The Last Fellow to Stand with Dictator Hitler - Rochus Misch Held Fast with the "Boss" Until the End
- by Gernot Kramper
- 6 Min
Nazi Leader's Protector - Rochus Misch Cremates Adolf Hitler's Remains - Nazi Hitler's Close Aide, Rochus Misch, Cremated Dictator's Remains
Rochus Misch was a member of Hitler's inner guard, the lads from the Führer's personal protection squad - the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, an elite unit known for their devotion to Hitler and securing his locations such as the Berlin Reich Chancellery, the Wolf's Lair, or the Berghof. This squad was a closed-knit group - members were handpicked and held in the highest trust.
Misch gained his fame as one of the last men standing with Hitler till the end. In the waning days of the war, the Führer's bunker was a gloomy, isolated place. Chock-full quarters, constant shelling, and the looming defeat shaped the lives of its inhabitants. Yet, Misch stayed put, defying the danger. He made his presence known during the horrific discovery of the lifeless bodies of Hitler and his wife, Eva Braun. Alongside Hitler's chauffeur, Erich Kempka, Misch cremated their mortal remains in the courtyard of the Reich Chancellery.
Post-2009, Misch was the sole survivor among Hitler's inner circle. With the passing of higher-ranking adjutants, Misch became a coveted interview subject. His tales faltered, receiving a mix of praise and criticism for his insights about Hitler's daily life versus trivializing the dictator. His refusal to acknowledge the horrors of the regime cemented Misch's image as a controversial figure. Initially reluctant to speak of the past, Misch eventually embraced it, top of his life's objectives becoming candid about his time with Hitler.
According to the recollections of his daughter, Brigitta Jacob-Engelken, Misch didn't delve into the past until later age. At some point, he unearthed an old box of photographs, lost in the annals of time, and became immersed in the world of the bunker, the Wolf's Lair, and the Berghof.
Hitler, the Chief, and the Domestic Affairs
Born in Oppeln, Upper Silesia, in 1917, young Misch grew up an orphan, guiding him down a secure route as a civil servant. Pre-SS years found him serving as a painter and varnisher. Misch consistently referred to Hitler as "the big shot" - that's what all household members called the dictator. As a member of this cosmos, Misch held significant sway. He didn't belong to the official officials or the clandestine service staff like the Berghof maids. Between them was another circle that maintained a familial bond with Hitler, including the valet, secretaries, the cook, the Berghof administrators, and the bodyguards.
Misch joined this crew in 1940. His service callback traced to a severe injury sustained in the Polish campaign. Subsequently, Misch was regarded as an SS member with great promise due to his reliability, necessitating reduced physical exertion. There was no formal training; Hitler's Munich abode welcomed Misch, granting him a living quarter. "I lived with a constant knot in my stomach — abode of the Führer's, unaware how to behave," Misch recalled, pointing out that the bodyguards were all-purpose housekeeping staff for Hitler. Completing his first task involved delivering a letter to Hitler's sister in Vienna. "I was terrified of the Führer. And then I was standing mere feet away from him. He was no longer superhuman to me, just a regular guy."
In countless interviews, Misch seemed to have a mission: to prove that Hitler was a compassionate boss. "He was an awesome boss," Misch stressed. "For five years, we lived together. We were closest to him, always there, day or night. Never absent." Whether Misch's judgment was too limited to see Hitler as anything but kind during tea times and paper readings remains debatable. Regardless, he provided interviews reporting warm, insider stories from the service staff's perspective, sharing the same tales repeatedly and, in his later years, in a seemingly hysterical tone.
After the war, Misch, together with Hitler's chauffeur Kempka, became a USSR captive. Both had burned Hitler's body. Following his apprehension in 1945, Misch was whisked away to the infamous Lubyanka prison in Moscow. The Soviets believed that Misch was holding back information on Hitler's death or escape plans. In his narrative, Misch loved recounting how he'd sent a letter to Stalin's secret police chief Beria complaining of the continuous torture, requesting to be put to death.
Misch's entry into the SS in 1937 seemed void of political intrigue. He was an orphan and was advised by a relative to secure a stable career as a civil servant. Otherwise, he would be alone in the world, he claimed. However, Misch married into a Socialist family. "My father-in-law was a founding member of the SPD, even before World War I. No one cared. I found myself dodging the inquisition. My wife wasn't even inducted into the BDM." Through his father-in-law, Misch was well-informed about the grim outlook for the Reich.
