Wilhelm Zander
Wilhelm Zander | |
---|---|
Born | 22 April 1911 Saarbrücken, Kingdom of Bavaria, German Empire (now Saarland, Germany) |
Died | 27 September 1974 Munich, Bavaria, West Germany | (aged 63)
Allegiance | Nazi Germany |
Service/ | Schutzstaffel |
Years of service | 1933 to 1945 |
Rank | SS-Standartenführer |
Awards | SA Sports Badge, Iron Cross 2nd Class and 1st Class |
Wilhelm Zander (22 April 1911 – 27 September 1974) was an adjutant to Martin Bormann during World War II. He died in Munich in 1974.
Biography
He was born in Saarbrücken. Although he received only minimal education, Zander built up business interests in Italy. He abandoned these interests to take up a full-time post as a Nazi Party worker.[1] In 1933, he joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) and later achieved the rank of SS-Standartenführer.[2]
In early 1945, he accompanied
On 30 April 1945 as the Soviet Red Army closed in on the bunker complex, Hitler committed suicide.[7] The three couriers continued their journey and made it through the Soviet Army encirclement of Berlin to the Elbe River.[6][8]
Post-war
Zander changed his identity, adopted the surname Paustin and worked as a gardener after the war in Europe ended.[9][10] He hid his copy of the documents in a suitcase near Lake Tegernsee.[11] Zander was arrested in the American occupation zone, and as a consequence, the copies of Hitler's will, testament, and wedding documents fell into the hands of the American and British forces. Thereafter, by January 1946, the texts of the documents were published in the American and British press.[11][12]
Citations
- ^ Trevor-Roper 2002, pp. 166–167.
- ^ Trevor-Roper 2002, p. 166.
- ^ Joachimsthaler 1999, pp. 130–131.
- ^ a b c de Boer 2021, pp. 117–118.
- ^ Joachimsthaler 1999, p. 131.
- ^ a b Eberle & Uhl 2005, p. 424.
- ^ Kershaw 2008, pp. 954–956.
- ^ de Boer 2021, pp. 117–118, 125.
- ^ de Boer 2021, p. 125.
- ^ WashingtonPost.com: The Death of Hitler: The Full Story with New Evidence from Secret Russian Archives
- ^ a b de Boer 2021, p. 131.
- ^ Eckert, Astrid M., The Struggle for the Files: The Western Allies and the Return of German Archives After the Second World War, Cambridge University Press, 2012, p. 46
References
- de Boer, Sjoerd (2021). Escaping Hitler's Bunker: The Fate of the Third Reich Leaders. Frontline Books. ISBN 978-1-52679-269-3.
- Eberle, Henrik; Uhl, Matthias, eds. (2005). The Hitler Book: The Secret Dossier Prepared for Stalin from the Interrogations of Hitler's Personal Aides. New York: Public Affairs. ISBN 978-1-58648-366-1.
- ISBN 978-1-86019-902-8.
- ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6.
- ISBN 978-0-330-49060-3.