The last days of the 3rd Reich of the Mlechins. The Last Days of the Third Reich. Save who can

Hugh Trevor-Roper

The Last Days of Hitler. The mystery of the death of the leader of the Third Reich. 1945

Protected by the legislation of the Russian Federation on the protection of intellectual rights. Reproduction of the entire book or any part of it is prohibited without the written permission of the publisher. Any attempt to break the law will be prosecuted.

Foreword

Ten years have passed since the book was written. During this time, over some secrets of the Second World War, the fog cleared, and over others it became even thicker. New books and articles were written that changed or challenged old judgments. But no new revelation has changed the history of the last ten days of Hitler's life, history as reconstructed by me in 1945 and published in 1947. For this reason, I see no reason to correct the text of the book in this new edition of it, except, of course, for minor corrections, which are inevitable in any reprint. Undoubtedly, I could insert some additions at different places in the text, but since there are no errors in the book that are subject to unconditional correction, and there are no gaps that need to be filled, I decided to follow the wise example of Pontius Pilate: what I wrote, I wrote.

I felt that any book worth republishing should bear the imprint of the time in which it was written. Any new comments that came to my mind I have included in the footnotes and in this preface. In this preface I will try to do two things. First, I will describe in detail my research that led to the writing of the book. Secondly, I will summarize some data that have appeared since the publication of the first edition, data that, without changing the essence of the whole story, can shed light on certain circumstances and facts of Hitler's last days.

In September 1945, the circumstances of Hitler's death or disappearance had been shrouded in an impenetrable darkness of mystery for five months. A great many versions of his death or his flight were made public. Some claimed that he was killed in battle, others said that he was killed by German officers in the Tiergarten. Many believed that he fled - by plane or submarine - and settled either on a foggy island in the Baltic Sea or in a mountain fortress in the Rhineland; according to other sources, he hid either in a Spanish monastery, or on a South American ranch. There were people who thought that Hitler hid in the mountains of Albania, among friendly robbers. The Russians, who had the most reliable information about Hitler's fate, preferred to stir up uncertainty. First they declared Hitler dead, then this statement was refuted. The Russians later announced the discovery of the bodies of Hitler and Eva Braun, identified by their teeth. After that, the Russians accused the British of hiding Eva Braun, and possibly Hitler, in their zone of occupation. It was after this that the Office of British Intelligence in Germany, considering that all this hoax creates unnecessary difficulties, decided to collect all the data and finally find out the truth, if it turns out to be possible. This task was entrusted to me. In the British zone, I was given all the necessary powers, and the American authorities in Frankfurt without delay placed at my disposal all the material they had on the subject. I was allowed to interrogate the prisoners, and besides, the Americans provided me with support from their counterintelligence.

What was the state of affairs at that time? The only authoritative evidence of Hitler's death was a radio speech by Admiral Dönitz, with which he addressed the German people on the evening of May 1, 1945. In his speech, Dönitz announced that Hitler died in Berlin on the afternoon of May 1, fighting at the head of troops loyal to him. At that time, Dönitz's statement was considered reliable for purely practical reasons. A note on Hitler's death was printed in The Times the next day. M. de Valera visited the German ambassador in Dublin and expressed his condolences, and the name of Hitler (in contrast to the name of Bormann, about whose fate no statements were made) was deleted from the list of war criminals who were to be tried in Nuremberg. On the other hand, there was no more reason to believe Dönitz's report than some other statements. Dönitz's statement was confirmed by a certain Dr. Karl Heinz Shpet from Stuttgart, who, while in Illertissen (Bavaria) at that time, testified under oath that he personally examined Hitler in connection with the wound. chest, which he received in Berlin during an artillery shelling, and ascertained his death in a bunker near the zoo. This allegedly happened on the afternoon of May 1. However, at the same time in Hamburg, the Swiss journalist Carmen Mori testified under oath that Hitler, according to irrefutable information, was in the same Bavarian estate with Eva Braun, her sister Gretl and Gretl's husband Hermann Fegelein. Carmen Mori herself offered to investigate this fact, using her own connections (she was sent to a German concentration camp for espionage and had a good intelligence network). Maury, however, warned the British authorities that an attempt to find Hitler and the others without her participation could end in failure, because, noticing the approach of people in foreign military uniforms, all four would immediately commit suicide. Both of these stories did not inspire any credibility from the very beginning, as did many other oral and affidavits.

Anyone who conducts investigations of this kind will soon be faced with one important fact: such evidence cannot be trusted. Any historian is ashamed at the mere thought of how much of history is based on foundations as dubious as the statements of Admiral Dönitz, Dr. Shpet or Carmen Maury. If such statements were made regarding some of the unclear circumstances of the death of the Russian Tsar Alexander I, then many historians, perhaps, would take them seriously. Fortunately, in this case these were the assertions of contemporaries, and they could be verified.

The English historian James Spedding said that each of his colleagues, faced with a statement regarding any fact, should ask himself the question: who first said this and did this person have the opportunity to know this? Many historical testimonies crumble to dust when subjected to this test. In search of Dr. Karl Heinz Speth, I went to the address he himself had given in Stuttgart. It turned out, however, that this was not a residential building, but the building of a technical school. No one at the school knew who Dr. Shpet was. Moreover, I could not find this name in any city directory. It became clear that he introduced himself with a fictitious name and made public a fictitious address. Since his testimony turned out to be false, it became clear that this man could not be trusted in other matters, where ignorance could be excusable. As for the testimony of Carmen Mori, it did not withstand even light criticism. She never saw Hitler and never talked to people who might know the facts. The facts that she presented were obviously fakes, and the arguments with which she connected these facts were completely devoid of logic. Mori's statements, like Dr. Shpet's, were pure fantasy.

But why did these people bear false witness? Interpreting human motives is a thankless task, but sometimes they can be guessed. Carmen Mori, once in a concentration camp, became a Gestapo agent who selected victims among prisoners for murders and criminal medical experiments. The prisoners knew this, and when the Allies took over the camp and freed the prisoners, it was only a matter of time before Maury was accused of collaborating with the Nazis. Maury probably thought that by making up this story, which she herself wanted to investigate, she could delay retribution and enlist the support of the British occupation authorities. If this was the case, then Maury was mistaken: the British did not need her help, and she herself was soon arrested, tried and sentenced to death. On the eve of the execution, Mori managed to commit suicide.

On May 8, the German surrender was signed in Berlin, due to the time difference, May 9 became Victory Day in the USSR.

However, before these long-awaited and important events for our history, the Third Reich was living out its last days. In particular, the historian E. Antonyuk wrote about this in his work "Nine days without Hitler. The last moments of the Third Reich."

On April 30, 1945, the German Fuhrer Adolf Hitler committed suicide in the Fuhrerbunker, which he did not leave in the last weeks of his life.
The Third Reich, which was proclaimed by him in 1933 and which was supposed to exist for a thousand years, outlived its creator by only a few days. The twilight of the Reich included the complete collapse of the state apparatus, the collapse of the army, crowds of refugees, the suicide of some leaders of the Reich and the attempts to hide by others.

