Tag Archives: Hitler

This week in the War, 30 April–6 May 1945: Death of Adolf Hitler

Posted on April 30, 2017 by secondbysecond

On the afternoon of 30 April 1945, Adolf Hitler finished lunch in his bunker and, after sending everyone except Eva Braun away, he shot himself; Eva took cyanide. Hitler’s Third Reich and the program he had laid out in Mein … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 16–22 April 1945: Birthday in the bunker

Posted on April 22, 2017 by secondbysecond

Hitler’s birthday, 20 April, was a special day in the Nazi calendar and normally a cause for parades and festivities across the German Reich. Not long before the beginning of the war, 20 April 1939, Hitler had celebrated his 50th birthday. … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 2–8 April 1945: Hitler settles scores with the Abwehr

Posted on April 5, 2017 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 8 April (some say 9 April) 1945, Hans von Dohnanyi was hanged at Sachsenhausen concentration camp. On the following day, 9 April 1945, Admiral Wilhelm Canaris, Major General Hans Oster, and Lutheran pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 26 March–1 April 1945: Hitler goes into his bunker

Posted on March 26, 2017 by secondbysecond

On 1 April 1945, Adolf Hitler vacated his apartments and his headquarters in the Reich Chancellery and descended into his bunker beneath the Reich Chancellery gardens: the Fuehrerbunker. From then on, he lived below ground and only occasionally ventured to … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 24–30 July 1944: Heil Hitler salute is made compulsory for the German armed forces

Posted on July 27, 2016 by secondbysecond

To confirm their loyalty following the 20 July bomb plot, from 24 July 1944 onwards, members of the German armed forces were required to use the ‘Heil Hitler’ salute, the  Hitlergruss. The salute had long been a common form of greeting throughout … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 21–27 June 1943: Baldur von Schirach falls from grace

Posted on June 25, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 24 June 1943, the one-time Hitler Youth Leader (Reichsjugendführer) Baldur von Schirach quarreled with Hitler over the need to make peace with the Allies. Although Hitler did not dismiss him from his post of … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 5–11 April 1943: Hitler and Mussolini meet in Salzburg

Posted on April 7, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 7 April 1943, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met in Salzburg to discuss the military situation. Axis forces had suffered major defeats and were on the defensive both in Tunisia in North Africa following … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 15–21 March 1943: Trying to kill Hitler

Posted on March 18, 2015 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 21 March 1943, Wehrmacht colonel, Rudolf Christoph von Gersdorff attempted to blow himself up beside Hitler, and alongside Goering, Himmler and Doenitz, too. It was not the first attempt on the Fuehrer’s life, and … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 14–20 July 1941: Barbarossa 3—Hitler turns south

Posted on July 20, 2013 by secondbysecond

This week in the war, on 19 July 1941, Hitler ordered Panzergruppe II and the German Second Army to  turn south and link with Panzergruppe I in a pincer movement to surround Kiev and the Soviet 5th Army. The manoeuvre … Continue reading →

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This week in the War, 16–22 June 1941: Barbarossa!

Posted on June 19, 2013 by secondbysecond

On 22 June 1941, Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa. Over three and a half million troops with 3,600 tanks and 2,700 planes invaded the Soviet Union on a front that extended from the Baltic coast to the shores of the Black … Continue reading →

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