Hitler: The Last Ten Days

Hitler remained convinced that his will alone could reverse the military situation, dismissing warnings from Keitel and Krebs about the Red Army's encirclement. He clung to delusional plans for future Nazi conquests of Britain and the Soviet Union even as German forces collapsed around him. This detachment from reality was rooted in his belief that supernatural forces or last-minute reversals could still deliver victory.

On April 22, Hitler demanded news of Steiner's assault against the Red Army, expecting a breakthrough that would save Berlin. General Alfred Jodl revealed that Steiner never commenced the attack because he lacked sufficient forces to make it viable. The news directly triggered Hitler's decision to commit suicide rather than be captured, as the last hope for military salvation evaporated.

Earlier, Hitler had ordered Steiner's attack despite warnings about Berlin's encirclement.

Hitler resolved to end his life after learning that Steiner's promised counterattack would never happen, making capture by the Soviets inevitable. Throughout the final days, he had refused to acknowledge the worsening situation and clung to fantasies of reversal, but the confirmation of total military collapse broke his resolve. He chose suicide over the humiliation of falling into enemy hands.

On April 29, Hitler dictated his last will and testament and gave SS officer Hoffmann a copy to safeguard. Hoffmann left the bunker with the document but later destroyed it in disgust at his own complicity with the Nazi cause. The destruction represented a personal rejection of the regime's ideology rather than a deliberate act of sabotage.

Göring sent a telegram on April 23 seeking to take control of the government, interpreting Hitler's isolation as an opportunity to negotiate with the Allies. Hitler construed this as a coup attempt and responded by ordering Göring's arrest. The incident also led to Robert Ritter von Greim being summoned to replace Göring as head of the Luftwaffe.

Hitler released Hoffmann from his suicide pact on April 29, giving him a copy of the last will to safeguard. Hoffmann left the bunker and later burned the document in disgust at how easily he had been swept into the Nazi cause. His departure marked a personal retreat from the regime's remaining rationalizations and a rejection of his own complicity.

Hoffmann had initially joined the suicide pact with Eva Braun and the Goebbels family.

Hitler secretly married Eva Braun on April 28-29, 1945, as the Soviet noose around Berlin tightened. The marriage was part of his preparations for death, providing her with legal status as his wife. Eva had remained in the bunker voluntarily, having declared she would stay until the end alongside the Führer.

On April 29-30, Hitler ordered a scorched earth policy to render Berlin useless to the Soviets, essentially destroying infrastructure to deny the enemy any valuable territory. The generals exchanged reluctant glances and chose not to execute the order. Their refusal represented a final, quiet act of defiance against a regime that had led Germany to catastrophic defeat.

After hearing the gunshot that marked Hitler's suicide on April 30, the bunker staff responded by lighting cigarettes in open defiance of his strict smoking ban. The act symbolized a final, quiet rebellion against the dying regime and represented the collapse of the Führer's authority even in death. The gesture marked the end of the Nazi hierarchy's control over the bunker.

On April 22-23, Hitler consulted a horoscope from 1941 that predicted the war's end, misreading it as a sign that the Allies could still be defeated. The horoscope briefly lifted his mood and contributed to dangerous optimism, prompting him to order a renewed assault by Wenck. Hoffmann watched this misinterpretation with a mix of hope and realization that the Führer was deluding himself.