Gustav Weler - Hitler's supposed "body-double"

[MikaelSmith]

Who was Gustav Weler?

99% of Google hits will just contain a single sentence "Gustav Weler was employed as Hitler's body-double, a political decoy who was shot in the forehead after Hitler's suicide, and his corpse put in a water cistern where it was discovered and photographed by Soviets who mistook him for Hitler"

I notice on http://www.thirdreichpages.com/views.htm there is a message stating that He was known around Berlin for his amazing resembelance to Hitler. In prewar Berlin he was repeatedly arrested by Gestapo for impersonating Hitler and at one point ordered to remove the moustache. During the last year of the war Gustav Weler was again arrested and disappeared. which would mean that it's unlikely he was "employed as a political decoy", and instead was likely just remembered "Hey, that guy sitting in prison..." or something, it seems.

So who was he anyways? Why do we know nothing of him, in the millions of pages of captured German records we have no record of his being arrested, or where he was from? That seems odd, for a guy who was famously mistaken for proof of Hitler's death. How was the corpse identified as "Gustav Weler" anyhow? Who identified it? Did members of the RSD who supposedly executed him ever mention it?

Am I the only one who's never been able to find more information?

[Potsdamerplatz]

Gustav Weler lived in Munich in the 1930's until arrested by the Nazis who assumed he was poking fun at Hitler because of the physical resemblance and the way he was dressed.

Martin Bormann introduced Weler to Hitler at the Berghof, but the Fuhrer was enraged and ordered that he never wanted to see the doppelganger again and that he was to be imprisoned in a concentration camp.

Bormann, sensing that Weler could prove to be useful, disobeyed Hitler's order and hid Weler away in Munich.

I don't have any further information on him until his body was discovered in the water tower of the Berlin Fuhrerbunker in May 1945.

Best regards,

David

[Virgil Hiltz]

We have discovered what happened to Hitlers remains after the war.Did the Russians take Welers remains also for the investigation?

[MikaelSmith]

Thanks Potsdam, interesting to see Bormann's name involved

Two questions arise, not sure if you know - first, what was he? Like a burlesque comic that lampooned Hitler on stage, or on the streets, a pseudo-professional actor of sorts? Secondly, when you say Bormann "hid him away", I assume that means he was simply imprisoned? Or did you mean something else by that?

Much thanks guys

[Max Williams]

Gustav Weler lived in Munich in the 1930's until arrested by the Nazis who assumed he was poking fun at Hitler because of the physical resemblance and the way he was dressed.

Martin Bormann introduced Weler to Hitler at the Berghof, but the Fuhrer was enraged and ordered that he never wanted to see the doppelganger again and that he was to be imprisoned in a concentration camp.

Bormann, sensing that Weler could prove to be useful, disobeyed Hitler's order and hid Weler away in Munich.

I don't have any further information on him until his body was discovered in the water tower of the Berlin Fuhrerbunker in May 1945.

Best regards,

David

David,
Source(s) please.
Thanks,
Max.

[Waffle]

To me it's very surprising that no further information is available. Like the author of the first post said, it is very odd.

[Bjørn from Norway]

Hello!
In the thread http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... highlight= I did ask about the stand ins. Which one of these could Weler eventually be?

B

[Waffle]

I looked at the Wikipedia page of him and there was something new information:

"It has been wrongly reported that this man's name was Gustav Weler. However, this is not the case. Hugh Thomas's 1996 book Doppelgangers reports that Weler was indeed a Hitler lookalike but was located and interviewed by Allied forces after Hitler's death."

Who could it be then?

[Waffle]

No one?

[wolfguy]

Since Hermann Fegelein's body was never found (supposedly), did it ever occur to anyone that this body may have been his?

A stretch perhaps, but if you look at a portrait of Fegelein and place it next to the photo of this corpse, they look a little bit alike.

[Waffle]

Since Hermann Fegelein's body was never found (supposedly), did it ever occur to anyone that this body may have been his?

A stretch perhaps, but if you look at a portrait of Fegelein and place it next to the photo of this corpse, they look a little bit alike.

How tall was he? The corpse was 165cm or such.. it looks like it belonged to someone aged 50+. I doubt Fegelein had ever 'stache. Fake maybe?

I recall that there was a photo of a doppelganger interviewed by Allies.. Does someone have it? I'm interested.

[Waffle]

Bringing Up My Post!

[Jeremy Dixon]

The body of Hitler's so-called double looks nothing like Fegelein at all, Fegelein was a younger man without a tash! Also I ahve to say I take anything Hugh Thomas says with a pinch of salt, his book regarding Hess was complete rubbish in my view and even worse was his book SS-1 on Himmler.

[Waffle]

The body of Hitler's so-called double looks nothing like Fegelein at all, Fegelein was a younger man without a tash! Also I ahve to say I take anything Hugh Thomas says with a pinch of salt, his book regarding Hess was complete rubbish in my view and even worse was his book SS-1 on Himmler.

I agree with you.. if he WAS he, someone would have identified him anyway because there were lots of people who knew him.

http://www.arcticbeacon.citymaker.com/a ... /41632.htm
“Skorzeny told me he helped fake Hitler’s suicide in 1945 and actually shot Hitler’s double between the eyes, leaving him there in place of Adolph,” said Orion."
Strange, maybe Skorzeny knew about him?

[Ian Sayer]

I don't mean to go off the subject but I wholeheartedly agree with TR's assessment of Hugh Thomas's books on Hess and Himmler. Total rubbish in my view. And I just took a look at the link which Waffle provided. Hilarious ! As if.......! The trouble is some people are going to believe that claptrap. Oh well.....
Ian