The ultimately objective of the famous D-Day invasion of 6 June, 1944 was not only to overwhelm Nazi Germany, but it also pertained to the capturing of ‘Der Fuehrer’. And as an ingenious tactical means to achieve that ambitious objective, the Office of Strategic Services hatched a simple plan on the very next day of the momentous invasion. This entailed six different ‘potential’ guises of Hitler, concocted by Eddie Senz, a New York-based make-up artist. Allied soldiers could use the six variant portraits to identify the dictator, in case he prearranged to escape from the their clutches.

Interestingly, the images were not released to the public till the 1990’s, until Der Speigel uncovered the ‘doctored’ photographs and had them published. The US National Archives also joined in the bandwagon, and made these Second World War relics accessible in a unrestricted manner.

Images courtesy of Reuters

Via: HistoryExtra