Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. Good riddance.
Otto Günsche, 86, Dies; Helped to Burn Hitler's Body
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BERLIN, Oct. 13 (AP) [~] Otto Günsche, an aide to Hitler who took part in burning the Nazi dictator's body to keep it from the advancing Soviets in the final days of World War II, died on Oct. 2 in Lohmar, near Bonn. He was 86.
The cause of death was heart failure, said a son, Kai.
An SS major and a member of Hitler's inner circle, Mr. Günsche spent the last hours with the Nazi leader in his Berlin bunker before Hitler and his companion, Eva Braun, committed suicide on April 30, 1945.
Otto Günsche said in a recent interview with The Associated Press that Hitler personally ordered him to burn his body. When the day came, he and another aide poured gasoline on the bodies of Hitler and Braun, which were then set on fire.
Mr. Günsche was captured by Red Army troops at the end of the war and spent 12 years in Soviet captivity. He lived quietly in West Germany after his release.
He was born Sept. 24, 1917. He joined the Wehrmacht, but transferred to the SS where he rose to the rank of major, said Kurt Schrimm, a prosecutor who is chief of Germany's central office for investigating former Nazis. The agency's files show no investigation against Mr. Günsche for Nazi-era crimes, Mr. Schrimm said.
Mr. Günsche is survived by three children. His body was cremated, his son said.
Copyright 2003 New York Times Company
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