29 Facts About Erich Kempka

Erich Kempka was a member of the SS in Nazi Germany who served as Adolf Hitler's primary chauffeur from 1936 to April 1945.

Erich Kempka was present in the area of the Reich Chancellery on 30 April 1945, when Hitler shot himself in the Fuhrerbunker.

Erich Kempka was born on 16 September 1910 in Oberhausen to a coal miner with ten children.

Erich Kempka worked as a mechanic for the automotive manufacturer DKW.

Erich Kempka served as chauffeur for Josef Terboven until 29 February 1932, when, based on Terboven's recommendation, he was tasked as a reserve driver for Adolf Hitler's personal entourage.

Erich Kempka became one of the original members of an eight-man squad known as the SS-Begleitkommando des Fuhrers, which later was known as the Fuhrerbegleitkommando.

In 1936, with the death of Julius Schreck, Erich Kempka became Hitler's primary chauffeur.

Erich Kempka was appointed by Hitler as Chef des Kraftfahrwesens beim Fuhrer und Reichskanzler.

Erich Kempka was awarded a Totenkopfring and the SS Honor Sword from Heinrich Himmler.

At one time, Erich Kempka had been engaged to Gerda Daranowski, a private secretary of Hitler's.

Erich Kempka later married Luftwaffe officer Eckhard Christian on 2 February 1943.

In 1945, as the end of Nazi Germany drew near, Erich Kempka accompanied Hitler to the Reich Chancellery and later the Fuhrerbunker.

Erich Kempka was one of those responsible for the burning of Hitler and Eva Braun's corpses after they committed suicide together on the afternoon of 30 April 1945.

Around that time, Otto Gunsche telephoned Erich Kempka and told him to obtain as much petrol as he could and bring it to the emergency exit of the Fuhrerbunker.

Erich Kempka's group went down through the underground railway tunnels and made it to Friedrichstrasse station.

Erich Kempka went on to state that he learned that Betz died from his injuries a short time later.

On 20 June, Erich Kempka was captured by US troops at Berchtesgaden and held until 9 October 1947.

Erich Kempka was the first witness the Americans captured who could confirm the death of Hitler.

Erich Kempka made numerous false or inconsistent statements during his interrogation.

Erich Kempka initially claimed that he was present in the Fuhrerbunker and saw Ludwig Stumpfegger examine Hitler's body.

Erich Kempka later admitted that he was not nearby until he arrived with petrol to burn Hitler and Braun's bodies, at which point Hitler's corpse had already been moved.

Inside the bunker, Erich Kempka found Martin Bormann carrying Braun's body, according to Erich Kempka "like a sack of potatoes".

Erich Kempka took the body and brought it halfway up the exit stairs.

Erich Kempka then handed the body to Gunsche, who carried it outside and placed it on the ground of the garden next to Hitler's corpse.

Additionally, Erich Kempka claimed that Gunsche told him that Hitler had shot himself through the mouth, which Gunsche later denied.

Erich Kempka correctly contended that Hitler's dental remains would be found separate from his body, attributing this to the intense burning and Soviet bombardment.

In 1974, Kempka said to interviewer James P O'Donnell that after his capture he told interrogators whatever they wanted to hear to save his neck.

Erich Kempka died on 24 January 1975, aged 64, in Freiberg am Neckar.

At the 2008 military trial for Osama bin-Laden's driver, Salim Hamdan, the defense argued for his innocence, noting that Erich Kempka was not tried as a war criminal for being a chauffeur for Hitler.