Hitler's last 24 hours: I want to be a beautiful corpse, said Eva amid a frenzy of sex and

drinking
Hitler's Last Day: Minute by Minute tells amazing story of tyrant's final fall
Debauchery broke out among Hitler's henchmen as Russians close in
Hitler claims a shot through the mouth is most efficient way to kill yourself
But Eva prefers to take cyanide and says she hopes it will not be painful

A mesmerising new book gives a minute-by-minute account of Hitlers last day in his Berlin bunker
exactly 70 years ago. On Saturday, in our first extract, we revealed how he toasted his wedding to
Eva Braun before preparing for death. Today, we tell how an orgy of drunkenness and debauchery
broke out among his henchmen as the Russians closed in.
7am, Sunday, April 29, 1945
The people of Berlin are emerging from their overcrowded underground bunkers in search of food.
Armin Lehmann, 16, working as a Hitler Youth courier, is horrified by the desperation of ordinary
citizens, many of whom are starving. Recently, he saw two men hacking with a knife at a horse. It
had been injured by shrapnel, but was still alive.

Another Hitler Youth runner appears in the upper bunker to report that Russian tanks are now
about 500m from the Reich Chancellery. [Both the upper and lower bunkers, where Hitler and a
few staff have been living since January, are below the Reich Chancellery. The Fuhrer spends
most of his time in the lower one known as the Fuhrerbunker which is protected by a 10ft-
deep concrete roof.]
10.30am
In his office in the upper bunker, the monocled General Krebs is on the phone to army HQ in
Berlin. Hes told the German defence is collapsing on all fronts. Then the line suddenly goes dead:
the balloon that supports radio-telephone communications has been shot down.
All telephone contact between Berlin and the outside world has just ended. From now on, the
Hitler Youth runners will have to risk their lives several times a day as they dodge across
Wilhelmstrasse, Berlins central street, taking messages between army HQ and the Fuhrerbunker.
It was a nightmare . . . a game of Russian Roulette, 16-year-old Armin Lehmann recalled. Those
who stepped out from cover were taking their life in their hands.
At best, theyd get a mouthful of the constant cloud of phosphorus smoke and poisonous petrol
from the incendiaries; at worst, theyd be sliced down by a Russian rocket. Wilhelmstrasse stank
with the smell of scorched bodies.
Boys who refuse to follow orders are strung up as an example to others. Only a couple of days
ago, Lehmann was briefly arrested for staring at the body of a boy he cant have been more
than 13 whod been hanged from a post with a length of clothes-line.
11am

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Saturday, in our first extract, we revealed how Hitler toasted his wedding to Eva Braun before
preparing for death
Heinz Linge, Hitlers valet, knocks on the door of his masters small bedroom. For the past six
years, its been part of Linges job to help him get dressed.
The routines always the same. Linge holds a stopwatch to time the process, which begins when
Hitler shouts Los! (on your marks). In the early days, the faster he got dressed, the better the
Fuhrers mood.
This morning, however, Hitler is lying on his bed fully clothed. Except for his tie. Theres a special
ritual for the tie. Hitler stands in front of the mirror, with his eyes closed, and counts the seconds
as Linge does it up. Then he opens his eyes and checks the tie in the mirror.
 A few seconds later, Hitlers barber, August Wollenhaupt, comes into the bedroom to give his hair
and moustache their fortnightly trim.
Hitlers moustache is designed to cover his unusually large nostrils. The style originated in
America, where its known as the toothbrush moustache and sported by Charlie Chaplin and Walt
Disney. In Bavaria, its known as a Rotzbremse or snot brake.
Linge now administers cocaine drops to Hitlers right eye, which has been causing intense pain for
the past few days, and gives him a packet of pastilles to suck through the day. These are the anti-
gas pills that his master takes for stomach cramps and flatulence.
For the first time in nine years, Hitler has no personal doctor. A week ago, he furiously dismissed
Dr Theodor Morell, after accusing the doctor of trying to sedate him in order to whisk him out of
Berlin.
Morell has left behind a cabinet full of medicines, including glucose and amphetamine injections,
which he used daily to boost the Fuhrers energy. At one point, Hitler was having 28 different pills
and injections every day.
The Fuhrer has long been a hypochondriac, but hes now suffering from Parkinsons disease and
a heart problem, as well as from numerous stress-related conditions.
Before dismissing Linge this morning, Hitler asks him to get Wulf, his favourite puppy among those
born in the bunker to his Alsatian, Blondi.
The Fuhrer is particularly attached to Blondi, who sometimes provides a whole evenings
entertainment. She barks on command and howls when he orders her to sing.

