Thursday 1 December 2016

Martin Bormann - and the flight from common sense

One of the effects of the return of the execrable crudfest that is "Hunting Hitler" is that all manner of conspiracists come out of the woodwork - on Twitter and elsewhere - to air their preposterous theories, in sympathy with the nonsense spouted by the dubious "experts" that front the show.

In amongst that cornucopia of claptrap is a long-standing piece of idiocy regarding Martin Bormann.

Martin Bormann
a master of horticultural deception
- or not...
Allow me to elucidate...  Martin Bormann - Hitler's Party Secretary and the 'eminence grise' of the Third Reich - was last seen alive on 2 May 1945 by Hitler Youth leader Artur Axmann. Together with Bormann, Axmann had been part of a group that have left the Reich Chancellery Bunker and had headed north on Friedrichstrasse, reaching the Spree at the Weidendammer Bridge. Soon after, Axmann left the group before doubling back on himself.  Then, he claimed to have seen the bodies of both Bormann and SS doctor Ludwig Stumpfegger, not far from the Lehrter Station.

Aside from Axmann's story, however, no other contemporary account of Bormann's fate was ever given. He was tried 'in absentia' at Nuremberg, and declared legally deceased in 1954, despite the fact that the West German government continued looking for him - officially at least - until 1971.

Then, in 1972, construction workers near the Lehrter Station in Berlin discovered the remains of two men, who were identified through dental records to be Bormann and Stumpfegger.  With the development of new technology, in due course - in 1998 - Bormann's remains were conclusively identified to be his via DNA testing, providing a match to his son Martin Bormann junior.  With that - for most sane individuals - the Bormann story draws to its definitive end.  Martin Bormann died, on 2 May, close to the Lehrter Station in Berlin...

But - according to our conspiracist friends - there is a twist.  They maintain that Bormann's remains contained traces of a red soil that is not native to Berlin.  Instead, they say, the soil is the same as that of some region of Paraguay or of Argentina...  Cue dramatic music..  Dun dun daaaa...

Bormann's body was passed to his heirs after the DNA tests were carried out and was cremated, so this theory is impossible to test - even if we would wish to.  However, let us just think of the logical implications of this daft theory for a moment...

The conspiracists' story would run as follows.  Bormann - far from dying on 2 May in Berlin - somehow escaped the Nazi capital and went to live in South America.  Then, when he died, his body was presumably buried, in Paraguay (or elsewhere), then exhumed, packaged up, and taken back to Berlin by persons unknown and surreptitiously reburied close to the Lehrter Station, not far from where he had last been seen in 1945, so as to give the world an alibi; to cover up the 'fact' that Bormann had escaped. And all this happened without the people involved being intercepted by the German or Paraguayan authorities or being spotted or betrayed by anyone...

(Oh - as an aside - One question for the conspiracist cretins - what about Stumpfegger? Did he go to South America too? So, was he also flown back to Berlin after his death? Or did he actually die in 1945 and those persons unknown had some secret knowledge of where he was buried so that Bormann could be carefully placed next to him?  I think we need to know!)

Hmm.  Forgive me for being a spoilsport - but every fibre of my being is crying out that this cockamayme tale can only be arrant horseshit.  Is it not just possible that Bormann died and was buried IN BERLIN, IN 1945, a few yards from where he was last seen?!  Is that not a more logical solution to the conundrum? Is it not infinitely more logical than the idea that he escaped to South America, died, was buried, was exhumed, flown back to Berlin, and reburied, close to where he had last been seen...?

I know that conspiracy theorists have - by definition - a tenuous grasp of concepts like "logic", "facts" and "probability" - but Jeez...

It would not surprise me in the least if this idiotic tale gets an airing in the current series of Hunting Hitler - but then again idiocy and conspiracy theories often travel hand in hand...


9 comments:

Unknown said...

What's intriguing if a touch macabre is what happened close to lehrter station for them both to die and remain undiscovered until 1972. Great blog by the way.

Unknown said...

