The Search for Hitler’s Political Testament, Personal Will, and Marriage Certificate, Part II

Today’s post is written by Dr. Greg Bradsher, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. This is the second post of a multi-part series.

Hugh Trevor-Roper set out for the American Zone, probably on or about December 21, 1945.[1] On December 21, responding to a phone conversation between British and American counterintelligence officers, the British sent a photograph of Wilhelm Zander to the American Counter Intelligence Corps (CIC) in Frankfurt for use by Trevor-Roper or for assistance in their own investigations into Zander’s whereabouts.[2] Trevor-Roper on December 21 or 22 went to the American internment camp in Frankfurt to search their records and found nothing regarding Zander.[3] On one of those days Trevor-Roper provided information to the CIC United States Forces European Theater (USFET) in Frankfurt regarding Zander, and informed them that Zander was wanted because he had knowledge of whereabouts of Martin Bormann and others from the Bunker, Adolf Hitler’s wills, as well as related information. Trevor-Roper informed the Americans that Zander had been seen in Berlin April 28; in Hannover in May; and, had left Hannover for Munich that same month.[4] Trevor-Roper, with clearance papers from CIC HQ USFET, then drove the 200 miles from Frankfurt to Munich, probably on December 22 or December 23.[5]

On December 24 Trevor-Roper contacted CIC Munich Sub-Regional Office and asked it for assistance in locating Zander and to aid in the recovery of Hitler’s personal and political testaments, documents indicating marriage to Eva Braun, and the diary of Bormann. Trevor-Roper told the Americans that he had information from British territory to indicate that Zander, who had been Bormann’s adjutant to the German Army, had taken these papers from Berlin shortly before the city capitulated to the Russians. It appears that day Trevor-Roper did not have contact with CIC agent Arnold H. Weiss, but only with a few soldiers detailed to help him, who already knew of the interest in finding Zander, but not much else. It appears that Trevor-Roper that day located Zander’s flat and searched it for the documents.[6]    

While in Munich Trevor-Roper casually discovered some evidence which satisfied him that Zander was alive and living under an assumed name in that area. The immediate problem was to find the assumed name. This was achieved in consequence of a lengthy interrogation by American CIC of a woman friend who had seen him since his arrival. The name, subsequently confirmed from another interrogation, was Friedrich-Wilhelm Paustin; and he had worked in a market garden in Tegernsee.[7]

Meanwhile, Weiss, through local confidential informants, learned that Zander was rumored to be in Tegernsee, living under an alias; that Zander had been in Tegernsee from May 28 to May 30, 1945 under the name of Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin.[8] Then, just before Christmas, Weiss received a call from the CIC field office in Munsingen. A Paustin had registered for a residence permit with the local police in a small German village near the Czech border called Vilshofen.[9]

When Trevor-Roper met with Weiss, Weiss told him Zander was using the name Paustin and was posing as a farmhand for someone named Irmgard Unterholzner in a village not too far from Munich called Tegernsee. By the time Weiss and Trevor-Roper arrived, Zander had left. [10] On December 26, while visiting a 303rd CIC Detachment Trevor-Roper, supplied a tip that Zander was living in the Tegernsee area under the alias of Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin. He stated that Paustin had in his possession unspecified documents, among which was the marriage license of Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun.[11]

On December 27, the CIC checked to determine if a Paustin was in fact located in the Tegernsee area. Records relating to a Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin were found which showed that a person by that name had been a patient in the German Military Hospital “Seeheim” from June 6 until June 24, when he was released to the Bad Aibling Prisoner of War Enclosure for discharge. A check of the CIC Registry of this item indicated that a Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin was living and employed at Bahofstrasse 87, Tegernsee. Trevor-Roper proceeded to Tegernsee and a raid was made by him, Special Agent Ernst J. Mueller of the 303rd CIC team, and two German policemen. Paustin/Zander was not at home and it was learned from Frau Keilberth, his employer, and the local CIC, that he had left on December 22 for the town of Aidenbach in company of Ilsa Unterhozner. Trevor-Roper decided that he would travel to Aidenbach in an effort to apprehend Zander, and requested that the 303rd CIC team make an effort to locate the documents believed to have been in Zander’s possession. A search of Paustin’s room at Bahnhofstrasse 87, failed to uncover any documents whatsoever. A further search in the home of a gardener, Rauh, in Tegernsee, where Paustin had lived previously also produced no results.[12]

