Dictators, known for their brutal and unforgivable actions, often evoke strong reactions, even after their deaths. Their bodies have been subjects of fascination or revulsion, with some being embalmed for public viewing, stolen from graves, or moved between burial sites. Here's a look at what became of the remains of some of history's most infamous leaders.
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00:00Dictators, known for their brutal and unforgivable actions, often evoke strong reactions, even
00:06after their deaths.
00:07Their bodies have been subjects of fascination or revulsion, with some being embalmed for
00:11public viewing, stolen from graves, or moved between burial sites.
00:15Here's a look at what became of the remains of some of history's most infamous leaders.
00:20As his dictatorship collapsed, Adolf Hitler, along with his wife Eva Braun, took their
00:25own lives on April 30, 1945.
00:28Determined not to suffer the same fate as Mussolini, Hitler ordered that their bodies
00:32be burned.
00:33On May 5, Russian troops discovered their charred remains.
00:36After photographing the bodies, the Soviets reportedly buried them in a secret location,
00:41later moving the remains to another undisclosed site, where they stayed for 25 years.
00:46In 1975, fearing the burial site might become a fascist shrine, the head of the KGB ordered
00:51the remains to be exhumed.
00:53The corpses were incinerated, and their ashes scattered in the Biedritz River.
00:57However, the Soviets kept a portion of Hitler's skull and jaw.
01:00There has been some controversy regarding the skull, with some claiming it belonged
01:04to a woman, though Moscow denies this.
01:06The teeth, however, have been conclusively identified as Hitler's, and his remains are
01:11now held in the Russian State Archive.
01:13Pol Pot, leader of Cambodia's Khmer Rouge regime from 1975 to 1979, oversaw the deaths
01:20of approximately 2 million people during his brutal rule.
01:23Even after being ousted by the Vietnamese, he continued leading Khmer Rouge guerrilla
01:27forces from the jungle.
01:28However, by 1997, a power struggle within the organization led to his downfall, and
01:34he was placed under house arrest by his own followers.
01:36Pol Pot died in his sleep on April 15, 1998, from heart failure.
01:41According to the Phnom Penh Post, this marked the end of his infamous reign.
01:45His death came hours after the Khmer Rouge leadership had decided to hand him over to
01:49an international tribunal.
01:50Rumors spread, fueled by the timing of his death, suggesting that Pol Pot may have taken
01:55his own life to avoid capture, as reported by the BBC.
01:58After a brief embalming and public display to confirm his death, his body was ultimately
02:02cremated, bypassing any autopsy.
02:05After Kim Jong-il's sudden death on December 17, 2011, while traveling by train, his son
02:11Kim Jong-un quickly assumed control of North Korea.
02:15Kim Jong-il's body was embalmed and placed in the Kumsusan Memorial Palace, where it
02:19was displayed in a manner similar to other communist leaders, particularly Mao Zedong.
02:24His body was laid under a red blanket, illuminated by a spotlight, with the room cast in red
02:29light to emphasize his importance.
02:31In 2012, the public was given access to his preserved body, along with personal items
02:36that reflected his leadership, including his favorite possessions.
02:39This display was intended to maintain his image as the eternal leader of North Korea,
02:44continuing the tradition of honoring deceased leaders in a highly controlled and symbolic manner.
02:49ABC News reported the numerous personal belongings on display included the parka, sunglasses,
02:54and pointy platform shoes he famously wore in the last decades of his life.
02:59Kim Jong-il's body, located just a few floors from his father Kim Il-sung's, is now available
03:04for public viewing, continuing the family's tradition of preserving and displaying their remains.
03:09Mao Zedong, the founder of communist China, died suddenly on September 9, 1976.
03:14Though he had requested cremation, his widow, Zhang Qing, and top officials decided to
03:19embalm him, following the precedent set by figures like Lenin and Ho Chi Minh.
03:23The embalming process was challenging, but eventually Mao's body was placed in a grand
03:27mausoleum in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
03:30In Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, his preserved body rests under a red flag, adorned with
03:35the hammer and sickle, his face eerily illuminated by a red light, where it continues to be on display.
03:41After Saddam Hussein was hanged on December 30, 2006, his body was quickly flown by U.S.
03:46aircraft to his hometown of Alja near Tikrit, Iraq.
03:50In 2007, he was buried in an ornate mausoleum.
03:53However, due to concerns over potential desecration, his remains were relocated to a secret location
03:59in early 2014.
04:00This decision proved necessary, as in August 2014, his tomb was indeed attacked and vandalized.
04:06Shiite militiamen broke into the gravesite, tore down photographs of the former Iraqi
04:11leader, and then set the area on fire.
04:13In March 2015, ongoing conflict in the region led to the near-total destruction of the mausoleum,
04:19as reported by the BBC, further erasing any trace of Saddam Hussein's final resting place.
04:25Following his victory in the Spanish Civil War, Francisco Franco ruled Spain as a fascist
04:29dictator until his death in 1975.
04:32After his passing, his body was embalmed and laid to rest in the Valley of the Fallen,
04:36a controversial mausoleum located northwest of Madrid.
04:40This site, originally intended as a memorial for all who died in the Civil War, holds the
04:45remains of both Republican and Nationalist fighters, symbolizing Spain's divisive history.
04:50The BBC reports that, with Franco's body buried there, the site is a shrine for Spain's far
04:56right to pay homage to the dictator.
04:58The Valley of the Fallen became a symbol of division, with many viewing it as a shrine
05:02to Franco's dictatorship.
05:04In response, the Spanish government decided in 2019 to exhume his remains and relocate
05:09them, despite opposition from his family and right-wing factions.
