'Hitler' skull 'found to be female'

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-09-30 10:37

A skull believed by many to be Adolf Hitler's is reportedly that of a woman.

The remnant was retrieved by Soviet forces outside Hitler's bunker in Berlin and was used to argue that the dictator had shot himself on April 30, 1945 before being cremated with his wife Eva Braun.

However, DNA tests conducted by archaeologist and bone specialist Nick Bellantoni reportedly show that the skull belonged to a 40-year-old woman.

His work partner Linda Strausbaugh told AFP: "All we had exposure to was photographs. What was exposed to us was the side that was charred. Fire is one of the real enemies of getting DNA evidence out.

"The amounts we had were well within the range that you would expect to get DNA samples from. What the DNA told us is that it was female."

The findings have sparked conspiracy theories regarding Hitler's demise and journalist Gerrard Williams told Sky News: "There is no forensic evidence whatsoever that Hitler died in the bunker.

"The Nazi high command had been making plans since 1943 to get out of Germany and to set up a Fourth Reich mainly in South America so they had no need to die in situ in Germany."

However, Professor Christopher Browning of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said of the known account of Hitler's death: "None of it is depending on the alleged validity of a body or skull in Russian possession.

"From the point of view of archival integrity, [the skull] has no standing whatsoever."