April 30th, 1945- The Wolf's Lair. The war is lost. Every German soldier and citizen knows this,
and nobody feels the sting of impending defeat more bitterly than Adolph Hitler,
Fuhrer of the Third- and hopefully final- Reich. His dreams of a thousand year German Reich are
over, and with Soviet forces closing in quickly to the east, and the Americans
and their allies on the west, the noose is literally tightening around Hitler's neck.
He'll die for what he's done, there's no doubt about that.
If captured by the Soviets, there's no telling what tortures and humiliation await him.
He is after all the mastermind behind the deaths of millions upon millions of Soviet
citizens and soldiers. Then there's the many tens of thousands that were starved,
experimented on, or simply executed in his POW camps- all with his direct approval. He'd nearly
brought the Soviet Union to its knees, and now it was out for his blood. Entire Soviet
units were weathering withering defensive fire and rushing past German units simply to get to
Hitler before he could disappear. Soviet spies had for months been prowling the countryside,
all on the hunt for the war's greatest prize- Hitler's head.
To the west, the once nearly defeated French and British were being led across the Rhine by
a massive bulwark of American firepower. French forces stung with bitter defeat,
and were eager for their own revenge. He hadn't been as heavy handed in France as he'd been with
the Soviets, but his forces had still carried out many abuses and atrocities under his watch.
The humiliation of having lost their capital also spurred the French forces on.
The British had narrowly escaped utter annihilation at Dunkirk,
and contemplating these dark, last days of the war, Hitler kicks himself mentally for
his foolishness. It had been him who had given the order for advancing Panzer forces to stop,
confident that there was no need to rush the offensive and he had plenty of time to
crush the British forces with their backs to the sea. His generals had begged him to reconsider,
but the Fuhrer's word is law, and none may question it. The concentration camps that
dotted Europe were filled with those who had. His failure to eradicate the British expeditionary
force when he had the chance meant that Operation Sea Lion, meant to take the British islands,
had become a strategic impossibility. With Britain out of the war, the United States would never
have been able to invade Fortress Europe, the island nation was absolutely integral for the
consolidation of American expeditionary firepower and as a jumping off point for the invasion.
The Americans- perhaps they would be more lenient with him. After all, relatively
speaking he hadn't committed any atrocities against them. It'd been the Japanese who'd
given them a good and proper bloody nose, the capture of Tokyo should vent most of their anger.
But the Americans were already even now maneuvering for a greater share of the
world stage- they had seen the future, and were poised to seize it for themselves. For too long
they'd sat on their hemisphere of the planet, and with the world's greatest empires in ruins,
it was their chance to take the reins of global leadership. That meant they would
have to establish their international legitimacy,
which in itself meant one thing: Hitler would be tried, and indubitably executed for his crimes.
There was no escaping his fate- or was there?
Hitler gathers two of his most loyal, and remaining aides. Both know the stakes,
and what will happen if their beloved leader is captured.
Secrecy is of the utmost importance. The only other conspirators in on the plot are a dentist,
himself a loyal supporter of the Fuhrer, and his beloved wife, Eva Braun.
Two Jewish prisoners from a local concentration camp have been specifically chosen for what
comes next. His aides had scoured all available stock from concentration camps across Germany
and what little territory the Wehrmacth still controlled until they found a man and woman
who both matched the age and general build and height of the Fuhrer and his wife. They'd been
secretly taken to meet with Hitler's dentist, who through painstaking effort lasting many hours,
had filed and scraped to perfectly reproduce a copy of the Fuhrer's and his wife's teeth.
Then, the woman had been poisoned with cyanide, and the man shot through the temple.
The dentist had been shot shortly after, no loose ends could be left behind.
The two bodies were moved into position outside the wolf's lair, then set fire
until only unrecognizable bones remained. This had been kept secret even from his own guards,
who'd been simply alerted that the Fuhrer had committed suicide, and his body immediately burned
per his request. The two piles of bone and ash would be left behind for the Soviets to discover,
and Hitler was betting that the difficulty of identifying the remains accurately,
as well as Stalin's refusal to publicly admit Hitler may have evaded his grasp, would lead them
to declare that they had indeed found Hitler’s remains. Dental records would prove the identity.
