Truth behind photo of ‘Adolf Hitler’ taken years after death as it's shown in declassified CIA document
If you've been on social media in the past couple of weeks, you'll probably have seen the egregious claims about Adolf Hitler's apparent escape from Nazi Germany to Argentina following the Second World War.
People have cited alleged 'declassified' CIA documents as the source of their claims, as some on X said that they were 'just' released.
Apparently, the dictator would have survived World War II and fled to South America following his defeat.
This is in contrast to what is widely known to be Hitler's true fate - a suicide by gunshot to the head, while his longtime mistress Eva Braun ingested a cyanide pill.
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The claims surfaced after the CIA released thousands of files surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, with the US Justice Department aiming to release surveillance records of Martin Luther King Jr.
Social media posts about Hitler's 'escape' flooded timelines, with images of old documents quoting a former German soldier doing the rounds, as he claimed that the Nazi ruler was 'still alive' and living in Colombia.
He even claimed he got a snap with Hitler in Argentina in January 1955, with the photo seemingly convincing many that he had moved across the world.
Despite all of this though, these claims were not recent declassifications, and they did not serve as evidence that the Nazi leader survived.
In fact, these documents were released in 2017 and relied on thirdhand reporting.
"Neither [CIA agent] nor this Station is in a position to give an intelligent evaluation of the information," the memo stated.
The CIA has also dismissed any suggestion that Hitler had escaped.
Despite this, conspiracy theories have been circulating that the photo may indeed show the Nazi leader alive after his official death, with many believing that the CIA was wrong.
It is stated in the memo that 'CIMELODY-3' was a CIA agent, as the document read: "CIMELODY-3's friend stated that during the latter part of September 1955, a Phillip CITROEN, former German SS trooper, stated to him confidentially that Adolf HITLER is still alive.
"CITROEN claimed to have contacted Hitler about once a month in Colombia on his trip from Maracaibo to that country as an employee of the KNSM (Royal Dutch) Shipping Co. in Maracaibo," it continued, adding that he also claimed to have a photo but did not show it.
But as the account is not firsthand reporting, instead being from the friend of an agent who had claimed to speak to a former soldier, the document plainly stated: "Neither CIMELODY-3 nor this Station is in a position to give an intelligent evaluation of the information and it is being forwarded as of possible interest."
As for the photo in question, CIMELODY-3's friend got a hold of the photo, with the grainy snap showing a man on the left, said to be Citroen, and a man on the right who he claims is Hitler.
On the back of the photo, it reads: "Adolf SCHRITTELMAYOR, Tunga, Colombia, 1954."
A second October memo called the report a 'fantasy', and said that the negatives of the photo were 'too poor' to copy.
In November 1955, the CIA stated: "Enormous efforts could be expended on this matter with remote possibilities of establishing anything concrete. Therefore, we suggest that this matter be dropped."
While members of the Nazi party did use Argentina as a refuge point, there have been piles of evidence over the years further supporting the fact that Hitler did indeed die from suicide, from firsthand accounts to official documents.
Hitler's valet Heinz Linge, for example, published a memoir of his time under the German dictator's service in 1980, in which he details standing outside the room when Hitler took his own life, and seeing his dead body shortly after.
The CIA also has an autopsy report confirming the Nazi leader's death on its website.
Topics: History, Social Media, World News, Conspiracy Theory
Joshua Nair