Twilight of the Reich

In the middle of April Soviet troops start the Berlin operation, the purpose of which is to encircle the city and capture it. By this time, the Germans were already doomed, the Soviet troops had a threefold superiority in manpower and aircraft, and a fivefold superiority in tanks. And that's not counting the allies on the western front. In addition, a significant part of the German forces were Volkssturm and Hitler Youth units, which consisted of older people who were completely unprepared for military operations, previously considered unfit for service, and teenagers.

By the beginning of the 20th, there was a threat of the final encirclement of Berlin. The last hope of the capital of the Reich was the 12th Army under the command of Walter Wenck. This army was formed in April literally from what was. Militias, reservists, cadets - they were all brought into the army, which was supposed to save Berlin from encirclement.
By the time you start Berlin operation the army took up positions on the Elbe against the Americans, since the Germans did not yet know that they would not attack Berlin.

This army was given a big role in Hitler's plans, due to which almost all the remaining stocks of food, ammunition and fuel were sent to this army, which caused damage to everyone else, and due to the confusion of recent days, there was no one to correct the situation.
Cornelius Ryan wrote: “There was everything here: from parts of aircraft to butter. A few miles from Wenck on the eastern front, von Manteuffel’s tanks stopped due to a shortage of fuel, and Wenk was almost flooded with fuel. He reported to Berlin, but did not no measures were taken to take out the surplus. No one even confirmed that he had received his reports."

Attempts to stop the encirclement of Berlin failed. All that was left for the 12th Army was to help evacuate the civilian population. The inhabitants of Berlin were leaving the city in front of the advancing Soviet army. The location of Wenck's 12th Army turned into a huge refugee camp. With the help of Wenck's army, about 250,000 civilians managed to get to the west. Along with the refugees, soldiers of the army also crossed into American captivity. On May 7, having completed the crossing, Wenck himself surrendered to the Americans.

Fuhrer's suicide

In the last month of his life, Hitler did not leave his bunker, where he was still relatively safe. But it was already obvious to all his entourage that the war was lost. Probably Hitler himself understood this, whose belief that the situation could still be changed was more an attempt to escape from reality into a world of illusions. The situation in April 1945 was very different from the situation four years ago, when German troops were stationed near Moscow.

Then Moscow still had a huge territory, abundant resources to replenish the army, factories evacuated to the rear, and the war would not have ended with the capture of the Soviet capital and would have lasted for a long time.

Now the situation was hopeless, the allies were advancing from the west, the Soviet army was advancing from the east. All of them had an overwhelming advantage over the Wehrmacht, not only quantitatively, but also in terms of weapons. They had more tanks, artillery pieces, planes, fuel, ammunition. The Germans lost their industry, the factories were either destroyed by aerial bombardment or captured as a result of the offensive. There was no one to replenish the divisions - they had to call on the elderly, the sick and teenagers, even those who had previously been released from service.

Hitler was waiting for a miracle, and it seemed to him that it happened. On April 12, US President Roosevelt died. Hitler took this as the "Miracle of the House of Brandenburg" when the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna died during the Seven Years' War, and the new Emperor Peter III stopped the successful war and saved the Prussian King Frederick from defeat. However, nothing happened with the death of Roosevelt, and within a few hours Hitler's joy was overshadowed by the fall of Vienna.

On April 20, on his last birthday, Hitler left his bunker for the last time, going up to the courtyard of the Reich Chancellery, where he rewarded teenagers from the Hitler Youth and cheered them up.
Hitler feverishly gives offensive orders, but they are not carried out, the armies, holding the defense with great difficulty, do not have any resources for the offensive, but Hitler is not told about this, so as not to completely unsettle him.

Only on April 22 did he finally admit for the first time that the war was lost.
The environment persuades the Fuhrer to move to Bavaria and turn it into a center of resistance, but he categorically refuses.
Strict discipline in the bunker falls.
Everyone smokes, regardless of Hitler, who hated tobacco smoke and always forbade smoking in his presence.

On the night of April 23, Hitler will receive a telegram from Goering from Bavaria, which he perceives as an attempt to remove himself from business and seize power.
Hitler deprives Goering of all awards, titles and powers and orders his arrest.

On April 28, Hitler removes Himmler from all posts after Western media reports of Himmler's covert attempts to establish contacts for negotiations with Western allies.

April 29 Hitler leaves a will in which he draws up a list of the new government, which must save Germany after the death of the Fuhrer.
This government does not include Himmler and Goering.

Grand Admiral Doenitz was appointed Reich President, Goebbels was appointed Reich Chancellor, and Bormann was appointed Minister of Party Affairs.
On the same day, he performs an official marriage ceremony with Eva Braun.

The next day after that, when the Soviet troops were already a few kilometers from the bunker, Hitler committed suicide.
After that, Hitler's inner circle - secretaries, cooks, adjutants - left the Fuhrerbunker and dispersed in Berlin, almost completely captured by Soviet troops.

Goebbels cabinet and attempted truce

Goebbels' cabinet, appointed by Hitler's will, lasted only one day. A few hours after Hitler's death, Goebbels made an attempt to negotiate with the advancing Soviet troops and requested a ceasefire.
General Hans Krebs, Chief of the General Staff of the Ground Forces, was sent to the location of the 8th Soviet Army.

Before the war, Krebs served as an assistant to the German military attache in the Soviet Union and learned Russian well.
In addition, he personally knew many Soviet generals.
For these two reasons, he was appointed truce and negotiator.
Krebs informed the commander of the army, Marshal Chuikov, that Hitler had committed suicide and that there was now a new leadership in Germany that was ready to begin peace negotiations. The armistice proposal was dictated by Goebbels himself.

Chuikov reported the German proposal to Headquarters. A categorical answer came from Stalin: there will be no negotiations, only unconditional surrender. The German side was given several hours to think, after which, in case of refusal, the offensive was resumed.

Having learned about the Soviet ultimatum, Goebbels transferred his powers to Doenitz, after which, with the help of the Reich Chancellery doctor Kunz, he killed his six children and committed suicide along with his wife. Then General Krebs committed suicide.

But not all high-ranking figures of the Reich found the courage to go to the bottom along with the sinking ship.
Heinrich Himmler, once former second a man in the state, but in the last days of Hitler's life, who fell into disgrace, tried to get into the Doenitz government, hoping that this would mitigate his fate.

But Doenitz was well aware that Himmler had long compromised himself so much that his inclusion in the government, albeit virtual, would only worsen the situation. Having been refused, Himmler lay low. He got a non-commissioned officer's uniform and a passport in the name of Heinrich Hitzinger, blindfolded one eye with a bandage and, in company with several people from his inner circle, tried to get into Denmark.

For three weeks they wandered around Germany, hiding from patrols, until May 21 they were arrested by Soviet soldiers.
They did not even suspect that they were arresting Himmler himself, they simply detained a group of German soldiers with suspicious documents and sent them to the assembly camp to the British for a check. Already in the camp, Himmler unexpectedly revealed his real identity.
They began to search him, but he managed to bite through the vial of poison.

