Osama bin Laden and Adolf Hitler had some attributes in common. Both were charismatic leaders to their respective followers, both had their own visions for a new world order, and both were convinced their cause and their methods were absolutely right. Hitler and bin Laden were widely hated and feared and are now regarded as two of the most evil men of the last century. Another similarity between Hitler and bin Laden is that their deaths were both announced on 1 May, 66 years apart. Hitler had committed suicide on 30 April 1945, but his death was announced the following day. Bin Laden was killed by U.S. military forces shortly after 1 a.m. (PKT) on 2 May 2011, but due to time zone differences, his death was announced in the U.S. late in the evening of 1 May 2011.
Although accounts of his suicide vary, Adolf Hitler killed himself either by taking a cyanide pill or shooting himself (or possibly both), when it became obvious the Soviet Army was about to enter Berlin. Two days before they both committed suicide, Hitler married his longtime mistress Eva Braun in the underground Führerbunker. Because of the chaos in Berlin at the time, Hitler's death was not announced until the next day.
Osama bin Laden was hiding out in a compound in Pakistan when U.S. Navy SEALS infiltrated the structure and killed the Al-Qaeda leader.
Facts about the deaths of Hitler and Bin Laden:
- Osama bin Laden's body was sent to Afghanistan for positive identification, and then was taken to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson and buried at sea in accordance with Muslim practices.
- Adolf Hitler was not officially declared dead until 1956.
- The bodies of Hitler and Braun were cremated in the garden above the bunker, but Russian soldiers reported recovering some of the remains.
