Becker’s sharing of a post claiming Hitler fled to South America sparked criticism and accusations of promoting conspiracy myths.
Former German tennis star Boris Becker found himself at the center of controversy after sharing a social media post suggesting that Adolf Hitler survived World War II and fled to South America. The post, which Becker later deleted, contained the false claim that the Nazi dictator had escaped to Argentina after the war.
The incident sparked widespread criticism, leading Becker to issue an apology through his lawyer on Thursday. “To the extent his message was misunderstood, he regrets it and has deleted it immediately,” his lawyer stated, according to Die Welt.
The contentious post referenced documents released by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in 2017. These documents included a claim by a former SS member that Hitler was in Colombia and later Argentina. As supposed evidence for Hitler’s survival, the theory points to these CIA documents, which have been circulated among conspiracy theorists.
In his message on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Becker commented in English, “Wow… What’s wrong with all the movies that claim Hitler died in Germany and Austria?” The comment was met with immediate backlash from social media users, who accused him of giving a platform to conspiracy myths.
The consensus among historians is clear: Adolf Hitler died on April 30, 1945, in his bunker under the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. He committed suicide alongside his wife, Eva Braun, around 3:30 PM. The bodies were subsequently doused with gasoline, burned, and buried by loyalists as ordered by Hitler. Historians and scientists have no doubt about his death in Berlin.
The conspiracy theory that Hitler might have survived the war has been repeatedly spread over the years, fueled by myths alleging he fled to South America. While it is true that some Nazis did go underground in Argentina after the war, Adolf Hitler was not among them. French scientists examined a jawbone stored in Moscow in 2017 and concluded that it belonged to Hitler, further substantiating the historical records of his death.
The CIA documents cited by conspiracy theorists indicate that the agency received hints ten years after the end of World War II that Hitler had survived and was living under the pseudonym “Adolf Schüttelmayer” in South America. These claims were based solely on the statement of former SS member Phillip Citroen, who alleged to have contacted Hitler monthly in Colombia. Citroen also claimed to have taken a joint photo with Hitler, which was extremely grainy and not verified by the CIA.
However, the CIA doubted these claims early on, as the hints in the document were extremely vague and no second source could be found, so they did not pursue them further. Despite that, the narrative has fueled persistent myths that Hitler survived the end of World War II and fled abroad.
The origin of the claim that Hitler survived may lie in Soviet disinformation efforts after the war. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, withheld witness statements and forensic evidence, such as the clear identification of Hitler’s charred corpse during the autopsy by Soviet military doctors. Stalin’s goal in spreading disinformation about Hitler’s fate was to unsettle the former allies.
Over the years, outlandish conspiracy theories have emerged, including claims that Hitler escaped in a UFO to Antarctica. However, these have been thoroughly debunked by historical evidence and testimony. The dental remains recovered and examined belonged unequivocally to Adolf Hitler.However, the CIA doubted these claims early on, as the hints in the document were extremely vague and no second source could be found, so they did not pursue them further. Despite that, the narrative has fueled persistent myths that Hitler survived the end of World War II and fled abroad.
The origin of the claim that Hitler survived may lie in Soviet disinformation efforts after the war. Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union, withheld witness statements and forensic evidence, such as the clear identification of Hitler’s charred corpse during the autopsy by Soviet military doctors. Stalin’s goal in spreading disinformation about Hitler’s fate was to unsettle the former allies.
Over the years, outlandish conspiracy theories have emerged, including claims that Hitler escaped in a UFO to Antarctica. However, these have been thoroughly debunked by historical evidence and testimony. The dental remains recovered and examined belonged unequivocally to Adolf Hitler.