+7

Authors Emma Craigie and Jonathan Mayo have meticulously recreated every detail of Hitler's last
day
Hes most proud of the fact that when he tells her to sing like Zarah Leander a Swedish singer
famed for her deep voice Blondi gives a deeper howl.
11.05am
General Burgdorf, a commander in the army, drops round to see if General Krebs fancies a drink.
Hes closely followed by Hitlers private secretary, Martin Bormann, whos also ready to hit the
bottle.
Along with the two generals, hes been spending most of his time sitting in the bunker corridors,
drinking schnapps.
From time to time, all three cruise over to the Reich Chancellery, where a kind of mass hysteria,
fuelled by an endless supply of alcohol in the cellars, has led to a relaxing of sexual inhibitions.
Bormanns philandering has the support of his wife Gerda, the mother of his ten children. Just over
a year ago, he wrote to her with the proud news that hed succeeded in seducing the well-known
actress Manja Behrens.
Gerda wrote straight back, congratulating him and offering to welcome Manja into their household.
They should arrange a system of motherhood by shifts, she said, so that you always have a wife
who is usable.
11.45am
The six children of Joseph and Magda Goebbels are playing in the corridor of the upper bunker.
Most of them are excited to be here they call the bunker a cave and have made several
friends. Rochus Misch, the gentle giant at the switchboard, is a particular favourite. Theyve made
up a rhyme about him which the four-year-old, Heide, sings every time they see him: Misch, Misch
du bist ein Fisch! [Misch, Misch, youre a fish!]
Theyre charming and well brought-up children, according to Hitlers secretary Traudl Junge, whos
been helping to look after them, and know nothing of the fate that awaits them
Only the oldest, Helga, sometimes had a sad, knowing expression in her big brown eyes, Junge
will write later. She was the quietest, and sometimes I think, with horror, that in her heart that child
saw through the pretence of the grown-ups.
2pm
 Hitler is lunching with Eva Braun whom he married a few hours ago and his two remaining
secretaries. Hes been sharing his meals with secretaries since autumn 1942, shortly after the
start of the Battle of Stalingrad.

+7

Hitler told his valet to wrap up and burn his and Eva's bodies once they had shot themselves
Until then, hed always eaten with his adjutants, but their conversation about what was turning out
to be the bloodiest single battle in history was putting him off his food.
The secretaries have a rota to make sure someones with him for every meal, including tea in the
early morning hours. Theyve been instructed not to bring difficult issues into the conversation.
Today, however, its Hitler who raises a difficult subject. Ill never fall into the enemys hands,
dead or alive, he tells them. Im leaving orders for my body to be burned so no one can ever find
it.
Traudl Junge eats mechanically as the conversation turns to the best method of suicide.
Hitler says, matter-of-factly: The best way is to shoot yourself in the mouth. Your skull is shattered
and you dont notice anything. Death is instantaneous.
Eva is horrified. I want to be a beautiful corpse . . . Im going to take poison, she says. She shows
the secretaries a little brass box containing a phial of cyanide, which she keeps in the pocket of
her dress. I wonder if it hurts very much, she says. Im so frightened of suffering for a long time . .
. Im ready to die heroically, but at least I want it to be painless.
Hitler reassures her: The nervous and respiratory systems are paralysed within seconds.
Junge and Gerda Christian exchange glances, then turn in unison to the Fuhrer. Do you have any
phials we could use? Neither woman is keen to commit suicide, but poison could be preferable to
capture by the Russians.
The Fuhrer says hell make sure they each get one. Im very sorry I cant give you a better
farewell present.
About 3pm
In the loos opposite the switchboard, the Fuhrers beloved Alsatian, Blondi, is trembling as her
handler, Sergeant Fritz Tornow, holds her nose and forces her jaw open.
One of the Reich Chancellery doctors, Werner Haase, crushes a cyanide capsule inside her
mouth with a pair of pliers. Blondi falls sideways as if struck by lightning.
Hitler comes by to inspect the body. He wants to see for himself that the cyanide capsules actually
work. The smell of bitter almonds from the cyanide overwhelms Misch, the telephonist, who
rushes out of the switchboard room to get away from it.