Now Hitler and his wife, wearing disguises, are rushed to a waiting jeep. The exodus of personnel
from the Wolf's Lair is the perfect cover for the German Fuhrer to make his escape from the
bunker without arousing suspicion. The fanatical SS guards that remained would fight to the death,
believing the place to be a place of honor. Or perhaps, they'd simply surrender,
knowing that the war was truly and well over- it mattered little to Hitler at this point.
From the forests of Germany, Hitler travels south and into Switzerland. A hefty bribe
convinces the border guards to allow the unknown Germans through- high ranking Germans have been
fleeing for weeks now, and bribing Swiss border guards was nothing new. For the guards it was a
chance to enrich themselves, and as long as it was kept quiet, none would ever be the wiser.
Hitler must hurry though, because his opportunity to escape is quickly closing.
He travels across Switzerland and finally into Italy, where they successfully hide amongst
streams of refugees pouring across the border. There are still Fascist supporters in Italy,
stinging from the loss of the war and the murder of Mussolini, and a former Italian
intelligence agent meets up with the Fuhrer and his escort, helping them get to the coast.
Late at night, outside of a small Italian fishing village, the Fuhrer and his escorts
fire up a single flare into the sky. A mile off shore is a German u-boat,
on station for the last week. It doesn't dare surface except at night to recharge its batteries,
and has been sitting off the Italian coast waiting for the agreed-upon signal.
Lookouts on the deck of the U-boat spot the flare and hurriedly shout to the Captain below.
On the beach, the group spots the counter-sign, two bright flashes of a spotlight followed by
one long flash. Dragging a rowboat into the surf, the Fuhrer, his wife, his two aides,
and the Italian spy all make their way to the waiting submarine. As they near it,
the Captain and an armed escort are waiting for them, and they throw a rope out to the
small dinghy to help pull it in. The first off the boat is the Fuhrer, and then his wife Mrs. Braun.
As the first aide attempts to climb up the rope ladder lowered to them though,
he's shoved back into the boat by a sailor. Without warning, the armed sailors open fire,
killing the two aides and the fascist spy. Without a word,
the Captain of the U-boat drops an incendiary grenade into the boat,
and in moments it's a scorching inferno. The boat will sink, and the final bit of evidence hinting
Hitler may have escaped the Allies' grasp will go to the bottom of the Mediterranean with them.
Once inside the submarine, Hitler settles into the Captain's own personal cabin. He
looks at his beloved wife, and after two weeks on the run, breathes a final sigh of relief.
Even now news are spreading throughout Europe and the world that the German Fuhrer is dead.
Efforts to locate his dental records and authenticate the discovery though are
underway. The Americans and British are asking for access to the body to do their own confirmation,
but the Soviets so far are refusing. Even now tensions are flaring between the former allies,
and as the German u-boat pulls away from the coast, Hitler wishes nothing more
than that the damned Communists and arrogant Americans tear each other's throats out.
Perhaps then, he might be able to return. Once the Soviets and the Americans have destroyed
each other, Hitler could return from his exile and lead the German people to ultimate triumph
over his two weakened enemies. He tells his plan to Eva, who smiles in delight,
nodding her approval. The thought of his triumphant return and the U-boat
captain's warm bed is the first bit of comfort he's had in weeks.
Hitler fancies himself a Napoleon as he drifts off to sleep,
returning from exile to triumphantly lead his people into the glory he deserves.
For the next few days, the U-boat steams beneath the waves as it makes its way to the Strait of
Gibraltar. The trip takes longer than usual, as the submarine must carefully avoid Allied
vessels and merchant ships of all kinds- by now the Kriegsmarine has officially surrendered,
and the Allies are demanding a full register of all operational U-boats and verifying the
surrender of their crews. The last thing they want is a renegade U-boat attempting to earn itself a
final bit of revenge by taking on unwary ships with its remaining stores of weapons and fuel.
But the real reason is that the Allies don't want more senior German leadership slipping
through their grasp, spirited away to safety around the globe thanks to the stealthy u-boats.
