Former local man was expert on Nazi war criminals

The Daily Inter Lake

A former Kalispell man who became a leading authority on Nazi war criminal Rudolf

Hess died recently in Berlin, Germany.

A former Kalispell man who became a leading authority on Nazi war criminal Rudolf Hess died recently in Berlin, Germany.

Lt. Col. Eugene Bird, who was 79 when he died Oct. 28, was best known for his research on Hess, the "deputy Fuehrer" to Adolf Hitler, and the resulting book, "Prisoner No. 7: Rudolf Hess."

Bird lived in Kalispell during the early 1940s after his family relocated here from Lambert. He was drafted into the Army at age 18, and as a young lieutenant was assigned as the first American guard officer at Spandau Prison in August 1947. Seven remaining Nazi leaders, including Hess, were imprisoned at Spandau.

Seventeen years later Bird was named commandant at Spandau Prison, and served in that post from 1964 to 1972, when he was forced to resign his job when the Soviets learned he was writing a book about Hess in violation of prison regulations.

Bird was convinced that Hess, the lone prisoner after other Nazis completed their terms and were released, became a political pawn of the Soviets. In a 1981 interview with Daily Inter Lake Managing Editor Dave Oliveria, Bird said the Soviets blocked all attempts at early release because "he knows too much" about Russian involvement in World War II.

During Hess' 40-year imprisonment at Spandau, Bird was the only person he'd allow to speak to him, and through the years, Bird gained Hess' confidence and befriended him.

"I wrote the book in protest, not in sympathy of Nazi crimes," Bird said in the 1981 Inter Lake interview. "Hess was one of the few among the Nazi hierarchy who tried to change the war situation. He's the least guilty of the Nazis, although there's no question that he has blood on his hands. He should have been tried and sentenced."

Bird's book was published in 1974 and became an international best seller. He later disputed Hess' apparent suicide in 1987 at age 92, suggesting Hess was murdered on the prison grounds and that crucial evidence was immediately destroyed.

The Daily Inter Lake followed Bird's career through the decades, writing at length about his career.

Bird was posted to Fort Ord, Calif., until the outbreak of the Korean War, and in 1951 was assigned to the United National Command in Korea, where he served as infantry tactical and technical adviser to some 22 UN nationals. Later in life, Bird owned and operated two chemical companies in Germany, where he settled in 1960 and continued to live until his death.

Bird was also a well-known Christian evangelist who delivered his own testimony to crowds worldwide. He was among the prominent officials profiled for their faith in a German book, "Christus Aktuell." Bird devoted his life to following the teachings of Christ in 1939 after his younger brother died from accidentally drinking kerosene at the family farm in Lambert.

Among the national and international awards Bird accumulated over his lifetime was recognition from the American Biographical Institute, which named him as Man of the Year in 1991 and Man of the Decade in 1992.

Local survivors include two sisters, Marilyn Meyers of Columbia Falls and Patricia Keeler of Libby.