April 30 in History
1945 - Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker in Berlin, Germany
Adolf Hitler, chancellor and dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, died by suicide via gunshot on this day in 1945 in the Führerbunker in Berlin after it became clear that Germany would lose the Battle of Berlin, which led to the end of World War II in Europe. Eva Braun, his wife of one day, also died by suicide, taking cyanide. In accordance with Hitler’s prior written and verbal instructions, that afternoon their remains were carried up the stairs and through the bunker’s emergency exit to the Reich Chancellery garden, where they were doused in petrol and burned. The news of Hitler’s death was announced on German radio the next day, May 1.
Eyewitnesses who saw Hitler’s body immediately after his suicide testified that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot, which has been established to have been a shot to the temple. Otto Günsche, Hitler’s personal adjutant, who handled both bodies, testified that while Braun’s smelled strongly of burnt almonds – an indication of cyanide poisoning – there was no such odour about Hitler’s body, which smelled of gunpowder. Dental remains extracted from the soil in the garden were matched with Hitler’s dental records in May 1945. The dental remains were later confirmed as being Hitler’s.
-Wikipedia
Photo Caption – Eva Braun and Hitler at Berchtesgaden (with Hitler’s dog Blondi at right), in June 1942 – Bundesarchiv
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.