Nine weird myths about Hitler the Nazi dictator you probably never knew

Germany: Never a stranger to the rumour mills, Adolf Hitler enjoys more mythology than most

1. Living it up in Argentina

Most believe the dictator ended his days in his bunker by committing suicide, but one theory suggests he actually lived to a ripe old age in sunny Argentina. According to British journalists Gerrard Williams and Simon Dunstan in their book Grey Wolf: The Escape Of Adolf Hitler , Hitler was an old man when he died there in 1962. They say skull fragments which were used to confirm his death of a gunshot wound to the head, actually belong to a young woman.

2. Hitler only had one testicle

It has its own song, so few of us are likely to forget this particularly gratifying Hitler myth – that the dictator only had one testicle. And reports as recent as 2008 continue to insist it is true. They are based on accounts by a German army medic who apparently saved Hitler's life during WW1, and reveal Hitler may have lost a testicle during the Battle of the Somme in 1916.

3. Hitler in space

Hitler and his Nazi party had a base on the moon as early as 1942, if we're to believe conspiracy theorists. Online blogs argue the party used "larger exoatmospheric rocket saucers of the Miethe and Schriever type" to land - and generously offered the base to the Americans and Russians.

4. UFO attack

On the same tack, theorists also claim Nazis built UFOs which currently survive in secret underground bases in Antarctica, South America or the United States. It's said Hitler's plan was to launch a UFO attack on both London and New York.

5. Hitler's gold

Hitler's will is believed to have massively underestimated the extent of his personal and party wealth. It's said vast quantities of Nazi gold is actually buried in Lake Toplitz high up in the Austrian Alps. It's also been reported that after the war, former SS members employed divers to try and find it, as well as a number of sealed tubes said to contain the details of secret Nazi bank accounts in Switzerland.

6. Veggie Hitler

Bizarrely, according to the rumour mills, bloodthirsty Hitler was a vegetarian, and was supposedly turned off meat eating following the autopsy of a former girlfriend (and half-niece) Geli Raubal, who committed suicide by shooting herself in the heart.

7. The tash

Hitler's moustache has been the subject of much speculation over the years. Apparently he was advised to lose his trademark by Dr Sedgwick, his press secretary, in 1923, but is reported to have said: “If it is not the fashion now, it will be later because I wear it!” Some say he was inspired by Charlie Chaplin, others say it has a practical origin – when, as a WW1 soldier, he was ordered to trim his whiskers to accommodate his gas mask.

8. Sweet tooth

Although far from sweet himself, Hitler is known to have had a sweet tooth. He's believed to have eaten up to two pounds of chocolate per day, and even added sugar to red wine. A few more spoonfuls could have changed history.

9. Superstition

It's believed Hitler was a particularly superstitious man who would never take off his coat in public for fear something awful would befall him.