Adolf Hitler,chancellor and dictator of Germany from 1933 to 1945, signed hispolitical testament and his private will in theFührerbunker on 29 April 1945, the day before hecommitted suicide with his wife,Eva Braun.
The political testament consisted of two parts. In the first,Mein politisches Testament, Hitler denied charges of warmongering, expressed his thanks to Germany's loyal citizens, and appealed to them to continue the struggle. In the second, he declaredHeinrich Himmler andHermann Göring to be traitors, and set out his plan for a new government underKarl Dönitz. Hitler's secretaryTraudl Junge recalled that he was reading from notes as he dictated the testament, and it is believed thatJoseph Goebbels helped him write it.
Both the Political Testament and the Private Will and Personal Testament of Adolf Hitler were dictated to Junge during the last days of Hitler's life and signed on 29 April 1945. These artifacts are not to be confused with an entirely different—and controversial—document known asThe Testament of Adolf Hitler.[a]
The last will was a short document signed on 29 April at 04:00.[3] It acknowledged his marriage—but does not name Eva Braun—and that they choose death over disgrace of deposition orcapitulation; and that their bodies were to becremated.[4] The will divided up Hitler's belongings as follows:[5]
Bormann was nominated as the will'sexecutor and was also "given full legal authority to make all decisions."[7] The will was witnessed by Bormann, Goebbels,[7] and ColonelNicolaus von Below.[8]
The last political testament was signed at the same time as Hitler's last will, 04:00 on 29 April 1945.[3] It was in two parts. The first part of the testament talked of his motivations in the three decades since volunteering inWorld War I, repeated his claim that neither he "nor anyone else in Germany wanted the war in 1939," stated his reasons for his intention to commit suicide, and praised and expressed his thanks to the German people for their support and achievements.[9] Also included in the first testament are statements detailing his claim that he tried to avoid war with other states and attributed responsibility for it to "international Jewry and its helpers."[10] He would not "forsake Berlin [...] even though the forces were too small to hold out." Hitler expressed his intent to choose death rather than "fall into the hands of enemies" and "the masses" in need of "a spectacle arranged by Jews."[11] He concluded with a call to continue the "sacrifice" and "struggle."[11] He expressed hope for a renaissance of the National Socialist movement with the realisation of a "true people's community (Volksgemeinschaft)."[10]
The second part of his testament lays out Hitler's intentions for the German government and the Nazi Party after his death and details who was to succeed him. He expelledReichsmarschall Hermann Göring from the party and dismissed him from all of his state offices. He also cancelled the 1941 decree naming Göring as his successor in the event of his death. To replace him, Hitler namedGroßadmiralKarl Dönitz asPresident of the Reich and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces.[12]Reichsführer-SS andInterior Minister Heinrich Himmler was also expelled from the party and dismissed from all of his state offices for attempting to negotiate peace with the western Allies without Hitler's "knowledge" and against permission.[11] Hitler declared both Himmler and Göring to be traitors.[13]
Hitler appointed the following as the new Cabinet and what he saw as the new leaders of the German nation:[14]
Witnessed by Goebbels, Bormann, GeneralWilhelm Burgdorf, and GeneralHans Krebs.[3]
On the afternoon of 30 April, about a day and a half after he signed his last will and testament, Hitler and Brauncommitted suicide.[15] Within the next two days, Goebbels, Burgdorf, and Krebs also committed suicide. Bormann's fate was unknown for decades,[16] but the positive identification of his remains in 1998[17] indicated that he died fleeing on 2 May 1945 to avoid capture by the SovietRed Army forces encircling Berlin.[18]
In his bookThe Bunker,James O'Donnell, after comparing the wording of Hitler's last testament to the writings and statements of both Hitler and Goebbels, concluded that Goebbels was at least partly responsible for helping Hitler write it. Junge stated that Hitler was reading from notes when he dictated the testament after midnight on 29 April.[19]
Three messengers were assigned to take the will and political testament out of the besiegedFührerbunker to ensure their presence for posterity. The first messenger was deputy press attachéHeinz Lorenz. He was arrested by the British while travelling under an alias as a journalist from Luxembourg. He revealed the existence of two more copies and messengers:Willy Johannmeyer, Hitler's army adjutant, and Bormann's adjutant SS-StandartenführerWilhelm Zander. Zander was using the pseudonym "Friedrich Wilhelm Paustin" to travel, and was shortly apprehended along with Johannmeyer in theAmerican zone of occupation. Thus, two copies of the papers ended up in American hands, and one set in British hands. The texts of the documents were published widely in the American and British press by January 1946 but BritishForeign Secretary,Ernest Bevin, considered restricting access to these documents. He feared they might become cult objects among the Germans. Since they were public knowledge already, the Americans did not share these concerns but nonetheless agreed to refrain from further publication of them. Hitler's testament and his marriage certificate were presented to US PresidentHarry S. Truman. One set was placed on public display at theNational Archives in Washington for several years.[20]
Hitler's original last will and testament is currently housed in the security vault of theNational Archives at College Park inMaryland.[b]
All four witnesses to the political testament died shortly afterwards. Goebbels and his wife committed suicide. Burgdorf and Krebs committed suicide together on the night of 1/2 May in the bunker. Bormann's exact time and place of death remain uncertain; his remains were discovered near the site of the bunker in 1972 and identified by DNA analysis in 1998. He probably died the same night trying to escape from theFührerbunker.[c]
In theFlensburg Government of Hitler's appointed successor asReichspräsident Dönitz, the depositions ofAlbert Speer andFranz Seldte were ignored (or the two ministers quickly reinstated). Neither former incumbentJoachim von Ribbentrop nor Hitler's appointee, Seyß-Inquart, held the post of Foreign Minister. The post was given to Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk, who after Goebbels' suicide temporarily became the Leading Minister of the German Reich (Head of Cabinet, post equivalent to Chancellor). He declined the position a day later.[23]
Only three of Hitler's known "brothers and sisters" survived infancy and were still living at the time of death, full-blooded sisterPaula Hitler and half-siblingsAlois Hitler Jr. andAngela Hitler.[24] Alois Hitler Jr.'sonly surviving sonWilliam, who was raised and supported by only hismother and her family after Alois Jr. deserted them while fighting for Germany duringWorld War I, was also estranged from his uncle Adolf Hitler, who he publicly stated he "hated" by 1939.[25] William defected to Britain where he had previously lived before taking up residency in Germany in 1933 and to the United States, where he served as a U.S. soldier during World War II.[25][26] In 1952, Hitler's sister Paula tried to claim her inheritance under the will, but was unsuccessful because Hitler had yet to be legally declared dead.[27]
All three of Hitler's "old secretaries", who were named in the will as being among the co-workers who could inherit some of his belongings,[7] were caught and arrested.Johanna Wolf andChrista Schroeder would be arrested in May 1945 andGerda Christian in March 1946.[28][29] Hitler's youngest secretary Traudl Junge, who typed Hitler's testaments,[30] was arrested in June 1945.[31]
Numerous items which were in Hitler's possession at the time of his death were auctioned off in April 1971 by the estate of his housekeeper Anni Winter.[32] In 1954, a court ruling resulted in Winter losing possession of numerous items to the state ofBavaria.[33] However, Winter was allowed to keep some of items, which she pledged to sell in order to acquire a cafe.[33] By 1971, Winter was acknowledged to have had possession of at least five dozen items of Hitler’s, including numerous personal photographs.[32] According toTime, Winter had an "ardor for collecting just about anything Hitler touched."[32]
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