Adolf Hitler, the brutal leader responsible for the deaths of more than 80 million people
died on April 30th, 1945 just 24 hours before the Soviet army hoisted its
victory banner over the symbolic heart of nazi Germany, the Reichstag building
in Berlin, in this episode, you'll travel back in time to the climax of World War II,
and learn the key facts about the last few months of the fuhrer's life and death.
In early 1945 almost six years into WWII Germany's positions on both the western and eastern fronts
were deteriorating rapidly. Allied forces were approaching berlin lightning-fast, demolishing
their nazi counterparts on land, air, and water It became apparent that unless Hitler and his high command
could come up with a genius plan, Germany would inevitably lose the war.
But well, let's put it like this, playing defense was not Hitler's favorite thing. Unlike Stalin,
Churchill and Roosevelt who had enough sense to leave military strategy to their generals,
Hitler was blinded by his success in the first few years of the war and saw himself as both supreme statesman
and supreme military commander. From his underground bunker in the heart of Berlin, where
he stayed 99% of the time during the last three and a half months of the war, Hitler was micromanaging
what was left of the German army and thinking that he was still dictating the course of the war.
It almost sounds absurd but until the very last days Hitler did not have the slightest
idea of what was happening above his bunker. In fact, he was still ordering offensives.
He could have checked on the state of affairs in Berlin simply by climbing the stairs up to the surface
but he didn't want to destroy his fantasy world through contact with reality.
As German positions on the battleground were deteriorating, so was Hitler's health.
Shaking of his head and trembling of the left side of his body, which was especially apparent in the
arm and hand were increasing. His movements had become still more shambling, his posture more bent.
When walking he would place his right hand on his left and when sitting he would
cross his right leg over his left in an attempt to conceal the trembling of his limbs from others.
it was not only his body which was showing symptoms of breakdown but his mind as well.
He grew increasingly indecisive. At the beginning of March for example he decided to send 22 tanks to
support nazi troops fighting in the Rhineland. Due to the absolute air superiority of the allies
and the extensive damage to the German rail network, there was no direct route. First, Hitler ordered
the tanks to be sent to the Pirmasens area. When the situation in that area steadily deteriorated
he diverted them in the direction of Koblenz. But when they failed to arrive there on time,
Hitler ordered still more detours until finally nobody had any idea where the tanks really were.
The result was that they never reached the front, but instead fell into the hands of the Americans
still in as good condition as when they had left the factory. Though Hitler held on tightly
to the reins of the government and the military, he often chose to focus a great deal of his attention
elsewhere especially whenever a new medal needed to be designed. An amateur painter who was
passionate about design and art, Hitler designed nearly all of the nazi military medals himself.
in fact, one of Hitler's last appearances outside of his bunker occurred precisely a month before
his death, when he decorated the members of the Hitler youth with medals he had recently designed.
In late April of 1945, the Soviet army reached berlin during his very last conference with the
nazi high command as his generals updated him on the situation hitler finally realized it was all over.
He turned deathly pale and then went purple in the face. His voice cracked and he
screamed of disloyalty, cowardice, treachery and insubordination at the end of the tirade he sank
back into his chair and muttered quietly - "it's all over. The war is lost. I shall shoot myself".
One day before his death and his bunker 55 feet underground Hitler married Eva Braun, his long time companion.
There was a proper wedding with registrars, loud and clear "I do's", witnesses and
a breakfast feast. The next day both the bride and groom died by suicide. She took a cyanide capsule and he
allegedly shot himself. Per Hitler's will their remains were carried up the stairs through the
bunker's emergency exit doused in gasoline and set alight. it took a few days for the soviets to
confirm that the remains truly belonged to Hitler and Braun. But they made no official statements
of Hitler's death, Stalin who did not trust the Western allies decided to keep the whole story
under strict secrecy, he considered that maybe one day it would be useful to leave his allies in the dark.
Stalin's decision to withhold this critical piece of information was the first step towards
the cold war but that's another story. As far as the last days of Adolf Hitler, this is how it was.
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