The Corpse That Fooled Hitler: How a Dead Body Won World War II episode artwork

EPISODE · Mar 26, 2025 · 24 MIN

The Corpse That Fooled Hitler: How a Dead Body Won World War II

from Weird History

In 1943, British intelligence pulled off the most audacious military deception in history. They acquired the body of a homeless man who had died from rat poison, dressed him as a Royal Marines officer, fabricated an entire fake identity complete with love letters and personal documents, and then dropped him off the coast of Spain with false invasion plans. The goal? To convince Nazi Germany that the Allies were going to invade Greece, when they were actually planning to attack Sicily. This elaborate ruse involved a novelist, a pathologist, and a dead body with a completely fictional backstory that was so convincing it made its way through Spanish intelligence and directly to Hitler's desk. Discover how a meticulously crafted lie, a random corpse, and some of the most creative minds in British intelligence changed the course of World War II - and potentially saved thousands of lives with nothing more than an elaborate, macabre hoax.Support the show here via Paypal:https://www.paypal.com/donate/?business=DWSYBNBMAY9AL&no_recurring=0&item_name=Thanks+for+your+help%21&currency_code=USD

Episode metadata supplied by the publisher feed · Published Mar 26, 2025

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The Corpse That Fooled Hitler: How a Dead Body Won World War II

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