Is Adolf Hitler in Hell?

Few people would disagree with the statement that Adolf Hitler was an evil man. In fact, many would argue that he was the most evil man in history. Though history is full of wicked men and women, few were responsible for as much death and destruction as Hitler. 

Throughout the Holocaust, which Hitler meticulously planned, 11 million people were killed. Of those, 6 million were Jews and another 5 million were of other groups (including Soviet war prisoners and other minorities that Hitler deemed racially impure).  

Hitler was also responsible for unleashing the horror of World War II, which resulted in the deaths of millions of soldiers and civilians. 

For that reason, many assume Adolf Hitler must be burning in hell at this very moment. After all, if there is a hell, who else would be more deserving of its torment than Hitler?

But does the Bible reveal Adolf Hitler is currently burning in hell? Does the Bible teach that the most evil people go to hell and are tormented forever? 

Is Hitler in hell?

First, we must note that what Adolf Hitler did for the last 12 years of his life was unquestionably evil and sin. There is no glossing over the wicked fruits of his life. The Bible defines sin as “the transgression [breaking] of the law” (1 John 3:4, King James Version). Hitler transgressed the Sixth Commandment against murder millions of times over. 

The Bible also teaches that hatred is murder (1 John 3:15). There is no doubt that Hitler’s actions against the Jews of Europe were based on pure, unadulterated hatred. His manifesto, Mein Kampf, makes his irrational hatred against the Jews and others absolutely clear. Even before he ordered a single killing, Hitler was guilty of murder in his heart. 

Hitler, at this moment, is simply dead. He’s totally unconscious. He has no thoughts. He is not being tortured in some alternate dimension called hell. Since Hitler is so clearly guilty of sin, on a massive scale, does that mean he was condemned to hell the moment he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on April 30, 1945? 

Many are surprised to learn that the place where they believe Adolf Hitler now resides—an ever-burning hell of eternal torture for sinners—is a myth. This doctrine ignores the plainest scripture in the entire Bible about the ultimate fate of human beings: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, emphasis added).

This scripture teaches us that ultimately there are only two results for the decisions we make: life or death. There is no third consequence of eternal torment in hell. 

Adolf Hitler is dead. The Bible teaches that the “dead know nothing” (Ecclesiastes 9:5). That means that Hitler, at this moment, is simply dead. He’s totally unconscious. He has no thoughts. He is not being tortured in some alternate dimension called hell. To learn more about the Bible’s teaching on hell, read “What Is Hell?”

But is that the end of the story for Adolf Hitler and for all the other human beings who are considered evil and have died throughout history?

What about all the victims of evil men—the millions who have died at the hands of history’s worst dictators? Will they live again?

Is there a future for the dead?

The Bible reveals the dead, including wicked people like Adolf Hitler and the victims of their evil acts, will live again.

The Bible reveals the dead, including wicked people like Adolf Hitler and the victims of their evil acts, will live again. Rather than teaching that after death humans immediately go to heaven or hell, the Bible teaches that humans will be resurrected.

There is a first resurrection for God’s faithful upon Christ’s return, but surprising to many, there is also a second resurrection for those who never had the opportunity to be called by God in this lifetime.

And, there is also a third resurrection—a resurrection to be thrown into the lake of fire.

It is God’s prerogative to judge who will be in the second resurrection and who will be in the third resurrection. We human beings may have opinions, but we cannot know now. We can take great comfort that those decisions are in our all-knowing God’s capable hands, and not ours.

God’s love for humanity 

God loves all people and wants them to repent. 

This statement takes nothing away from the gravity of the evil, selfish and disgusting acts Adolf Hitler and others committed throughout their lifetimes.  

It does express a truth found in one of the most quoted verses in the Bible: “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

That hope applies to all the victims of evil people throughout the years. The millions of people who died because of Hitler’s twisted mind and ideas will live again. Yes, people like Anne Frank, an innocent young girl who needlessly died as a consequence of Hitler’s evil ideology, will live again in a world where men like Hitler will have no power or ability to harm her.

The truth is that God desires all human beings to be saved from death (2 Peter 3:9).

An overlooked resurrection

The Bible reveals that the majority of the world is now blinded to the truth of God (Matthew 13:13; Romans 11:7; Revelation 12:9). But there is a future time when all who were not called to know the true God in this age—who were blinded to God’s truth throughout their lives—will be resurrected again to physical life (Ezekiel 37:5-6). 

This is the hope and future of all the people who have died at the hands of history’s most evil dictators.

The assumption of many, including many of the very people who will be resurrected, is that their “hope is lost” and that they will be “cut off” from God for all eternity (verse 11).

But God says their hope is not lost. They are not eternally cut off.

God will resurrect them and perform a great miracle. Speaking to the ancient Israelites (and all mankind by extension), God promises that in the future, “I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live” (verse 14). He will offer these billions of human beings the opportunity to repent of their sins and receive God’s Holy Spirit. As well, “the books” (of the Bible) will be “opened” to these people (Revelation 20:12)—allowing them to understand God’s truth, which they had been blind to before. 

At that time, evil, twisted and sick human beings will have the opportunity to be healed through the combined effects of God’s mercy, Holy Spirit and Word!

In the Bible, one of the most wicked and corrupt groups of people were the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. They were so morally bankrupt, selfish and sexually perverse that God decreed they needed to be physically destroyed (Genesis 19). But despite how evil they were, Jesus taught that even they will have an opportunity to live again and repent (Matthew 10:15; 11:24; Mark 6:11). 

God did not create mankind to send the majority to hell for all eternity. He created mankind with the potential to be in His family, and He has a systematic plan to give that opportunity to all—the small, the great, the good and the bad. 

The people of Sodom and Gomorrah will live again in a future resurrection. They will be a part of the “small and great” who will stand before God and have “the books” of the Bible opened to their understanding (Revelation 20:12). (To learn more about the truth of this resurrection to physical life, read “What Is the Great White Throne Judgment?”)

If those of Sodom and Gomorrah will live again and have an opportunity to repent, isn’t it possible that God will also extend that same opportunity to other evil people like Adolf Hitler?

What will happen to those who refuse to repent?

Of course, we should also remember that the Bible talks about people who are incorrigibly wicked who will be part of a third resurrection—a resurrection to condemnation. Those who have rejected God’s calling—either in this lifetime or in the second resurrection—and are incorrigibly wicked and unrepentant will in this resurrection be sentenced to “the second death” in “the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14). 

The Bible does show that some will ultimately refuse to repent. Some have allowed their minds to become so twisted and warped by sin that they will remain incorrigible and refuse to change. What does the Bible reveal will happen to those people? 

The answer is given in two clear Bible scriptures:

• Malachi 4:1, 3: “‘For behold, the day is coming, burning like an oven, and all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up,’ says the LORD of hosts, ‘that will leave them neither root nor branch . . . You shall trample the wicked, for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day that I do this,’ says the LORD of hosts.”
• Revelation 20:14-15: “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Eternal death will be the ultimate penalty for all who grit their teeth and refuse to repent. 

If Hitler is hardened in his unrepentance or rejects God’s calling, this will be his punishment. 

It’s impossible for us to know if Hitler’s mind reached a point of such depravity that he will refuse to repent. His ultimate fate is in the hands of Jesus Christ, who will “judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31) and knows the heart (Acts 15:8). 

What we can say for sure is that Adolf Hitler is not being tormented in hell right now. 

To learn more about this important topic, read “Did Jesus Teach That Non-Christians Go to Hell?” and “What Does the Bible Say About the Second and Third Resurrections?”

Date Posted: April 26, 2023