Rochus Misch

Rochus Misch (29 July 1917 – 5 September 2013) was a GermanOberscharführer (senior squad leader) in the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler during World War II. He served as a courier, bodyguard and telephone operator for Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler from 1940 to 1945. He was the last survivor among the occupants of the Führerbunker in the final days of the war in Europe.

Early life

Misch was born in Alt-Schalkowitz near Oppeln in the Province of Silesia(now Stare Siołkowice, Poland). He became an orphan at the age of two and grew up with his grandparents. He worked as a painter. He has a daughter named Brigitta Jacob-Engelken.

Nazi career

In 1937, Misch joined the SS-Verfügungstruppe (SS-VT), the predecessor to the Waffen-SS. The SS-VT trained alongside Hitler's personal bodyguard unit, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). Misch was badly wounded in Poland while negotiating the surrender of Polish troops during the Battle of Modlin. For this act he was awarded the Iron Cross, Second Class. He was the last living member of a Lower Silesian family, his company leader recommended him for the Führerbegleitkommando(SS-FBK). It was made up of members of the LSSAH who were not in front-line service.

Misch was transferred to the LSSAH. As a junior member of Hitler's permanent bodyguard, Misch travelled with Hitler throughout World War II. When not serving as a bodyguard, Misch and others in the unit served as telephone operators or couriers. On January 16, 1945, following the German defeat in the Battle of the Bulge, Misch and the rest of Hitler's personal staff moved into the Führerbunker in Berlin. He did not leave it for any significant period of time until the end of the war in Europe. Misch handled all direct communication from the bunker.

Hitler committed suicide on 30 April. Misch witnessed the discovery of the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun after their suicides, and was present (in the bunker complex) during the time which Joseph Goebbels along with his wife Magda poisoned their six young children, and then committed suicide on 1 May 1945. Misch and mechanic Johannes Hentschel, two of the last people remaining in the bunker, exchanged letters to their wives in case anything happened to them. Misch fled the bunker on 2 May only hours before theRed Army seized it. He was captured shortly thereafter by Soviet forces. Misch was then tortured in an attempt to extract information regarding Hitler's exact fate. Misch spent nine years in Soviet labor camps.

Later life

After his release from captivity in 1954, Misch returned to Berlin, where he lived 2 miles (3.2 km) from the Führerbunker. Following the rediscovery of the bunker in the 1990s, Misch stated publicly that the bunker complex should not be completely destroyed, being an important part of world history.

He struggled for several years with what to do with his life after captivity. He was offered various odd jobs, among others as a bodyguard and as a driver. While he entertained these offers, which for the most part were through his wartime contacts, all early offers would entail moving away from Berlin, which his wife refused unconditionally. He finally obtained credit backed by wealthy German philanthropists to buy out a painting business from a retiree in Berlin. He ran this modest business successfully, and during the early Allied occupation of Berlin also became involved in the making of peanut butter for American troops. This sideline became so successful that he considered leaving painting. His wife intervened and he remained in the painting business until retirement. He wrote his memoirs in German, Der letzte Zeuge (The Last Witness) which was published in 2008.

With the deaths of Bernd von Freytag-Loringhoven on 27 February 2007, Armin Lehmann on 10 October 2008, and Siegfried Knappeon 1 December 2008, Misch became the last survivor of the Führerbunker and the last living person who had known Hitler personally.

On the occasion of the release of the 2004 German film Downfall (Der Untergang) in France, French journalist Nicolas Bourcier interviewed Misch on multiple occasions during 2005. The resulting biography was published in French as J'étais garde du corps d'Hitler 1940–1945 (I was Hitler's bodyguard 1940-1945) in March 2006, ISBN 2253121541. Translations were released in South America, Japan, Spain, Poland, Turkey and Germany in 2006 and 2007.

Misch served as consultant to writer Christopher McQuarrie on the 2008 film Valkyrie, a depiction of the 20 July plot.

Misch lived in Berlin in the same house he moved into when he was released by the Soviets. The house is located in the district of Rudow in South Berlin. Misch regularly received visitors who wished to speak to or interview him. On 15 May 2011, and being terminally ill, Misch gave his last - in his own words - interview to the Daily Express. He died in Berlin on 5 September 2013.

Portrayal in the media

Rochus Misch has been portrayed by the following actors in film and television productions.

• Michael Kitchen in the 1981 United States television production The Bunker.
• Heinrich Schmieder in the 2004 German film Downfall (Der Untergang).
• Florian Lukas in the 2005 German television production Die Letzte Schlacht (The Last Battle).