Martin Bormann, appointed Minister of Party Affairs by Hitler's will, on the evening of May 1, together with Hitler's pilot Bouar, the head of the Hitler Youth Axman and the doctor Stumpfegger, left the bunker to break out of Berlin and leave in the direction of the Allied troops.

Hiding behind a tank, they tried to cross the bridge over the Spree, but the tank was hit by artillery and Bormann was wounded. In the end, they managed to get over and head along the railway tracks towards the station. On the way, Axman lost sight of Bormann and Stumpfegger, but, having stumbled upon a Soviet patrol, he returned back and found that both of them were already dead.

However, Axman's testimony was not believed at the trial, and the Nuremberg Tribunal tried Bormann in absentia. The press now and then reported sensational facts that Bormann had been seen in various Latin American countries. Every now and then, various conspiracy theories appeared: then Bormann was helped by the British special services and he lives in Latin America, then Bormann turned out to be a Soviet agent and lives in Moscow. For information about the whereabouts of a Nazi functionary, a reward of 100 thousand marks was appointed.

In the early 60s, one resident of Berlin reported that in early May 1945, on orders Soviet soldiers participated in the burial of several bodies found on the bridge over the Spree, and one of the dead had documents in the name of Stumpfegger. He even indicated the place of burial, but during the excavations nothing was found there.

Everyone considered him a hunter for five minutes of fame, but a few years later, during the construction works literally a few meters from the excavations, a burial was indeed discovered. According to several characteristic injuries, one of the skeletons was identified as Bormann's skeleton, but many did not believe in this and continued to build theories of his miraculous salvation.

The end of this story was put only in the 90s, with the development of technology.
A DNA test unequivocally confirmed that Bormann was buried in this unmarked grave.

Goering remained under house arrest for several days after the break with Hitler, but against the background of the general collapse, the SS detachment simply stopped protecting him. Goering did not shoot or hide, and calmly waited for the arrival of the Americans, to whom he surrendered.

Flensburg government

In some houses, the most fanatical of the Germans were still shooting back, but the city was already under control, and the garrison capitulated.
By this time, under the control of Doenitz, who became the new head of the Reich, there were scattered and cut off from each other patches of territories that had no communication with each other. In the town of Flensburg, located near the Danish border, the last government in the history of the Third Reich was located, already virtually virtual. It was named after the city in which it was based - Flensburg.
It was located in the building of the naval school.

Doenitz himself formed it, trying not to take active Nazi functionaries. Count Ludwig Schwerin von Krosig, the great-nephew of Karl Marx's wife, was appointed chief minister (analogous to the prime minister).

Since there was nothing to govern, and de facto the power of the government extended only to Flensburg itself and its environs, it remained only to try to conclude the most favorable peace possible, or at least play for time so that the Wehrmacht units retreated to the western zone and surrendered to the allies, and not Soviet army.

On the night of May 2, Doenitz delivered a radio address to the Germans, in which he said that the Fuhrer died heroically and bequeathed to the Germans to fight with all their might to save Germany. Doenitz himself, meanwhile, sent Admiral Friedeburg to the location of the Allies with a peace proposal.
Doenitz believed that they would be more accommodating than the Soviet representatives.
As a result, Friedeburg signed the surrender of all German units in Holland, Denmark and North-West Germany.

Eisenhower, however, quickly figured out the cunning plan of the German negotiators, under various pretexts, delaying the general surrender and surrendering in parts: to play for time so that as many Wehrmacht units as possible surrender to the Western allies. Unwilling to listen to reproaches from higher authorities, Eisenhower announced to the German side that if they did not immediately sign an unconditional surrender, he would close the western front and the Allied forces would no longer take Germans prisoners and accept refugees.

On May 7, an act of unconditional surrender was signed at the Allied headquarters. However, these actions aroused Stalin's indignation, although they took place in the presence of a Soviet representative.

It turned out that the Germans capitulated not to the Soviet army that crushed them and captured Berlin, but to the Americans.
And the USSR, as it were, had nothing to do with it. Yes, I passed by. In addition, the surrender was accepted by the chiefs of staff, and not by the supreme command, which deprived it of solemnity. Therefore, Stalin demanded a re-signing of the surrender in Berlin.
The allies went to meet him.

Western reporters were forbidden to report on the capitulation that took place on May 7, and the news about it that had already leaked to the news agencies were declared erroneous. The very signing of the surrender was declared a "preliminary act", which will be confirmed in Berlin the next day.

On May 8, now on Soviet territory in Berlin, the German surrender was again signed, which became official. P Since it happened late in the evening, Moscow time, due to the difference in time zones, was already May 9, which became the official Victory Day.

The Flensburg government still continued to exist by inertia for several days, although in fact it did not control anything. Neither the allies nor the Soviet side, after the signing of the unconditional surrender, recognized any authority for the government. On May 23, Eisenhower announced the dissolution of the government and the arrest of its members. The German state ceased to exist for several years.

We all celebrate Victory Day on May 9, but most of us absolutely do not think about this date, established by the decree of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of May 8:

It turned out like this because of the difference between Moscow and Central European time, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Already at the end of April, the days of the Reich were numbered, the Soviet troops were taking Berlin, and everyone who had something in their heads other than fanaticism was only thinking about how it would be more profitable to surrender. In principle, you can choose almost any date for the beginning of the end of the fascist empire, but April 28, 1945 is the best for this.

On this day, the Italian partisans shot Mussolini, and Himmler:
"I established contact with the head of the Swedish Red Cross Society, Count Folke Bernadotte, for negotiations with the Western powers on a separate peace. Himmler informed Count Bernadotte that the Fuhrer was blocked in Berlin and, moreover, was suffering from brain disorders." (c)

British news agency Reiter reported. At that time, Hitler’s head was really so-so, he could not get to Heinrich Himmler and shot his representative at headquarters, his brother-in-law SS Gruppenfuehrer Hermann Fegelein.

Fegelein was in love with Eva Braun, although he was married to her younger sister, on the night of April 28, he offered her to escape from besieged Berlin together, but she refused. The next day, Fegelein was arrested in his apartment and, unfortunately, some "red-haired woman" turned out to be in it, Eva Braun found out about this and immediately informed Hitler about the nightly conversation. Fegelein was shot in the garden of the Imperial Chancellery. A few days later, his legal wife, Gretel Brown, gave birth to a girl, who, ironically, was named Eva.

This "insanely romantic story" would not have been of great historical value if it had not resulted in the deprivation of Himmler of all powers and the "political testament" signed by Hitler on April 29 at four o'clock in the morning. Hitler appointed Dr. Paul Joseph Goebbels as his successor as Chancellor of Germany.

On May 1, Goebbels decided to enter into negotiations with the Soviet troops, who were already 200 meters from him, and offered them ... a truce. The USSR demanded not a "truce", but "complete unconditional surrender". Goebbels refused this and committed suicide, taking his wife and six children into the next world. At 18.00, the Soviet troops continued the assault, and on May 2, "unconditional surrender" was received, it was signed at 6 o'clock in the morning by General of Artillery Weidling, who surrendered.