Luckily for Hitler, German military records have been scattered or lost in the chaos of
the invasion of Germany, and it'll be time yet before this u-boat's disappearance is noticed.
As the submarine approaches the Strait of Gibraltar though it enters the most
dangerous part of its journey. Here, Allied forces have established a picket of warships
for most of the war. Hitler's hope is that the crews have been pacified by the victory,
and not manning their posts as diligently as they should be.
Whether that is the case or not, the u-boat successfully moves past the Allied picket,
diving to its maximum depth and running almost imperceptibly silently. When no
depth charges rain down around them, the men breathe a sigh of relief.
Ahead is the Atlantic ocean, where it would take a miracle to find them.
The most difficult part of his journey is well and truly over, freedom is now all but guaranteed.
Retiring to his cabin, Hitler begins writing a new memoir. His new Reich will need a new source of
inspiration, something to lift the broken spirits of his people and spur them to future glory. All
the pieces are in place- the Soviets and Americans have all but forgotten their wartime cooperation,
and the stage seems to be set in Europe for a decisive confrontation between the two.
Hitler is confident the Americans will win- theirs is the superior navy,
and their military hasn't suffered nearly as much as the Soviet war machine has. More to the point,
much of the Soviet military relied on abundant American aid- everything from boots,
to ammunition, food, blankets, and even the tens of thousands of trucks that made the great Red
Army's counter-attack possible, all came from America. The Soviet Union was a land in ruin,
and without US aid, it would never be able to defeat it.
The US though would learn the same bitter lesson Hitler had learned,
and pay dearly for every mile of Soviet territory it was forced to fight for. Stalin had refused
defeat even when victory for the Wehrmacht seemed all but inevitable, and his forces were besieging
his namesake city. He'd never accept defeat at the hands of the Americans. The long, bitter war
would result in an American win- but they would be thoroughly expended and exhausted of war by then.
Hitler need only return in glory to his people,
inspire them to rise up, and the Americans would simply let him. They would never have the stomach,
or resources, to wage yet a third war. Then, the gloriously reborn Third Reich
would easily annihilate its utterly spent and decimated opponents, claiming Europe for Hitler.
But he'd have to bide his time until the moment to strike was at hand.
The u-boat makes its way across the Atlantic, able to move on the surface now that the threat
of discovery is negligible. Hitler is glad for this, not only will the submarine move faster on
the surface, but it gives him a chance to take in fresh air on the deck. He'd never let any
of his men know it, but he's terrified of tight spaces, and frankly, the stink of several dozen
unwashed men was strong enough to taste it, no matter how good the air recyclers worked.
As the sun sets, the u-boat continues on its course to Argentina. They'll cross
south of patagonia, where the submarine can remain submerged and ignore the historically
tumultuous Antarctic weather that plagues the area year-round. Fuel will run out before then,
but the Kriegsmarine has established several small refueling stations across the Atlantic
on tiny islands which still remain undiscovered by the former Allies. These are meant to be
used in emergencies only, and are unmanned, forcing the crew to refuel the boat themselves.
With the stars twinkling in the skies above him, Hitler considers them
and what glorious future prophecies they may hold for him. He has been defeated,
yes, but setbacks are nothing new to him. He arose from a faceless, insignificant soldier
on the front lines of World War I to lead the greatest nation the world had ever known- and
he'll do it again, even if he must endure a humiliating exile for a few years first.
Out here in the open Atlantic, the stars are bright- and so is Adolf Hitler's future. He
may be in the middle of a bitter winter now, but soon it’ll be spring time for Hitler,
all he has to do is wait. This was obviously a fictitious
story- or was it? While Hitler’s remains were indeed authenticated by the Soviet Union,
they never let American or British personnel take a good look at them until much later after their
discovery. Even then, they refused to allow them to take bone samples which would have helped to
authenticate the remains. While most believe that the remains were indeed those of Hitler,
due to x-rays of Hitler’s skull taken a year before his death, it is fair to say that there
remains some doubt- and the last thing that Stalin would have wanted is for his own people to know,
let alone the world, that the Soviet Union’s greatest enemy had indeed fled his grasp.
So maybe our story is more reality than fiction after all. By now,
Hitler would be dead- and the truth may never be known.