Hitler’s death: a secret wedding, a party with wine and death pills

As he struggled to dodge bullets in a makeshift trench in central Berlin, Walter Wagner was surprised by a call. Usually a municipal official, he had joined the last lines of defense which tried to contain the furious advance of the Soviets who conquered the city fighting street by street. But on the night of April 28 to 29, 1945, in the last days of the Second World War, Wagner went to look for him at the front to entrust him with a particular task: should officiate the marriage Adolf Hitler.

The Führer spent hours in a bunker, surrounded by his closest circle . After several days of meetings with his generals and marshals (the last of which ended in shouting), he had assimilated a brutal shock of reality: the war was lost. A few days earlier, on April 20, 1945, he had traveled abroad to congratulate a young group of young people who would fight the Soviets, even if they would all end up dying. That day, the head of the Reich who promised to settle for a thousand years looked very bad; decrepit, weak and with a constant tremor in his left hand, which over the years has been interpreted as a sign of Parkinson’s disease. Nothing could be further from the leader of the flamboyant and theatrical oratorical gestures that dazzled the masses. It was his painful last appearance in public.

“Although he was fifty-six, his appearance was already that of an old man . Added to the tension and stress caused by the progress of the war was the slow poisoning he suffered at the hands of Dr. Theodor Morell. The anti-gas pills he gave her contained two poisons, strychnine and adropine, which explained her fits of rage, growing weakness and irritability,” details Jesús Hernández, in his Brief history of Hitler.

In those uncertain hours, the Führer had offered to flee, but he had already told his people of his decision to die in Berlin. Meanwhile, the leaders of Nazism were moving to save their lives; Refugee in the south of Germany, leading a hedonistic life between his art collection, exotic animals and addiction to opiates, Herman Göring writes to Hitler to test the possibility of succeeding him. During the war, the plump commander of the Luftwaffe, the German Air Force, had been more into partying than into military preparation. So, after adding defeats in the Battle of Britain, he failed to defeat his main rival, the British Royal Air Force. For his part, Henrich Himmler, the leader of the SS, attempted peace negotiations revealed by the BBC. Thus, Hitler’s circle began to abandon him.

Therefore, the Führer decided to act. On the night of April 28, he called his young secretary Traudl Junge (who had worked with him since December 1942) to dictate his will. . “He reaffirms his unalterable approaches, accusing the Jews of having started the war. Hitler encouraged German troops to continue fighting and expressed his wish to die in Berlin,” Hernánez explains.

By the way, Hitler took advantage of the moment to fire Göring and Himmler, accusing them of treason. For this reason he decided to record that upon his death it would be Admiral Karl Dönitz who would take over as Reich President, while Joseph Goebbels would take over as Chancellor.

It was there that he decided to make his last act: to marry his partner, Eva Braun. In his will, the dictator explained his decision. “During my years of struggle, I believed that I should not marry, But now my life is coming to an end and I have decided to take as my wife the woman who came to this city when it was already virtually under siege. , after many years of true friendship, to unite his destiny with mine. It’s your wish to die with me, as my wife. It will make up for what I couldn’t give him because of my work on behalf of my people.”

Hitler and Eva Braun met in 1929, when she worked in the studio of Heinrich Hoffmann, the official Nazi Party photographer. Although she remained oblivious to the political vagaries (in fact, she was forbidden to attend the Führer’s meetings with his ministers), she lived with the leader in an odd relationship, neither sharing a bed nor lavish public displays of ‘affection. She did not hesitate to demand more attention and better treatment from her beloved, even with two suicide attempts. Despite the anonymity built around his figure, he decides to accompany her to the bunker in those dark days.

This April night, she smiled more than often. Finally, at 33, she could present herself as Hitler’s wife. “She was dressed in black, with a long silk dress of that color. Hitler wore a uniform. The ceremony was brief, and Goebbels and Bormann signed on as witnesses, Hernández said. On the arm of the bride, Hitler led the guests into the office, where everything was arranged for the banquet. There Hitler joked and even drank Hungarian wine. A record was put on the gramophone and Eva, beaming and happy, came out into the hallway to receive congratulations from the staff. An atmosphere of joy reigned throughout the bunker.