At the same time, starting from April 30, Karl Dönitz, commander-in-chief of the navy, became the actual leader of the Reich. On May 2, Dönitz published an Appeal to the German People:

German men and women, soldiers of the German Wehrmacht! Our Fuhrer Adolf Hitler is dead. The German people bow in the deepest sorrow and reverence. He recognized in advance the terrible danger of Bolshevism and devoted his life to this struggle. At the end of this struggle and his unwavering direct life path stands his heroic death in the capital of the German Empire. His life was the only service for Germany. Moreover, his participation in the struggle against the Bolshevik storm tide concerned Europe and the entire cultural world.
The Fuhrer has designated me as his successor. Responsibly, I accept the leadership of the German people in this fateful hour. My first assignment is to save the Germans from annihilation by the advancing Bolshevik enemy. The armed struggle will continue only for this purpose. If and for as long as the achievement of this goal is hindered by the British and Americans, we will have to continue to defend and fight against them as well. The Anglo-Americans in this case continue the war no longer for their own peoples, but only for the spread of Bolshevism in Europe.
What the German people, fighting, did in the battles of this war and endured in their homeland, has no analogues in history. In times of the coming calamities of our people, I will strive to create acceptable living conditions for our brave women, men and children, as far as it is in my power.
For all this I need your help! Give me your trust, because your path is also my path! Maintain order and discipline in the city and the countryside! Let everyone do their duty in their place! Only in this way will we alleviate the suffering that the coming years will bring to each of us, and we can prevent the crash. If we do what is in our power, the Lord God will also not leave us after such great grief and sacrifice.
Grand Admiral Dönitz.
Berlin, 1945.
Fuhrer headquarters
("The Kiel Gazette", Wednesday, May 2, 1945)

Himmler tried to enter the Dönitz government, but was sent away and for a long time, after which he fled to Denmark, where he surrendered and poisoned himself.

On May 4, Admiral of the Fleet Hans-Georg Friedeburg, newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of the German Navy, signed the act of surrender of all German armed forces in Holland, Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein and North-West Germany to Field Marshal B. Montgomery's 21st Army Group.

On May 5, Infantry General F. Schultz, who commanded Army Group G, operating in Bavaria and Western Austria, surrendered to the American General D. Devers.

Dönitz's representative, Alfred Jodel, signed on May 7 in Reims the "Act of Surrender of Germany", and on May 8, at the request of the USSR, his representative, Field Marshal Keitel, re-signed the "Act of Unconditional Surrender". Both documents came into force at 23:01 CET on May 8, 1945. This is 1.01 May 9, 1945 in Moscow. That is why we celebrate Victory Day on May 9th.

The fate of all the surviving participants in these events turned out differently: Jodel and Keitel were hanged by the verdict of the Nuremberg Tribunal, Dönitz served 10 years and died a natural death at the age of 89.

With the signing of the acts of surrender, the war on the Eastern Front ended on paper, but even after that, some parts of the Wehrmacht and the SS continued to resist. I will cover this in more detail in the next post.

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Chapter 7
Death of Hitler

When von Below left the bunker, Hitler was already preparing for the final act of his play. In the afternoon, more news from the outside world was delivered to the bunker: Mussolini was dead. An accomplice in Hitler's crimes, a herald of fascism, who was the first to show Hitler the possibility of establishing a dictatorship in modern Europe and outstripped him in disillusionment and defeat, now clearly showed him what fate awaits the defeated tyrant. Captured by partisans during a general uprising in northern Italy, Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci were executed and their bodies hung by their feet in Milan's market square. The enraged mob beat their corpses and threw stones at them. If these details became known to Hitler and Eva Braun, they would once again repeat their dying orders: their bodies must be destroyed so that "nothing remains of them at all." "I do not wish to fall into the hands of an enemy who needs a new spectacle to distract his hysterical masses." In fact, it is incredible that the details of the execution of Mussolini and Petacci were known to Hitler and strengthened him in decision. The fate of the overthrown despots has always been the same; and Hitler, who ordered the body of a field marshal to be hung on a hook like the carcass of a slaughtered cow, did not need abstract historical examples in order to understand what fate awaits his own corpse if it is found 223
People whose imagination is more developed than memory often claimed that Mussolini's fate influenced Hitler's decision. In a story about a Nuremberg table-talk attributed to the trial's chief psychiatrist and published in the Sunday Express on August 25, 1946, Goering was even quoted as saying: “Do you remember what happened to Mussolini? We saw a photograph of him and his mistress lying dead in a ditch and then hung upside down. They looked terrible! Hitler went berserk and started yelling, "This will never happen to me!" But just a comparison of dates refutes this fiction. Goering saw Hitler for the last time eight days before Mussolini's death. Goering himself, while in prison, could see the photographs, Hitler could not. Such is the value of human evidence, on which, however, written history is often based.

In the afternoon, Hitler ordered the killing of his beloved Alsatian Shepherd Blondie. Professor Haase, who was now treating the wounded in his Berlin clinic, came to the bunker and poisoned the dog. Two other dogs, who lived in the imperial office, were shot dead by the sergeant major who looked after them. After that, Hitler gave poison capsules to two of his secretaries to use in case of emergency. He apologized for not being able to give them a better parting gift, praised their courage, and in his usual manner added that he wished his generals were as reliable as they were. 224
Frau Junge's testimony.

In the evening, when the inhabitants of the two outer bunkers were having lunch in a makeshift dining room arranged in the central aisle of the Fuhrer's bunker, one of the SS guards appeared there, telling those present that the Fuhrer wanted to say goodbye to the ladies, and ordered no one to go to bed until the order was received. About half past three in the morning this order came. Everyone was called by phone to the bunker and gathered again in the dining room - officers and women, about twenty people in total. When everyone had gathered, Hitler came out of his private quarters, accompanied by Bormann. Hitler's gaze was distant, his eyes glistening from the wet film covering them that Hannah Reitsch so colorfully described. Some of those present even decided that Hitler was under the influence of drugs; but such an explanation could not occur to those who watched Hitler day in and day out in his last days. Silently, Hitler walked down the aisle, shaking hands with the women. Some of them spoke to him, but he was either silent in response, or mumbled something inarticulate. On that day, a silent shake of hands was customary for Hitler. 225
The story of Baroness von Varo.

When Hitler left, the participants and witnesses of this strange scene discussed its significance for some time. They agreed that there could be only one meaning: the Fuhrer was about to commit suicide. After that, something incredible happened in the bunker. It seemed that a heavy and dark cloud had fallen from the souls of the inhabitants of the bunker. The terrible sorcerer, the tyrant who filled their days with unbearable melodramatic tension, will soon die, and in a brief moment of twilight they will finally be able to play freely. In the dining room, where there were soldiers and orderlies, there were dances. When the news was told to the soldiers, they did not even think of stopping their entertainment. The orderly from the Fuhrer's bunker told them to calm down, but the dancing continued as if nothing had happened. Tailor 226
IN. Muller.

