Philippe Charlier
Philippe Charlier is a French coroner, forensic pathologist and paleopathologist. In addition to various significant French figures, he has analyzed the dental remains of Adolf Hitler, citing them as confirming the dictator's death in Berlin amid various fringe theories.
Early life and education
Charlier was born in Meaux on 25 June 1977. His father is a doctor, his mother a pharmacist. He was raised with an awareness of classical antiquity and at the age of 6 he dug up a mole's skeleton, followed by a human skull at the age of 10. He studied archaeology and art history at the Michelet Institute and was part of the forensic department at Raymond Poincaré University Hospital.Work
Charlier's work has focused on the remains of Richard Lionheart, Agnès Sorel, Fulk III, Count of Anjou, Diane de Poitiers, relics of Louis IX scattered in France, and potential relics of Joan of Arc. In 2011, he helped authenticate the identification of Henry IV's head.Hitler's dental remains
In 2017, Charlier reconfirmed the authenticity of Adolf Hitler's dental remains, the only remains of the Nazi dictator ever confirmed to have been found, finding the maxillar bridge and mandibular fragment to agree with their description by the Soviets. The remains were exhaustively matched to Hitler's complicated dentistry, showing a lack of meat particles—in agreement with his diet. Charlier's team did not detect gunpowder residue, implying that Hitler did not die by a gunshot through the mouth. Deposits of a blue powder were suggested as possibly showing that a cyanide pill was taken.Charlier cites the teeth as confirming Hitler's death amid various fringe theories that he survived by fleeing to South America. The pathologist disregarded 2009 DNA analysis revealing that a gunshot-damaged occipital bone fragment actually belonged to a woman. He has also bolstered the propagandistic Soviet account of an alleged autopsy, while not addressing the possibility of partial mandibulectomy and deception by eyewitnesses.