In 2009, the Center for Applied Genetics and Technology was asked to type very small fragments of bone (delivered from Moscow by Nicholas Bellantoni) purported to be from the skull of Adolf Hitler. The intact skull was initially delivered to Stalin as proof of Hitler’s death. DNA typing of the skull was done to supplement the anthropological examination done by Dr. Bellantoni. Convergent with Dr. Bellantoni’s conclusions, both the DNA and anthropological conclusions suggested that the skull belonged to an adult female who would have been considerably younger than Hitler.
The story went viral! The Associated Press featured a wire story that lead to thousands of print articles worldwide, including stories by the London Observer and the German television program Der Spiegel. The History Channel’s “MysteryQuest” show came to UCONN to film the laboratory component of the project for their show “Hitler’s Escape” (2009).
Explore the links below for more information about this exciting project!