Cast your mind back to all of the Hitler conspiracy theories you’ve ever heard and you’ll realise most of them focus on him faking his own death and making a life for himself in another country.
Which, I’m not being funny but I think is slightly impossible – because who wouldn’t recognise Hitler after everything he did? It’s not like he looked inconspicuous in any way. The ‘stache alone would be enough to pick him out in a crowd.
Most of the theories never gained too much attention, but it appears one in particular reached the CIA and an investigation was conducted to look into the claims.
According to newly declassified documents, an informant told the CIA Adolf Hitler didn’t take his own life after World War II and was instead living in Colombia throughout the 1950s.
Not only that, but he was supposedly living with ex-Nazis and communicating with former SS agents each month.
The documents reveal the informant – referred to as Cimelody-3 – was told by a ‘trusted’ source Hitler was hiding in South America following the end of World War II.
The memo, sent by the chief of station in Caracas, states this trusted source was informed by former SS agent, Phillip Citroen, about Hitler’s supposed movements after the war.
It reads:
CITROEN claimed to have contacted HITLER about once a month in Colombia on his trip from Maracaibo to that country as an employee of the KNSM (Royal Dutch) Shipping Co.in Maracaibo… [sic]
He also stated that HITLER left Colombia for Argentina around January 1955. [sic]
So, if these claims are to be believed then Hitler not only faked his own death in 1945, but he lived mostly unnoticed for at least 10 years after, in a completely different country.
Somehow I’m not believing it… And the CIA made it clear they were sceptical of the claims too, referring to the agent’s words as a ‘fantastic story’.
The memo goes on to say:
Neither Cimelody-3 nor this Station is in a position to give an intelligent evaluation of the information and it is being forwarded as of possible interest.
Perhaps to give the story more credibility, a picture was attached to the report which agent Citroen claimed was of him and Hitler during one of their meetings in Colombia.
The black and white photo shows two men – one bearing a resemblance to the Führer – standing side by side as they look into the distance.
The memo states the back side of the photograph contained the following data: ‘Adolf Schrittelmayor, Tunga, Colombia, 1954,’ therefore suggesting this is the name Hitler went by in his new life.
This is just one of the many conspiracy theories which suggest Hitler faked his own death when he came to the realisation he was losing the war and his time was up.
The reality is, or so we’re told, he took his own life by taking a cyanide pill before shooting himself in his bunker in April 1945, and now that very bunker is hidden and covered by a perfectly (and very purposefully) carpark in Berlin.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).