Having worked at Hitler's headquarters and now being held hostage with others in a bunker, he was terribly surprised when Brigadeführer Rattenhuber, head of Hitler's police guard and SS general, patted him cordially on the shoulder and greeted him with democratic familiarity. Accustomed to the strict hierarchy of the bunker, the tailor was unspeakably surprised. He was treated as if he were a senior officer. “For the first time I heard a high-ranking officer say “Good evening!” to me, and I realized that the mood in the bunker had completely changed.” Then, from one of the soldiers, the tailor learned the reason for such a sudden and unexpected friendliness. Nothing erases class distinctions like a common danger and a common relief.

Hitler was preparing to die, but there was at least one person in the bunker who was thinking about life at the time: Martin Bormann. If he could not get the German armies to come to Berlin to save Hitler and himself, then he would at least insist on revenge. Shortly after the farewell ceremony, at a quarter to four in the morning of April 30, Bormann sent one of those telegrams that vividly felt the nervous atmosphere then prevailing in the bunker. The telegram was addressed to Dönitz in Ploen. Bormann did not trust the usual communication and sent a telegram through Gauleiter Mecklenburg. Here is its content:

"Dönitz! Our conviction is growing stronger that the divisions in the Berlin direction have been inactive for several days. All communications we receive are controlled, delayed or distorted by Keitel. In general, we can communicate with the outside world only through Keitel. The Führer orders you to deal immediately and mercilessly with the traitors. Bormann» 227
In the German text, Keitel's surname is replaced by his code name Theilhaus.

The postscript said: "The Fuhrer is alive and directing the defense of Berlin." These words, in which there is no hint of the end approaching - and, moreover, there is a denial of it - suggest that Bormann, even at this point, refused to accept that his power would soon end, or depend on another, less predictable source.

Later that morning, the daily work began. As usual, the generals came to the bunker with their military reports. Brigadeführer Monke, commandant of the office, reported some improvement in the situation - the Germans managed to drive the Russians out of the Silesian railway station. The rest of the situation remained the same. By noon the situation worsened again. The Russians captured the subway tunnel at the Friedrichstrasse station. The tunnel at the Vossstrasse was partially captured. The entire Tiergarten area was lost. The Russians came close to Potsdamerplatz and to the Weidendam bridge across the Spree. Hitler took these messages without any emotion. About two o'clock he was served dinner. Eva Braun was not with him. Apparently she wasn't hungry or eating alone in her room. Hitler, as always, in the absence of Eva Braun dined in the company of two secretaries and a cook. The conversation was quite normal. Hitler was calm and did not speak about his intentions. Nevertheless, all preparations for the last ceremony were already completed.

In the morning, the guards were ordered to stock up on the day's rations, as during the day they would be prohibited from entering the corridor of the bunker. At lunchtime, Hitler's adjutant Sturmbannführer Günsche ordered Hitler's personal chauffeur, Sturmbannführer Erich Kempke, to deliver 200 liters of gasoline to the garden of the Imperial Chancellery. Kempka protested that it would be difficult for him to find so much gasoline, but he was told that gasoline had to be found. In the end, Kempke managed to find 180 liters and send them to the imperial office. The soldiers brought them to the garden in fifteen-litre canisters and placed them at the emergency exit from the bunker. One of the police guards demanded an explanation. He was told that gasoline was needed for the ventilation unit. The guards replied that they would not be considered idiots - the ventilation unit works on diesel fuel. At that moment, Hitler's valet Heinz Linge appeared. He calmed the guards, stopped the conflict that had begun, and dismissed the people. Soon, all the guards, with the exception of sentries, were removed from the imperial office and ordered not to appear in it during the day. There should not have been any extra witnesses at the ceremony.

In the meantime, Hitler finished his lunch and let the women go. For a while he sat alone at the table, and then left the apartment, accompanied by Eva Braun, and the farewell scene was repeated, in which Bormann, Goebbels, Burgdorf, Krebs, Hevel, Naumann, Voss, Rattenhuber, Högl, Günsche, Linge participated and four women - Frau Christian, Frau Junge, Fraulein Krueger and Fraulein Manziali. Magda Goebbels was not there. She was very worried about the imminent death of the children and spent the whole day with them in their room. Hitler and Eva Braun shook hands with everyone and returned to their apartments. Only high-ranking persons and those who were supposed to finish the ceremony remained. These people were waiting for a call in the aisle. All the rest were dismissed. Then one shot rang out. After a while, the officers entered the apartments. Hitler lay on a couch soaked in blood. He fired a pistol into his mouth. Eva Braun was next to Hitler on the couch, also dead. A pistol lay next to her, but she did not use it, but took poison. All this happened at half past three in the afternoon. 228
The method of suicide chosen by Hitler and Eva Braun was equally told by Fraulein Krueger and Frau Junge (according to Günsche) and Frau Christian (according to Linge), as well as others who heard the description of death from the same sources. In addition, the method of suicide is described by Axman, who personally examined the bodies. Kempka, who carried the corpse of Eva Braun out of the bunker, did not notice traces of blood on it.

Shortly thereafter, Arthur Axman, head of the youth organization of the Hitler Youth, arrived at the bunker. He was late for the farewell ceremony, but he was let into Hitler's apartment to look at the dead. He examined them and stayed in the room for several minutes, talking with Goebbels. Then Goebbels left, and Axman stayed in the room with the corpses for some time. At this time, in the garden of the imperial office, the last preparations for the burial according to the Viking rite were going on.

Having sent gasoline to the garden, Kempka came to the bunker through an underground passage that connected his apartment on Hermann Goering Street with the building of the imperial chancellery. Günsche greeted him with the words: "Chief is dead" 229
"Der Chef ist tot". Hitler's personal servant called him "chef" ("der Chef").

At that moment, the doors of the Nazi apartments opened, and Kempka became a witness and participant in the burial.

While Axman was contemplating the corpses, two SS men - one of them Linge - entered the room. They wrapped Hitler's corpse in a blanket, covering his bloody, split head, and carried him out into the aisle, where everyone present immediately identified the Fuhrer by his black trousers. Two other SS officers carried the body up the four flights of stairs to the emergency exit, and from there into the garden. After that, Bormann entered the room and picked up the body of Eva Braun. Her death was cleaner, and no blanket was needed to cover her wounds. Bormann carried the body out into the passage and handed it to Kempke, who carried it to the foot of the stairs. Günsche took the corpse there and handed it over to the third SS officer, who carried the corpse into the garden. As a precaution, to avoid the appearance of uninvited witnesses, they hastily locked the second door of the bunker leading to the imperial office, and some exits from the bunker to the garden.

Unfortunately, the most careful precautions are often in vain; the direct result of these precautions was that two random people became unwitting witnesses to the scene that they wanted to hide from them. One of these witnesses was a member of the police guard, one Erich Mansfeld, who was on duty on a concrete tower near the corner of the bunker. Through a veil of smoke, he noticed some strange fuss at the entrance to the bunker, the slamming of closing doors, and decided to find out what was the matter. Going down the spiral staircase from the tower, he went to the emergency exit from the bunker to see what was happening there. On the porch, he encountered a funeral procession leaving the bunker. The first to go were two SS officers, carrying a corpse wrapped in a blanket with black trousers sticking out. Behind them was another SS man, carrying the naked corpse of Eva Braun in his arms. They were followed by mourners - Bormann, Burgdorf, Goebbels, Günsche, Linge and Kempka. Günsche in a loud voice ordered Mansfeld to get out, and he, having managed to see the forbidden but intriguing scene, again went up to the tower 230
Kempka and Mansfeld shared the same story about this episode. Kempka mentions an incident where a guard (i.e. Mansfeld) ran into a procession on the porch and was driven off by Günsche. Some details of this incident were accidentally noticed by Schwegerman.