A picture of Adolf Hitler taken by the Russians in his Berlin bunker on April 30th,1945 after he had
shot himself
Tornow carries Blondis body up to the Chancellery gardens, where he buries it. Then he returns
for Wulf and the four other puppies, takes them to the garden to be shot and buries them with their
mother.
4pm
In the Reich Chancellerys green room, propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels and his family are at a
farewell party for some Hitler Youth. About 40 people have gathered, including staff and patients
from the emergency hospital thats been set up in the Chancellery cellar.
The Goebbels children are passed from lap to lap. After a meal of pea soup, Goebbels asks the
Hitler Youth to sing some of the old Nazi fighting songs. He listens with tears running down his
cheeks.
His children then gather around the table and start singing German folk songs and lullabies, to the
accompaniment of a young soldier playing an accordion.
About 10pm
Hitler is sitting at the table in the Fuhrerbunker conference room, reading the transcript of a
broadcast about the death of Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, who was shot and then strung up by
his ankles.
 Heinz Linge is standing behind him. Part of his duty is to ensure the Fuhrer has access at all times
to pencils, spectacles, magnifying glasses, atlases and compasses.
On this occasion, Hitler needs neither spectacles nor a magnifying glass as the transcript has
been typed in extra-large Fuhrer font. He does, however, require a pencil, which he uses to
underline three words hanging upside down.
Even now, he hasnt completely given up hope that Berlin can be relieved. He orders a radio
message to be sent to the German forces, asking when and where their attacks will be taking
place.
His questions reflect his complete disconnection from the military realities. None of his
commanders believes in the possibility of saving Berlin any more.
12.30am, Monday, April 30
In the switchboard room, Rochus Misch is woken from a doze by a message from Hitler. Has there
been any news about a German counter-attack, he wants to know. There hasnt.
1.30am

+7

Hitler and Eva Braun had separate bedrooms in the bunker. In the past, she complained the
Fuhrer only loved her when they were in bed together
About 25 guards and servants have been summoned from the Reich Chancellery to the
Fuhrerbunker. Hitler tells them he intends to take his own life rather than be captured by the
Russians.
I dont want to be put on show like an exhibition in a museum, he says. Then he shuffles along
the line of people, shaking hands with each of them, thanking them for their service and telling
them theyre released from their oath of loyalty.
2am
SS doctor Professor Ernst Schenck has never been physically so close to Hitler. Looking at the
Fuhrers eyes, he notices that theyre expressionless and bloodshot, with dark bags beneath.
Schenck, who previously experimented on prisoners at Dachau concentration camp, is one of four
medics whove been woken from deep sleep for this meeting. After working in the emergency
hospital all week, carrying out operations on an endless stream of wounded people, hes
exhausted.
Hitler, he notes, is a diminished, hunched man with shaking limbs who clearly has Parkinsons
disease. He also has food stains on his jacket. In short, hes nothing like the inspiring leader that
Schenck has admired from afar.
Slowly, the Fuhrer moves along the line of medics, shaking their hands and mumbling thanks for
their work. Among them is a nurse, Erna Flegel.
When Hitler takes her hand, she breaks down, sobbing. My Fuhrer! Have faith in the final victory.
Lead us and we will follow you!
Hitler doesnt respond.
2.30am
The doctors and nurses join a big party of drinkers in the corridor of the upper bunker. Two
secretaries now appear with a third woman Eva Hitler. She sits at one end of the table,
knocking back the booze and dominating the conversation with chirpy stories.
Dr Schenck cant tell whether the tremor in her voice is caused by a lisp or by alcohol.
3am
Hitlers just been told that German troops are either encircled or under attack and cannot reach
Berlin. In frustration, he orders a message to be sent to Admiral Donitz, head of the German navy:
Immediate ruthless action must be taken against all traitors.

