(EST PUB DATE) THE DEATH OF ADOLF HITLER: UNKNOWN DOCUMENTS FROM SOVIET ARCHIVES

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00416337
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 17
• Document Creation Date: October 23, 2023
• Document Release Date: August 9, 2023
• Case Number: F-2020-00953
• Publication Date: January 1, 1968

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10
The text of the final and most important autopsy reports (Docu-
ments Nos. 12 and 13) are reproduced verbatim, in the follow-
ing, either in their entirety or in somewhat abbreviated form:
DOCUMENT NO. 12
concerning the forensic examination of a male corpse disfig-
ured by fire
Berlin-Buch, 8.V., 1945
Mortuary CAFS1 No. 496
The Commission consisting of Chief Expert, Forensic Medi-
cine, 1st Byelorussian Front, Medical Service, Lieutenant
Colonel F. L Shkarayski; Chief Anatomist, Red Army, Medi-
cal Service, Lieutenant colonel N. A. ICrayevski; Acting Chief
Anatomical Pathologist, 1st Byelorussian Front, Medical Ser-
vice, Major A. Y. Marants; Army Expert, Forensic Medicine,
3rd Shock Army, Medical Service, Major Y. L Bogruslayski;
and Army Anatomical Pathologist, 3rd Shock Army, Medical
Service, Major Y. V. Gulkevich, on orders of the member of
the Military Council 1st Byelorussian Front, Lieutenant Gen-
eral Teleuin, performed the forensic-medical examination of
a male corpse (presumably the corpse of Hitler).
Results of the examination:
A. EXTERNAL EXAMINATION
The remains of a male corpse disfigured by fire were de-
livered in a wooden box (Length 163 cm., Width 55 cm.,
Height 53 cm.). On the body was found a piece of yellow
jersey, 25 x 8 cm., charred around the edges, resembling a
knitted undervest.
�In view of the fact that the corpse is greatly damaged, it is
lAbbreviation for Chirurgisches Armeefeldlazarett.
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difficult to gauge the age of the deceased. Presumably it lies
between 50 and 60 years. The dead man's height is 165 cm.
(the measurements are approximate since the tissue is
charred), the right shinbone measures 39 cm. The corpse is
severely charred and smells of burned flesh.
Part of the cranium is missing.2
Parts of the occipital bone, the left temporal bone, the
lower cheekbones, the nasal bones, and the upper and lower
jaws are preserved. The burns are more pronounced on the
rigift side of the cranium than on the left. In the brain cavity
parts of the fire-damaged brain and of the dura mater are
visible. On face and body the skin is completely missing; only
remnants of charred muscles are preserved. There are many
small cracks in the nasal bone and the upper jawbones. The
tongue is charred, its tip is firmly locked between the teeth of
the upper and lower jaws.
In the upper jaw there are nine teeth connected by a bridge
of yellow metal (gold). The 'bridge is anchored by pins on
the second left and the second right incisor. This bridge con-
sists of 4 upper incisors (al 11 1 ) , Ica-nine teeth Cqj.
the first left bicuspid ( ), and the first and second right
bicuspids (4J ), as indicated in the sketch. The first left
incisor ( [1 ) consists of a white platelet, with cracks and a
black spot in the porcelain (enamel) at the bottom. This
platelet is inset into the visible side of the metal (gold) tooth.
The second incisor, the canine tooth, and the left bicuspid, as
well as the first and second incisors and the first bicuspid on
the right, are the usual porcelain (enamel) dental plates, their
posterior parts fastened to the bridge. The right canine tooth
is fully capped by yellow metal (gold). The maxillary bridge
is -vertically sawed off behind the second left bicuspid ( ).
The lower jawbone lies loose in the singed oral cavity. The
�alveolar processes are broken in the back .and have ragged
edges. The front surface and the lower edge of the mandibula
s At a somewhat later date occipital parts of a cranium were found,
quite probably belonging to Hitler's corpse.