It was the last moment of relative happiness in the bunker. While the Führer’s circle shared a drink and practiced conversation, the dictator paced back and forth from his secretary’s office to make sure everything was in order with his will. “In the document, Hitler also refers to his personal property, which he bequeathed to the party and, in the event that it ceased to exist, to the state. With a strong sense of realism, he added that, in the event that the state is also destroyed, “further arrangements he can make will be superfluous,” Hernández says.

On the morning of April 29, Hitler was waiting for news from the front. . “The reason for this was General Walther Wenck’s desperate attempt to come with his forces to the aid of Berlin. His troops were fighting hard to break through towards the capital. But the news that came from the front throughout the afternoon did not inspire optimism”, details Hernández. Wenck’s troops did not advance and were forced to retreat. The Third Reich is lost.

To make matters worse, the Führer had been informed of the details of the death of Benito Mussolini , his incompetent ally in Fascist Italy, who had been executed by partisans along with his mistress, Clara Petacci. Their bodies were put on display at a Milan gas station and left at the mercy of popular anger, which was unleashed like birds of prey devouring the remains of an animal. Horrified, Hitler arranged to have his body burned after his death. He did not want to suffer the same fate and even less against the Soviets.

So he began the preparations for his sacrifice. “Hitler distributed vials containing cyanide to his inner circle and announced that he and his wife would commit suicide. . To see if the poison would retain its lethal effect, an SS doctor suggested trying one on Hitler’s Alsatian dog, Blondi. He did and the animal died,” says Hernández.

That night, Hitler shook hands with a group of officers and their secretaries before going to sleep. Faced with the nearness of the end, the staff decided to indulge in worldly pleasures. “A party was spontaneously organized on the upper floor of the bunker. ; stocks of wine and liquor were eagerly emptied as they danced to shrill music from a gramophone and men and women were feverishly uninhibited, Hernández says. Although Bormann sent an officer to enforce silence so as not to disturb the Führer’s rest, his orders were ignored.

The next morning, April 30, Hitler was informed that the Soviet gunners were already about 300 yards from the bunker. Enemy artillery guns could be heard closing in and projectiles rumbled off the roof of the bunker, making themselves conspicuous. Aware that the risk of being captured was increasing minute by minute, the Führer decided not to postpone his end any longer.

“At noon Hitler prepared to eat his last breakfast; Accompanied by his secretaries, Eva Braun absent, he ate a dish of pasta with tomato sauce. At the end, he gave them several capsules of poison,” Hernández explains. At half past two in the afternoon, Hitler summoned all the members of his inner circle. He appeared in the conference room in his usual uniform while Eva wore an elegant blue dress . Both began to shake hands with those present to say goodbye. Hitler mumbled a few words to each in a barely audible voice.

Magda, Goebbels’ wife, burst into tears. She was one of the leader’s most loyal followers. For a few minutes he accompanied Eva Braun and tried one last time to ask Hitler to leave. But the decision was already made. The Führer retires to his quarters, this time accompanied by Eva. The door closed. They all looked at each other as if avoiding what was to come.

Amid shrapnel from the Soviets whistling above the bunker, some bystanders claimed to have heard a gunshot from inside the Führer’s room. The already small circle of the leader was waiting for the end and after ten tense minutes they decided to open the door very carefully. And there they saw it. Hitler was sitting on a small sofa, lying down, his jaw hanging. . At his feet was a small pistol. Blood was flowing from his temples,” Hernández explains. Eva Braun’s head was resting on her husband’s shoulder. His pistol was on a low table in front of them. He hadn’t fired, but his lips were pursed by the poison. A vase of flowers had fallen on the floor.”

As planned, the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun were wrapped in blankets and deposited in a crater that had been gouged out by a shell. So, on the run and among the terrible whistles of Soviet howitzers, a short ceremony took place. So among the embers what was left of the man who had promised to build an empire was consumed. “The bodies were covered in gasoline and Goebbels threw a match, but the fuel did not ignite. Someone set fire to a gasoline-soaked rag, threw it at the bodies, and they were engulfed in a large flame. Those attending the impromptu funeral quickly exclaimed “Heil Hitler!” and they entered the shelter again. More cans of gasoline arrived and for the next three hours fuel continued to be poured over the bodies.