The Other Bormann's Fate
By Peter David Orr
NSKK-Gruppenführer Albert "Alberti" Bormann—the younger brother of Martin Bormann—served as a personal adjutant to Adolf Hitler and was Director of Main Office I within the Chancellery of the Führer. This department was responsible for handling the Führer's private correspondence and personal affairs. As the head of this office, Albert Bormann was directly subordinate to Reichsleiter Philipp Bouhler, the Chief of the Chancellery of the Führer.
On 20 April 1945, during the Battle of Berlin, Albert Bormann and several others were ordered by Hitler to leave the capital by aircraft for the Obersalzberg. In the earliest hours of the morning on 21 April, Albert and his pregnant wife, Erika, were flown to Munich. [1] Erika was Albert's second wife; both had been previously married and divorced. [2] [3]
Also on the plane were members of his household staff. Were others on board? Who was the pilot? What kind of aircraft was it, and from which Berlin airfield did they depart? Albert never answered these important questions.
After landing at Munich, they drove to Berchtesgaden, arriving on the morning of 22 April and taking up residence at the Berchtesgadener Hof hotel. Albert and Erika's first child, Dirk Gerland Bormann, was born at the hotel on 25 April. The next day, Bormann's staff moved the family and their newborn baby to the Hotel Post in Hintersee (Ramsau area), located on the shore of Lake Hintersee. [4]
On 28 May 1945, a US Army Intelligence officer arrived at the location and discovered Christa Schroeder there, [5] but Albert, his wife, and their child were already gone.
Life Under an Assumed Name
After leaving Hintersee, the family lived in the area of Lofer, Austria (or perhaps St. Martin bei Lofer), where Albert posed as a Bergbauer (mountain farmer). There, he began using the name of Erika’s first husband, masquerading as "Hermann Martin Roth." He maintained the pseudonym "Hermann Roth of Munich" after they quietly returned to Germany to live in a small village near Altötting. This "small place" was the hamlet of Forsting, situated about 5 miles south of Tüssling. [6]
On April 6, 1949, Albert Bormann finally turned himself in to Allied Military Occupation Authorities in Mühldorf am Inn. [7] He was arrested immediately and interrogated. Why did he choose that specific day to re-emerge as himself? He never explained his timing.
Courtroom Admissions
On the day he surrendered, Bormann was questioned regarding the whereabouts of his brother, Martin. He responded bluntly:
"My brother is dead."
The news of Albert's proclamation hit newspapers worldwide. However, during his subsequent trial, Albert changed his stance, admitting, "I cannot confirm my brother's death." When asked when he had last seen Martin, he responded, "I last saw Martin on the steps of the Berlin Reich Chancellery on the morning of 21 April 1945."
When pressed, he made it clear that he was merely speculating, but suggested that Martin was probably a Soviet prisoner of war. Was Albert finally telling the truth after changing his story?
Conviction
A Munich Denazification Court found him guilty on 21 September 1949. He was sentenced to six months in a labor camp and fined 1,000 German Marks. [8]
Enter: Dr. Johannes Neuhäusler
Dr. Johannes Neuhäusler was a German Catholic Bishop who had been imprisoned at Dachau during the final months of the war. Later, he was appointed as the overseer of spiritual affairs at Landsberg Prison, the American-run facility for war criminals. In this role, he had many conversations with leading Nazi figures, including Viktor Brack.
Brack was one of the primary organizers of the T4 Euthanasia program, which fell under the bureaucratic jurisdiction of Philipp Bouhler and the Chancellery of the Führer. Brack was later tried at Nuremberg for his role in these medical crimes against humanity.
Years later, Neuhäusler reported that he possessed a document written by Viktor Brack, in which Brack claimed that Martin Bormann had successfully escaped to Spain with Albert’s direct assistance.
Particulars of the Brack Document:
The Obersalzberg Sightings: Brack insisted that Martin Bormann "was in the vicinity of Hitler's quarters at Obersalzberg on April 26 or 27. There is no mistake about it."
The Berchtesgaden Meeting: Brack claimed he "personally met Albert on May 1 or 2, 1945, in Berchtesgaden."
The Spanish Connection: Brack wrote that another aide of Albert Bormann, "who had spent some years in Spain, was also at this meeting." [9]
The Airfield Preparations: Brack noted that Albert "spent significant time waiting at Salzburg airfield around that time," and asserted that "at least 10 planes were waiting there—all suited for night and long-distance flights."
The Escape Route: Brack believed Martin and Albert flew to Spain from Salzburg, but that Albert subsequently returned to Austria.
Brack wrote, "I suspect both men reached Spain either on May 3 or 4".
The Hiding Place: The chief of the motor pool at Obersalzberg [10] allegedly told Brack that he had driven to a "hunting lodge in Ramsau," which served as the initial hiding place for Martin Bormann's family. [11]
A Brother's Spat as a Shield Against Inquiry
It is frequently repeated in historical literature that Albert and Martin did not get along due to a bitter family feud over Albert's first marriage. The writer of this article regards this narrative as hokum—a convenient story invented by Albert to avoid discussing his brother during post-war interviews.
Perhaps they did experience a major personal fallout back in 1933, but Albert's actions between 1945 and 1949 speak louder than words. For example, when one correlates Albert's activities at the end of the war, it becomes clear that he actively facilitated the hiding of Martin Bormann's oldest son, Martin Bormann Jr. [12]
Albert's Obscure Final Years
Albert never wrote memoirs, despite reportedly being offered substantial sums of money to do so. Though he had worked as a bank teller much earlier in life, no definitive evidence has surfaced explaining how he earned a living during the post-war decades. It is reasonably certain, however, that he lived quietly in Icking, Germany, until his death at the age of 86 on 8 April 1989. [13]