A new DNA analysis based on a blood-stained cloth taken from the sofa on which Adolf Hitler killed himself in Berlin in May 1945 suggests he suffered from a genetic disorder affecting sexual development, according to researchers featured in a forthcoming Channel 4 documentary.
The film, titled Hitler’s DNA: A Dictator’s Masterplan, will air on the British network and presents claims about Hitler’s sexuality, ancestry, and mental health drawn from the genetic data, the producers said.
The study is based on a fabric sample cut in May 1945 by Col. Roswell P. Rosengren, a US Army press officer, from the sofa in the Führerbunker. Nearly 80 years later, scientists say they authenticated Hitler’s DNA by comparing it to the Y chromosome of a living relative, which they argue enabled them to conduct a broader genetic analysis on the material.
According to the documentary, the main finding is that Hitler likely had Kallmann syndrome, a genetic condition that disrupts normal sexual development.
This, the researchers say, is consistent with a 1923 medical examination revealed in 2015, which suggested that Hitler had an undescended testicle. They add that the syndrome could have altered his testosterone levels and carried about a one-in-ten chance that he had a micropenis.
Historian claims this finding helps explain Hitler's devotions
Alex J. Kay, a historian at the University of Potsdam and an expert on Nazi Germany, argues in the film that such findings might help explain Hitler’s “almost total devotion to politics with an almost complete absence of private life.” In his view, the Nazi movement could only have risen to power under Hitler’s particular leadership and circumstances, he says in the documentary.The DNA analysis, the researchers claim, also refutes a long-standing rumor that Hitler had a Jewish grandfather, a charge recently repeated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Instead, they say the genetic evidence points to Austrian-German origins.
The study further suggests that Hitler’s genome shows very high polygenic scores, placing him in the top percentile for genetic susceptibility to neurodevelopmental and psychiatric conditions such as autism, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. However, the scientists stress that this is a statistical assessment based on “polygenic scores” and does not constitute a firm diagnosis, noting that it is impossible to diagnose him retroactively.
Lead geneticist Prof. Turi King is quoted in the film as saying that “if Hitler had seen his own genetic results, he would almost certainly have sent himself to the gas chambers.” She and other experts involved in the project, including Prof. Simon Baron-Cohen of the University of Cambridge, caution strongly against drawing simplistic conclusions.
They emphasize that genetics cannot excuse Hitler’s crimes and warn against linking such conditions to cruelty, in order to avoid stigmatizing people living with similar diagnoses. “DNA is always just one part of someone’s puzzle,” King says in the film. “You cannot see evil in a genome.”