Description
Book SynopsisIn Hitler''s Death, author and expert Luke Daly-Groves rigorously looks at the question: Did Hitler shoot himself in the Führerbunker or did he slip past the Soviets and escape to South America? Countless documentaries, newspaper articles, and internet pages written by conspiracy theorists have led the ongoing debate surrounding Hitler''s last days. Historians have not yet managed to make a serious response. Until now.
This book is the first attempt by an academic to return to the evidence of Hitler''s suicide in order to scrutinise the most recent arguments of conspiracy theorists using scientific methods. Through analysis of recently declassified MI5 files, previously unpublished sketches of Hitler''s bunker, personal accounts of intelligence officers along with stories of shoot-outs, plunder and secret agents, this rigorously researched book takes on the doubters to tell the full story of how Hitler died.
Trade ReviewAn incisive new book by Luke Daly-Groves has come to the aid of those determined to tell the truth with a brilliant demolition of the conspiracists. * The Mail on Sunday *
Luke Daly-Groves offers a well-written, comprehensive and very convincing case against the idea Hitler may have survived death in 1945. -- Professor Frank McDonough, Professor of International History, Liverpool John Moores University, author of 'The Gestapo: The Myth and Reality of Hitler's Secret Police'
Not only timely and important, but also a highly readable account that demolishes the junk history surrounding Hitler's death with formidable and forensic research. -- Guy Walters, author of 'Hunting Evil'
... a brilliant analysis of the final hours of the Fuhrer,
a factual account that reads as extraordinary as a fable, addressing the many theories and conspiracies that have arisen over a half-century of speculation. It searches out all the ghosts. -- Alexander Theroux
In a fascinating analysis seasoned with wry humour, Luke Daly-Groves applies scholarly rigour and a formidable array of fresh evidence to a topic all too often mired in sensationalism and fantasy. -- Dr Jonathan Colman, Senior Lecturer in International History, University of Central Lancashire.
Table of ContentsAbbreviations Illustrations Preface Introduction: Is History Wrong? 1 The Evolution of Facts and Conspiracies I Hitler Waves II A New Approach 2 British Intelligence and Rumours of Survival I ‘Sheer Poppycock’: The Foreign Office Investigates II ‘Baumgart is Telling Lies’: The War Office Files III Double Trouble: Debunking the Escape Theories 3 American Intelligence and Rumours of Survival I ‘A Dollar to a Doughnut’: Hitler in America? II Hitler in Argentina? III Recurrent Legends: The CIA Investigations IV ‘Is Hitler Dead?’ American Military Intelligence Investigates V Hitler Everywhere? The Importance of Context 4 Political Motivations? British, American and Soviet Conduct I Why Trevor-Roper? Investigating the British Investigations II Preventing a Hitler Myth: Rumours, Motivations and Context III Triumph of the Wills IV Anglo-American Solidarity V Appeasing the Soviets? British Intelligence and Soviet Conduct 5 Helping Hitler Escape? The Hunt for Hitler’s Henchmen I Bormann is the Key? II The Hunt for Heinrich ‘Gestapo’ Mu¨ller III The Mass Suicide IV ‘ Why Not Hitler?’ Real Escapes from the Bunker 6 The Evidence Still Stands I Positive and Consistent Evidence II Alternative Versions of Hitler’s Death III The Skull Changes Everything? Conclusion: ‘The Onus is on Hitler’ Acknowledgements Bibliography Notes Index
