» THE STRANGE DEATH pnmfet FORENSIC ft T lux/FSLLfiAT HUGHTHO ISBN O-312-28923-5 $25-95 $38.95 CAN. /fjj^ \ MAY 22, 1945, IN THE ft PI immediate aftermath ofWorld ^^^^^ WarII,theAlliescelebratedthe captureofthemostimportantmemberofthe Nazihierarchy,Reichsfuhrer Heinrich Himmler. The SS leaderwas arrested and interrogatedbut committed suicidein Allied custody by ingesting poison from a capsule concealed inhis mouth. Thenhewasburied at a secret site on Liineberg Heath. But Himmlerdidnotrestinpeace, ifHimmlerit waswhowasburiedthere. MonthslatertheBritishdisinterred,reex- amined,andcrematedhisbody.Yetin 1946, MI6's most talented, if treacherous, agent, Kim Philby, was still not convinced that the story ofHimmler's death made any sense at all. Philby realized that a man ofHimmler's organizationalgenius,aplotterofgreatintri- cacy and sophistication who recognized Germany'sinevitabledefeatasearlyas 1943, was unlikely to have justblundered into the arms oftheAllies.Whatreallyhappened? HughThomassetouttoanswerPhilby's question and has uncovered a maze of cor- ruption, high finance, politicalgambles, and international intrigue. The Strange Death of Heinrich Himmler unearths not just Himmler's grave, but reveals secrets that have long remained buried, and shadowy figures who would rather stay thatway. The Strange Death of Heinrich Himmler The Strange Death of Heinrich Himmler A Forensic Investigation Hugh Thomas St. Martin's Press flA New York THESTRANGEDEATHOFHEINRICHHIMMLER.Copyright©2001 byHughThomas.Allrights reserved.PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.Nopartofthisbookmaybeusedorrepro- ducedinanymannerwhatsoeverwithoutwrittenpermissionexceptinthecaseofbriefquota- tionsembodiedincriticalarticlesorreviews. Forinformation,addressSt.Martin'sPress, 175 FifthAvenue,NewYork,N.Y. 10010 www.stmartins.com PictureAcknowledgements:AftertheBattlemagazine;AKGLondon;Archiv, Monchengladbach;Bundesarchiv,Koblenz; HooverInstitutionArchives,StanfordUniversity; HugoJaeger/TimePix/KatzPictures;HultonGetty;IllustratedLondonNews;ImperialWar Museum;MirrorSyndicationInternational;PatheNews;PressAssociation;privatecollection. ISBN0-312-28923-5 FirstpublishedinGreatBritainbyFourthEstate,ADivisionofHarperCollins/^/w^m, underthetitle55-7:TheUnlikelyDeathofHeinrichHimmler FirstU.S.Edition:March2002 10987654321 1 Contents Acknowledgements vii List ofIllustrations ix Preface XI i Reincarnation and Exorcism 1 2 SSl 1 3 The Vengeful Chameleon 17 4 The SS State 29 5 Peace 42 6 The Stockholm Connection 59 7 The Maison Rouge Meeting 73 8 Loose Ends 100 9 Preparations For Survival 122 io The Arrest ofHeinnch Hitzinger H3 11 Operation Globetrotter 183 12 Doubt 200 13 Sonderbevollmachtigter - the 'plenipotentiary extraordinary' 223 Appendix 251 Notes 253 Index 265