Pop quiz: Where’s Hitler’s body? Is it: a) in Panama, b) in Uruguay, c) under the remains of the bunker in which he died, or d) in a laboratory in St Petersburg, frozen until the technology can developed which would allow him to be revived to a sufficient state that he can be charged with and punished for his crimes against humanity? Or none of the above?
The closest thing to the truth came out in the 1990s after the collapse of the Soviet Union and classified archives sprang open, thanks to curious minds with large bankrolls. One of the juicier tales that came out of the archives was what actually happened to Hitler’s remains. For some reason, the actual documents themselves (according to artificial intelligence sources – so take THAT with a grain of salt) have never been translated into English and published to the Web. Until today.
In this article, we’ll be providing you with the Top Secret documents leading up to and including the secret Soviet operation “Archive,” through which, on the orders of KGB Chairman Yuri Andropov and with the approval of Leonid Brezhnev, the remains of Adolf Hitler, Eva Braun, Joseph Goebbels, his wife Magda, and their six children were permanently destroyed.
The documents presented below show that (Doc. 1) in June 1945, the bodies of Hitler, Eva Braun, Goebbels, and Goebbels’ wife and children were buried in Buch, the northernmost section of Berlin, (Doc. 2) the bodies were exhumed and reburied within the grounds of a Soviet military compound in Magdeburg in February 1946 (while also identifying that the body of Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, General Krebs, was among the group), (Doc. 3) in March 1970, a decision was made (for Brezhnev’s approval) by KGB head Yuri Andropov to relocate the bodies – Soviet leadership feared that the military compound would sooner or later be handed over to the authorities of the German Democratic Republic (GDR); had the burial site of Hitler and his inner circle been discovered, it could have become a place of pilgrimage for neo-Nazis, (Doc. 4) in April 1970, the bodies of “the war criminals” had been exhumed, and (Doc. 5) in that same month, the bodies had been destroyed and disposed of.
The 1970 memos Andropov sent to the CPSU Central Committee bear the classification “Special Importance. Top Secret.” The documents were designated No. 655/A/ov, Series “K,” indicating that they were intended personally for Leonid Brezhnev. The document’s heightened secrecy was underscored by the fact that the most critical phrases were not typed but handwritten into the text; in this way, Andropov sought to keep his idea confidential from the typists.
The translation of the five documents, presented for the first time (?) in English, are provided below.
Document 1:
FROM THE REPORT ON THE BURIAL OF THE BODIES OF HITLER, GOEBBELS, AND OTHER PERSONS
Top Secret
June 4, 1945
3rd Shock Army
On June 4, 1945, a commission consisting of the Chairman — Colonel Miroshnichenko, Chief of the SMERSH Counter-Intelligence Department of the 1st Shock Army — and commission members (list follows) drew up this report, stating the following:
On May 5, 1945, just a few meters from the spot where the bodies of Goebbels and his wife were found, two badly charred bodies were discovered in a bomb crater: the body of German Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler and the body of his wife, Eva Braun. These two bodies were also delivered to the SMERSH counter-intelligence department of the 3rd Shock Army in the town of Buch (Berlin).
Following the completion of the forensic medical examination and all operational procedures for their identification, all the bodies were buried in the vicinity of Buch.
Due to the relocation of the army’s SMERSH counter-intelligence department, the bodies were exhumed and transported first to the area of Finow, and subsequently, on June 3, 1945, to the area of Rathenow, where they were finally buried.
The bodies are contained in wooden crates within a pit at a depth of 1.7 meters, arranged in the following order from east to west: Hitler, Eva Braun, Goebbels, Magda Goebbels, Krebs, and the Goebbels children.
Location of the buried bodies: Germany, Province of Brandenburg, Rathenow district, forest east of Rathenow; along the highway from Rathenow to Stechow, before reaching the village of Neu-Friedrichsdorf — 325 m from the railway bridge, along a forest clearing starting at a stone post marked “111” — heading northeast 55 meters to the next post, then 26 m due east from that post. The burial pit was leveled with the ground, and 111 small pine trees were planted over the site. A map with a diagram is attached. This report has been drawn up in three copies.
[Signatures]
Document 2:
REGARDING THE NEW BURIAL OF THE REMAINS
February 21 and 23, 1946
Cover letter from the GUKR “Smersh” of the 3rd Shock Army, February 23, 1946
Top Secret
Eyes Only – To the Chief of the “Smersh” Counter-Intelligence Directorate in Germany – Lieutenant General Comrade Zelenin
I am herewith forwarding the report regarding the new location of the pit containing the bodies of the members of the German government — Hitler, Goebbels, and others.
Colonel Miroshnichenko, Chief of the SMERSH Counter-Intelligence Department, 3rd Shock Army
REPORT
February 21, 1946
3rd Shock Army of the Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany. A commission, consisting of the Chairman, Colonel Miroshnichenko (Chief of the SMERSH Counter-Intelligence Department, 3rd Shock Army), and members Colonel Gorbushin (Deputy Chief of the SMERSH Counter-Intelligence Department, 3rd Shock Army) [and others], has drawn up this report stating that on this date, in the area of the city of Rathenow, we opened a pit containing the bodies of:
Reich Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler
his wife, Eva Braun
Reich Minister of Propaganda of Germany, Dr. Joseph Goebbels; his wife, Magda Goebbels; and their children — son Helmut and daughters Hilde, Helga, Hedda, Holde, and Heide.