With the lead to Aidenbach, Trevor-Roper, accompanied by Weiss, and apparently a CIC officer named Rosener, in a jeep set out from Munich on the night of December 27 for the 90-minute drive to Aidenbach. Clearing through the Regional CIC office and the Degendorf Sub-Regional Office, where an agent named Brickmann joined them, sometime between 3am and 4am on December 28 they found the farmhouse where Zander was supposedly staying. Trevor-Roper posted an American soldier with a revolver at each corner, and knocked on the door. There was no answer. Trevor-Roper ordered a German policeman to climb through the window and open the door. Inside, they found a man in bed who claimed to be a merchant named Wilhelm Paustin. With him was Ilsa Unterholzner. Both were arrested. Trevor-Roper made them dress, and then, with Weiss, drove them back to Munich for interrogation.[13]   

Ilsa Unterholzner claimed that although she had known Zander for five years and knew his complete background she had no knowledge of the documents that he had carried and the mission that had taken him out of Berlin on April 29.[14]

Under interrogation on December 28, Zander admitted his true identity and spoke freely. He gave his story about the documents and his travels, and revealed the location of the documents. Weiss immediately notified the CIC at Tegernsee where the documents were located. As it turned out, also on December 28 the Tegernsee police reported to the local CIC that a Frau Irmgard Unterholzner had called them to report that Paustin had stored a suitcase in her home sometime in June.[15] She volunteered this information because she had heard from her sister (Frau Keilberth) that the CIC had searched Paustin’s room. 1st Lt. Allen Fial, 303rd CIC immediately picked up the suitcase at Frau Unterholzner’s home and took it to the CIC office in Tegernsee, where a thorough search by Special Agent Ernst J. Mueller disclosed a camouflaged packet containing several documents. A close examination revealed that the documents, all dated April 29, were an original marriage license of Hitler and Braun, witnessed by Bormann and Goebbels; an original signed Political Testament of Hitler, witnessed by Goebbels, Bormann, Krebs and Bergdorf; original signed Private Testament of Hitler witnessed by Bormann, Goebbels and Nicholaus von Below. Also found was a hand-written letter of transmittal of the documents from Bormann to Doenitz; three photographs, two of woman believed to be Braun, and one of an unknown boy of about 12 years of age; one travel pass dated May 16, 1945, issued by the Bürgermeister of Einbeck to a Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin. The documents were turned over to Maj. Anthony W. Lobb, Chief, Third US Army CIC, on the afternoon of December 28.[16]    

Meanwhile, at some point on December 28, the, G-2, Third U.S. Army telephoned the Civilian Internment Enclosure at Moosburg (S-2, 2nd Bn, 47th Infantry Regiment received the message), to notify Maj. Trevor Roper, to report any information he obtained to Third Army G-2 and that he was not to move anyone out of area without notifying the Counterintelligence Branch.[17] Whether or not Trevor-Roper received this message is not known, but in any case that day after arriving back in Munich he drove straight to the headquarters of the Third U.S. Army at Bad Toelz (some 30 miles southwest of Munich), and reported his findings to the commanding officer, General Lucian K. Truscott.[18] That evening the CIC learned that Zander alias Paustin, had been apprehended by Trevor-Roper, they believed at Vilshofen, and was last reported to be in custody in Munich.[19]

The G-2 Third Army quickly reported by TWX to G-2, USFET the capture and recovery of the documents. That night the documents were photo-copied and translated by the Military Intelligence Section, of the Intelligence Branch, of G-2, Third U.S. Army. Later the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, USFET directed that a description of the documents and a summary of the circumstances of the discovery be released to the press. The Military Intelligence Section began supervising the release of the facts of the discovery and certain quotations to the press.[20]

On December 29, the documents themselves were forwarded to the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, USFET.[21] The Allies now had two of the three sets of the documents.


Footnotes:

[1] Sisman, Hugh Trevor-Roper, p. 140; Davenport-Hines, ed., Hugh Trevor-Roper: The Wartime Journals, p. 276.

[2] Memorandum, [name illegible] for Brigadier, Counter Intelligence Bureau, GSI(b), HQ, BAOR to Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 (CI), Headquarters, U.S. Forces European Theater, Attn: Capt. Smith, Subject: Standartenfuehrer Willy Zander, December 21, 1945, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976 (NAID 645054) Record Group 319.

[3] Sisman, Hugh Trevor-Roper, p. 140.

