In the last days of World War II, Adolf Hitler
and his closest associates had sought shelter in a com-
mand bunker before the fall of Berlin. He knew that
defeat was close at hand and that he must prepare for
his own death. Here is a detailed description of how he
ended his life.
THE DEATH OF HITLER
William L. Shirer
During the afternoon of April 29 , news arrived at the bunker where
Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun were separated from the outside world. Mus-
solini, Hitder's fellow fascist dictator and partner in aggression, had met
his end, and it had been shared by his mistress, Clara Petacci.
They had been caught by Italian guerrillas on April 27 while trying to
escape to Switzerland and executed after a brief trial. On the Saturday night
of April 28 the bodies were brought to Milan in a truck and dumped on the
town square. The next day they were strung up by the heels from lamp-
posts and later cut down so that throughout the rest of Sunday, they lay in
the gutter. On May Day Benito Mussolini was buried beside his mistress in
the paupers' plot of a Milan cemetery. In such a horrible climax of degrada-
tion Mussolini and Fascism passed into history.
It is not known how many of the details of Mussolini's shabby end
were communicated to the Fuehrer. One can only guess that if he heard
many of them he was only strengthened in his resolve not to allow himself
or his bride to be made a spectacle-not their live selves or their bodies.
Shortly after receiving the news of Mussolini's death, Hitler began to
make the final preparations for his. He had his favorite Alsatian dog poi-
soned and two other dogs in the household shot. Then he called in his two
remaining women secretaries and handed them capsules of poison to use
if they wished to when the advancing Russians broke in. He was sorry, he
said, not to be able to give them a better farewell gift, and he expressed
his appreciation for their long and loyal service.
Evening had now come, the last of Adolf Hitler's life. He instructed
Mrs. Junge, one of his secretaries, to destroy the remaining papers in his
files, and he sent out word that no one in the bunker was to go to bed until
further orders. This was interpreted by all as meaning that he judged the
time had come to make his farewells. But it was not until long after mid-
night, at about 2:30 AM of April 30, as several witnesses recall, that the
Fuehrer emerged from his private quarters and appeared in the general din-
ing passage where some 20 persons, mostly the women members of his
group of associates, were assembled. He walked down the line shaking
hands with each and mumbling a few words that were inaudible. There was
a heavy film of moisture on his eyes and, as Mrs. Junge remembered,
"They seemed to be looking far away, beyond the walls of the bunker."
After he retired, a curious thing happened. The tension which had
been building up to an almost unendurable point in the bunker broke, and
several persons went to the canteen - to dance. The weird party soon be-
came so noisy that word was sent from the Fuehrer's quarters requesting
more quiet. The Russians might come in a few hours and kill them all --
though most of them were already thinking of how they could escape --
but in the meantime; for a brief spell, now that the Fuehrer's strict control of
their lives was over, they would seek pleasure where and how they could
find it. The sense of relief among these people seems to have been enor-
mous, and they danced on through the night.
Berlin was no longer defensible. The Russians already had occupied al-
most all of the city. It was now merely a question of the defense of the
Chancellery. It too was doomed, as Hitler and Bormann learned at the situ-
ation conference at noon on April 30,the last that was ever to take place.
The Russians were just a block away. The hour for Adolf Hitler to carry
out his resolve had come.
His bride apparently had no appetite for lunch that day, and Hitler
took his meal with his two secretaries and with his vegetarian cook, who
perhaps did not realize that she had prepared his last meal. While they
were finishing their lunch at about 2: 30 PM, Erich Kempka, the Fuehrer's
chauffeur, who was in charge of the Chancellery garage, received an order
to deliver immediately 200 liters of gasoline in cans to the Chancellery
gar-den. Kempka had some difficulty in rounding up so much fuel, but he
managed to collect some 180 liters and with the help of three men carried
it to the emergency exit of the bunker.
While the oil to provide the fire for the Viking funeral was being col-
lected, Hitler, having done with his last meal; fetched Eva Braun for an-
other and final farewell to his most intimate collaborators: Dr. Goebbels,
Generals Krebs and Burgdorf, the secretaries, and Miss Manzialy, the
cook.
They finished their farewells and retired to their rooms. Outside in the
passageway, Dr. Goebbels, Bormann and a few others waited. In a few
moments a revolver shot was heard. They waited for a second one, but
there was only silence. After a decent interval they quietly entered the
Fuehrer's quarters. They found the body of Adolf Hitler sprawled on the
sofa dripping blood. He had shot himself in the mouth. At his side lay Eva
Braun. Two revolvers had fallen to the floor, but the bride had not used
hers. She had swallowed poison.
It was 3: 30 PM on Monday, April 30, 1945, ten days after Adolf
Hitler's fifty-sixth birthday, and twelve years and three months to the day
since he had become Chancellor of Germany and had instituted the Third
Reich. It would survive him but a week.
Click the button to listen to the pronunciations of new words
New Words
bunker n.
strongly-built shelter for soldiers, esp. one built underground 地堡
fascist a.
法西斯主义的
n.
法西斯分子
dictator n.
a ruler who has absolute power over a country, esp. one who has obtained such power hy force 独裁者
partner n.
伙伴
aggression n.
the starting of a war, fight, or quarrel without just cause 侵略
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