45
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are scorched. On the front surface the charred prongs of
dental roots are recognizable. The lower jaw consists of fif-
teen teeth, ten of which are artificial. The incisors (. 21 T.1
ii: r2 ) and the first right bicuspid ( ) are natural, exhib-
iting considerable wear on the masticating surface and consid-
� erably exposed necks. The dental enamel has a bluish shim-
mer and a dirty yellow coloration around the necks. The
� teeth to the left ( p, (3,17, and E8) are artificial, of yellow
metal (gold), and consist of a :bridge of gold crowns. The
.bbridge is fastened to the third, the fifth (in the bridge, the
sixth tooth), and the eighth tooth (in the bridge, the ninth
tooth). The second bicuspid to the right ( 31) is topped by
�a crown of yellow metal (gold) which is linked to the right
canine tooth by an arching plate. Part of the masticating sur-
face and the posterior surface of the right canine tooth is
capped by a yellow metal (gold) plate as part of the bridge.
The first right molar is artificial, white, and secured by a gold
clip connected with the bridge of the second bicuspid and the
right incisor.
Splinters of glass, parts of the wall and bottom of a thin-
walled ampule, were found in the mouth.
� The neck muscles are charred, the ribs on the right side
are missing, they are burned. The right side of the thorax and
the abdomen are completely burned, creating a bole through
which -the right lung, the liver, and the intestines are open to
view. The genital member is scorched. In the scrotum, which
is singed but preserved, only the right testicle was found. The
left testicle could not be found in the inguinal canal.
The right arm is severely burned, the ends of the bone of
the upper arm and the bones of the.loWer arm are broken
and charred. The dry muscles are black and partially brown;
they disintegrate into separate fibers when touched. The rem-
nants of the burned part (about two thirds) of the left upper
arm are preserved. The exposed end of the bone of the upper
arm is charred and protrudes from the dry tissue. Both legs,
� too, are charred. The soft tissue has in many places disap-
4 6 -
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peared; it is burned and has fallen off. The bones are partially
burned and have crumbled. A fracture in the right thighbone
and the right shinbone were noted. The left foot is missing.
B. INTERNAL EXAMINATION
The position of the internal organs is normal. The lungs are
black on the surface, dark red on the cut surface, and of fairly
firm consistence. The mucous membrane of the upper respira-
tory tracts is dark red. The cardiac ventricles are filled with
coagulated reddish-brown blood. The heart muscle is tough
and looks like boiled meat. The liver is black on the surface
and shows burns; it is of fairly firm consistence and yellowish-
brown On the cut surface. The kidneys are somewhat shrunken
and measure 9 x 5 x 3.5 cm. Their capsule is easily detach-
able:, the surface of the kidneys is smooth, the pattern effaced,
they appear as if boiled. The bladder contains 5 cc. yellowish
urine, its mucous membrane is gay. Spleen, stomach, and
intestines show severe burns and are nearly black in parts.
NOTE: 1. The following objects taken from the corpse
were handed over to the SMER.SH Section of the
3rd Shock Army on May 8, 1945: a) a maxil-
lary bridge of yellow metal, consisting of 9 teeth;
b) a singed lower jaw, consisting of 15 teeth.
2. According to the record of the interrogation of
Frau Kathe Heusermann it may be presumed
that the teeth as well as the bridge described in
� the document are those of Chancellor Hitler.
3. In her talk with Chief Expert of Forensic Medi-
� cine, Lieutenant Colonel Shkarayski, which took
place on May 11, '45,3 in the offices of CAFS
31 asked N. Krayevsld how it was possible for this date to appear in an
autopsy report that had been written on May S. He explained that the
report had originally been written by hand; only later was it decided to
add the statements of Heusermarua. As was mentioned above, the delay
between evidence and conclusion is absolutely normal.
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No. 496, Frau Kathe Heusermann described the
state of Hitler's teeth in every detail. Her de-
scription tallies with the anatomical data pertain-
ing to the: oral cavity of the unknown man whose
burned corpse we dissected.
