Rudolf Hess - The Doppelgänger conspiracy theory disproved

Sherman McCall; Gabriele Kreindl; Tamara Kastinger; Eva Müller; Waltraud Zahrer; Ines Grießner; Bettina Dunkelmann; Edith Tutsch-Bauer; Franz Neuhuber; Phillip R Pittman; Rick Wahl; Mark Lowry; Jan Cemper-Kiesslich

doi:10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.004

Rudolf Hess - The Doppelgänger conspiracy theory disproved

Sherman McCall, Gabriele Kreindl, Tamara Kastinger, Eva Müller, Waltraud Zahrer, Ines Grießner, Bettina Dunkelmann, Edith Tutsch-Bauer, Franz Neuhuber, Phillip R Pittman, Rick Wahl, Mark Lowry, Jan Cemper-Kiesslich

Forensic Medicine and Forensic Psychiatry

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

The Deputy Führer of the Third Reich Rudolf Hess was captured after a controversial flight to Scotland in 1941. Hess was sentenced to life imprisonment during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. He was detained in Berlin's Spandau Prison under the official security designation 'Spandau #7.' Early doubts arose about the true identity of prisoner 'Spandau #7.' This evolved to a frequently espoused conspiracy theory that prisoner 'Spandau #7' was an imposter and not Rudolf Hess. After Hess's reputed 1987 suicide, the family grave became a Neo-Nazi pilgrimage site. In 2011, the grave was abandoned and the family remains cremated. Here we report the forensic DNA analysis of the only known extant DNA sample from prisoner 'Spandau #7' and a match to the Hess male line, thereby refuting the Doppelgänger Theory.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	18-22
Number of pages	5
Journal	Forensic Science International: Genetics
Volume	40
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.004
Publication status	Published - May 2019

Bibliographical note

Keywords

DNA Fingerprinting
Famous Persons
Germany
History, 20th Century
Humans
Male
Microsatellite Repeats
National Socialism/history
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Prisoners/history
World War II
War crimes
DNA identification
Spandau prison
Nuremberg trials
Rudolf Hess
Conspiracy theory
Third Reich
War criminal

Fields of Science and Technology Classification 2012

305 Other Human Medicine, Health Sciences

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10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.004

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title = "Rudolf Hess - The Doppelg{\"a}nger conspiracy theory disproved",

abstract = "The Deputy F{\"u}hrer of the Third Reich Rudolf Hess was captured after a controversial flight to Scotland in 1941. Hess was sentenced to life imprisonment during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. He was detained in Berlin's Spandau Prison under the official security designation 'Spandau #7.' Early doubts arose about the true identity of prisoner 'Spandau #7.' This evolved to a frequently espoused conspiracy theory that prisoner 'Spandau #7' was an imposter and not Rudolf Hess. After Hess's reputed 1987 suicide, the family grave became a Neo-Nazi pilgrimage site. In 2011, the grave was abandoned and the family remains cremated. Here we report the forensic DNA analysis of the only known extant DNA sample from prisoner 'Spandau #7' and a match to the Hess male line, thereby refuting the Doppelg{\"a}nger Theory.",

keywords = "DNA Fingerprinting, Famous Persons, Germany, History, 20th Century, Humans, Male, Microsatellite Repeats, National Socialism/history, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Prisoners/history, World War II, War crimes, DNA identification, Spandau prison, Nuremberg trials, Rudolf Hess, Conspiracy theory, Third Reich, War criminal",

author = "Sherman McCall and Gabriele Kreindl and Tamara Kastinger and Eva M{\"u}ller and Waltraud Zahrer and Ines Grie{\ss}ner and Bettina Dunkelmann and Edith Tutsch-Bauer and Franz Neuhuber and Pittman, {Phillip R} and Rick Wahl and Mark Lowry and Jan Cemper-Kiesslich",

year = "2019",

month = may,

doi = "10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.004",

language = "English",

volume = "40",

pages = "18--22",

journal = "Forensic Science International: Genetics",

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publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",

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AU - McCall, Sherman

AU - Kreindl, Gabriele

AU - Kastinger, Tamara

AU - Müller, Eva

AU - Zahrer, Waltraud

AU - Grießner, Ines

AU - Dunkelmann, Bettina

AU - Tutsch-Bauer, Edith

AU - Neuhuber, Franz

AU - Pittman, Phillip R

AU - Wahl, Rick

AU - Lowry, Mark

AU - Cemper-Kiesslich, Jan

PY - 2019/5

Y1 - 2019/5

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AB - The Deputy Führer of the Third Reich Rudolf Hess was captured after a controversial flight to Scotland in 1941. Hess was sentenced to life imprisonment during the Nuremberg War Crimes Trials. He was detained in Berlin's Spandau Prison under the official security designation 'Spandau #7.' Early doubts arose about the true identity of prisoner 'Spandau #7.' This evolved to a frequently espoused conspiracy theory that prisoner 'Spandau #7' was an imposter and not Rudolf Hess. After Hess's reputed 1987 suicide, the family grave became a Neo-Nazi pilgrimage site. In 2011, the grave was abandoned and the family remains cremated. Here we report the forensic DNA analysis of the only known extant DNA sample from prisoner 'Spandau #7' and a match to the Hess male line, thereby refuting the Doppelgänger Theory.

KW - DNA Fingerprinting

KW - Famous Persons

KW - Germany

KW - History, 20th Century

KW - Humans

KW - Male

KW - Microsatellite Repeats

KW - National Socialism/history

KW - Polymerase Chain Reaction

KW - Prisoners/history

KW - World War II

KW - War crimes

KW - DNA identification

KW - Spandau prison

KW - Nuremberg trials

KW - Rudolf Hess

KW - Conspiracy theory

KW - Third Reich

KW - War criminal

UR - http://www.mendeley.com/research/rudolf-hess-doppelg%C3%A4nger-conspiracy-theory-disproved

U2 - 10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.004

DO - 10.1016/j.fsigen.2019.01.004

M3 - Article

C2 - 30685710

SN - 1872-4973

VL - 40

SP - 18

EP - 22

JO - Forensic Science International: Genetics

JF - Forensic Science International: Genetics

ER -

Rudolf Hess - The Doppelgänger conspiracy theory disproved

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

Fields of Science and Technology Classification 2012

Access to Document

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