Did Hitler Fake His Death, Warrented or Unwarrented?

According to Brian Keeley, if a theory meets certain criteria as detailed below, it can be classified as an unwarranted conspiracy theory, which we should treat with suspicion. These criteria are meant to distinguish between conspiracy theories that are epistemically sound and ones that are epistemically problematic.

This specific page will analyze the theory that Hitler did not commit suicide using Brian Keeley's criteria.

Counter to the “Official” Story

This conspiracy theory very much runs counter to the official account, which is that Hitler and his wife committed suidice. This is a well known official story and taught as history. The theory postulates that Hitler did not, in fact, commit suicide but instead fled to Argentina.

Nefarious Intentions

It is rather difficult to determine if this theory explicitly constitutes negative intentions since usually someone living instead of dying is not nefarious. But, I will argue that in this specific case, the nefarious intentions were to allow a world leader responsible for the deaths of an incredibly large number of people to escape unharmed instead of facing justice for his actions. Even his death would have been a form of justice, but instead, this plan is nefarious because it allows him to escape without any form of consequence, whilst the whole world thinks that he is dead.

Tie Together Unrelated Events

This ties together and provides an explanation for the supposed sightings of Adolf Hitler in South America. It also includes the fact that Hitler used body doubles and ties that in. This theory only ties together unrelated events in the loosest interpretation, it is more accurate to say it provides an alternate explanation for one event.

Well-Guarded Secrets

This theory involves an extremely high level of secrecy, and if true would absolutely qualify as a well-guarded secret.

Errant Data

Errant data is data that is unaccounted or contradictory within the official story but is explained in the conspiracy theory.
This theory explains errant data in the form of several thousand sightings of Hitler seen after his supposed death from the FBI vault. This is the key component in UCTs and this errant data is addressed by the theory.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this theory prima facia unwarranted because it meets Keeley’s definition of an unwarranted conspiracy theory. Although, because of the loose definition from tieing together unrelated events there is room for interpretation. However, Keeley uses the word “typically” when referring to this rule, indicating that it is not a requirement for all UCTs. So it is absolutely possible for this theory to not technically meet that criterion, but still, be considered a UCT.
Therefore, because this theory meets all the criteria necessary for an unwarranted conspiracy theory, according to Keeley we should consider this theory to be unwarranted and epistemically problematic.

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