Appended: A test tube with glass splinters from an ampule
which were found in the mouth of the body.
signed (Shkarayski)
Chief Expert, Forensic Medicine,
1st Byelorussian Front, Medical Service,
Lieutenant Colonel
signed (iCrayevski)
Chief Anatomical Pathologist, Medical Service, Red Army,
Lieutenant Colonel
signed (Marants)
Acting Chief Anatomical Pathologist,
-1st Byelorussian Front, Medical Service,
Major
signed (Bognslayski)
Army Expert, Forensic Medicine,
3rd Shock Army, Medical Service,
Major
signed (Gulkevich)
Army Anatomical Pathologist,
3rd Shock Army, Medical Service,
Major
CONCLUSION
Based on the forensic-medical examination of the partially
burned corpse of an unknown man and the examination of
other corpses from the same group (Documents Nos. 1-11),
the Commicsion reaches the following conclusions:
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1. Anatomical characteristics of the body:
Since the body parts are heavily charred, it is impossible to
describe the features of the dead man. But the following could
be established:
a) Stature: about 165 cm. (one hundred sixty-five)
b) Age (based on general development, size of organs, state
of lower incisors and of the right bicuspid), somewhere be-
tween 50 and 60 years (fifty to sixty).
c) The left testicle could not be found either in the scrotum
or on the spermatic cord inside the inguinal canal, nor in the
small pelvis.
d) The most important anatomical finding for identification
of the person are the teeth, with much bridgework, artificial
teeth, crowns, and fillings (see documents).
2. Cause of death:
On the body, considerably damaged by fire, no visible signs of
severe lethal injuries or illnesses could be detected.
The presence in the oral cavity of the remnants of a crushed
glass ampule and of similar ampules in the oral cavity of other
bodies (see Documents Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, and
13), the marked smell of bitter almonds emanating from the
bodies (Documents Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11), and the
forentic-chemical test of internal organs which established the
presence of cyanide compounds (Documents Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4,
5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11) permit the Commission to arrive at the
conclusion that death in this instance was caused by poisoning
with cyanide compounds.
signed (Shkarayski)
- Chief Expert, Forensic Medicine,
1st Byelorussian Front, Medical Service.,
Lieutenant Colonel
signed (Krayevski)
Chief Anatomical Pathologist, Medical Service, Red Anny,
Lieutenant Colonel
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ill
VolVtAiell �
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:t7
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ta �
lop
Is'
r-
ned (Marants)
Acting Chief Ana4ornical Pathologist,
1st Byelorussian Front, Medical Service,
Major
signed (Boguslayski)
Army Expert, Forensic Medicine,
3rd Shock Army, Medical Service,
Major
signed (Gulkevich)
Army Anatomical Pathologist,
3rd Shock Army, Medical Service,
Major
.
Thus far the contents of Document No. 12. Before entering
into the question of what corpse was being examined�a ques-
tion left in abeyance in the document�let us consider Document
No. 13, which records the results of the forensic-medical exam-
ination of a female corpse.4 The Commission came to the fol-
lowing conclusions:
1. Anatomical characteristics of the body:
In view of the fact that the body parts are extensively charred,
it is impossible to describe the features of the dead woman.
The following, however, could be established:
a) The age of the dead woman lies between 30 and 40 years,
evidence of which is also the only slightly worn masticat-
ing surface of the teeth.
b) Stature: about 150 cm.
) The most important anatomical finding for identification
of the person are the gold bridge of the lower jaw and its
lour front teeth.
2. Cause of death:
On the extensively charred corpse there were found traces of
a splinter injury to the thorax with laemothora.x, injuries to
4For complete text, see Appendix, Doctuperit No. 13.
c
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one lung and to the pericardium, as well as six small metal
fraznaents.
Further, remnants of a crushed glass ampule were found in
the oral cavity.
