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star wars - When/How does the Empire say Anakin Skywalker died?


According to official Imperial records/propaganda, when & how did Anakin Skywalker die?


Given that the identity of Darth Vader is a secret in-universe, we also know that the galaxy at large believes Anakin Skywalker was a Jedi Knight who died during The Clone Wars. What is the "official" location and cause of death for Anakin Skywalker? Official pre-Empire records would have shown he was located on Coruscant when Order 66 was executed, so I imagine some doctoring would be needed to have him killed elsewhere along with the other Jedi. Or perhaps he was supposedly killed at the Jedi Temple massacre?


I'll accept any answer that shows an official location/time/cause of death as per Disney canon or Legends continuity (not Elseworlds/Tales, though).



Answer



Wookieepedia's article on Anakin cites the Legends novel Luke Skywalker and the Shadows of Mindor regarding the widely accepted story of Anakin's "death". This book was written by Matthew Stover (who also wrote the Revenge of the Sith novelization), so Stover's explanation is likely what Lucas had in mind. @Richard has helpfully provided a quote from the book:



“Kid, in the Clone Wars, everybody knew him. He was the greatest hero in the galaxy. When he died, it was like the end of the universe.” Nick’s gut twisted again at the memory. “It bloody well was the end of the Republic.”


Luke stopped. He looked like something hurt. “When he … died?”


Nick came to a halt gratefully, bending over with hands on his knees while he tried to catch his breath. “Way I heard it, he was the last Jedi standing in the Temple Massacre—when Vader’s Five Hundred First went in and killed all the Padawans.”



“What?”


“That’s where your father was killed: defending children in the Jedi Temple. He was not only the best of the Jedi, he was the last. Nobody ever told you the story?”


Luke’s eyes were closed against some inexpressible pain. “That’s … not the way I heard it.”



This is may not be exactly the Empire's official story for Anakin's "death" since it portrays the stormtroopers in a bad light (killing mere Padawans). However, since this story is widely accepted (Nick is surprised that no one told it to Luke), it's likely that the Empire told everyone that Anakin was just one of many Jedi who died in the attack on the Jedi Temple by the 501st.


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