In our first video of Hitler’s Escape, we explored the possibility of Hitler faking his
death and supposed escape from the Fall of Berlin to conclude South America as the best possibility
of a safe retreat. But was it really possible, could he have achieved that? In today’s video
Nutty History explores the possibility of Hitler faking his death and escaping to South America.
The rumor of Hitler escaping to Argentina began with Joseph Stalin himself claiming at
the Potsdam conference that Hitler was not found dead at his Fuhrer Bunker and perhaps escaped to
Spain or Argentina. This claim by Stalin was made despite the Red Army announcing Hitler's death
after the Battle of Berlin and caused enough waves to seed doubt in minds of historians and
governments alike to look into the possibility of Hitler faking his death and escaping.
Stalin’s motives have been much speculated upon by historians.
Some believe that the Soviet leader wanted to discredit popular potential rivals at home,
such as Zhukov. By attempting to place the blame on Spain and Argentina for sheltering Hitler,
Stalin tried to undermine his fascist enemies overseas. He may also have wished to maintain
the notion of a continuing threat from Hitler as part of a power play in territorial disputes as
the Allies moved into their zones of occupation in Germany. But, can we discredit the possibility
of Stalin telling the truth and warning that Hitler was still alive and on the run?
It is true that although Berlin’s fall was the end of War in Europe and Nazi Oppression,
it was not the end of Nazi Ideology. As we have seen the resurgence of it again and
again in history. Japan was still fighting the war in Asia against allied powers,
Spain though remained neutral in Second World War was still a fascist regime,
and Argentina was not only a Nazi state but had cultural ties with Germany. Also,
a host of top-tier Nazi officials do end up in Argentina and other South American countries.
Some of these infamous personnel were Dr. Josef Mengele, nicknamed “Angel of Death” and chief
executor of horrible experiments at the Auschwitz Camp, Walther Rauff, inventor of the gas chamber,
Josef Schwamberger, Otto Skorzeny, and Adolf Eichmann, one of the architects of the Holocaust.
It is believed that these officers used the wealth they looted from European Jews to entice and
ensure a secure escape to Argentina and live there without the fear of extradition. So, it was no
doubt, if there was even a slim chance of Hitler faking his death and fleeing Germany, then it
must have been done to make his way to Argentina. But the question remains, how could Hitler have
achieved a safe escape through the enemy lines which had Germany surrounded from all sides?
A common consensus among the amateur historians, journalists, and authors who believe in Hitler’s
successful escape is that Hitler made his way out of FuhrerBunker by using hidden tunnels underneath
the bunker to make his way to perhaps Austria or Spain and from there he must have sought
passage to South America. One of the theories by an amateur historian author is that a helicopter
took him to Austria, from there a plane took him to Barcelona, where he was able to board
the submarine that crossed the Atlantic to deposit him in Patagonia. Others suppose a land crossing
to Spain and the submarine. These versions do not delve into how he could cross half of Europe
in those critical months of 1945. Argentina was indeed the ideal destination to find a
residence for the Führer. A distant land of great expanse and a more-than-kind recipient of Nazis.
But in this case, Hitler would not have arrived like the rest of the Nazi criminals through the
Rat Route but by submarine. Despite the intriguing and interesting nature of this type of narrative,
history with its cold facts always prevails and ends up destroying more entertaining versions.
Two German submarines indeed arrived in Argentina after the war, the U-530 and the U-977.
They did so in order not to have to surrender to British forces but did they carry any important
Nazi leader, well the official record says no. But even for hypothesis if say records were altered,
how could Hitler have achieved that? Some of these ‘alternate historians’ do have an answer
but a vague one. Hitler and Eva Braun escaped from the bunker under the Soviet bombs, in some
vague way they arrived in Spain and boarded a submarine that deposited them in Patagonia,
where they lived quietly and happily without being disturbed by anyone. Some believe that
Hitler stayed in Patagonia until he died in 1962 while others claim the Hitler couple traveled
through various parts of the continent, from Mar del Plata to Colombia. Some theories even claim
that the couple had two daughters, hilariously one of whom they suspect could be Angela Merkel.
This theory gets even funnier if you put Hitler-Stache on Angela Merkel’s face!
But jokes aside, can we totally discredit the possibility of Hitler living in exile
in Argentina? These potential witnesses would like to differ.
Abel Basti, an Argentinian journalist, researched extensively on the claims of Hitler living and
dying in South America long after the second world war had concluded. He claimed that he has
the CIA document that says Hitler was in Colombia, along with a photo of Hitler in the town of Tunja
meeting with another Nazi called Phillipe Citroen in 1954. He also interviewed people who claimed to
witness Hitler, Eva Braun, or both during his stay in Colombia. Abel Basti supposedly has an answer
for the biggest concern with Hitler’s survival, how Hitler secured a safe passage through enemy
lines. Abel Basti shockingly blames America for it. According to Basti, there was an agreement
with the US that Hitler would run away and that he shouldn’t fall into the hands of the Soviet Union.
This also applies to many scientists, the military, and spies who later took part in
the struggle against the Soviet regime. He adds that Hitler spent a decade in Argentina before
moving to Paraguay and former Fuhrer died there on February 3, 1971. Another book claims that
Hitler fled to Paraguay and then moved to Brazil where he lived in Mato Grosso and went by the name
Adolf Leipzig. According to witnesses mentioned in the book, Hitler lived up to the age of 95
and died in 1980. The locals referred to him as the “Old German” and that his girlfriend,
Cutinga, was a local. The theory fails to explain what happened to Ava Braun.
People who have investigated the possibility of Hitler living off his retirement in South
America believe that Nazis sent a lot of gold to Argentina and other South American countries to
buy his anonymity and life and also to have enough gold to live off of it for the rest of his days.
Archaeologists stumbled upon a ‘secret jungle lair’ in Argentina in 2016,
which they believe had been built by Nazis to help their leaders escape Germany if the need arose.
The FBI closed their investigation into Hitler’s death in 1947. But there were many reported
sightings of Hitler basically everywhere for a long time. None of these were ever verified,
and many reports were just absurd, such as a man who claimed to have had dinner with him, or that
Hitler lived in Manhattan. It is believed that the FBI has over 700 files regarding Adolf Hitler;
some of these have been declassified in the last few years and are available to the public.
So after all these investigations and reports and sensationalized books, how could we never
find Hitler? How could a man so obsessed with German domination and white supremacy decide to
lay low for the rest of his life and live off his final days in anonymity? In the next video, Nutty
History will look into the hunt for Hitler and go back to the crime scene to find out if Hitler
really never left the bunker and died. Until then watch our video about how Hitler turned German Boy
Scouts into brainwashed soldiers and how Hitler survived forty-four assassination attempts.