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On April 30, 1945, Adolf Hitler took his life in his subterranean Berlin bunker. The impact of his suicide on the war was more emotional than strategic. He killed himself because he understood that surrender and capture were inevitable. Still, in the aftermath of Hitler's suicide, there were many consequences and reactions on an individual and a collective level.
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Knowing that his defeat and capture was inevitable
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Adolf Hitler took his own life in a subterranean Berlin bunker on April 30, 1945
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His demise triggered a ripple effect of consequences that would leave Germany in disarray
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and his supporters scrambling to escape justice. So today, we're going to take a look
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at what actually happened after the death of Adolf Hitler. OK, time to take your front row seats
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for the fall of the Third Reich. Right before Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun offed themselves on the afternoon of April 30, 1945
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Hitler told aide Martin Borman that he and Eva were to be cremated as quickly as possible
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so their bodies could never be displayed by the victorious Allies, like 10-point bucks on the hood of a pickup
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For the group of officers who were charged with destroying his body, however, a simple logistical detail quickly became a major problem
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They couldn't find any gasoline to ignite the Fuhrer. It was like that Alanis Morissette song
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And to complicate matters, the Russians were so close to the bunker that attempting to fetch
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the fuel elsewhere in Berlin was impossible. The only option was to siphon gas from damaged vehicles in the bunker's underground garage
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which recovered in collapsed concrete and masonry. Approximately 200 liters were quickly extracted and placed near the entrance to the bunker
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That seems like plenty, but apparently it wasn't. Hitler's chauffeur, Erich Kempke, and adjutants Otto Gunther and Hans Linge placed Hitler's
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and Braun's bodies in the courtyard while Russian shells landed in the area, throwing
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up columns of dust and soil. The three poured gasoline over both bodies and ignited the pyre with a gasoline-doused
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rag under the watchful eye of Bormann and propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels
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But when the fuel was consumed, the bodies were still not completely destroyed
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So the group repeated the process for the rest of the afternoon, finding and dumping hundreds more gallons of gasoline on the Fuhrer and Ewa
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The charred remains of the bodies and those of Hitler's two dogs were then buried in a shallow trench beside the bunker
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Apparently, Hitler couldn't stand the thoughts of his pets being adopted by the Allies
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When Hitler took himself out, Goebbels and his wife, Magda, had already determined that they would not only off themselves
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but also do away with their six young children. Magda was especially determined to make sure her children didn't survive
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believing they would suffer a life of scorn and ridicule. She coerced an SS medical officer with a background in dentistry
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Helmut Kuntz, to assist with her scheme. Kuntz initially refused and even fled the bunker to avoid the horrible task
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but Magda threatened to tell her husband of his desertion. Kuntz returned, and on the night of May 1st, 1945
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As the children prepared for bed, Magda ordered Kuntz to give them an injection of morphine
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to knock them out. While they were unconscious each child was force cyanide capsules A few minutes later Joseph and Magda went into the Garden of the Chancellery accompanied by Goebbels SS adjutant Gunther Schwagermann where they offed themselves with Schwagermann help
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A good manager knows when to delegate. Many of the same people who followed Hitler into life followed him out of it as well
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The mayor of Leipzig, his wife, and many other city officials threw a party in the town hall
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that they capped off by drinking poison. In Demen, 1,000 civilians took their lives in less than 72 hours leading up to the capture
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of the town by Russian invaders, specifically to avoid falling into Soviet hands
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Ernst Robert Gravitz, a doctor involved in concentration camp extermination, sat down
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with his family at the dinner table and detonated two grenades. Across Germany, thousands of people, either ardent supporters who couldn't bear the idea
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of defeat, for individuals culpable of horrific crimes, chose oblivion rather than capture or escape
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With the smell of defeat in the air, various German officials spent the final days of the Third Reich
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attempting to improve their own political stature or desperately bargain with the Allies
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to avoid punishment after the war. Hitler, obviously, wasn't too happy about the situation
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And when he heard of the perceived treacheries of Hermann Goering and Heinrich Himmler, both of whom fled Berlin after Adolf's birthday party
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he immediately rewrote his last political will and testament to reflect his contempt and anger
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over these developments. Petty, yeah, but it was his party. He can cry if he wants to
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Surprisingly, once Hitler was gone, this left the completely apolitical admiral and U-boat commander
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Karl Donitz as the new president of the Reich, for a few days at least anyway
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When Stalin, a man not known for sugarcoating his thoughts, heard of Hitler's demise, he purportedly
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said, so the 's dead. Too bad we didn't capture him alive. You don't often hear this
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but Stalin had a point. However, the man with the iron stash wanted absolute proof of his rival's
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demise. So he ordered elements of the elite Soviet investigation unit, known as SMERSH
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to find tangible verification of Hitler's passing. SMERSH. All the good acronyms must have been taken
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On May 2nd, SMERSH operatives sealed off the Chancellery Garden and Bunker area and began a
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systematic search of the grounds. After three days, a Russian officer dug up the remains of Hitler and
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Eva. But thanks to all the hijinks with gasoline, their remains were unrecognizable. They were moved
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to a secret location where Hitler was identified via dental records. How did they get those dental
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records? Well, the Smirsch unit found Hitler's dentist's office, only to find the dentist himself
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had fled successfully to the West. They detained the dentist's assistant, Kata Hauserman, who
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described Hitler's teeth, which were distinctively bad as a result of the Fuhrer's love of cake and
