Rochus Misch

Rochus Misch (29 July 1917 – 5 September 2013) was a German Oberscharführer (sergeant) in the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH). He was badly wounded during the Polish campaign during first month of World War II in Europe. After recovering, from 1940 to April 1945, he served in the Führerbegleitkommando (Escort Command of the Führer; FBK) as a bodyguard, courier, and telephone operator for German dictator Adolf Hitler. He was widely reported in the media as being the last surviving occupant of the Führerbunker when he died in September 2013.

Early life

Rochus Misch was born on 29 July 1917 in Alt-Schalkowitz near Oppeln (Opole) in the Province of Silesia (now Stare Siołkowice, Poland). His father, a construction worker, died of wounds sustained in World War I. His widowed mother died of pneumonia when he was two and a half, and he grew up with his grandparents. His older brother Bruno died after a swimming accident in May 1922.

Over the objections of the school director, his grandfather took him out of school after eight years as he thought Rochus needed to learn a trade. After several years, Misch moved to Hoyerswerda and became an apprentice with the firm of Schmüller & Model. There he trained as a painter. In 1935, after working as a journeyman painter, Misch attended the Masters' School for Fine Arts in Cologne. After six months, he returned to Hoyerswerda to continue his training. Misch met Gerda, his wife-to-be, in July 1938. They later married on New Year's Eve, 1942. They had a daughter, Brigitta Jacob-Engelken who after the war supported Jewish causes.