculated that he secretly fled Germany. Where he went was unclear. One theory is that he fled to a secret base in the South pole or have fled to Argentina. “After the discovery of a Nazi bunker in Austria that was built for a colony of people, this theory could have turned out true in the Arctic” (Channel 5, “Is Adolf Hitler Still Alive,” 7:14). Among the theories of where Hitler went was to Argentina. After Hitler’s escape, he and his wife met up with a high ranking official to board a U-boat (submarine). They loaded up the treasures he collected from the war and set sail for Argentina. After arriving to Argentina, Hitler and his wife lived out the rest of their days peacefully; it is theorized that Hitler died in 1962. During World War II, Hitler had a good relationship with the President of Argentina so he would not have turned Hitler in (The Infographic Show, “Did Hitler REALLY Escape to Argentina” 6:23).
Instead of the use of body doubles, another theory is that Hitler and his wife really could have ended their lives in the bunker. Hitler’s mental health was on a decline after multiple losses on the Western and Eastern Fronts. His fear of being humiliated, combined with his weak ego, led him to commit suicide then be captured by the Soviets. In an interview of an eyewitness by the Smithsonian, the eyewitness testified that Eva Braun came to Hitler to be by his side in the final moments. “Hitler said goodbye to his staff and went into his study….After a few minutes, the staff went and checked Hitler’s study, and found Hitler and his wife dead on the sofa… Hitler shot himself and Eva took a cyanide pill” (Smithsonian Channel, “Hitler’s Final Moments,” 0:45). Soldiers carried out the bodies to the Reich Chancellery’s garden, where they were burned and buried.
In conclusion, there is multiple theories about what really happened on April 30, 1945. Could a tyrannical and fascist man really escape and not rise up to power somewhere else. The most reasonable theory would be that he killed himself, with the evidence being the eye witness account from the interview. Although we can’t really say what actually say what happened and we may never know.