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sweets and produced the Fuhrer dental x Stalin showed his gratitude by sentencing her to 10 years in a Soviet labor camp Thanks Uncle Joe
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What was left of the German government took a day to publicly announce Hitler's passing
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Broadcasting on the Reichsender Hamburg, the last shortwave radio station in Germany-controlled
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territory in Hamburg, the announcement was preceded by the somber music of Wagner and
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Bruckner, because Candle in the Wind hadn't been recorded yet. The report itself was a bit fanciful
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claiming that Hitler died fighting till his last breath against Bolshevism. The new leader of the
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government, Admiral Karl Donitz, then presented a lengthy oration praising Hitler's heroic demise
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leaving out the factual details, and imploring the German people to fight against the annihilation
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by the advancing Bolshevist enemy. The decision to postpone inevitable surrender prolonged the
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fighting until May 8th, a week later. News of Hitler's dirt nap was officially received
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around the world. The BBC broadcast news of the Donitz announcement, but also cautioned that it could be propaganda designed
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to help Hitler escape. The front page of the Daily Express newspaper
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printed the headline, Hitler is dead, but pointedly refused to publish an obituary
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saying instead, it prints today every line of information about the manner of his death
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It wastes no inch of space upon his career. The evil of his deeds is all too well known
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Despite the confusion, it was generally accepted by the public that Hitler was gone
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It wasn't until May 2, 1945, that President Harry Truman addressed Hitler's demise in a less than official manner
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during a news conference. A reporter asked whether the US official knew Hitler
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was out of the picture, and Truman responded with a succinct, yes
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While Truman admitted they didn't know yet how Hitler had passed, he insisted that they had it on the best authority possible that the dictator was
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pushing daisies. Truman refused to reveal who that authority was, but we can be pretty sure it wasn't
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Stalin. Although Stalin privately knew the truth and accepted Hitler's end, he never announced it
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publicly. Instead, he preferred to promote various rumors about Hitler's escape to Argentina, Spain
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or elsewhere in the world. Some believe he used this strategy to support his own political agenda
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of maintaining tension amongst other world powers. Whatever the reason, Stalin steadfastly denied
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that Hitler was dead when he met Truman personally at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945
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Although we can't rule out whether Stalin taunted the president with a smug rendition of I Know Something You Don't Know
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Although Hitler wished to fight to the end in late 1945, Heinrich Himmler acknowledged to his contact
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within the Swedish government, Count Volker Bernadotte that the war was lost. Himmler wished to minimize further casualties
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secretly hoping Bernadotte could facilitate a successful negotiation with the West. Thousands of concentration camp prisoners were saved but for Himmler it did no good The Allies insisted on an unconditional surrender Even worse for Himmler in the last week of Hitler life Western radio was reporting news of his secret negotiations
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which was pretty awkward. An enraged Hitler removed Himmler from all government posts
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expelled him from the party, and ordered his arrest. By then, Himmler had implemented his final desperate plan
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attempting to blend into the masses of unidentified German soldiers fleeing to the West
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He shaved off his mustache, put on an eye patch, removed his glasses, and headed for the British
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zone in northern Germany. But his cunning pirate disguise did not work, and he was detained at a
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roadblock. Rather than be captured, Himmler bit down on a cyanide capsule and took himself out
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When Hermann Goering heard reports that Hitler planned to literally bite the bullet
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he sent a telegram to the Fuhrer, inquiring whether or not this now meant Goering should
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officially assume leadership of the government, as per a 1941 decree. Hitler didn't take this well
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Already enraged by the treachery of Himmler, Hitler similarly demanded Goering resign all
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party posts or face arrest and execution. Goering complied, but Hitler ordered his arrest anyway
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There is just no pleasing some people. Goering was briefly detained, but after hurriedly contacting
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Allied forces in the region, he offered to surrender. Goering was placed on trial at
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Nuremberg, where he was convicted of war crimes and managed to take his own life
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moments before his scheduled execution. Within Berlin, many units continued to fight after Hitler's demise. These troops were mostly
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teenage boys and older men, impressed into the militia and charged with stopping the Russian
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capture of their capital. Desertion from these units was punishable by death. A lot of that
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going around. Even as the Russians encircled the city, German forces of the 12th Army
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under Walter Venk, were ordered to stop fighting Americans on the Western Front and return to
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Berlin by fighting through enemy lines. This was done to allow as many civilians and soldiers as
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possible to make their way to Western lines controlled by the US and Britain. No one wanted
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to be in territory controlled by the Russians. Remember what happened to that dental assistant
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Although Venk failed to infiltrate Russian lines, his actions are believed to have allowed
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for the westward escape of thousands of German civilians. On May 7, 1945, Time magazine released a stark cover
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consisting of Hitler's face with a giant red X over it. He was the first to receive this dubious honor
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but not the last. The dropping of the atomic bombs, the American invasion of Iraq in 2003
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and the slayings of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and Osama bin Laden all got the X treatment
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Of course, Time magazine had previously named Hitler their man of the year in 1938
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And while the distinction was meant to highlight the greatest threatening force that the democratic, freedom-loving world
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faces today, the decision remains controversial, which is probably why they went for the big red X
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the next time he made the cover