After this hitch, the ritual continued. Both corpses were placed side by side a few meters from the porch and poured abundantly with gasoline from a canister. The continued Russian shelling made the scene truly apocalyptic and very dangerous. The mourners decided, out of harm's way, to take refuge on the porch. Then Günsche dipped a rag in gasoline, set it on fire and threw it on the corpses, which immediately disappeared from view in a sea of ​​fire. Those present pulled themselves to attention and saluted their Fuhrer, and after that they went down to the bunker, where they went to their rooms. Günsche told about the ceremony to those who did not see it. He said that burning Hitler's body was the worst experience of his life. 231
Statements of Fraulein Krueger and Frau Junge.

Meanwhile, the scene of burning bodies was observed by another involuntary witness. It turned out to be another police guard, who also watched her precisely because of the precautions taken. His name is Hermann Karnau. Karnau, like other security officers who were not on duty at that moment, was ordered by one of the officers of the SS escort to leave the bunker and go to the dining room of the imperial chancellery. Karnau, after some deliberation, decided not to obey the order, but to return to the bunker. When he returned, he found that the door was locked. Then Karnau walked around the building and entered the garden to use the emergency exit. Rounding the tower on which Mansfeld stood on guard, Karnau was amazed to see two corpses lying next to each other near the bunker porch. Almost at the same moment, the corpses erupted into bright flames. Karnau could not understand the reason for such a rapid fire. He did not see the person who set fire to the corpses, but he could vouch that the fire was not the result of shelling, since he himself was a few meters from the flaming bodies. “Probably someone threw a match from the porch,” Karnau suggested, and, in fact, he was right.

For a few moments Karnau looked at the burning corpses. It was easy to recognize them, despite the fact that Hitler's head was blown off by a shot. The spectacle was "disgusting in the extreme," recalls Karnau. Then he went down to the bunker through the emergency exit. In the bunker, he ran into Sturmbannführer Franz Schedle, an SS escort officer. Schedle was recently wounded in the leg by a shell fragment. He was beside himself with grief. "The Fuhrer is dead," he said, "and is now burning in the street." Karnau helped him hobble to his room.

Mansfeld, who was on the tower, also observed the burning of bodies. Climbing the tower after the order of Günsche, he saw through the embrasure huge columns of smoke rising to the sky. When the smoke cleared a little, Mansfeld was able to make out the same bodies that he had seen entering the bunker, burning with bright flames. After everyone present had left, Mansfeld, without hiding, continued to watch. From time to time, SS men came out of the bunker and added gasoline to the fire to keep it burning. Some time later, Mansfeld was replaced on the tower by Karnau. He helped his comrade down from the tower, and together they approached the burning corpses. The lower parts of both bodies were completely burned, and the exposed bones of Hitler's legs became visible. An hour later, Mansfeld went back to the fire. The bodies were still burning, though not with very high flames.

Toward evening, another police officer tried to get a closer look at the burning corpses. This man's name was Hans Hofbeck. Climbing the steps from the bunker, he stopped on the porch, but he did not stay there for long. The unbearable smell of burning meat drove him away.

Late at night, Brigadeführer Rattenhuber, the head of the police guard, came to the "dog bunker" where the guards rested, and turned to the Scharfuehrer of the SS escort. The Brigadeführer ordered him to report to his commander Schedle, pick up three reliable soldiers and bury the corpses. Shortly thereafter, Rattenhuber reappeared in the "dog bunker" and addressed the soldiers, taking from them a solemn oath to keep secret everything that they saw and heard. For disclosure of secrets, the guilty will be immediately shot. Shortly before midnight, Mansfeld again took up his post on the tower. Russian shells continued to fall on the Imperial Chancellery, and the sky now and then was illuminated by flashes of explosions. Mansfeld noticed that one of the craters had been noticeably tweaked, and the bodies had disappeared from the fire. There was no doubt that the funnel was used as a grave for burnt bodies. Not a single shell could have left such an even rectangle in the ground. Around the same time, Karnau was patrolling the Vossstrasse with other police officers, and one of his comrades told him: “It is sad that none of the officers are interested in what became of the Fuhrer's body. I am proud that I alone know where he is buried. 232
In their accounts of the burning of the bodies, Karnau and Mansfeld agree on the details, but disagree on dates and times. Both are uncertain about the dates, but the dates indicated by Mansfeld are confirmed by circumstantial facts, but Karnau is hopelessly confused. If we accept Mansfeld's testimony as true, then the bodies were set on fire at about four o'clock in the afternoon (this is almost exact time) and continued to burn at half past six. Rattenhuber gave the order for burial "late at night", and they were buried at about eleven o'clock at night.

This is all we know about the destruction of the remains of Hitler and Eva Braun. Linge later told one of his secretaries that, as Hitler had ordered, his body was burned until there was "nothing left" of it. But the possibility of such complete combustion is highly doubtful. Slowly burned in the sand, 180 liters of gasoline could char the body and evaporate all the moisture from the tissues, leaving only an unrecognizably mutilated skeleton. But on such a fire it is impossible to burn the bones. But the bones were never found. Perhaps they were broken up and mixed with other bodies - the bodies of soldiers killed in the defense of the imperial office, and the body of Fegelein, also buried in the garden. The Russians dug up the garden and found many such bodies there. Perhaps, according to the words attributed to Günsche, the ashes were collected in a box and taken out of the imperial office. But probably no sophisticated explanation is needed. It is possible that the investigation carried out was simply sloppy. Investigators who did not see Hitler's official diary lying in plain sight for five months could all the more miss deliberately hidden evidence. But whatever the explanation, Hitler got his way: like Alaric, buried at the bottom of Busento, the modern destroyer of mankind will also never be found.

While sentries and guards contemplated the burning bodies in the garden of the Imperial Chancellery, the high-ranking inhabitants of the bunker were engaged in more mundane matters. After putting the bodies on fire and giving them their last respects, they returned to the safety of the basement to consider the future. Again, as after Hitler's farewell, there was such an impression that a gloomy, oppressive cloud had dissipated in the bunker. The nightmare of ideological suppression had disappeared, and although the prospects were more than doubtful, nevertheless, everyone was free to deal with these problems in a businesslike manner. It seemed that from that moment on, no one cared about the past, and even more so the corpses smoldering in the courtyard of the office. This episode was in the past, and now, within the short time still allotted to the inhabitants of the bunker, they had to solve their own problems. Yes, as the melancholy-minded policeman noted, it was a sad sight: no one cared about the body of the Fuhrer.

