Hitler’s Shameful Death: The Fuhrer’s Unheroic Final Moments

In May 1945 when Hitler’s death was announced by its Nazi propagandist, it was made to look like the German warlord died a hero. According to the Hamburg radio station’sannouncement, Hitler fought against Bolshevism to his last breath. But details about his final moments revealed Hitler died a shameful death.

Instead of dying as a warrior, Hitler was forced to commit suicide due to the defeat and humiliation he was faced with. He is alleged to have died in his bunker by either biting a cyanide capsule or shooting himself in the head. He was responsible for the deaths of millions of persons across Europe.

After Hitler’s shameful death,  Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz took over his place claiming he was chosen by the Fuhrer to become his successor. This was much to many people’s surprise as Heinrich Himmler, the chief of SS was the one many thought would be replacing Hitler.

Doenitz told the people he was taking over leadership and that his priority was to save the German people. But the war was over for Germany as they surrendered on May 4 to Field Marshal Montgomery.

With Hitler gone in a shameful death, well known Nazi propagandist and one of Hitler’s close lieutenant – Joseph Goebbels killed himself and his entire family a day after the Fuhrer’s death. Goebbels first arranged for his six children to be to be killed by his dentist by injecting them with morphine. An ampoule of cyanide was then crushed into the mouths of the children who were already unconcious. After killing his children, Goebbels and his wife committed suicide at the Reich Chancellery.

In the town of Demmin, about nine hundred people committed mass suicides out of panic. With rumours of rape and executions spreading around, many residents and refugees acroos the country also took their lives by hanging, drowning, cutting their wrists, or shooting themselves, the Express reports.

Outside Germany, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini who sided with Germany during the war was captured and killed as he attempted to escape a few days before Hitler’s shameful death, Express reports.

After Hitler’s shameful death, many of his loyalist were arrested and tried for war crimes. Some of them were Admiral Doenitz, as well as SS chief Heinrich Himmler who commited suicide at the age of 44 while serving his jail term. Lord Haw Haw, an Irishman born in America and a Nasi propaganda radio show presenter was arrested, tried and hanged at London’s Wandsworth Prison in January 1946.

Ian Harvey

Ian Harvey is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE