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Hunting Hitler

Hunting Hitler is a History Channel television series based on the conspiracy theory that Adolf Hitler escaped from Berlin at the end of World War II in Europe. The show was conceived following the declassification of government documents exploring the premise that Hitler might not have died in April 1945.[1]

The series explores how he might have escaped, where he might have gone, and whether he plotted a Fourth Reich.[2] The series ran for three seasons between 2015 and 2018, followed by a two-hour special in 2020.[3]

Series overview

The show was hosted in Los Angeles by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) veteran Bob Baer and former international war crimes investigator John Cencich. Utilizing a database of intelligence files from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), CIA, MI6, and other international agencies, they look for information regarding the possible survival of Adolf Hitler or any of his right-hand men. The ground teams search for evidence supporting these leads. According to the show's creators, similar man-hunting techniques are employed as were used by the CIA to find Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden.[4]

Investigative team

Episodes

Season 1 (2015)

Season 2 (2016–2017)

Season 3 (2017–2018)

Special (2020)

Photograph of a Nazi assembly in Chile, from the country's 1939–1947 investigation of Nazi networks[15] (featured in the Season 3 finale)

Reception

The show has been criticized by various media outlets. Brian Lowry wrote for Variety, "Seriously, guys, what's next, 'Hitlernado?'"[16] Lowry wrote for CNN that "in a year when 'fake news' received so much attention, History is willingly promoting bad history – filled with unsubstantiated theories and speculation".[17] Tom Conroy wrote for Media Life Magazine that "One gets the impression that [the series] will continue to spin its wheels for the duration. But even if it unearths evidence of Hitler's survival, there's no way the government would let that information out."[18] Contrarily, the National Police Gazette, an American tabloid-style magazine and longtime supporter of the Hitler-escape narrative, wrote positively of the series' presentation.[19]

Legacy

On May 17, 2018, popular podcast host Joe Rogan interviewed Tim Kennedy on his show; they discussed the series and its premise, including its focus on Nazi escape routes known as "ratlines". Kennedy argued that the series is unlike the History Channel's pseudoscientific series Ancient Aliens and that Hitler indeed escaped to the Americas. Kennedy proclaimed, "The way history is written is wrong."[20]

In 2019, series host Bob Baer stated that he actually agrees with the mainstream view that Hitler died in Berlin in April 1945, but that "there's no doubt" the dictator intended to flee to South America to carry out a Fourth Reich.[21] The subsequent Hunting Hitler closing special focuses on the alleged Fourth Reich, at one point invoking a John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theory—one of a few fringe narratives Baer has voiced interest in.[22][21]

In 2020, team member and author James Holland tweeted that "I was certainly interested in learning more about how Nazis escaped, but was very careful never to mention on film that I thought either Hitler or Bormann escaped. Because they didn't."[23] In 2021, he further derided the series on his podcast, calling it "absolute nonsense".[24] Historian Richard J. Evans dismisses all the survival stories of Hitler as mere "fantasies".[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ Anderson, John (November 10, 2015). "One Industry That Capitalizes On America's Hitler Fascination". Fortune. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  2. ^ Rampton, James (November 2, 2015). "Another outing for one of the 20th century's most pernicious myths". History Today. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
  3. ^ "Hunting Hitler: The Final Chapter". History.com. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  4. ^ "About Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  5. ^ "Watch Anatomy of a Manhunt Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  6. ^ "Watch The Final Hunt Begins Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  7. ^ "Watch Clandestine Cache Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  8. ^ "Watch Nuclear Nazi Weapons Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  9. ^ "Watch 150 Feet Below Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  10. ^ "Watch Dead Drops Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  11. ^ "Watch Lurking Beneath the Surface Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  12. ^ Metcalf, Mitch (February 7, 2018). "Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals and Network Finals: 2.6.2018". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on February 7, 2018. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  13. ^ "Watch Target: United States Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  14. ^ "Watch Hitler's Last Will Full Episode - Hunting Hitler". History.com. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
  15. ^ Documentos Dpto.50 (II parte) (in Spanish). Archivo Nacional de Chile. January 11, 2018. Event occurs at :30. Retrieved April 8, 2024 – via YouTube.
  16. ^ Lowry, Brian (November 5, 2015). "TV Review: 'Hunting Hitler'". Variety. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  17. ^ Lowry, Brian (December 22, 2016). "Weak TV of 2016". CNN. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  18. ^ Conroy, Tom (November 10, 2015). "'Hunting Hitler,' don't follow this trail". Media Life Magazine. Archived from the original on April 1, 2016. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  19. ^ "Police Gazette's First New 'Hitler Is Alive' Article Since 1972". National Police Gazette. July 21, 2017. Retrieved May 15, 2022.
  20. ^ "Tim Kennedy". The Joe Rogan Experience. Episode 1117. May 17, 2018. 50:00, 1:05:00 minutes in – via Spotify. Episode transcript via JRE Scribe. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Harlow, Olivia (January 21, 2019). "History Channel's 'Hunting Hitler' host set to speak in Santa Fe". AP News. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  22. ^ "Watch Hunting Hitler: The Final Chapter". History. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  23. ^ @James1940 (July 29, 2020). "Crikey, I'm sorry if I gave that impression. I was certainly interested in learning more about how Nazis escaped,…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  24. ^ "Denmark at War". We Have Ways of Making You Talk. Episode 349 – via Acast. "I was there [in a bunker situated in the Atlantic Wall] with a guy who was a former presidential bodyguard and he said "you know Jim, when I look around this place and think it's a kind of place that I can see a top-ranking Nazi official hiding out", I was there thinking it was a piece of concrete that achieved very little but you know whatever ..."
  25. ^ Evans, Richard (2020). The Hitler Conspiracies. London: Oxford University Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN 978-0190083052.

External links