The first evidence of the changed atmosphere in the bunker was noticed by the secretaries, who were not present at the ceremony, but have now returned to their quarters. Linge and Günsche told them the details of what had happened, but it was not from these stories that it became clear to the women that Hitler was dead. Everyone in the bunker smoked. During the life of the Fuhrer, smoking in the bunker was strictly prohibited. But now the strict teacher was gone, and the boys could play pranks and break all the rules with impunity. Under the calming influence of nicotine, the absence of which probably increased the nervousness of the last week even more, people were finally able to seriously address the administrative problems left to them by Hitler.

First, there is the problem of succession. With Hitler's death, the center of power automatically shifted from the bunker to the new Fuhrer's distant headquarters in Schleswig-Holstein. It was mortally hard for Bormann to realize that after so many years of unlimited power, when he gave orders on behalf of Hitler, he would lose all his privileges if Dönitz did not confirm him as deputy party leader in the new government. On the other hand, it was highly unlikely that a copy of Hitler's will was already in the possession of Dönitz, who, therefore, is still unaware not only of Hitler's death, but also of his appointment as his successor. It is clear that Bormann's direct duty was to inform the new Fuhrer of these facts by telegram. It is interesting to note the ambiguous way in which this was done.

Immediately after Hitler's death, Bormann sent Dönitz the following telegram:

"Grand Admiral Dönitz. Instead of the former Reichsmarschall Goering, the Führer appoints you, Herr Grand Admiral, as his successor. A written confirmation of your authority has been sent to you. You must take all measures that you deem necessary. Bormann».

The telegram did not mention the important fact that Hitler was already dead by that time. It seems that Bormann wanted - albeit briefly - to extend his power, which he loved so much, but which, by law, he no longer possessed.

This telegram threw the inhabitants of Ploen into a stupor. The appointment of Dönitz as successor came as a complete surprise to him. Just two days earlier, Dönitz had paid a visit to Himmler and offered him all possible support as Hitler's most likely successor. Himmler at that moment was seriously engaged in the formation of his future government. Now he and Dönitz have switched roles. "Not Himmler, but Dönitz!" exclaimed the amazed Schwerin von Krosig, who, as always, bet on the wrong horse, although his ingenious ability to survive guaranteed him a place in any government. Dönitz himself was not only surprised, but mortally frightened. Among all the Nazi bosses, he was the only one who did not cherish the hope of becoming Hitler's successor. And now this appointment fell on him like snow on his head. Dönitz was nervous, even given only the post of commander of the armies in the northern region; upon receipt of Bormann's telegram, his state of health, as one source indicates 233
Julius Veitman, press officer at Dönitz's headquarters.

Surrounded by Dönitz, things got even worse. However, since it was an order from the Führer, it would not have occurred to anyone, and even less so Dönitz, to disobey this order. There was no conspiracy, no problem. Himmler's tall bodyguard had nothing to do here, and Himmler himself, reluctantly abandoning his unfulfilled hopes, offered his service to Dönitz, and Dönitz himself, just as reluctantly, accepted the heavy responsibility and replied with a telegram to the Fuhrer, whom he considered still alive:

"My Fuehrer! My loyalty to you remains unconditional. I will do everything in my power to get you out of Berlin. But if fate forces me to take the reins of government of the Reich as your successor, then I will continue this war to the end, worthy of the unprecedented heroic struggle of the German people. Grand Admiral Dönitz».

What purpose did Bormann pursue by concealing the fact of Hitler's death and at the same time covering himself with Dönitz's blessing to take power? Talking about human motives is a thankless task, but in this case one thing is clear: Bormann strove to get to Ploen at all costs. He had already considered various options for this difficult journey. It is likely that he expected to become a messenger who personally delivers the news of the death of the Fuhrer to Dönitz. Thus, having reduced the period of his fall from power to a minimum, Bormann probably hoped, having appeared at Dönitz at the most decisive moment, to maintain his authority and power.

Bormann's original plan was for a group breakout through the Russian positions, and all the inhabitants of the bunker were ordered to prepare for such a breakout attempt under cover of night. But such a breakthrough was very dangerous and could end in failure. Hitler had already declared such a breakthrough impossible the day before, when the situation was not so hopeless, and during the course of the day another idea arose of its own accord. Since Bormann and Goebbels, by virtue of Hitler's will, were members of the new government, the Russian command could well recognize their status and, if they offered surrender, send Bormann to Ploen for Dönitz to ratify the terms of such surrender. The Russians would then send Bormann to Ploen as a plenipotentiary diplomatic representative who would enter the new government and take the place of one of the leaders of the new Reich. Such hopes seem ridiculous to us; but there is nothing ridiculous on the Nazi ship of fools. These hopes were no more ludicrous than the political plans of Himmler, Schellenberg, Ribbentrop, Schwerin von Krosig, who all without exception allowed for the possibility of the resurrection of a Nazi or semi-Nazi state. Therefore, such a crazy idea did not seem ridiculous to Bormann either.

The project of establishing contacts and negotiations with the Russians was considered in detail at a lengthy meeting on the evening of 30 April. It was attended by Bormann, Goebbels, Krebs, Burgdorf and Axmann; perhaps also Monke. The Russian command was contacted by radio and asked if Marshal Zhukov would receive a representative of the German command. The answer was positive, and at midnight General Krebs left the bunker, carrying with him a letter from Goebbels and Bormann. Krebs was the most suitable emissary. Having worked for a long time as a military attache in Russia, he knew the Russians and spoke their language; he was known as an ardent supporter of Russian-German friendship. Bormann and Goebbels could justifiably hope that Krebs would be civilly welcomed at the headquarters of the Russian commander as a man whom Stalin himself once publicly embraced. 234
This happened in March 1941, during the seeing-off of Japanese Foreign Minister Matsuoka from Moscow to Berlin. This incident was told to me by General Game, who heard it from Krebs himself. In addition, this episode is mentioned in Zemler's diary. According to Zemler, Stalin “according to Russian custom, hugged him [Krebs] and said: ‘If we remain brothers, then nothing will ever happen to us in the future. See to it that we continue to be good friends."

In their letter, Bormann and Goebbels informed Zhukov of Hitler's death and, in confirmation of their right to negotiate, indicated to which positions in the new government they were appointed in the Führer's will. They authorized their envoy, General Krebs, to negotiate an armistice or a temporary ceasefire, pending the decision of Reich President Dönitz. 235
Testimony of Frau Christian and Fraulein Krueger.

Throughout the night and the next morning, Goebbels and Bormann waited for a report on the results of Krebs' trip to Zhukov. At eleven o'clock this message arrived, but it turned out to be unsatisfactory. 236
According to a statement by Lieutenant Colonel Troyanovsky, a correspondent for the Russian army newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda, Zhukov, turning to Krebs through General Chuikov, demanded unconditional surrender. Returning to the bunker, Krebs was again sent by Goebbels and Bormann to the Russians with the consent to surrender on the condition that their "government" would be recognized as Russian. This condition was rejected, and Krebs finally returned to the bunker.

