Declassified Russian documents reveal chilling new details of Hitler's last hours

Time of India

03-05-2025

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On the 80th anniversary of Adolf Hitler's death, Russian intelligence has released a trove of once-classified documents that offer chilling new insight into the dictator's final moments in the
Führerbunker
.
The Federal Security Service (FSB), successor to the Soviet-era KGB, unveiled original copies of interrogation records from Hitler's closest aides—his personal vault, SS-Sturmbannführer
Heinz Linge
, and military adjutant SS-Sturmbannführer
Otto Günsche
. Both men were captured by Soviet forces at the close of World War II and played a key role in shaping Joseph Stalin's understanding of Hitler's demise.
These documents, locked away for decades in a vault in the Ivanovo region and only now made public, include detailed testimonies from Linge and Günsche. For the first time, the FSB has released these full accounts, which reveal previously unheard details about the dictator's suicide, the condition of his body, and the cremation orchestrated by loyalists as Soviet troops closed in on Berlin.
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In a video accompanying the release, a Russian archivist explains Linge's statement regarding Hitler's decision to take his own life: 'He believed it was utterly pointless to continue the fight. He was afraid of being caught while trying to escape from Berlin. There was also his severe physical condition, which was beyond doubt, as well as his delusions of grandeur, which would not allow him to bow to the victor or enter into negotiations with him.'
Linge described entering the room after Hitler's suicide and helping burn the corpses of Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun. He recalled in stark detail the clothing the pair wore at the moment of death. 'At the moment of suicide, Hitler was dressed in a white shirt with a white turn-down collar and a black vest, a grey double-breasted uniform jacket made of fine gabardine, long black trousers of fine gabardine, thin black paper socks, and black leather half-boots,' Linge stated. 'His wife was dressed in a fine silk dress, very thin silk stockings, and shoes with wedge heels (possibly of Italian make).'
Macabre footage accompanying the release showed Hitler's dental remains, which Soviet authorities used to confirm his identity. A Soviet forensic report noted 'the presence in the mouth cavity of crushed glass ampoule fragments… a distinct bitter almond smell… and results from chemical testing of internal organs showing cyanide compounds.' The commission concluded that Hitler's death 'resulted from cyanide poisoning.'
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Linge also addressed one of the lingering suspicions of Soviet leaders—that Hitler may have escaped using a body double. In a signed Russian-translated statement, Linge declared: 'Hitler did not have a double,' and said it was 'impossible to leave the premises without being seen, as there was only one exit from the room.'
He added that a double 'could not have committed suicide.'
One passage quoted by Russian state media captured Hitler's last exchange with Linge. 'When saying goodbye to Hitler on 30 April 1945, I asked: 'Führer, whom should we try to break through to in the West?' And I received the answer: 'For the sake of the one who is still to come.''
Other details emerged about the grim preparations for cremation. 'Three canisters of petrol, prepared by Reichsleiter Martin Bormann for the cremation of the bodies of Hitler and his wife, were standing on the last landing leading from the bomb shelter into the garden of the Reich Chancellery,' Linge testified. 'All the contents of the canisters were poured over the bodies of Hitler and his wife. Bormann pointed out the canisters to us and went down himself to get his own. This was around 4 p.m., and it was still light. A total of 60 litres of petrol was poured.'
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Linge also recanted parts of his earlier account, admitting under Soviet interrogation: 'I must admit that my earlier testimony was incorrect. I did not hear any gunshot sounds but only noticed the smell of gunpowder and, based on that, informed Bormann that the suicide had occurred… I previously stated incorrectly that Eva Braun's body was wrapped in a blanket. I now recall that it was not.'
Günsche, like Linge, was flown to Moscow, where he was held under intense psychological pressure. According to the files, Soviet interrogators placed him in a cell with Nazi war criminal Colonel Remlinger, who was intentionally used to persuade him to cooperate. The tactic succeeded. Günsche eventually distanced himself from his 'oath' to Hitler, emphasizing how Nazi leaders had abandoned their posts in the regime's final hours.