Adolf Hitler
© GETTYNAZI: Adolf Hitler is known to have died in 1945 - or did he?
Declassified documents held by the investigative agency reveal the FBI received rumours of Hitler's survival just five months after his death on April 30, 1945.

US spooks received information claiming the Nazi leader had fled Germany via U-boat in the dying days of the war as the allies pressed on Berlin.

It is said Argentine officials welcomed Hitler and he remained hiding out in the foothills of the Andes.

FBI files are dated September 21, 1945, just two weeks after Japan surrendered following the dropping of the A-bomb and the official end of World War 2.

History accepts Hitler shot himself aged 56 in his Fuhrerbunker on April 30 that year - almost exactly 74 years ago this week.

And should Adolf have survived the war, he would have just celebrated his 130th birthday this Saturday.

FBI files held of the bureau's officials website reveal the investigation into claims of Hitler's survival went right to the top of the bureau - being considered by director John Edgar Hoover.

Numerous letters between Hoover and his underlings reveal they passed information to military intelligence after receiving the tip-off.

The heavily redacted data packet reveals claims Hitler arrived in Argentina two and a half weeks after the fall of Berlin.

Two submarines are said to have pitched up on the shores of Argentina, before they were then led away on horseback into the foothills of the Andes.

The information is said to have come from a source met by an FBI agent in Hollywood who was seeking "immunity from being sent back to the Argentina".

Hitler was claimed to have been suffering from asthma and ulcers - and had shaved off his famous moustache.

The Nazi leader is said to have arrived in Argentina with around 50 others, believed to be officials and their family members who had fled the Third Reich.

It is claimed the source named six Argentina officials who had arranged to shelter the Nazi leader

FBI officials who filed the report however conclude there is a "lack of sufficient information to support the story" and concluded there is doubt whether the source is "telling the truth".

They also note it is "impossible to continue efforts to locate Hitler with the sparse information obtained to date".

FBI documents Adolf Hitler
© FBICLASSIFIED: FBI spooks investigated claims Hitler was hiding out in Argentina.
FBI documents Adolf Hitler
© FBIPROBE: FBI spooks interviewed a man who claimed Hitler was in Argentina.
Other articles are contained in the files packet revealing claims that Hitler was alive - including from Nazi ambassador Otto Abetz.

Investigations into Hitler's feared survival after World War 2 continued well into the 50s, with much attention focused on South America.

It is known Argentina did harbour some Nazi war criminals who used so-called "ratlines" - a network of preplanned escape routes - to flee the collapse of the Third Reich.

And just two years ago a massive treasure room of Nazi artifacts was uncovered in a Buenos Aires, including a bust of Hitler.

Researchers said the find "could offer irrefutable proof" of the presence of further "top leaders" hiding out in Argentina after World War 2.

FBI documents offer a fascinating insight into the very real fear that Hitler had survived World War 2.

Conspiracy theorists have often claimed Hitler lived due to the bizarre circumstance of his death.

Red Army divisions were closing in on Berlin when Hitler shot himself, and then his body was subsequently burned by Soviet soldiers.

Russian authorities also claimed Hitler was still alive - with Joseph Stalin outright denying his death to US President Harry Truman.

However, subsequent Western-led investigations suggest the Fuhrer was indeed dead - despite alleged sightings recorded by the CIA and FBI.

Theories persist to this day, and even two years ago a fake news story about a man claiming to be Hitler went viral.

Conspiracy theorists have claimed Nazi leaders fled to South America along with troves of stolen treasures from Europe.

It is even claimed a surviving wing of the SS was set up there, and continued to plot a resurgent Fourth Reich.

Hitler's survival was probed by the CIA in the 50s after a man claiming to be former Nazi officers came forward with a photo of Adolf.

Conventional wisdom however is content the Nazi leader did die in the Berlin 74 years ago - and subsequent testing has proved his corpse is genuine.