• Nazi dictator ‘refused’ to pay tax on the millions he earned from image rights
• Hitler’s will tried to cover up any trace of his secret assets
• The secret was discovered by a German Jew working for British Intelligence
• New documentary estimates Hitler could be worth more than £3 billion Relatives of Hitler could even receive cash from his hidden bank accounts

Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler squirrelled away a massive fortune using cash he had ‘earned’ from his image rights and personal appearances as well as his refusal to pay £1.75 million in income tax.

The Fuhrer even levied a royalty on German stamps featuring his image, with the cash hidden in his secret bank accounts.

The mystery surrounds a secret will discovered by Herman Rothman, a German Jew who operated with British intelligence during the Second World War.

Mr Rothman, who is now in his 90s, has told on television for the first time how he discovered Hitler’s secret will which left intriguing clues to his secret wealth.

The former intelligence officer provided a fascinating insight to documentary makers behind Channel 5’s The Hunt For Hitler’s Missing Millions.

After Hitler’s suicide in his Berlin’s bunker in 1945, Mr Rothman’s Counter Intelligence Unit spotted a man dressed in civilian clothes they believed was an on-the-run Nazis.

One of Mr Rothman’s colleagues, who was a tailor in civilian life, spotted the unusual cut of the man’s jacket – which contained a seven-page document containing Hitler’s last will and testament

According to Mr Rothman: ‘We were absolutely shocked by what we found.’

Mr Rothman was able to instantly translate the document, which was written shortly before Hitler shot himself on April 29, 1945.

The first section was an rant against the Jews blaming them for starting the conflict. The second section was an attempt by the doomed dictator to hide the extent of his wealth.

According to the documentary makers: ‘What emerges is a picture of a smart property and art investor, a shrewd manager of cash with a love of money.

‘Hitler’s actual tax records survive and suggest that he was a “cash-in-hand” businessman and a serial tax evader. He owed the German taxman a small fortune when he became supreme leader in 1933.

‘Hitler had other ingenious ways of making money. The film reveals how he and his various business advisers and managers managed to copyright and sell his image rights and how he trained himself to make public appearances and speeches, for which he took payment.’

_{(The documentary claims that Hitler was shrewd investor who was able to hide his fortune which could be worth more than £1 billion in today’s money)}

One contributor to the documentary said that relatives of Hitler could even claim a portion of those missing billions or earn a continuing wage from the Nazi’s image rights.

Another contributor Dr Cris Whetton tells the programme: ‘He felt paying taxes was beneath him.’

Dr Whetton, who has written a book on Hitler’s finances, believes he was worth in the region of 1.1 billion Reichsmarks – a staggering £3.6 billion in today’s money. 

 Dr Whetton said much of Hitler’s wealth was due to the state giving a free copy of his book Mein Kampf to couples on their wedding day, with a royalty being paid into the Fuhrer’s personal coffers.

Dr Whetton added: ‘He loved money. He just wasn’t prepared to pay for it.’

The Hunt For Hitler’s Missing Millions. Channel 5, Friday 8pm.

Please follow and like us: