Bormann, Martin (1900-1945?), was one of the most powerful leaders in Nazi Germany during World War II (1939-1945). He served as the top aide to Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Bormann supported the harshest measures against Jews, Poles, and Christian churches.
Bormann was born in Halberstadt, Germany. In 1927, he joined the Nazi Party. In 1933, Bormann became chief of staff under Rudolf Hess, Hitler’s deputy and secretary. In 1941, after Hess was imprisoned by the British, Hitler chose Bormann to take over many of Hess’s duties. Bormann decided who could see Hitler and issued orders in Hitler’s name, often without Hitler’s knowledge.
The German government said that Bormann died in Berlin, Germany, at the end of the war. But for many years, some experts believed Bormann had escaped to South America. In 1945, after the war ended, Bormann was put on trial as a war criminal in absentia (while absent) at Nuremberg, Germany. He was sentenced to death in 1946. In 1998, scientists announced that genetic tests on human remains found in Berlin in 1972 identified those remains as Bormann’s.