They already are putting this in that show. SPOILER: The "photo" of Hitler in Misiones that they're teasing the audience with is Moe Howard of the Three Stooges.

http://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/history-channel-thinks-moe-howard-might-be-hitler-plus-micah-hankss-confusing-views-on-speculative-fiction

Frank S said...

The whole envelope of so-call evidence the Hunting Hitler team put forward about Martin Bormann is absolutely laughable.

1. In Season 2, Episode 7 they speak with Eliana Keller alleged adopted daughter of Juan Keller AKA Martin Bormann. In the interview she claims that her father was really worried when he knew about the capture of Adolf Eichmann and that he started to panic.

Also during this episode they show the viewer some evidence found in a government department archives stating that Juan Keller AKA Martin Bormann died in February 1959 of stomach cancer, this was supposedly confirmed by other eye witnesses.

This presents some problems.

Adolf Eichmann was captured on 11 May 1960 near his home on Garibaldi Street in San Fernando, Buenos Aires, 20 kilometres north of the centre of Buenos Aires. This is a fact. So Adolf Eichmann was capture over a year after Juan Keller AKA Martin Bormann had died according to this new evidence.

So how could Juan Keller AKA Martin Bormann have spoken about Eichmann's capture? Adolf Eichmann's exact location wasn't even know in 1959.

2. They show Eliana Keller photos of Martin Bormann taken prior to 1946 and ask her "is this your father?" in which she replies "yes".

Why didn't they ask her if she had any photos of her father prior to asking her about Martin Bormann? Surely, if he was pretending to be a family man they would have had family photos taken at some point. There was also no mention that the real Martin Bormann was already married with 10 children prior to 1945 and they continued to live in Germany to a ripe old age. These children were never interviewed by the Hunting Hitler team or even get a mention in the plot.

Eliana Keller claimed that her father made her speak German, why didn't they ask her to speak in German at some point?

Frank S said...

Hunting Hitler is so full of rubbish, even the so-called experts can't even prove their on theories, they make statements and all beat their chests and move on to the next "evidence they found". You could write a book about how abused Hunting History is without even relying on the known fact by historians. Just a few examples:
Hitler’s Last Will Hunting Hitler Season 3 ep 8?

During this episode the “experts” show us a very small version of Hitler’s Last Will and provide us with their version of the translation of the said document. So let’s look at this. In Hitlers actual Personal Will and Political Testament, Hitler states on numerous occasions that he will take his and the life of his wife. I see that no where does Hunting Hitler team state this fact even though they use a copy of the will as evidence their theory. Seems like some deception on their part. You also have to consider the signature of the witnesses to these documents, in particular Dr. Goebbels who died at the bunker on the 1st May 1945 after killing his wife and 6 children. Which would mean Hitler was at the bunker on the 29th April 1945 when he wrote his personal Will and Political Testament. Yet Hunting Hitler’s Team claim that Hitler escaped on the 21st April 1945, the day after his birthday, that is 8 days difference. And what about Eva Braun? They don’t seem to include her in any escape. So where is she?

Hunting Hitler translation version:

“Every German, every woman, every soldier of the Wehrmacht. Our task is the expansion of the Socialist State and fight against the poison of the world. Written and signed in Berlin April 29 1945 4.pm”

The original Will of Hitler

Translation: The important part!

"My private will.

“I have therefore decided to stay in Berlin and there to choose death voluntarily when I determine that the position of the Fuhrer and the Chancellery itself can no longer be maintained. I die with a joyful heart in the knowledge of the immeasurable deeds and achievements of our peasants and workers and of a contribution unique in the history of our youth which bears my name.”

Signed Berlin, April 29, 1945, 4:00 clock

Adolf Hitler

as a witness: as a witness:
Martin Bormann Nicolaus von Below
Dr. Goebbels”

Nazi Bunkers Uncovered in Denmark (Season 2, Episode 2)

The Hunting Hitler "Elite" investigators, in their rush to have Hitler everywhere they forgot to read some actual facts. Think Atlantic Wall, over 2000 bunkers built from Norway to France all throughout the war to defend against a allied invasions from the west. It's a no brainier these bunkers were a part of this.