And now, finally, Bormann decided to inform Dönitz that the time of his reign had come. But even this time, Bormann did not explicitly mention Hitler's death in the telegram. This laconic message was more concerned with the position of Bormann himself. The telegram read:

"Grand Admiral Dönitz. The will has come into effect. I will join you as soon as I can. Until then, I recommend refraining from any publications on this topic. Bormann».

Dönitz had to content himself with this short and not entirely exhaustive report.

At noon or a little later, Krebs returned to the bunker from Marshal Zhukov's headquarters. The answer he brought back was disappointing. The Russians demanded unconditional and unconditional surrender and the surrender of all the inhabitants of the bunker. There was no question of privileged status, nor of a possible trip to Schleswig-Holstein. Another meeting was held in the bunker, and it was decided to send a radio message to the Russians to end the negotiations. There was only one alternative left - a group breakthrough from the bunker.

At a quarter past four, a third and final telegram was sent to Dönitz, in addition to Bormann's stingy previous message. The telegram was this time signed by Goebbels. Having no political pretensions, Goebbels did not need, unlike Bormann, tricks and tricks; he could afford directness and frankness. The text of the telegram read:

"Grand Admiral Dönitz.

Top secret - urgently - to transfer to the addressee only with an officer.

The Fuhrer died yesterday at 15.30. By his testament of April 29, you were appointed Reich President, Reich Minister Dr. Goebbels - Reich Chancellor, Reichsleiter Bormann - Minister of Party Affairs, Reich Minister Seyss-Inquart - Minister of Foreign Affairs. By order of the Fuhrer, copies of the will were sent to you, Field Marshal Scherner and to Munich, for storage and subsequent publication. Reichsleiter Bormann expects to depart for you today and inform you of the situation. The time and form of the message in the press and in an address to the troops are left to your discretion. Confirm receipt. Goebbels» 237
This telegram to Dönitz was only sent from Goebbels, but this may be a mistake; Dönitz cipher Edmund Kraft subsequently testified under oath that he had accidentally omitted Bormann's signature, and Dönitz's adjutant Walter Ludde-Neurath, in his book Regierung Doenitz (Göttingen, 1950), mentioning only Goebbels' signature, writes that he cannot state with full certainty that the telegram was not signed, moreover, by Bormann.

Having received this telegram, Dönitz not only assumed the burden of responsibility, but also the rights associated with the new appointment, which included the right to accept or reject the advice of the ministers of the former government and the right to appoint the members of the new government himself. He decided not to appoint as ministers the people imposed on him by telegram (for he never received, either then or later, full list ministers named in the will), and not wait for the arrival of Bormann to speak on the radio. At half past nine in the evening, the Hamburg radio warned the German people that an important message was about to be broadcast. Then, against the background of heroic motifs from Wagner's operas and slow passages of Bruckner's Seventh Symphony, followed by an official announcement of the death of Hitler, who fought to the end with Bolshevism. At twenty minutes past eleven, Dönitz himself addressed the German people, announcing the death of Hitler and his appointment. The Fuhrer, said the Grand Admiral, fell "this afternoon"; he died "fighting ahead of his loyal troops". Both of these statements are false, because Hitler died "yesterday" and not "today", and since Dönitz was not informed about exactly how Hitler died, the statement of the new Fuhrer was pure water speculation. The first inaccuracy was probably just a mistake; the second is most likely intentional. If Dönitz knew and said that Hitler committed suicide, how would the troops react to such news? Wouldn't the soldiers and officers feel that the Fuhrer had betrayed them by leaving his post, freeing them from their oath of allegiance by his desertion? In any case, this was the reaction of Koller and Jodl on April 22, when Hitler announced his intention to commit suicide, as was the reaction of General Weidling. Weidling, as usual, arrived at the bunker, where he was told that "the Fuhrer had committed hara-kiri"; thereafter, Weidling returned to his command post and released his subordinates from their oath of allegiance to Hitler. Like a new Fuhrer who considered the oath given to his predecessor still valid 238
It was this point of view that Dönitz adhered to in his address to the German people on the evening of May 1. Due to the lack of reliable communication, Dönitz was physically unable to bring the army to a new oath of allegiance to himself.

Dönitz could not allow such a development of events. If he was going to conduct successful negotiations on a separate peace with the West, then he needed the reliable support of the army, which would strengthen his position in such negotiations. That is why, not knowing the real circumstances of Hitler's death, he did not doubt for a minute that it would be most reasonable to say that the Fuhrer died a glorious death as a soldier.

Meanwhile, back in the bunker, Bormann and his colleagues were planning the details of a massive breakthrough that would lead to everyone's rescue and bring Bormann himself back to power. But not all the inhabitants of the bunker were going to run away. Among them were those who lost hope and lost interest in life, those who, like Zander, decided to meet death in the ruins of the imperial office. Among these inhabitants of the bunker was Goebbels. This decision was made a long time ago. He outlined it in the "Supplement" to Hitler's political testament. Goebbels' wife received the last award for loyalty from Hitler, and now the hour has come. After sending his last telegram, Goebbels returned to his quarters with his wife and children. Several friends came to say goodbye to them, among them Axman and Kempka. Then the Goebbelses began to prepare for death. This time there was no Wagnerian drama; Goebbels was not going to compete with the owner. As a tribal leader, Hitler was entitled to a spectacular, symbolic funeral pyre; but Goebbels, as a minor figure, should have followed him slowly and more modestly. He analyzed the situation again and came to the conclusion that the outcome could only be emptiness, nothingness. Self-destruction was the only true conclusion from Goebbels' ideological nihilism. The children were poisoned with a pre-prepared poison. After that, in the evening, Goebbels called his adjutant Günther Schwegermann. “Schwegermann,” Goebbels told him, “the worst betrayal has happened. The generals betrayed the Fuhrer. Everything is lost. I must die with my wife and children. You will burn my corpse. Can you do it?" Schwegermann promised, and Goebbels let him go, giving him a farewell photograph of Hitler in a silver frame, which stood on Goebbels's desk. I said goodbye to the adjutant and Magda Goebbels. Then Schwegermann sent the driver Goebbels and one SS man to get gasoline for the funeral pyre. Yesterday's grotesque scene was to be repeated, but on a less pompous scale. Shortly thereafter (at about half past eight in the evening) Goebbels and his wife walked through the bunker to the exit. At the foot of the stairs leading to the garden of the Imperial Chancellery, without saying a word, they passed by Schwegermann's adjutant and Rach's driver, who were standing there, and went out into the garden. Immediately after that, two shots were fired. When Rakh and Schwegerman went upstairs, they saw the corpses of Goebbels and his wife lying on the ground, and the SS man who had shot them was standing nearby. Obediently following the last order, they doused the bodies with gasoline, set them on fire and left. The cremation was sloppy, and the next day the Russians found these corpses only slightly charred - no one had bothered to bury them. On their way back, Schwegermann and Rach encountered Brigadeführer Mohncke, who ordered them to set fire to the bunker. They poured the rest of the gasoline in the conference room and set it on fire. It was nine o'clock in the evening when they left the Fuhrer's bunker, after which an exodus from the office began. 239
This account is based largely on the testimony of Schwegermann, supplemented by the testimony of Axmann and Kempka.