Hitler's death

:For fiction about Hitler's death see Hitler in popular culture

Standard account of Hitler's death

Hitler relocated to the Führerbunker on January 16, 1945, where he presided over the rapid disintegration of his Third Reich before the Allies advancing from both east and west. By late April, Soviet forces were fighting within Berlin itself and Hitler began making preparations for his suicide. At 4:00 am on April 29, he finished his last will and testament.

Related Topics:
Führerbunker - January 16 - 1945 - Third Reich - Allies - Soviet - April 29 - His last will and testament

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Shortly after midnight on the morning of April 30, 1945, Hitler married Eva Braun in a small civil ceremony in a map room within the bunker complex. He then dictated his personal will and political testament to secretary Traudl Junge before retiring to bed at around 4:00 am.

Related Topics:
April 30 - 1945 - Eva Braun - Traudl Junge

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That afternoon Hitler had a short meeting with Party Secretary Bormann before eating a small lunch. Hitler and Eva Braun then said their personal farewells to members of the Führerbunker staff and fellow occupants, including the Goebbels family, Bormann, the secretaries, and several military officers. At around 2:30 pm, Adolf and Eva Braun went into Hitler's personal study.

Related Topics:
Bormann - Goebbels

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Some witnesses later reported hearing a loud gunshot at around 3:30 pm (the Goebbels' young son is said to have declared, "A direct hit!" thinking it was a bomb overhead). After waiting a few minutes, Hitler's valet, Heinz Linge, with Bormann at his side, opened the door to the study. Linge later stated he immediately noted a scent of burned almonds in the small study, a common observation made in the presence of prussic acid, a form of cyanide. The Hitlers were both sitting on a small sofa, Eva on the left, Adolf to the right. Eva's body slumped away from Adolf's. Hitler appeared to have shot himself in the right temple with a 7.65 mm pistol which lay at his feet. Blood was dripping from the wound to his right temple and had made a large stain on the left arm of the sofa. Eva had no visible physical wounds and Linge assumed she had poisoned herself.

Related Topics:
Heinz Linge - Prussic acid - Cyanide

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Several witnesses stated the two bodies were carried to a small, bombed-out garden outside the bunker complex, where they were doused with petrol and set alight by Linge and members of Hitler's personal SS bodyguard. The SS guards and Linge later noted the fire did not completely destroy the corpses, but Soviet shelling of the bunker compound made further cremation attempts impossible and the remains were later covered up in a shallow bomb crater.

Related Topics:
Petrol - SS

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