In view of the fact that similar ampules were present in
other corpses-Documents Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
11-that a smell of bitter almonds developed upon dissection
-Documents Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11-and based
on the forensic-chemical tests of the internal organs of these
bodies in which the presence of cyanide compounds was
established-Documents Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
-the Commission reaches the conclusion that notwithstand-
ing the severe injuries to the thorax the immediate cause of
death was poisoning by cyanide compounds.
In both cases the experts were faced with the most seriously
disfigured of all thirteen corpses. Because of this obstacle to the
examination two sentences need to be particularly stressed:
"Splinters of glass, parts of the wall and bottom of a thin-walled
ampule, were found in the mouth" (Document No. 12)-and
"In the oral cavity.. . yellowish glass splinters . . . of a thin-
walled ampule were found" (Document No. 13, Appendix).
These findings permitted the Commission to come in their
summary in both cases to analogous conclusions: Death was
caused by poisoning with cyanide compounds.
This conclusion is in no way contradicted by the splinter in-
juries in Eva Braun's body. These could not possibly have been
inflicted on her in the bunker. Most probably they occurred
during the burning in the garden, which was under artillery fire.
Only shell splinters could have caused the injuries and the
hemorrhage in the pleura.
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11
t�
Several versions are current concerning the story of the identi-
fication of the two corpses, some of them amusingly fictional.
A few years ago the German illustrated magazine Stern pub-
lished the account of an M.D., Dr. Arnaudow, a native of Bul-
garia, who became a citizen of the West German Republic. He
tells in great detail that he was the person who had been able to
identify the corpses of Hitler and Frau Braun.
When I showed this account to the actual participants in the
identification process, they responded with ironical smiles. Of
course they remembered a young Bulgarian student whom they
had met on May 9, 1945, at the Charite Hospital. There, Soviet
investigators had appeared in search of the Chief of the Throat,
Nose, and Ear Clinic, Professor Karl von Eicken, who was
knowtt to have treated Hitler for years. The young Bulgarian
student offered to accompany the Soviet officers to Kurfiirsten-
damm, where they wanted to track down Hitler's dentist, Pro-
fessor Blaschke. In those turbulent days this was not an easy
task, and Arnaudow acquitted himself honorably. Among the
shelled and bombed-out houses he found the intact private office
of Blaschke, but not Blaschke himself, who had fled. This ended
the Bulgarian's mission.
The moment has come to introduce two Soviet officers who
played a signal role in our story. They are Andrei Sevostya.n-
ovich Miro7hnichenko, Chief of Counter Intelligence in the 3rd
Shock Army, and his deputy, Vasili Ivanovich Gorbushin, two
Soviet citizens of the older generation who had been forced by
the war to be end18sly on the road. If their biographical data
had been exposed to the eyes of a Gestapo investigator, their
names would immediately have been singled out for "Special
Treatment." As sons of the working class, both were long-stand-
ing members of the Communist Party (Mirozhnichenko since
1930, Gortmshin since 1932); they were also officers of the
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Cheka 1 (Mirozhnichenizo since 1930, Gorbushin since 1938),.
devoting their lives to combating the enemies of the Soviet State.
At this point in the identification process, Vasili Gorbushin
was entrusted with the search for witnesses, assisted by Major
Bystrov, an experienced officer with a knowledge of German.
Gorbushin was from Leningrad. In the history of wars, the
siege of Leningrad will live on as one of the most cruel and
ruthlessly destructive operations. Today, there are voices who
wish to excuse it as "military necessity." But at the time no one
in Berlin was looking for an excuse for this crime. It was a fore-
gone conclusion that the city bearing Lenin's name would be
razed and its population doomed to starvation.
