The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler is an anonymously written 1939 book which claims that Adolf Hitler died in 1938 and was subsequently impersonated by look-alikes including the author.

According to the book, the author was born Maximilian Bauer.[1] He claims he was arrested by German police in 1933; subsequently, the Nazi Party came into power and retained him and three others as possible doubles for Hitler.[2] The author claims that on the night before the Munich Agreement (signed 30 September 1938), he dined with Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi officials when the Führer was poisoned via a South American drug. The remaining Nazi leaders quickly decided to maintain the illusion that Hitler was in charge by using the look-alikes as puppet rulers.[2] The book concludes with the author asking Joseph Goebbels for a female concubine and contemplating suicide by gunshot.[3]

An introductory publisher's statement claims that the manuscript's sources were "unimpeachable". An unnamed German officer who was not sympathetic to the Nazis allegedly delivered the manuscript.[4] The publisher thought its claims resembled a satirical account that had been published earlier that year in The New Yorker, but the officer insisted that his claim was genuine.[5][6] He said he had obtained the German manuscript in Nice from an employee of the French Line and subsequently decided to translate it into English.[7] He was convinced of the manuscript's authenticity.[8]

Foreign Affairs wrote that the book was a "fantastic, though elaborately circumstantial, yarn" which is "exciting reading for those who like to have their leg pulled."[9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Anonymous 1939, p. 18.
  2. 1 2 "Author Declares He Impersonated Hitler". The Harvard Crimson. New York. 3 March 1939. Retrieved 27 June 2021.
  3. ↑ Anonymous 1939, pp. 378–381.
  4. ↑ Anonymous 1939, p. 7.
  5. ↑ Anonymous 1939, p. 8.
  6. ↑ Krauss, William (6 January 1939). "1939 01 14 066 TNY CARDS 000176404". The New Yorker. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  7. ↑ Anonymous 1939, p. 9.
  8. ↑ Anonymous 1939, p. 10.
  9. ↑ Woolbert, Robert Gale (8 October 2011). "Capsule Review: The Strange Death of Adolf Hitler". Foreign Affairs. ISSN 0015-7120. Retrieved 27 June 2021.

Sources

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