+7

Adolf Hitler and his mistress Eva Braun, whom he finally married after 14 years in his bunker
beneath Berlin
Dr Schenck is desperate for a pee. He leaves the drinkers and hurries down to the lower bunker.
Its normally guarded by two armed men, but they seem to have disappeared.
The Fuhrerbunker is ghostly quiet except for the drone of the diesel generator and the distant
sounds of a boisterous party, somewhere in the Reich Chancellery.
Through an open doorway, he sees the Fuhrer standing by a table, in deep conversation with
another medic Dr Haase.
Hitler is telling Haase that he wants to die at exactly the same moment as Eva. They agree that
hell have two pistols, in case one jams, and two cyanide capsules, in case one is a dud. Eva will
also have two capsules.
Hell put one capsule in his mouth and hold the pistol at eyebrow level at a right angle, with the
muzzle resting on his temple. Then hell fire and bite simultaneously.
Later, Dr Haase talks to Eva. She tells him shes worried that shell lose her resolve if Hitler dies
first. Haase tells her to bite the moment she hears a shot. Shell also have a pistol, he tells her
but she says she doesnt want to use it.
In the Ministry of the Interior, about 600 yards from the Reich Chancellery, a Soviet kitchen has
been set up in the basement. A vat of porridge is being hurriedly cooked as an early breakfast for
troops about to launch a dawn assault on the Reichstag Germanys former parliament building.
Stalin has ordered that the red flag should be flying from its rooftop in time for Russias national
May Day holiday tomorrow.
4.30am
In the Fuhrerbunker, Hitler retires to bed. Dr Schenck makes his way back to the Reich
Chancellery, where a raucous party is still in full swing. Behind the door of the Chancellery dental
surgery, a woman is being strapped into the dentists chair.
By day, this room is used for tooth extractions; by night, its the most popular place to have sex.
6am
Hitler is sitting in a chair beside his bed, wearing soft leather slippers and a black satin dressing
gown over his nightshirt. Hes just summoned General Mohnke to ask: How long can we hold
out?
Twenty or 24 hours at most, mein Fuhrer.
The first company of Russian soldiers charges towards the Reichstag. After less than 200ft,
theyre thrown to the ground by a hurricane of German fire. Meanwhile, a premature message of
triumph is being radioed to Moscow, telling Stalin that the Reichstag has been taken.
6.30am
For the second day in a row, Hitlers valet finds his master lying on his bed fully clothed in uniform
jacket and black trousers. Hitler puts his finger to his lips, gets up and shuffles quietly down the
corridor.
Martin Bormann and Generals Krebs and Burgdorf are asleep on the benches outside his room.
Beside them are bottles of schnapps and loaded pistols, safety catches off. Both secretaries are
sleeping on camp beds in the conference room.
In the switchboard room, Hitler radios a message to the commandant of Berlin, asking for an
update. The reply comes quickly: the Russians are in immediate proximity.
7am
Eva Hitler has barely slept. She hurries up the concrete steps to the Reich Chancellery garden.
She has a sudden urge to see the sun once more.
The garden has been wrecked by shelling and the sky is darkened by smoke from the battle of the
Reichstag. She hesitates briefly before returning to her bedroom.
Half an hour later, Adolf Hitler follows his wifes example and heads up the steps to the garden. As
he reaches the top, the sounds of shelling intensifies. Instead of opening the door, he turns around
and slowly makes his way back down.
Could he not bear to see the spot where he knows his body will soon be cremated?
For, as we shall learn in tomorrows instalment, the sound of a pistol shot will shortly be heard in
the bunkers concrete corridors and its echo will reverberate across the whole world.
Hitlers Last Day: Minute By Minute, by Jonathan Mayo and Emma Craigie (Short Books, 14.99).
2015 Jonathan Mayo and Emma Craigie. To buy a copy for 12.74 (discount until Saturday,
April 18), visit mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0808 272 0808. p&p is free for a limited time.