However, the citizens of Leningrad thwarted Hitler's calcula-
tions. Vasili Gorbushin, former Chief Foreman of the 2nd Me-
chanical Division of the famous industrial complex "Krasny
Putilovets," survived the worst times of the siege, the winter
months of 1941/42. His mission at the time was to counteract
the German agents infiltrating the city. From March 1942 he
.worked in the Volkhov Sector, and from 1943 he was detailed
to the Staff of the 3rd Shock Army. On May 9, 1945, Gor-
bushin's mission was to ascertain whether the corpses found in
the garden of the Chancellery were really those of Adolf Hitler
and Eva Braun. .
Gorbushin's group decided to base their search on the recom-
mendations of the medical investigators. The dissecting doctors
had taken into custody jawbones with many artificial bridges,
crowns, and fillings. All that was needed for an irrefutable iden-
tification were Hitler's dentists. Gorbushin relates:
. In the morning of May 9, I went in search of Hitler's den-
tists. In Professor Blaschke's clinic we were received by a Dr.
Bruck. When Bruck learned that we wanted to see his chief
on a matter of importance to the Soviet Army Command, he
1 Abbreviation of Russian for the Soviet Security Service, later replaced
by the ca.0 and eventually by the xxvn.
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told us that the Professor himself was not at homa and asked
whether an assistant of the Professor, Kathe Heuserrnann,
might represent him.
I summoned her to an interrogation and had her fetched by
the Bulcarian student.
"Where is the medical history on Adolf Hitler's teeth?" I
asked Kfithe. Heusermann.
"Here, in the files," she answered.
Frau Heusermann quickly searched in the file box and
pulled out a card which proved to be the medical history of
Adolf Hider. The entries save evidence that the Fiihrer had
had very poor teeth in need of frequent repair.
We also needed the X-ray pictures of Hitler's teeth, but
they were not at the clinic. When I asked where they might
be, Ka�the Heusermann answered that they ought to have been
kept in Professor Blaschke's office in the Chancellery.
Wasting no more time in the clinic, we drove to the Chan-
cellery, taking I-Cathe Heusermann along. Here we went down
to the basement, found Professor Blaschke's dental office, and
with Kathe Heusermann's assistance soon discovered X-ray
photographs of the Filhier's teeth and a few gold crowns that
had been prepared, but time to put them to use had run out
on dentist and patient.
Kathe Heusermann informed ine that crowns and bridges
for Hitler and Eva Braun had been prepared by a dental
technician named Fritz Echtmann, whose address she knew.
We found Echtmann at home. I explained the purpose of our
Visit and asked him to come with us. He was readily willing.
Frau Heusermann and Echtmann were interrogated by me
separately. I was assisted by Major Bystrov.
In answer to my questions Kathe Heusermann and Fritz
Echtmann described Hitler's teeth from memory in minute
detail. Their information about bridges, crowns, and fillings
corresponded precisely with the entries in the medical history
and with the X-ray pictures that we had found. Next we asked
them to identify the ja.vbones which had been taken from the
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male corpse. Frau Heusermann and Echtmann recognized
them unequivocally as those of Adolf Hitler.
In a similar procedure we next asked the dentists to de-
scribe Eva Braun's teeth. After they had both answered our
questions exhaustively, we placed before them the gold bridge
which had been taken from the mouth of the female corpse
during the autopsy.
Kathe Heusermann and Fritz Echtmann declared without
hesitancy that this prosthesis belonged to Eva Braun. Fritz
Echtmann added that the special construction of the bridge
prepared for Eva Braun was his own invention and that so far
no dental prosthetist had used a similar method of attachment.
Next, our medical experts met again. After examination of
the medical history, X-ray pictures, and the jawbone with the
teeth of the charred male corpse which had been found on
May 4 in the garden of the Chancellery, the experts came to
the definite conclusion that these were Adolf Hitler's teeth.
We have every reason to believe in the trustworthiness of
Gorbushin's account, since it has received documentary con-
firmation: the subsequently drawn up records of the interroga-
tion. On May 9 Professor Eicken was interrogated by Colonel
Itifuwhnichenko and Gorbushin. Frau Heusermann was repeat-
edly interrogated, on May 10 by Gorbushin birnrAf 2 -Here is
the crucial part of the interrogation:.
