Hitler's Teeth and Skull Crush Conspiracy Theory That He Lives on the Moon

With Germany’s defeat imminent, Adolf Hitler and his wife Eva Braun committed suicide on April 30, 1945. Per his orders, the bodies were taken outside of the bunker, doused in 200 liters of benzene, and lit on fire. The remains were buried in a shallow grave until they were recovered by the Soviet secret service a few days later; they were burned again by the KBG in April 1970. This, however, is not the history some conspiracy theorists believe. That’s why scientists behind a new European Journal of Internal Medicine paper had to dig back into his remains to settle the truth.

This analysis, the study authors note in their paper, published Friday, lays to rest the multitude of conspiracy theories that claim Hitler did not die by suicide in a bunker. Some of these myths were spread by Soviet and German forces after the war. In the radio announcement of his death, his successor Karl Dönitz claimed Hitler died in battle. Joseph Stalin, who knew that an autopsy had confirmed that the remains belonged to Hitler and Braun, nurtured rumors that Hitler was alive and had fled. The FBI seriously investigated claims that Hitler was living in South America, while theories that Hitler was on the moon or in Antartica continued to circulate.

But in the new paper, a biomedical analysis of the only two remaining fragments of Hitler — a part of his skull and his jaws, both in Russian possession — surfaces unshakeable evidence that Hitler committed suicide in Germany.

“Our study proves that Hitler died in 1945,” study co-author Phillipe Charlier, Ph.D. told Agence France-Presse on Saturday. “We can stop all the conspiracy theories about Hitler. He did not flee to Argentina in a submarine, he is not in a hidden base in Antartica or on the dark side of the moon.”

The Russian government allowed Charlier and his team to analyze the skull and teeth in March and July 2017, which the authors claim is the first time the remains have been examined since World War II. Writing that the study allows them to end a “scientific and historical fantasy,” the scientists compare the remains to historical documents. That process, they write, provides support for the long-standing official account of Hitler’s death: that he swallowed a cyanide pill then shot himself in the head.

His Skull

While the scientists weren’t permitted to take samples from the skull fragment, its morphology was comparable to the radiography data collected from Hitler’s skull a year before his death. On the left side is a hole, which was determined to be caused by a bullet.

“Recent analysis of the biomedical literature related to cremation of human remains shows that fragmentation of the skull, lack of extremities and surface alterations described on the supposed remains of Adolf Hitler are fully compatible with the historical testimonies of cremation, inhumation, and exhumation,” the scientists write.

His Jaws and Teeth

Hitler’s dentist and dental technician had already confirmed, during a Soviet investigation in 1945, that the jaw and teeth belonged to Hitler. In addition, they matched reports that Hitler had only a few of his own teeth remaining at the time of his death and showed evidence of his “conspicuous and unusual prostheses and bridgework.” The teeth also show no traces of meat, adding evidence to the claim that Hitler was a vegetarian.

Importantly new examination of the teeth show that there are no traces of gun powder, indicating that Hitler shot himself through the head — not his mouth. There are, however, blue deposits on the false teeth, which Charlier says demonstrates “a chemical reaction between the cyanide and the metal of the dentures.”

“We didn’t know if he had used an ampule of cyanide to kill himself or whether it was a bullet in the head,” Charlier reported. “It’s in all probability both.”