Elena Rzhevskaya

Elena Rzhevskaya
Елена Моисеевна Ржевская
Born
Elena Kagan

(1919-10-27)27 October 1919
Died25 April 2017(2017-04-25) (aged 97)
NationalitySoviet
EducationMoscow State University
Occupation(s)Writer, war interpreter
AwardsAndrei Sakharov Prize for Writer's Civic Courage

Elena Moiseevna Rzhevskaya (Russian: Еле́на Моисе́евна Рже́вская, born Elena Kagan; 27 October 1919 – 25 April 2017) was a writer and former Soviet war interpreter.[1] In April and May, 1945, she participated in the Battle of Berlin. According to her memoirs, called in English Memories of a War-time Interpreter, she was a member of the Soviet unit searching for Adolf Hitler in the ruins of the Reich Chancellery.[2][3] Hitler's charred remains were, according to her own words, found by soldier Ivan Churakov on 4 May 1945. Four days later, on 8 May, Colonel Vassily Gorbushin gave her a small box that contained Hitler's dental remains.[4] During the identification of the corpse, the Soviet team worked in top-secret conditions. Rzhevskaya and Gorbushin managed to find in Berlin, Käthe Heusermann, an assistant of Hugo Blaschke, Hitler's personal dentist.[5] Heusermann confirmed the identity of the Nazi leader. The information was, however, suppressed by Joseph Stalin, who later ordered the facts not to be publicized.[6] She was a recipient of the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Writer's Civic Courage.

  1. ^ Parfitt, Tom (9 May 2005). "Woman who held Hitler secret". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 August 2006. Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  2. ^ Šiška, Miroslav (17 April 2012). "Žena, která odkryla pravdu o nalezení Hitlera" (in Czech). Novinky.cz (originally Právo). Retrieved 17 April 2012.
  3. ^ Ainsztein, Reuben (April 1967). "How Hitler Died: The Soviet Version". International Affairs. 43 (2): 307–318. doi:10.2307/2614329. ISSN 1468-2346. JSTOR 2614329.
  4. ^ Beevor, Antony (10 October 2009). "Hitler's Jaws of Death". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 April 2012.
  5. ^ Rzhevskaya (2012), p. 195
  6. ^ Parfitt, Tom (8 May 2005). "Anguish of woman who held secret evidence of Hitler's identity". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 April 2012.