Philip Citroën

Philip Citroën (born 29 May 1918, date of death unknown) is most known for his claim of witnessing Adolf Hitler alive in Colombia , when the pair were purportedly photographed together. Citroën shared his story and the photo with the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), which took wider notice only after another source claimed him to be an soldier. The CIA published microfilm of its reports in 2017, fueling fringe theories that Hitler faked his death.

According to resurfaced documents, Citroën was a Dutch soldier subdued by the Nazis after Germany invaded the Netherlands. In 2023, Argentine author Abel Basti, a fringe theorist on the topic, published a purported original print of the photo. Citing alleged family interviews and unreproduced records, Basti argues that Citroën was a submariner for the Allies, allowing him to help Hitler escape in 1945 on behalf of certain members of Dutch royalty (which he ostensibly belonged to).

Background

On 29 May 1918, Philip Citroën was born in the Netherlands. The country was invaded by Nazi Germany in mid-1940 and Citroën allegedly received an identification card for the 'Dutch Construction Service', Citroën was recorded as possibly providing forced labor in Germany from 1943 to 1944.

On 1 May 1945, Supreme Commander of the Navy Karl Dönitz falsely announced on German radio that Hitler had died that afternoon; in actuality, he had killed himself the day before. The occupying Soviet Union maintained secrecy about its investigation, but various sources claimed that the body thought most likely to be Hitler's was actually that of a body double. Dental remains, including part of a mandible (often inaccurately stated to be a complete jawbone), were conclusively identified as belonging to Hitler. Despite this, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin maintained that he had escaped to Spain or Argentina, where many Nazis fled.

Claims attributed to Citroën

alt=Achromatic, slightly torn photo print of two suited men indoors: to the left sits a balding blond eying the camera (with a rolled object in his breast pocket) and to the right, a sunken-jowled Hitler.

After the war, Citroën reputedly moved to Venezuela and often traveled to Tunja, Colombia, on behalf of a Dutch shipping company. From about 1953–1954, he allegedly sometimes saw Hitler, supported by relocated Nazis. The station ascertained that it would not be able to verify the story.

After a yearslong inquiry, in 1956 West Germany officially declared Hitler dead as an assumption of death, partially in order to relinquish his property. The CIA records related to Citroën were converted to microfilm in mid-1963. In 1968, a Soviet author published a supposed autopsy of Hitler's body, which has largely been debunked as propaganda except for its description of the dental remains. The online publication of the files in 2017 amongst documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy bolstered fringe theories about Hitler's death. notwithstanding the possibility of marginal mandibulectomy and supporting deception.

Abel Basti's claims

In 2023, Argentine author Abel Basti, who has written extensively on Hitler's supposed escape to South America, published a book about his research of the purported photo. It includes a Colombian foreigner document about Citroën and an alleged copy of the original photograph—said to be provided by his son, who reputedly inherited and safeguarded it (in one case even surviving a burglary). a camera disguised as another object like a cigarette pack might have been utilized clandestinely.

According to Basti, Allied leadership supposedly issued Citroën a document of safe conduct on 18 June 1945 in Berlin, granting him immunity in Soviet areas of occupied Germany. Fact-checking outlets argued that the photograph did not confirm Hitler's survival, largely without reference to Basti's claims. Snopes cited the CIA's skepticism as a dismissal of the case. LADbible noted that the CIA had filed a report on an autopsy of Hitler's body, which has been dismissed as Soviet propaganda except for its description of the dental remains. Rogan derided the low quality of the microfilm, which his producer Jamie Vernon asked ChatGPT to enhance; in South America, from the Chilean-led probe, depicts a greatly reduced toothbrush moustache, while Basti cites a source as indicating that Hitler employed a prop moustache while in hiding.