Ewald Lindloff

Ewald Lindloff (27 September 1908 – 2 May 1945) was a Waffen-SS officer during World War II, who was present in the Führerbunker on 30 April 1945, when Hitler committed suicide. He was placed in charge of disposing of Hitler's remains. Lindloff was later killed during the break-out on 2 May 1945 while crossing the Weidendammer Bridge under heavy fire in Berlin. Ewald Lindloff was born in Stuba near Danzig (now Stobna, Poland). Lindloff attended engineering college during the years 1928 to 1933. He joined the Schutzstaffel (SS) on 1 May 1932. On 15 July 1933, Lindloff was accepted into the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). He married Ilse Borchert, a secretary for Hitler's staff officers on 4 February 1938. He was promoted to the officer rank of SS-Untersturmführer on 30 January 1941. From 20 October 1942 until 10 May 1943, Lindloff was on active combat duty with the LSSAH. He was promoted to the rank of SS-Obersturmführer on 9 November 1941; and promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer (captain) on 30 January 1945. Battle in Berlin By April 1945, he was a member of the Leibstandarte (LSSAH) Guard Battalion and Führerbegleitkommando (Führer Escort Command; FBK), which was assigned to guard Hitler in Berlin. Lindloff was present in the Führerbunker on the afternoon of 30 April 1945, when Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide. Afterwards, Lindloff, Hans Reisser, Peter Högl and Heinz Linge carried Hitler's blanket-wrapped corpse up the stairs to ground level and through the bunker's emergency exit to the bombed-out garden behind the Reich Chancellery. The lifeless bodies of Hitler and Braun were doused with petrol. After the first attempts to ignite the petrol failed, Linge reentered the bunker and then returned with a thick roll of papers. Martin Bormann lit the papers and threw the torch onto the bodies. As the two corpses caught fire, a small group, including Otto Günsche, Bormann, Högl, Linge, Lindloff, Reisser, Erich Kempka and Joseph Goebbels raised their arms in Nazi salute as they stood just inside the bunker doorway.