The Death of Hitler: The Final Word

by Jean-Christophe Brisard, Lana Parshina Narrated by Peter Noble

Overview

On April 30, 1945, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker as the Red Army closed in on Berlin. Within four days the Soviets had recovered his body. But the truth about what the Russian secret services found was hidden from history, when, three months later, Stalin officially declared to Truman and Churchill that Hitler was still alive and had escaped abroad. Reckless rumors about what really happened to Hitler began to spread like wildfire and, even today, they have not been put to rest. Until now.

In 2017, after two years of painstaking negotiations with the Russian authorities, award-winning investigative journalists Jean-Christophe Brisard and Lana Parshina gained access to confidential Soviet files that finally revealed the truth behind the incredible hunt for Hitler's body.

Their investigation includes new eyewitness accounts of Hitler's final days, exclusive photographic evidence and interrogation records, and exhaustive research into the power struggle that ensued between Soviet, British, and American intelligence services. And for the first time since the end of World War II, official, cutting-edge forensic tests have been completed on the human remains recovered from the bunker graves--a piece of skull with traces of a lethal bullet, a fragment of bone, and teeth.

In The Death of Hitler -- written as thrillingly as any spy novel--Brisard and Parshina debunk all previous conspiracy theories about the death of the Fuhrer. With breathtaking precision and immediacy they penetrate one of the most powerful and controversial secret services to take readers inside Hitler's bunker in its last hours--and solve the most notorious cold case in history.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"The story of how Brisard and Parshina were allowed into Russian archives is as compelling as the evidence of Hitler's death they were shown...a must-read."—Kirkus

Kirkus Reviews

2018-08-29

The story of how Brisard and Parshina were allowed into Russian archives is as compelling as the evidence of Hitler's death they were shown.

Admittance to the hallowed State Archives of the Russian Federation was primarily achieved by the fame of the Russian-American Parshina. Her major achievement—the last interview with Stalin's favorite daughter, Svetlana, who was hiding out in a hospice in the United States—made her a household name in Russia. Parshina's understanding of the complex wheels of the bureaucratic Russian machine helped the authors gain access to the secret, sensitive, and complex files. Throughout their adventure in the bowels of Russian secrecy, Brisard's French identity elicited hesitation, but Parshina's quick thinking and wit always seemed to alleviate the situation. Meetings were postponed, delayed, and cancelled during their quest, which ran from early 2016 to late 2017. Their first meeting was with the director of the archives. During that meeting, they were shown the skull remains said to be Hitler's. Along with that, there were some blood-stained table legs, photos, and documents from April 1945, which Brisard was allowed to photograph. The next step was to translate the documents, including memos written to Stalin regarding the discovery of Hitler's bunker and interviews with prisoners. The ever paranoid Russians spread information among three separate services, all of which hated and distrusted each other. The authors' perseverance paid off, as they eventually succeeded with all three and got permission for a forensic scientist to examine the remains. Alternating with the story of finding the documents, they reconstruct the tale of the last days in Berlin. Ultimately, the evidence shows that Hitler died in a bunker from a self-inflicted bullet wound; he did not escape. There are still questions unanswered, and who knows when they might be allowed to be asked.

The new evidence presented here makes this a must-read for students of World War II.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173774675
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	09/04/2018
Edition description:	Unabridged

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