Oh and the Germans had paper tags on their weapons? A paper tag can be seen in the video which would suggest they are part of a collection from a museum.

Frank S said...

In Series 1 episode 3. So-call FBI man hunter, investigates hidden tunnels under Berlin's Tempelhof Airport and finds possible tunnel connecting metro rail. He uses a GPS to fix position at a supposed collapsed section, 20 feet down from surface. Anyone that has used a GPS will know you need Line of Sight with a number of satellites to obtain a position fix. GPS DO NOT work in tunnels, caves, or basements etc. So he was just lying when he says he got a fix and investigates the location on the surface.

After using GPR and some tapping on the wall were they said they found the missing tunnel, no further investigations were undertaken to prove it really was a secret tunnel and not some covered up utility cupboard. You would have thought with such a discovery they would have opened the wall or put a fibre optic camera through a small drill hole to prove it was a tunnel. If you google about Nazi Berlin escape tunnels nobody confirms such a find. Lets not forget there are over a 1000 escape tunnels under Berlin from the cold war and from the CIA "tapping" into the soviet telephone systems during the cold war.

The show is full of absurd theories which just don't hold any creditably and the "team" makes no effort to prove anything, not even their on theories. To add insult, they aren't afraid to remind us how they are experts in their fields. Basic research would have ruled out many of their theories. Google Hitler FBI or CIA files that they claim is their primary evidence and read the documents yourself and you will see they a primarily letters from "normal" people writing to the FBI saying they saw Hitler or knew where he was. The agencies in the main dismissed most of these reports as purely rumours.

I doubt very much that Hitler & Eva Braun ever travelled to Argentina via a U-boat. Think about these points. Mariners thought it was bad luck to have women on boats at sea. Hitler was claustrophobic, so I would hardly think he would be on a U-boat. Hitler was paranoid of everyone, including his Generals so why would he get on a U-boat with a bunch of sailors he didn't know? If anybody knows anything about WW2 Submarines, they would know that living conditions were appalling, everything felt greasy, smelt and tasted of diesel oil or battery acid, it was hot and humid to the point where everything was damp.
So does anyone seriously contend Hitler would have had a banana chair up on the deck working on his suntan whilst they sailed across the oceans?

The secret and isolated compound Colonia Dignidad ("Dignity Colony") was an isolated colony of Germans and Chileans established in post-World War II Chile by emigrant Germans which became infamous for the internment, torture, and murder of dissidents during the military regime of General Augusto Pinochet in the 1970s while under the leadership of German fugitive Paul Schäfer. So I'm sure they would have had fences and guard towers but it doesn't mean Hitler was there. Maybe they should have it as a tourist attraction, come see where Pinochet murdered thousands of Chilean students?

Frank S said...

Another example of very sloppy so-call investigations, full of lies and half truths. So if Hitler was visiting and staying at the owners house and visiting the Hotel Eden how do you explain.

Fact Check: The Argentine government seized the hotel following the nation's March 1945 declaration of war against Germany. The government cited the hotel as representing enemy property. So very unlikely Hitler visited his friend and the hotel. Successive efforts to operate and revitalise the hotel continued through the 1960s, at which point the property finally ceased to house guests. In subsequent years the vacant property was repeatedly vandalised. The hotel closed in 1965 and never again received guests and now is a museum.

Much of the "rubble" found in the so-call tunnel is from remodelling work done during the 1920's. And the sagging walls in the cellar is not surprising given the age and mass of the building and the neglect over 70 years. What were they expecting to find a brand new Hotel with Nazi's stuff everywhere.

There is a New Eden Hotel which was built on the grounds of the old hotel in the 1980's (Surprised HH didn't tell ya that?) Check out trip adviser.

Fourth Reich? Hmm what Hitler is going to get a handful of supporters in a SA country together and fight back? Well when he was in Germany and the sun was shinning on him he had millions of soldiers and masses of war equipment. Now HH is telling us he has a small arms factory a few hideouts which he now chooses to live in and he is going to have a comeback? Most German's were glad to see the back end of Hitler after the war. The only promise Hitler ever kept to the people of Germany was "Give me 10 years and you won't recognise Germany" and wasn't that the truth, Europe was a wasteland.