Question: Can you establish from the dental bridges that
they belong to Hider?
Answer: Yes, there is no doubt of it.
Question: We have shown you the dental bridge of an upper
jaw and a lower jaw with teeth. Do you know to whom these
teeth belong?
Answer: The teeth shown to me belong to the German Chan-
2Yelena Rshevskaya, who in 1965 published a report on the search for
the leaders of the Third Reich, was interpreter during this interrogation.
� CL Yelena Rshevskaya, Hitters Erute ohne Mythos (Berlin, 1967), pp.
90L'
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cellor Acic):f Hitler. The upper jaw on the left, behind the
fourth tooth, exhibits a distinct trace which occurred when
the gold bridge was sawed by the dental drill, at the time of
the extraction of the sixth tooth. This extraction was per-
formed by Professor Blaschke with my assistance in the
autumn. . . .
All further evidence that these bridges are Adolf Hitler's
tallies with those named by me before from memory, with the
exception of the fourth lower right tooth, which I believed to
be an artificial porcelain tooth. But the teeth you have shown
me prove that this tooth is a natural one.
Question: Can you affirm that the teeth shown to you are
Adolf Hitler's teeth?
Answer: Yes, I affirm that the teeth shown to me are Adolf
Hitler's teeth.
The dental technician Fritz Echtmann confirmed Frau Heus-
errnann's statements on May 11.3 On the same day, Frau
Heusermann was interrogated by Dr. Faust Shkarayski. Here
are his recollections:
On May 11, 1945, Hitler's medical history was sent to me
from the aforementioned Field Hospital for Surgery, No. 496
in Bach. Kathe Heuserrnann, an assistant of Hitler's stomatol-
ogist, Professor Blaschke, was also brought to me. She had
helped to prosthesize Hitler's teeth in her capacity as spe-
cialist in stomatology. I remember very clearly how frightened
she was during the interrogation. However, the interrogation
proceeded very smoothly, really like an ordinary conversation
between doctors. I, a Soviet physician, was speaking with a
German doctor. In the course of our conversation, which
lasted between two and three hours, Frau Heuserrnann gladly
ate some of our candy. Her fear soon evaporated. She de-
3 Later, as a Soviet prisoner, Echtmann produced sketches and descrip-
tions of the jaws of Eva Braun, whose dental prostheses were made by
him, and of those of Hitler, on whose dental prosthesis he collaborated.
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scriiQd rriinute!y the specific features of Hitier's�den:al pros-
theses and drew them with her own hand. I even started to
argue with her, because I had overlooked one detail when
examining_ the teeth and had miscounted the steel pins. She
turned out to. be right.
- Having finished with the theoretical part of our conversa-
tion, we proceeded to the practical part, that is, I wanted to
check the correctness of her statements against the prostheses
themselves, which were in my desk. I took them out and
placed them before Fran Heusermann. Frau Heusermann re-
peated everything again in detail and declared categorically
that the prosthesis I had shown her was in fact Hider's dental
prosthesis. The picture was .clear beyond doubt, for Frau
Heusermann as well as for me as forensic expert.
After the interrogation of Frau Heusermann and Echtnann
the forensic experts no longer doubted the identity of the corpses.
I asked Professor Krayevski which detail of this memorable ex-
perts' report he remembered most clearly.
"Probably the smell of bitter almonds, which we all noticed.
For an anatomical pathologist or a forensic physician this smell
says unmistakably: Poisoning. by cyanide compounds."
I further mentioned to Professor Krayevski one particular
: detail which had been established at the dissection of Hitler's
internal organs: the missing second testicle. In medical parlance
this defect is known as monorchism. Krayevski remarked that
monorchism is a fairly frequent phenomenon and as a rule is
congenital: such a defect did not exclude a normal sexual life.
I asked whether this might be the consequence of an illness.
