The long death of Adolf Hitler : an investigative history / Caroline Sharples.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sharples, Caroline, 1979- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hitler, Adolf, 1889-1945--Death and burial.

Hitler, Adolf.

Physical Description:

xiii, 322 pages : illustrations (black and white), maps ; 25 cm

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2025]

Summary:

"A fascinating exploration of why Hitler's death was only confirmed in 2018. Adolf Hitler has taken a long time to die, despite the lethal efficiency of the gun he put to his head in April 1945. Although eagerly anticipated around the world, there were no available witnesses to his suicide--and his corpse was not put on display. This created the perfect vacuum for myth and survival legends, while rival intelligence agencies and propaganda further confounded the investigations of successive historians. Caroline Sharples explores the aftermath of events at the Führerbunker in the first cultural account of this decisive yet elusive moment. Hitler's death was widely anticipated, and the news elicited a huge range of emotions as governments and secret services scrambled to verify what they heard. The search for proof of death led to an outpouring of conspiratorial thinking, and the final moments of Hitler's life have been reimagined ever since. This is an intriguing, unsettling account of a historical event we all think we know--and a sophisticated examination of how history is written"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Abbreviations

Glossary of Key Characters Attached to the Führerbunker

Acknowledgments

Introduction: Death Comes as the End?

1 A Funeral for the Führer

2 Dead or Alive?

3 'Our Fü̈hrer has Fallen'

4 Celebrations and Condolences

5 Searching for Proof of Death

6 'I Choose Death'

7 Legally Dead

8 Biologically Dead

Conclusion: Becoming Really Dead?

Appendix I: Timeline of Key Discoveries Concerning Hitler's Death

Appendix II: Knowledge of Hitler's Death Held by the Witnesses Appearing before the Amtsgericht Berchtesgaden, 1953-56

List of Illustrations and Maps

Notes

Select Bibliography

Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 299-310) and index.

Other Format:

Electronic version: Sharples, Caroline, 1979- Long death of Adolf Hitler.

ISBN:

9780300284911

0300284918

OCLC:

1524232585

Publisher Number:

CIPO000355446