[4] Edwin (?), B. Smith, Officer in Charge, Summary of Information: Willi Zander, Source: Major Trevor-Roper, GSI HQ BAOR, December 22, 1945, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976 (NAID 645054) Record Group 319.

[5] Col. C. R. Tuff, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Allied Force Headquarters, Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary No. 60, For week ending February 27, 1946, Part II-General Intelligence, “The Discovery of Hitler’s Wills,” [based on information supplied by Control Commission (BE) Intelligence Bureau] File: Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary, Allied Force Headquarters, Publications (“P”) Files, 1950-1951 (NAID 656424) Record Group 319; Memorandum, Arnold H. Weiss, Special Agent, CIC, Munich Sub-Regional Office  to the Officer in Charge, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Re: Location and Arrest and Recovery of Hitler’s Documents, December 30, 1945, attachment to Memorandum, 1st Lt. Marvin L. Edwards, CIC, Commanding to Commanding Officer, 970/CIC, Regional Office IV, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Adjutant to Bormann; Unterholzner, Ilsa, secretary to Bormann, January 4, 1946; 1st Indorsement, 1st Lt. Joseph E. Gagan, Executive, CIC Region, IV to Chief, CIC, CIB, Headquarters, USFET, January 4, 1946, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976, Records of the Investigative Records Repository, Records of the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Intelligence, ibid.; Sisman, Hugh Trevor-Roper, p. 140.

[6] Memorandum, Arnold H. Weiss, Special Agent, CIC, Munich Sub-Regional Office  to the Officer in Charge, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Re: Location and Arrest and Recovery of Hitler’s Documents, December 30, 1945, attachment to Memorandum, 1st Lt. Marvin L. Edwards, CIC, Commanding to Commanding Officer, 970/CIC, Regional Office IV, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Adjutant to Bormann; Unterholzner, Ilsa, secretary to Bormann, January 4, 1946; 1st Indorsement, 1st Lt. Joseph E. Gagan, Executive, CIC Region, IV to Chief, CIC, CIB, Headquarters, USFET, January 4, 1946, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976 (NAID 645054) Record Group 319; Col. C. R. Tuff, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Allied Force Headquarters, Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary No. 60, For week ending February 27, 1946, Part II-General Intelligence, “The Discovery of Hitler’s Wills,” [based on information supplied by Control Commission (BE) Intelligence Bureau] File: Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary, Allied Force Headquarters, Publications (“P”) Files, 1950-1951 (NAID 656424) Record Group 319; Document Library Branch, Administrative Division, Assistant Chief of Staff (G-2), Intelligence, ibid.; Sisman, Hugh Trevor-Roper, p. 140.

[7] Col. C. R. Tuff, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Allied Force Headquarters, Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary No. 60, For week ending February 27, 1946, Part II-General Intelligence, “The Discovery of Hitler’s Wills,” [based on information supplied by Control Commission (BE) Intelligence Bureau] File: Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary, Allied Force Headquarters, Publications (“P”) Files, 1950-1951 (NAID 656424) Record Group 319.

[8] Memorandum, Arnold H. Weiss, Special Agent, CIC, Munich Sub-Regional Office  to the Officer in Charge, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Re: Location and Arrest and Recovery of Hitler’s Documents, December 30, 1945, attachment to Memorandum, 1st Lt. Marvin L. Edwards, CIC, Commanding to Commanding Officer, 970/CIC, Regional Office IV, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Adjutant to Bormann; Unterholzner, Ilsa, secretary to Bormann, January 4, 1946; 1st Indorsement, 1st Lt. Joseph E. Gagan, Executive, CIC Region, IV to Chief, CIC, CIB, Headquarters, USFET, January 4, 1946, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976 (NAID 645054) Record Group 319.

[9] Matthew Brzezinski, “Giving Hitler Hell,” The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, July 24, 2005.

[10] Matthew Brzezinski, “Giving Hitler Hell,” The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, July 24, 2005.