The Goebbels were Hitlers most loyalest followers, so much so that Magda Goebbels murdered their 6 children at the bunker the day after Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide and Joseph and Magda committed suicide and tried to have their bodies cremated like Hitlers. So, if Hitler could have escaped, why didn't the Goebbels also escape?

A Secure Hideout (S1, E6) Residencia Inalco located in the Nahuel Huapi Lake, in Patagonia, Argentina. Tim Kennedy and his friend play G.I. Joe in melodramatic sequences, when in reality they could have driven there in a VW from the national HWY. Yes it is a well know tourist site. Maybe the team were hoping a machine gun would open fire on them from the shed in the bush, which they never checked out. Fake all the way through.

Frank S said...

Another point to be made about the location of Martin Bormann's body is that if he died in South America somewhere and was reburied in Berlin at sometime before his remains were discovered and identified. How did they explain the body to border controls of Germany? Where his remains were found in the 1970's was in the East German sector of the German Democratic Republic, or GDR. Russian held territory.

R.D. KarVer said...

The Show raised more Questions then Answers with Bormann in my opinion.
The daughter was adopted, but should've had family photos, and could've been asked to speak German. Eliana's sister in law also should've recognized Bormann. Bormann left his adopted daughter aged 13, with who?
I don't doubt some German became Keller but I doubt it was Bormann.
Hitler could've escaped from everything I seen, but the show does raise the Question if Hitler was Claustrophobic, how did he manage in bunkers? Is it far fetched to think he could've managed in a submarine, if he could manage underground, I think yes, but not for long. Hitler was more an Uppity kind of guy, he liked having his own area kinda lavish and big. On a sub it's small he wouldn't have it his way. I think he could've flown to the canary islands got on a small ship and just boarded the sub in the ocean to travel just a few hours to do an insertion. But I'm thinking with Hitlers health and addictions he likely would not have lasted to say 1960. His supporters in South America would've been in small groups. He would've been kept slightly segregated. Perone may have took him in, then kept some troops to safeguard him (that's how forces under Jorge Rafael Videla knew where the German defenses were and destroyed them..) when Perone was overthrown, Hitler may have moved on and died elsewhere or he may have died about the time of the 1955 overthrow. But I think Hitler if he was alive would've tried to got with some of his former staff or Allies to put a plan in place to strike America. But I think the plans either failed, or something and the plans were scrapped, or Hitler died and tge group lost interest. Either way Much has been put out over the years suggesting Hitler could've survived and he had health issues. He was not a real humble person, he was slightly gradiouse, Ambitious, he was a motivating leader but he lost his country and I think it would've affected some people that had followed him to kind of trust him and keep following him. He couldn't offer much being on the run, being Deposed, that is a Weakness that I don't think some could accept. Maybe others in his cabinet that escaped tried to take the vision Hitler had and attempted to conceptualize it in a smaller way for themselves. Perone being Deposed is similar to a CIA type operation (US Did it Sadam, with Gaddafi and others..) maybe the Germans were part of the reason perone was overthrown. We don't have to Accept history, history is told by the Victor not the loser and there is 3 sides. The winner. The Loser, and the combination of the 2 that really occurred.

Another Question said...

Why did they take a boat to the Inalco House? There is a road right behind it. They could have drove there. There are tons of questions that are never going to be answered but we will never know. Any wealthy nazi could have set up these places. Alot of nazis did get away. The guard towers around the Inalco House does raise questions as the buildings on that island down from the house. We will never know. It is obvious that the nazi party had a significant presence in South America post WW2. Another thing, they could have gotten DNA from the person who was related to Eva Braun. That is pretty substantial. Take her garbage. That is not out of the question if your trying to find the DNA of Eva Braun and that skull. Question? Why was that skull in a rolodex in Russia? And they say is mught have been Eva Brauns. They did tests and it was not Hitlers. They say it was a female in her 30s. Just tons of questions. I could talk about this forever. It's a mystery.