05:13That October, Franco's body was reburied at El Pardo Mingurubio Cemetery, situated near
05:18the El Pardo Palace, his former residence in Madrid, marking a controversial but significant
05:23step in Spain's efforts to reconcile its past.
05:25As Allied forces advanced through Italy, Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci,
05:31attempted to flee to Switzerland on April 25, 1945, accompanied by a few German guards.
05:37Disguised in German uniforms, Mussolini's notorious reputation made him instantly recognizable.
05:43Two days later, they were captured by Communist partisans and executed by firing squad on
05:48April 28, 1945.
05:51Their bodies were hung upside down in Milan, where a furious crowd desecrated them.
05:55After this grim public display, Mussolini's body was buried in an unmarked grave.
06:00But in 1946, neo-fascists stole it.
06:03The theft was quickly thwarted by authorities, and the body was hidden for years in a Milan
06:08monastery.
06:09In 1957, Mussolini's wife successfully had his remains transferred to the family mausoleum
06:15in Predapio, where his tomb continues to attract about 100,000 visitors annually.
06:20Augusto Pinochet, who led a military coup in 1973, ruled Chile from that year until
06:251990, overseeing widespread human rights violations.
06:29Even after stepping down as president, he remained the army's commander-in-chief until
06:331998, when he was arrested in London following Spain's request.
06:37At 83, his frailty and declining health were cited as reasons to avoid trial for crimes
06:42including human rights abuses and corruption.
06:44However, after prolonged legal battles, Pinochet was ultimately set to stand trial.
06:49Before proceedings could begin, he passed away on December 10, 2006.
06:53Though denied a state funeral, he received a military one.
06:57His body was cremated, and his ashes were returned to his family to be laid to rest
07:01in Santiago.
07:02Joseph Stalin's death in 1953 marked the end of an era, but his funeral was steeped in
07:08grandeur, reflecting his status as the Soviet Union's revered leader.
07:12For three days, his body lay on display at the Hall of Columns, where thousands gathered
07:16to pay their respects.
07:17Tragically, the chaos of the crowds led to the deaths of around 500 people.
07:22The Soviet Union initially planned to preserve and display Stalin's body, much like that
07:27of Vladimir Lenin.
07:28After seven months of meticulous embalming, Stalin's body was placed in Moscow's Red Square
07:33next to Lenin's mausoleum in November 1953.
07:36However, as time passed and the Soviet regime began to openly acknowledge Stalin's violent
07:41and oppressive reign, sentiment shifted.
07:43In 1961, only eight years after his death, Stalin's body was discreetly removed from
07:48the mausoleum.
07:49His body was buried 300 feet away in a secluded spot marked by a modest gravestone reading
07:54J.V.
07:55Stalin, 1879-1953.
07:58In 1970, a bust of the dictator was added, but his once-glorious legacy was permanently
08:02overshadowed by the atrocities he committed.
08:05Once hailed as a hero for leading Zimbabwe's fight for independence, Robert Mugabe's legacy
08:10became overshadowed by his 30-year authoritarian rule.
08:13Despite claiming that only God could remove him from power, Mugabe was ousted in 2017
08:19at age 93 after being forced out by his own party.
08:22In his final years, he split his time between receiving cancer treatment in Singapore and
08:27residing in Harare, Zimbabwe's capital.
08:30Mugabe passed away in Singapore on September 6, 2019, at the age of 95.
08:35Following a state funeral, which drew limited attendance, a dispute arose over the burial
08:40location, with tensions between the Zimbabwean government and Mugabe's family regarding
08:45his final resting place.
08:46But it's also the moment they'll make their final judgement of the man and his legacy.
08:52The Zimbabwean government initially sought to bury Robert Mugabe at the National Heroes
08:56Acre in Harare, but eventually respected his family's preference for his burial in Kutama,
09:01his rural hometown.
09:03Despite this, traditional chiefs have persistently called for his exhumation and reburial at
09:07the National Heroes Shrine.
09:09As reported by CNN, Nikolai Ceausescu, who ruled Romania for 25 years, was overthrown
09:15during a violent anti-communist revolt in 1989.
09:18Attempting to escape by helicopter, he and his wife, Elena, were betrayed by their pilot.
09:23Captured, they were executed by firing squad on Christmas Day at a military base near Bucharest.
09:28The execution, which included the couple pleading for mercy, was filmed and shockingly broadcast
09:33on French television, showing the brutal and heartbreaking moment of their deaths.
09:37Ceausescu was a dictator.
09:40If you consider all the atrocities he committed, I'd say only one charge was possible.
09:45Crimes against humanity.
09:47After their execution, Nikolai and Elena Ceausescu were said to be buried 65 feet apart in the
09:53Gensea Military Cemetery.
09:55Over time, suspicions arose about whether both bodies were truly there.
09:59In July 2010, following persistent requests from their children, authorities exhumed the
10:04bodies for DNA testing.
10:05By November, it was confirmed that one set of remains belonged to Nikolai, though insufficient
10:10material prevented confirmation of Elena's identity.
10:14Despite the uncertainty regarding his mother's remains, Valentin, the couple's surviving
10:18child, expressed satisfaction with the results after DNA tests were completed.
10:23Muammar Gaddafi, captured by National Transitional Council fighters on October 20, 2011, was
10:29executed shortly after, dying from gunshot wounds in an ambulance en route to a hospital
10:34in Misurata.
10:35His body, widely reviled by many Libyans, was placed unceremoniously on a filthy mattress
10:40in a meat storage freezer.
10:41Over the next four days, crowds came to confirm his death as leaders debated his burial.
10:46Despite requests from Gaddafi's tribe to bury him in his hometown of Sirte, the NTC decided
10:52to secretly bury him in the desert, far from his supporters, to prevent his grave from
10:56becoming a site of reverence.