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Apr 1, 2010

How did Adolf Hitler die?

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With the end of World War 2 nearing, defeat of Germany was evident. While the war raged on, Adolf Hitler along with Eva Braun, his girlfriend of long standing, took shelter in the subterranean bunker - Führerbunker on January 16, 1945. It was located below Hitler's Reich Chancellery in Berlin. As German forces suffered one loss after another in the hands of the Allied forces, it is said that Hitler suffered a nervous breakdown on April 22, 1945. By that time the Russian army had entered Berlin and were marching on to the center of the city to capture Hitler.

Hitler consulted his physician Werner Hasse on the best way to commit suicide. Hasse suggested a dose of cyanide along with a gunshot to the head. On the suggestion of his physician, Hitler got doses of cyanide but paranoia seized him after he heard of the attempts of Henreich Himmler's to negotiate peace with the enemies. This was a big blow to Hitler's faith in his men and he started suspecting that the pills were fake. To test their authenticity, Hitler ordered the pills to be tried on his dog Blondii whom he was known to love a lot. The pet died due the poison in the capsules.

Hitler's confidence further suffered a huge setback when he heard about the execution of his Italian ally Benito Mussolini. He did not want to suffer the same fate as Mussolini and the execution of the Italian dictator made Hitler finalize his act of suicide.

On April 29, 1945 around midnight, Hitler married his long time girlfriend Eva Braun in his bunker with minimal ceremony. Later early morning Hitler is said to have signed his last will. He also granted permission for an attempt to breakout later that night to his general Helmuth Weidling. After having their lunch, Hitler and his new bride conveyed their last farewell to their men in the bunker and retired to his personal study at around 14:20 hours.

Witnesses report to have heard a loud gunshot at around 15:30 hours from the study. Hence, the answer to the question when did Hitler die is April 30, 1945 and not April 29, 1945 as it cited in certain resources. When Hitler's valet Heinze Linge opened the door of the study, he found the couple slumped on the sofa leaning away from each other. Hitler had a gunshot wound in his temple from which blood was oozing out. The smell of prussic acid, the gaseous form of cyanide, pervaded the room. Eva Braun did not have any physical injury. It was evident that she had died due to consumption of cyanide. Later reports confirmed that Hitler had also consumed cyanide.

Source: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-did-hitler-die.html

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