Himnaler is said to have told Dr. Kersten that Hitler in his early
years had contracted Syphilis. According to Professor Krayevski,
however, there is no . connection between syphilis and
monorchism.
This congenital defect of Hitler's had not been mendoned
anywhere in the existing literature. BL: Professor Hans Kart Y.:a
Hasselbach, one of Hitler's physicians, remembers that
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catecorically to have a medical ch,:ck-up.4
I: is COiC. vaLle that this refusal was motivated by this physical
abnormality.
Hitler died in the firm conviction that all traces of, his physical
existence had been destroyed. But Soviet shells and the unbear-
able smell of burning corpses kept his subordinates from follow-
ing through in the execution of the Fiihrer's last commands.
Thus it became possible that the last (forensic-medical) opinion
on Hitler was pronounced by Dr. Shkarayski, by Dr. Faust. Once
upon a time Germany's greatest poet raised the name of Faust
to a symbol of the triumph of human reason. Once again reason
triumphed over madness. .
Having concluded their work, the Commission under Dr.
� Slikarayski submitted its findings to the Military Council of the
1st Byelorussian Front.
12
Anne Frank was a child. Maria Rolnaaite, who was imprisoned
in the Warsaw ghetto and left notes of similar impact, was also
only fourteen years old. Among the victims of Babi Yar, of
Lidice, there were many children�and a great many perished
in Dresden.
These few signposts may serve as a yardstick as we turn to
the murder of the six Goebbels children. Six, it may be said,
are not six hundred thousand. But murder is always murder.
And even those historians who appraise the life of the former
Reich Minister for Propaganda and National Enlightenment
with an unprejudiced eye will not- dare to affirm that Helm
(born September 1, 1932), Hilde (April 13, 1934), Helmut
(October 2, 1935), Holde (February 2, 1937), Hedda (May 5,
1938), and Heide (October 29, 1940) willingly chose their
death.
In the chaos of events around May 1, 1945, the fate of these
4 tf. H. D. Rohrs, Hiders KranIcheit (Neckarvaiind, 1966), p. 71.
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chii cs:aped proper atention. But the example of the
Goebbels family throws an appalling light on the abyss to which
horror propaganda can lead even its perpetrators. Did .Goebbels
and his wife seriously believe that the Allies would wreak their
vengeance on six children? The postwar period has refuted such.
conjectures. Not a hair was harmed on�the heads of the children
of Bormann, Himmler, Gorina,. and many other Party bigwigs.
Not everything can be explained by a fanaticism which knows
no bounds. But a re6.me which welcomes murder as the means
of self-assertion must in the long run damage its own soul. Who-
ever ceases to respect his neighbor as a human being will in the
end cease to be a human being himself. His biographer Helmut �
Heiber believes that Goebbels wanted to � put himself in the �
spotlight through the death of his children, to create for himself
� an aura, a legend, conducive to immortality, ,to surround his �
end with the "awe-inspiring grandeur of antiquity and a sense
of fateful doom." 1
How were Goebbels' children murdered? Opinions differ.
Some, among them Goebbels' erstwhile Secretary of State Wer-
ner Naumann, assert that Magda Goebbels herself did the deed.
Another version hasit that their mother waited outside while
� the doctors administered poison to the children. Still others be-
lieve that we shall never know exactly what the actual proceed-
ings were.
I do not wish to assert that the following documents throw a
full light on the even. But they have one advantage: they were
drawn up immediately after these events. The reader will notice
that the eyewitness Dr. Helmut Kunz did not at first come out
with the full =h. Then the Soviet Court of Inquiry subjected
him again to a probing cross-examination. -
RECORD OF INTERROGATION
May 7, 1945. Lieutenant Colonel Vasilyev, Chief of Counter
Intelligence, 4th Section, saaRsii, 1st Byelorussian Front, has
2 Helmut Heiber, Joseph Goebbei's (Munich, 1965), p. 370.
59.
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