[11] Memorandum, Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army to Office of the U.S. Chief of Counsel, International Military Tribunal, Subject: Circumstances of Discovery of Hitler’s Wills, January 11, 1946, Hitler’s Private Testament and Political Testament, April 29, 1945, File: 3569-PS, United States Evidence Files, 1945-46 (National Archives Identifier 305264), Record Group 238; Hitler’s Marriage Contract and Testaments, Annex No. 2 to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, G-2 Weekly Intelligence Report No. 32, for Week Ending 021200A January 1946, attachment to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section A, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of January 1946, p. 1, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 January-31 March 1946, Appendix III, Historical Division; Program Files; Third U.S. Army; G-2; Operations Reports, 1945-1947 (NAID 5896761) Record Group 498; Memorandum, 1st Lt. Allen Fial, 303 CIC Det, Headquarters, Third United States Army to Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army, Subject: Documents in Luggage of Wilhelm Zander, Alias Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin, December 28, 1945, File: 370.2 1945, Captured Documents, 1945, Classified Decimal Files Regarding Captured Documents, 1945 (NAID 5674542) Record Group 498. Another copy of Fial’s December 28 report is contained in Annex No. 4 (Subject: Report on Hitler Documents found at Tegernsee) to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section C, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of December 1945, p. 9, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 4 October-31 December 1945, Appendix III, Historical Division; Program Files; Third U.S. Army; G-2; ; Operations Reports, 1945-1947 (NAID 5896761) Record Group 498.

[12] Memorandum, Arnold H. Weiss, Special Agent, CIC, Munich Sub-Regional Office  to the Officer in Charge, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Re: Location and Arrest and Recovery of Hitler’s Documents, December 30, 1945, attachment to Memorandum, 1st Lt. Marvin L. Edwards, CIC, Commanding to Commanding Officer, 970/CIC, Regional Office IV, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Adjutant to Bormann; Unterholzner, Ilsa, secretary to Bormann, January 4, 1946; 1st Indorsement, 1st Lt. Joseph E. Gagan, Executive, CIC Region, IV to Chief, CIC, CIB, Headquarters, USFET, January 4, 1946, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976 (NAID 645054) Record Group 319; Col. C. R. Tuff, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Allied Force Headquarters, Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary No. 60, For week ending February 27, 1946, Part II-General Intelligence, “The Discovery of Hitler’s Wills,” [based on information supplied by Control Commission (BE) Intelligence Bureau] File: Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary, Allied Force Headquarters, Publications (“P”) Files, 1950-1951 (NAID 656424) Record Group 319; Memorandum, Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army to Office of the U.S. Chief of Counsel, International Military Tribunal, Subject: Circumstances of Discovery of Hitler’s Wills, January 11, 1946, Hitler’s Private Testament and Political Testament, April 29, 1945, File: 3569-PS, United States Evidence, 1945-46 (NAID 305264) Record Group 238; Memorandum, 1st Lt. Allen Fial, 303 CIC Det, Headquarters, Third United States Army to Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army, Subject: Documents in Luggage of Wilhelm Zander, Alias Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin, December 28, 1945, File: 370.2 1945, Captured Documents, 1945, Classified Decimal Files Regarding Captured Documents, 1945 (NAID 5674542) Record Group 498.

[13] Memorandum, Arnold H. Weiss, Special Agent, CIC, Munich Sub-Regional Office  to the Officer in Charge, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Re: Location and Arrest and Recovery of Hitler’s Documents, December 30, 1945, attachment to Memorandum, 1st Lt. Marvin L. Edwards, CIC, Commanding to Commanding Officer, 970/CIC, Regional Office IV, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Adjutant to Bormann; Unterholzner, Ilsa, secretary to Bormann, January 4, 1946; 1st Indorsement, 1st Lt. Joseph E. Gagan, Executive, CIC Region, IV to Chief, CIC, CIB, Headquarters, USFET, January 4, 1946, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976 (NAID 645054) Record Group 319; Memorandum, Arnold H. Weiss, Special Agent, CIC, Munich Sub-Regional Office  to the Officer in Charge, Subject: Unterholzner, Ilsa, Re: Secretary of Martin Bormann, December 30, 1945, ibid.; Col. C. R. Tuff, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Allied Force Headquarters, Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary No. 60, For week ending February 27, 1946, Part II-General Intelligence, “The Discovery of Hitler’s Wills,” [based on information supplied by Control Commission (BE) Intelligence Bureau] File: Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary, Allied Force Headquarters, Publications (“P”) Files, 1946-1951, Document Library Branch, Administrative Division, Assistant Chief of Staff (G-2), Intelligence, ibid.; G-2 Journals (for January 1946), January 1, 1946, Annex No. 2 to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section A, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of January 1946, p. 1, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 January-31 March 1946, Appendix III, Historical Division; Program Files; Third U.S. Army; G-2; Operations Reports, 1945-1947 (NAID 5896761) Record Group 498; Memorandum, Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army to Office of the U.S. Chief of Counsel, International Military Tribunal, Subject: Circumstances of Discovery of Hitler’s Wills, January 11, 1946, Hitler’s Private Testament and Political Testament, April 29, 1945, File: 3569-PS, United States Evidence, 1945-46 (NAID 305264) Record Group 238; Sisman, Hugh Trevor-Roper, p. 140; Davenport-Hines, ed., Hugh Trevor-Roper: The Wartime Journals, pp. 277-278; Matthew Brzezinski, “Giving Hitler Hell,” The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, July 24, 2005. According an account apparently given by Weiss to a reporter, as the Military Police broke down the door, a shot rang out from the house. The Military Police found the startled Zander naked in bed with a women (not his girlfriend) and quickly overpowered him. Weiss grabbed Zander’s Italian Beretta-a memento he kept. Weiss told Zander they had come to arrest him and asked him his name. He said Paustin and produced an identity card. Weiss said it was a fake and he was taken into custody and taken to Munich. Matthew Brzezinski, “Giving Hitler Hell,” The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, July 24, 2005. In a letter awarding Weiss the Army Commendation medal for service performed December 24 to 28, 1945, Brig. Gen. Edwin L. Silbert [Sibert], Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, USFET, wrote “When called upon in an emergency you assumed the responsibility of apprehending a personality high in the annals of the Nazi system.” Bruce Weber, “Arnold Weiss Dies at 86; helped to Find Hitler’s Will,” The New York Times, January 1, 2011, p. A22.