In his narratives, raw survival instincts and unshakable loyalty to Hitler interwove. But why did Misch remain in the bunker until the bitter end when his family lived nearby? Misch answered succinctly, noting that departing was too perilous. Everywhere, there were SS hunting commands lurking about ready to apprehend deserters.
Yet, Misch emphasized that Hitler was a benevolent leader time and again. For Misch's wedding, Hitler donated 1000 marks and 40 bottles of wine. The couple received clothes, a stroller when Misch's wife became pregnant. Hitler had procured a hefty life insurance policy for his bodyguards, among which Misch numbered, almost sheepishly mentioning that was all he could do. When the Soviets encircled Berlin, Hitler ensured Misch's wife a seat on the last plane fleeing the city. Upon joining the SS as a bodyguard, Misch had been warned by colleagues to never be rough with passersby. "Be mindful. Don't push people out of the way. The Führer views that."
Misch primarily witnessed the everyday dynamism of Hitler's entourage. Servants close to the inner circle were merely present, he explained, thus he was allowed to capture countless private photographs of Hitler. However, they were not equals in his opinion. "We were close to him, but not his confidants. Adjutants were assigned to converse with him. When Hitler desired action, he'd instruct them, and we were the ones to carry it out."
He kept up with the shenanigans of the servant society. Misch knew about Rudolf Hess's flight to England, thanks to being chummy with Hess's servant. He couldn't fathom rumors of Hitler and filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl romantically involved. Hitler never emerged from his study while she was filмеing, Misch recalled.
Hitler never discussed the Holocaust, Misch claimed. "I was aware of Dachau and generally about concentration camps," he revealed. But he was unaware of the full scale. Instead, he relished reminiscing about the one instance he saw Hitler weep; the Führer wiped a tear away, listening to a Joseph Schmidt song. Misch believed this proved that Hitler held no animosity towards Jews. However, Schmidt met a cruel fate, fleeing from the Nazis.
After the war, Misch took over a paint shop near the Führer's bunker. In his later years, Misch grew increasingly obsessed with the past. His daughter cut off contact and moved to Israel, finding it difficult to put up with the incessant "Hitler this and Hitler that" in the documentary "The Last Witness." It didn't help that Misch's wife was both a member of the SPD and of Jewish descent. Her grandmother had confided this to her, the daughter said. A priest had forged a baptismal certificate to grant the family a Protestant background. The central reason for the rift was that Misch refused to acknowledge this ancestry.
Misch preferred making peace with the war and his "boss". He became famous, always interviewed with the same questions, continually recounting the tale of his entry into the bunker room: "I gazed upon Hitler slumped over a table, his forehead on it. Braun lay on the couch, her legs drawn up to her chest." Misch only seemed truly shaken when discussing the Goebbels children's murder in the bunker. He never delved into politics or Waffen-SS camaraderie. Similar to many prominent war veterans, Misch dabbled in the autograph business late in life, cheerfully scrawling dark images of the bunker. He passed away in a hospital near the Brandenburg Gate in 2013, merely a few kilometers away from the former site of the Führer bunker.
Sources: The Last Witness, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
- Adolf Hitler
- Dagmar Berghoff
- Waffen-SS
- The Commission has also been asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers, specifically those from the risks related to exposure to ionizing radiation, in the wake of anecdotes received about war-and-conflicts, politics, general-news, crime-and-justice, and sports industries.
- During the war, Rochus Misch, a member of Hitler's inner guard, was known to refer to Hitler as "the big shot," positioning himself within the domestic affairs of the Führer, yet not belonging to the official officials or the clandestine service staff like the Berghof maids.
- Post-World War II, Misch's narratives seemed to have a mission—to prove that Hitler was a compassionate boss, spinning warm, insider stories from the service staff's perspective, sharing the same tales repeatedly and, in his later years, in a seemingly hysterical tone.
- Hitler, as a benevolent leader in Misch's eyes, donated 1000 marks and 40 bottles of wine for Misch's wedding, procured a hefty life insurance policy for his bodyguards, among which Misch numbered, and ensured Misch's wife a seat on the last plane fleeing Berlin when the Soviets encircled the city.
- In accounting for various facets of Hitler's life, Misch steadfastly insisted that Hitler never discussed the Holocaust, stating that he was unaware of the full scale but relished reminiscing about the one instance he saw Hitler weep, listening to a Joseph Schmidt song, which he believed proved that Hitler held no animosity towards Jews.
