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ADOLF Hitler engulfed the world in a brutal war and was responsible for 11 million deaths in concentration camps.

But how did he die, and what conspiracy theories surrounded his death? Here's our lowdown on the twisted tyrant...

This is believed to be one of the last photographs taken of Hitler before he committed suicide with Red Army troops approaching his Berlin bunker
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This is believed to be one of the last photographs taken of Hitler before he committed suicide with Red Army troops approaching his Berlin bunkerCredit: Hulton Archive - Getty

When was Adolf Hitler's death?

Adolf Hitler died on April 30 1945 in his fortified Berlin bunker.

He was found dead alongside wife Eva Braun as Soviet Red Army closed in on the heart of the German capital.

The pair committed suicide together after eating cynanide capsules that had been tested on Hitler's beloved dog Blondi.

German troops then reportedly burned the bodies to stop Allied troops showing off the remains.

But rumours that Hitler survived and fled to South America continued to abound for decades
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But rumours that Hitler survived and fled to South America continued to abound for decadesCredit: Getty - Contributor

How did Adolf Hitler die?

Adolf Hitler died after shooting himself in the head - shortly after taking a cyanide pill to be sure.

He committed suicide alongside Eva Braun, who he had married just 40 hours earlier.

He died 50 feet under the Chancellery in his Fuhrerbunker - despite SS officers begging him to flee to his holiday home in Berchtesgarden, Bavaria.

After years of beauracratic wrangling, a German court finally officially declared the tyrant dead in 1956.

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What are the conspiracy theories about Adolf Hitler fleeing to South America?

US investigated whether Hitler was alive in South America as late as 1955.

The official files show a former SS soldier told spies he regularly met with the Nazi leader in Colombia.

Newly-declassified CIA files contain a photo an informant claims is the fuhrer in 1955
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Newly-declassified CIA files contain a photo an informant claims is the fuhrer in 1955

It goes on to suggest that Hitler, who would have been aged 66, worked as a shipping company employee before fleeing to Argentina.

in Venezuela, included a picture the informant, Phillip Citroen, claims is him with the fuhrer in the mid-50s.

An extract reads: "CIMELODY-3's [CIA informant] friend states that during the latter part of September 1955, a Phillip Citroen, former German SS trooper, stated to him confidentially that Adolph Hitler (sic) is still alive.

"Citroen claimed to have contacted Hitler about once a month in Colombia on his trip from Maracaibo to that country as an employee of the KNSM (Royal Dutch) shipping Co."

The official files show a former SS soldier told spies he regularly met with the Nazi leader in Colombia
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The official files show a former SS soldier told spies he regularly met with the Nazi leader in Colombia
It goes on to suggest that Hitler, who would have been aged 66, worked as a shipping company employee before fleeing to Argentina
12
It goes on to suggest that Hitler, who would have been aged 66, worked as a shipping company employee before fleeing to Argentina
Top Nazi secretly exhumed

Hitler shot himself and lover Eva Braun in their Berlin bunker in April 1945 - with Soviet troops just a few hundred yards away.

His body was later found by Soviet soldiers in a shell hole and is buried in an unmarked spot.

Germany surrendered to Allied forces a week later.

But rumours that Hitler survived and fled to South America continued to abound for decades.

The newly-released documents show that American spooks were serious enough about Hitler's survival that they filed evidence back to the US
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The newly-released documents show that American spooks were serious enough about Hitler's survival that they filed evidence back to the US
This is believed to be one of the last photographs taken of Hitler before he committed suicide with Red Army troops approaching his Berlin bunker
12
This is believed to be one of the last photographs taken of Hitler before he committed suicide with Red Army troops approaching his Berlin bunkerCredit: Hulton Archive - Getty
But rumours that Hitler survived and fled to South America continued to abound for decades
12
But rumours that Hitler survived and fled to South America continued to abound for decadesCredit: Getty - Contributor
Argentinian police seize trove of Nazi artefacts hidden behind fake walls

They were fuelled by the discovery of Holocaust planner Adolf Eichmann and Josef Mengele - the doctor who carried out sick experiments on Auschwitz inmates - in Argentina and Brazil.

The former was captured by Israeli intelligence services and hanged for his crimes in 1961, but evil Mengele evaded capture and drowned while swimming off the Brazilian coast in 1979.

SHOT BY UNCLE ADOLF? Unsolved ‘suicide’ of Hitler’s half-niece and romantic obsession Geli Raubal found face-down in a pool of blood

The documents - released in November 2017 - show that American spooks were serious enough about Hitler's survival that they filed evidence back to the US.

The file, written by Caracas bureau chief David Brixnor, was wired to Washington in 1955 alongside a picture allegedly showing Hitler with the CIA source Citroen.

Hitler shot himself and lover Eva Braun in their Berlin bunker, entrance pictured, in April 1945 - with Soviet troops just a few hundred yards away
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Hitler shot himself and lover Eva Braun in their Berlin bunker, entrance pictured, in April 1945 - with Soviet troops just a few hundred yards awayCredit: This content is subject to copyright.
Holocaust planner Adolf Eichmann escaped to South America after the war, but was brought to justice by Israel and hanged in 1961
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Holocaust planner Adolf Eichmann escaped to South America after the war, but was brought to justice by Israel and hanged in 1961Credit: Getty - Contributor
But evil Josef Mengele, who carried out sick experiments on Auschwitz inmates, was never caught and drowned off the coast of Brazil in 1979
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But evil Josef Mengele, who carried out sick experiments on Auschwitz inmates, was never caught and drowned off the coast of Brazil in 1979Credit: Collect
Archive video emerges of children attending Nazi youth summer camp in New York in 1937

Handwritten notes on the document claim a second confidential informant - given the codename CIMELODY-3 - was "fairly reliable".

The document adds that the picture included "was taken with Hitler not too long ago".

It added Citroen's belief that the Allies would be unable to prosecute Hitler for war crimes because ten years had passed since the end of the war.

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