[14] Memorandum, Arnold H. Weiss, Special Agent, CIC, Munich Sub-Regional Office  to the Officer in Charge, Subject: Unterholzner, Ilsa, Re: Secretary of Martin Bormann, December 30, 1945, attachment to Memorandum, 1st Lt. Marvin L. Edwards, CIC, Commanding to Commanding Officer, 970/CIC, Regional Office IV, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Adjutant to Bormann; Unterholzner, Ilsa, secretary to Bormann, January 4, 1946; 1st Indorsement, 1st Lt. Joseph E. Gagan, Executive, CIC Region, IV to Chief, CIC, CIB, Headquarters, USFET, January 4, 1946, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976 (NAID 645054) Record Group 319.

[15] It is possible that Zander gave her the suitcase in June as well as again on December 22 as noted earlier.

[16] Memorandum, Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army to Office of the U.S. Chief of Counsel, International Military Tribunal, Subject: Circumstances of Discovery of Hitler’s Wills, January 11, 1946, Hitler’s Private Testament and Political Testament, April 29, 1945, File: 3569-PS, United States Evidence, 1945-46 (NAID 305264) Record Group 238; Memorandum, 1st Lt. Allen Fial, 303 CIC Det, Headquarters, Third United States Army to Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army, Subject: Documents in Luggage of Wilhelm Zander, Alias Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin, December 28, 1945, File: 370.2 1945, Captured Documents, 1945, Classified Decimal Files Regarding Captured Documents, 1945 (NAID 5674542) Record Group 498; Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section C, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of December 1945, pp. 1, 8, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 October-31 December 1945, Appendix III, Historical Division; Program Files; Third U.S. Army; G-2; Operations Reports, 1945-1947 (NAID 5896761) Record Group 498; G-2 Journals (for January 1946), January 1, 1946, Annex No. 2 to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section A, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of January 1946, p. 1, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 January-31 March 1946, Appendix III, Historical Division; Program Files; Third U.S. Army; G-2; ibid.; Hitler’s Marriage Contract and Testaments, Annex No. 2 to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, G-2 Weekly Intelligence Report No. 32, for Week Ending 021200A January 1946, attachment to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section A, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of January 1946, p. 1, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 January-31 March 1946, Appendix III, ibid.; Col. C. R. Tuff, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Allied Force Headquarters, Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary No. 60, For week ending February 27, 1946, Part II-General Intelligence, “The Discovery of Hitler’s Wills,” [based on information supplied by Control Commission (BE) Intelligence Bureau] File: Combined Weekly Intelligence Summary, Allied Force Headquarters, Publications (“P”) Files, 1950-1951 (NAID 656424) Record Group 319; Memorandum, Arnold H. Weiss, Special Agent, CIC, Munich Sub-Regional Office  to the Officer in Charge, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Re: Location and Arrest and Recovery of Hitler’s Documents, December 30, 1945, attachment to Memorandum, 1st Lt. Marvin L. Edwards, CIC, Commanding to Commanding Officer, 970/CIC, Regional Office IV, Subject: Zander, Wilhelm, alias Paustin, Friedrich Wilhelm, Adjutant to Bormann; Unterholzner, Ilsa, secretary to Bormann, January 4, 1946; 1st Indorsement, 1st Lt. Joseph E. Gagan, Executive, CIC Region, IV to Chief, CIC, CIB, Headquarters, USFET, January 4, 1946, File: D011874, Zander, Willi [Wilhelm], Personal Name File, Security Classified Intelligence and Investigative Dossiers, 1939-1976, Records of the Investigative Records Repository, Records of the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Intelligence, ibid.; Sisman, Hugh Trevor-Roper, p. 140. According to one account, apparently based on Weiss’ memory, in Munich Zander was interrogated immediately. Trevor-Roper as the senior officer, led the questioning, and Weiss acted mostly as interpreter. For 10 hours they grilled Zander, who initially continued to insist that his was a case of mistaken identity. After more questioning, and letting him know they had had his mother and sister, Zander finally admitted his real identity. He spoke nonstop for six hours. Trevor-Roper was mainly interested in the events of the last 48 hours in the bunker. Almost as an afterthought, Weiss asked Zander why he had left the bunker. Zander said he was sent on an important mission as a courier, and said “I suppose you want the documents.” Absolutely, said Weiss, even though he had no idea what Zander was talking about and asked Zander where they were. That same day Zander led Weiss and Trevor-Roper back to Tegernsee, where he had originally hid out. There was a dry well at the back of the Unterholzener property, and he pointed down it. Weiss retrieved a fake-leather suitcase from the bottom. At first glance it contained only Zander’s discarded SS uniform. But upon closer inspection, a hidden compartment was found. In it was a plain manila envelope. Weiss tore it open. And said in German “Oh my God.” Matthew Brzezinski, “Giving Hitler Hell,” The Washington Post Sunday Magazine, July 24, 2005.

[17] G-2 Journal, December 28, 1945, File: G-2 Journals, Report of Operations, December 1945, Annex No. 2 to  G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 October-31 December 1945, Appendix III, Historical Division; Program Files; Third U.S. Army; G-2; Operations Reports, 1945-1947 (NAID 5896761) Record Group 498.

[18] Sisman, Hugh Trevor-Roper, p. 141.

[19] Memorandum, 1st Lt. Allen Fial, 303 CIC Det, Headquarters, Third United States Army to Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army, Subject: Documents in Luggage of Wilhelm Zander, Alias Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin, December 28, 1945, File: 370.2 1945, Captured Documents, 1945, Classified Decimal Files Regarding Captured Documents, 1945 (NAID 5674542) Record Group 498.

[20] Memorandum, Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army to Office of the U.S. Chief of Counsel, International Military Tribunal, Subject: Circumstances of Discovery of Hitler’s Wills, January 11, 1946, Hitler’s Private Testament and Political Testament, April 29, 1945, File: 3569-PS, United States Evidence, 1945-46 (NAID 305264) Record Group 238; Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section C, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of December 1945, p. 1, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 October-31 December 1945, Appendix III, Historical Division; Program Files; Third U.S. Army; G-2; Operations Reports, 1945-1947 (NAID 5896761) Record Group 498; Hitler’s Marriage Contract and Testaments, Annex No. 2 to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, G-2 Weekly Intelligence Report No. 32, for Week Ending 021200A January 1946, attachment to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section A, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of January 1946, p. 1, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 January-31 March 1946, Appendix III, ibid.; G-2 Journals (for January 1946), January 1, 1946, Annex No. 2 to Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third U.S. Army, Section A, Appendix III, G-2 Section, Report for the Month of January 1946, p. 1, File: G-2 Section, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Quarterly “Report of Operations,” 1 January-31 March 1946, Appendix III, Historical Division; Program Files; Third U.S. Army; G-2; Operations Reports, ibid.

[21] Memorandum, Col. Edward M. Fickett, Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2, Third United States Army to Office of the U.S. Chief of Counsel, International Military Tribunal, Subject: Circumstances of Discovery of Hitler’s Wills, January 11, 1946, Hitler’s Private Testament and Political Testament, April 29, 1945, File: 3569-PS, United States Evidence, 1945-46 (NAID 305264) Record Group 238.