1. Rochus Misch was a German Oberscharfuhrer in the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.
32 Facts About Rochus Misch
1. 2.
Rochus Misch was badly wounded during the Polish campaign during the first month of World War II in Europe.
3.
Rochus Misch was born on 29 July 1917 in Alt-Schalkowitz near Oppeln in the Province of Silesia.
4.
In 1935, after working as a journeyman painter, Rochus Misch attended the Masters' School for Fine Arts in Cologne.
5.
In 1937, Rochus Misch received a call-up notice for military service.
6.
Rochus Misch was picked because of his ability, although very limited, to speak Polish.
7.
Several rounds struck Rochus Misch, who fell down and lost consciousness.
8.
Rochus Misch was transferred to the FBK in early May 1940.
9.
Rochus Misch's FBK commanding officer, Franz Schadle, appointed Misch to be the bunker telephone operator.
10.
Rochus Misch handled all of the direct communication from the bunker.
11.
Rochus Misch did not leave it for any significant period of time until the war ended in May 1945.
12.
Rochus Misch was temporarily released from duty and drove to pick up his family to take them to the aircraft.
13.
Rochus Misch witnessed the discovery of the bodies of Hitler and Braun.
14.
Rochus Misch followed Otto Gunsche and Hitler's chief valet Heinz Linge to the door of Hitler's private room.
15.
Rochus Misch saw Eva, with her legs drawn up, to Hitler's left on the sofa.
16.
Rochus Misch was either sitting on the sofa or in the armchair by it; his head "had fallen forward slightly".
17.
Rochus Misch started to leave to report the events to Schadle, then stopped and returned to the door of Hitler's study.
18.
Rochus Misch then observed Hitler's corpse had been removed from inside the study and wrapped in a blanket.
19.
Rochus Misch left and reported the events to Schadle, who instructed him to return to his duty station.
20.
Rochus Misch was present in the bunker complex when Magda Goebbels poisoned her six children and then committed suicide with her husband Joseph on 1 May 1945.
21.
Rochus Misch then went upstairs through the cellars of the Reich Chancellery to where Schadle had his office to report one last time.
22.
Rochus Misch met up with some other soldiers and travelled north through the U-Bahn tunnels.
23.
Rochus Misch was brought to Lubyanka Prison in Moscow, where he was tortured by Soviet NKVD officers in an attempt to extract information regarding Hitler's last days.
24.
Rochus Misch struggled for several years with what to do with his life after captivity.
25.
Rochus Misch was offered various odd jobs, among others as a porter in a hospital and as a driver.
26.
Rochus Misch finally obtained a loan backed by wealthy German philanthropists to buy out a painting and interior decorating shop from a retiree in Berlin.
27.
Rochus Misch continued to manage his shop until his retirement in 1985 at the age of 68.
28.
Rochus Misch stated that she was disappointed by her father's lack of remorse after the war.
29.
Rochus Misch served as consultant to writer Christopher McQuarrie on the 2008 film Valkyrie, a Hollywood depiction of the 20 July plot.
30.
Rochus Misch opined that "Neo-Nazis" did not exist but were rather just patriotic people, and that the US invaded Iraq in 2003 to enrich Israel.
31.
Rochus Misch lived in Berlin in the same house he moved into when he was released by the Soviets.
32.
Rochus Misch regularly received visitors who wished to speak to or interview him.