Gustav Weler

Gustav Weler was a doppelgänger (or body-double) of Adolf Hitler. He occasionally stood in for Hitler and was used as a political decoy for security reasons.[1][2]

When Berlin was captured at the end of the Second World War in Europe, it was thought that Weler had been executed by a gunshot to the forehead in an attempt to confuse the Allied troops.[3] When "his" corpse was discovered in the Reich Chancellery garden by Soviet troops, it was mistakenly believed to be that of Hitler because of his identical moustache and haircut. The corpse was also photographed and filmed by the Soviets.[4] However, the British surgeon and historical writer W. Hugh Thomas reported in his 1996 book Doppelgangers that Gustav Weler was found alive after the war and that Allied troops interviewed Weler following Hitler’s death.[5] One servant from the bunker declared that the dead man was one of Hitler's cooks. The same servant also surmised Weler "had been assassinated because of his startling likeness to Hitler, while the latter had escaped from the ruins of Berlin".[6]

Weler's body was brought to Moscow for investigations and buried in the yard at Lefortovo prison.[7]

References

  1. ↑ The Houston Chronicle September 17, 1992.
  2. ↑ Petrova, Peter Watson. "The Death of Hitler". W. W. Norton & Company.
  3. ↑ Simon Dunstan and Gerrard Williams, Grey Wolf: The Escape of Adolf Hitler, 2011.
  4. ↑ Video of Weler photographed by Soviets
  5. ↑ Thomas, W. Hugh, "Doppelgangers, 1996.
  6. ↑ The New York Times, May 9, 1945.
  7. ↑ The Times. London (UK), September 20, 1992.
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