On a cold December day in 1972, in an area of waste ground alongside the then Lehrter Railway station in West Berlin, construction workers made a gruesome discovery. Buried several feet down were the bodies of two men, two of the many ‘missing’ who had last been seen in the final brutal hours of the Battle for Berlin.
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But just who were they?
Could they have been amongst the key Nazis of the Third Reich?
How did they end up at this spot?
In this video, we’ll use the latest technology, veteran testimony, wartime aerial imagery and this remarkable colour footage to investigate a decades long mystery and follow the fortunes of Hitler’s closest surviving confidantes in their desperate attempts to Escape the Fuhrerbunker.
Bibloiography:
Testimony:
• A. Axmann, Interrogations of Hitler’s Associates (1948, Musmanno Collection, Duquesne University), accessible via: https://digital.library.duq.edu/digital/collection/mussinter/search/searchterm/Axmann/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/order/title/ad/asc/cosuppress/0
• H. Baur, I was Hitler’s Pilot (1958), online version, accessible via https://archive.org/details/IWasHitlerSPilotTheMemoirsOfHansBaur/page/n3/mode/2up
• H. Blaschke, Interrogations of Hitler’s Associates (1948, Musmanno Collection, Duquesne University), accessible via: https://digital.library.duq.edu/digital/collection/mussinter/search/searchterm/Blaschke/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/order/title/ad/asc/cosuppress/0
• G. Junge, Interrogations of Hitler’s Associates (1948, Musmanno Collection, Duquesne University), accessible via: https://digital.library.duq.edu/digital/collection/mussinter/search/searchterm/Junge/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/order/title/ad/asc/cosuppress/0
• E. Kempka, , Interrogations of Hitler’s Associates (1948, Musmanno Collection, Duquesne University), accessible via: https://digital.library.duq.edu/digital/collection/mussinter/search/searchterm/Kempka/field/all/mode/all/conn/and/order/title/ad/asc/cosuppress/0
• E. Kempka, I Was Hitler’s Chauffeur: The Memoir of Erich Kempka (2010 edition).
• H. Linge, With Hitler To The End; Memoirs of Adolf Hitler’s Valet (2014 edition).
• R. Misch, Hitler’s Last Witness: The Memoirs of Hitler’s Bodyguard (2017 edition).
• C. Schroder, Interrogations of Hitler’s Associates (1948, Musmanno Collection, Duquesne University), accessible via: https://digital.library.duq.edu/digital/collection/mussinter/id/1416/rec/3
General Written Sources:
• A. Beevor, The Fall of Berlin 1945, released as ‘Berlin’ (2003)
• T. Le Tissier, The Battle of Berlin 1945 (2022 edition).
• H. Trevor-Roper, The Last Days of Hitler (1947 & 2013 editions).
• J. Von Lang, The Secretary: Martin Bormann: the Man Who Manipulated Hitler (1979).
Online Sources:
• C. Anesi, The Escape Route of Martin Bormann (1995), accessible via: https://www.anesi.com/east/bormann.htm
• S.J. De Boer, The Bormann Route (date unknown), accessible via: https://www.hitlerpages.com/bormann.html
• M. Felton, The Hunt for Martin Bormann – The Complete Series (2024), accessible via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjUtrTAtPFg
Image & Media Sources:
• US National Archives (NARA)
• Bundesarchiv (German National Archives)
• The National Archives, Kew (TNA)
• FindMyPast Newspaper Archive (accessible via: https://www.findmypast.co.uk/search-newspapers)
• Google Earth Pro & Web Versions
• Maptiler Pro
Video Testimony:
• A. Axmann, Interview (1995, hosted by Chronos-MEDIA), accessible via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbIaCd4PqR0
• R. Misch, Interview with Hitler’s Escort (2021 release), accessible via: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sRVXJrDMOLs
Video Credits:
• Research: Dan Hill
• Script & Narration: Dan Hill
• Editing: Shane Greer & Linus Klassen
• Thumbnail Design: Shane Greer & Linus Klassen
• Music & Sound Effects: Shane Greer