Chief of the General Staff of the German Army, General Krebs
All the listed bodies were in a state of advanced decomposition inside wooden crates; in this condition, they were transported to the city of Magdeburg, to the location of the Army’s SMERSH Counter-Intelligence Department, and reburied in a pit at a depth of 2 meters in the courtyard of the house at 36 Westendstrasse. The burial site is located near the southern stone wall of the courtyard, exactly 25 meters due east of the house’s garage wall.
The burial pit has been leveled with the ground, and the surface has been made to blend in with the surrounding terrain.
Commission Chairman: Colonel Miroshnichenko; Colonel Gorbushin
Document 3:
Memorandum from Yu. V. Andropov to the CPSU Central Committee (Special Importance)
Top Secret
Series “K”
Copy No. 2
March 13, 1970
CPSU Central Committee
655-A/ev
In February 1946, the bodies of Hitler, Eva Braun, Goebbels, and his wife and children (10 bodies in total) were buried in the city of Magdeburg (GDR) within the grounds of a military compound currently occupied by the KGB Special Department of the 3rd Army of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG).
At present, the army command is transferring the aforementioned military compound to the German authorities, a move dictated by operational necessity and the interests of our troops.
Given the possibility of construction or other excavation work on the site, which could lead to the discovery of the burial, I consider it advisable to exhume the remains and destroy them by burning.
This operation will be carried out in strict secrecy by the operational team of the KGB Special Department of the 3rd Army (GSFG) and will be duly documented.
CHAIRMAN OF THE KGB ANDROPOV
[Handwritten notation on the document:]
“Consent of the CPSU Central Committee obtained. Communicated by Comrade N. A. Solovyev of the 1st Sector of the General Department of the CPSU Central Committee. March 18, 1970. Kryuchkov.”
Document 4:
No. 1758, April 10, 1970
Top Secret
Sole Copy
Series “K”
Magdeburg (GDR), Military Unit/Field Post 92626
April 4, 1970
RECORD
(regarding the exhumation of the remains of the war criminals)
In accordance with the plan for operation “Archive,” approved by the Chairman of the KGB under the Council of Ministers of the USSR on March 26, 1970, an operational group, comprising the Chief of the Special Department (OO) of the KGB for Military Unit/Field Post 92626, Colonel N.G. Kovalenko, and operational officers from the same department [names omitted], carried out the exhumation of the remains of war criminals at the military compound on Westendstrasse, near building No. 36 (now Klausenerstrasse).
Upon opening the burial site, it was discovered that the remains of the war criminals had presumably been interred in five wooden crates stacked crosswise upon one another. Three of them were oriented North-South, and the other two East-West. The coffins had rotted and turned to dust; the remains inside had mingled with the soil.
During the excavation, the soil was carefully examined, and the remains (skulls, tibiae, ribs, vertebrae, etc.) were placed in a box.
The degree of decomposition was severe, particularly regarding the remains of children, making it impossible to keep an exact count of the findings. Based on a tally of tibiae and skulls, the remains appeared to belong to 10 or 11 bodies.
After the remains were removed, the burial site was restored to its original condition. The recovery operation was carried out during the night and morning of April 4, 1970.
Surveillance of the adjacent building, where German citizens resided, revealed no suspicious activity on their part. No direct interest was shown in the ongoing work or the tent erected over the excavation site.
The box containing the remains of the war criminals was guarded by operational personnel until the morning of April 5, at which time the physical destruction of the remains was carried out.
Chief of the Special Department of the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers (Military Unit No. 92626), Colonel Kovalenko
Personnel of the Special Department of the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers (Military Unit No. 92626) (signatures)
Document 5:
Top Secret
Sole copy
Series “K”
[Document handwritten by the head of the “burial team,” Kovalenko]
Magdeburg (GDR), Military Unit P.P. 92626
April 1970
ACT
(regarding the physical destruction of the remains of the war criminals)
In accordance with the plan for Operation “Archive,” an operational group, comprising Colonel N.G. Kovalenko, Head of the Special Department of the KGB under the USSR Council of Ministers (Military Unit P.P. 92626), and officers from the same department, carried out the cremation of the remains of the war criminals. These remains had been exhumed from a burial site in the military compound on Westendstrasse, near building No. 36 (now Klausenerstrasse).
The destruction of the remains was effected by burning them on a pyre in a vacant lot near the town of Schönebeck, 11 km from Magdeburg.
The remains were fully incinerated; the resulting material was crushed into ash, collected, and discarded into the Biederitz River. This act has been drawn up to record these events.
Head of the Special Department of the KGB, Military Unit P.P. 92626: Colonel Kovalenko
Officers of the Special Department of the KGB, Military Unit P.P. 92626 (signatures)
April 5, 1970
Translation © 2026 by Michael Estes and TranslatingHistory.org
