New archival documents that have come to light in Munich have once again brought to light one of the darkest and most controversial episodes in Adolf Hitler's personal life: the death of his 23-year-old niece, Geli Raubal, in his apartment in 1931.
The official version for more than 90 years was that the young woman committed suicide with a pistol belonging to Hitler and that her body was found on the morning of September 19, 1931, when he had already left Munich and was heading to Nuremberg.
However, documents recently discovered by historical researcher Harald Sandner in the State Archives and the Munich City Archives have already cast doubt on this version.
Two death notices and the official record at the Munich registry office state that Raubal's body was found on Friday, September 18, at 10:15 a.m. - almost 24 hours ago.
The day the alibi changed
At the time, Hitler was the leader of his opposition party. According to what is known, Hitler and Raubal had a heated argument on September 18th, as she allegedly wanted to leave for Vienna and the future dictator was reacting to her decision.
Hitler later left for Nuremberg and, according to a police report at the time, the 23-year-old shot herself after he left. Her body was reportedly discovered the next morning by Hitler's personal valet, inside her locked room.
However, if the new data accurately reflects the time and date of the body's discovery, then Hitler did not have the alibi that was taken for granted for decades. So on the morning of September 18, he was probably still in Munich. Der Spiegel notes that the discovery overturns the previous chronological sequence of the case and creates the basis for a new examination of the evidence.
Hitler's pistol and the rumors that never stopped
Geli Raubal was the daughter of Hitler's half-sister, Angela Raubal, and her relationship with her uncle had been the subject of intense speculation ever since.
Raubal lived in his Munich apartment and, according to historical records, Hitler exercised strict control over her movements, social contacts and decisions. There were also allegations of an abusive or even romantic relationship between them, but this has not been proven.
At the age of 23, she was found dead from a gunshot wound to the chest, with Hitler's gun. Authorities at the time concluded it was a suicide. However, the case never ceased to raise questions.
Was there any manipulation?
Sandner believes that the contradiction between the new files and the official police report raises questions about whether elements of the case may have been manipulated.
At the time, the Munich police force included officers close to the Nazi movement, which has fueled speculation that some may have attempted to protect Hitler and provide him with a strong alibi. However, Der Spiegel and the researcher himself stress that there is no conclusive evidence that any cover-up or falsification of information was carried out.
The new discovery does not solve the mystery of Geli Raubal's death. But it does remove one of the most consistent elements on which the official narrative was based for decades: that at the time the tragedy occurred in his Munich apartment, Adolf Hitler was already somewhere else. /LAPSI.al
