Martin Bormann
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| “ | Even among so many ruthless men, he stood out by his brutality and coarseness. He had no culture, which might have put some restraints on him, and in every case he carried out whatever Hitler had ordered or what he himself had gathered from Hitler's hints. A subordinate by nature, he treated his own subordinates as if he were dealing with cows and oxen. | „ |
| ~ Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs |
Martin Ludwig Bormann (June 17th, 1900 – May 2nd, 1945) was a prominent Nazi official. He became head of the Party Chancellery (Parteikanzlei) and private secretary to Adolf Hitler. He initially worked in the party's insurance service, and transferred in July 1933 to the office of Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess, where he served as chief of staff.
Bormann was one of Hitler's most trusted advisors. He was almost always at his Führer′s side. Hitler typically did not issue written orders, but gave them orally at meetings or in phone conversations; he also had Bormann convey orders. He gained Hitler's trust and derived immense power within the Third Reich by using his position to control the flow of information regarding the extent of The Holocaust and access to Hitler. Bormann earned many enemies within the Nazi regime, including Heinrich Himmler, Hermann Goring, Albert Speer, Joseph Goebbels, his brother, his father-in-law, all of Hitler's bodyguards and staff, and Eva Braun.
Nuremberg edit
Bormann was tried in absentia by the International Military Tribunal in the Nuremberg trials of 1945 and 1946. He was convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity and sentenced to death by hanging (in absentia). Because of the possibilities of Martin being alive, many Nazi hunters, CIA (based on reports that he was a double agent working for the Soviets) and the FBI tried to find him with no luck.
Discovery of bones edit
According to historical accounts and Hitler Youth leader Artur Axmann, he saw the corpses of Bormann and Ludwig Stumpfegger being examined by Red Army soldiers following the collapse of the German defenses in Berlin, but he did not know how they died, although he presumed they had either been killed by the soldiers or committed suicide. His and Ludwig's bones was found in 1972 and confirmed by DNA in 1998 and the German government had Martin's bones cremated and scattered in the Baltic Sea on August 16th, 1999. Despite the evidence of his bones discovery, there were many unusual facts about his bones:
1.) The teeth as confirmed by Forensic dental Surgeon Prof Sognnaes (involved in the 1972 forensic investigation of the remains) had dentistry that was early 1950's.
2.) The position of the teeth and the skeletal composition proved they were of a much older man in his 60's, it is claimed he died when he was 44.
3.) Stumpfegger's bones were covered in yellow clay (found in Berlin) but Bormann's bones were encased in a red clay, which is not found in any German soil.
4.) When Bormann's body was found, some of his bones including his vertebrates were missing.
5.) On the short lived History Channel Show MysteryQuest, one episode focused on the existence of ODESSA looked over a report that Martin Bormann actually died in Hohenau, Paraguay in 1959 from stomach cancer and that the infamous SS doctor Josef Mengele was called to the house where Bormann was housed to perform an operation. The crew of the show went to a cemetery in Itá, Paraguay where the report said Bormann was originally buried there and with help of a geophysics that a person was buried in the cemetery and the body and the coffin was moved.
Trivia edit
- In the 1971 film "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory", the picture held up by the Paraguayan newscaster announcing the finder of the last Golden Ticket is of Bormann.
- Despite making many enemies within the Nazi Regime, he was good friends with Hermann Fegelein and Gestapo Chief Heinrich Müller (despite the fact the Müller was a devout Catholic).
- In Hitler's last will and testament; Martin was named as Party Minister, thus officially confirming his position as de facto General Secretary of the Nazi Party. Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz was appointed as the new Reichspräsident (president of Germany) and Joseph Goebbels became head of government and Chancellor of Germany.
- Bormann was also named as executor of the estate.
- After Hitler and Eva Braun's suicides, their bodies were carried up to the Reich Chancellery garden and burned. Bormann carried the body of Eva like a shack of potatoes and grabbing at her breasts. Hitler's chauffeur Erich Kempka, found Bormann's mock gesture distasteful and took Eva's body from him and carried her up the staircase before being aided by Otto Günsche.
- According to Rochus Misch (the last survivor from the Führerbunker); Martin's hatred for his brother Albert stemmed from Albert's marriage to a woman whom Martin did not approved of.
- Both brothers refused to acknowledged each other by name, Martin called Albert "the man who holds the Führer's coat". Even after the war, Albert refused to talk about Martin.
- Walter Buch hated Martin, because of his anti-religious views and for having affairs with other women (even after his wife Greta approved of his lifestyle, which Walter considered that Bormann was brainwashing his daughter into his sinful lifestyle).
- Bormann was good friends with Rudolf Höß; future commandant of Auschwitz Birkenau. Both men were arrested for the murder of Walther Kadow in 1923.