As the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s suicide in Berlin neared, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation released archival materials. Reports cited by TASS describe the atmosphere inside the Nazi leadership’s headquarters in the final days of the Third Reich, offering fresh context on how the regime faced collapse.
The documents, kept in the FSB archives in the Novgorod region, are part of the case file concerning Hans Baur, Hitler’s personal pilot. They also include testimony from Otto Günsche, Hitler’s longtime adjutant, who was captured by SMERSH and held in the NKVD’s Lubyanka prison. Günsche’s statements appear in the testimony of Artur Schwartz, a former commander who described the conditions inside the bunker in central Berlin during the last stand of Nazi Germany.
Schwartz’s account also references Günsche’s words as recorded in May 1945 testimony. The material presents a view of leadership struggles in the final days, including how some leaders attempted to designate successors in the absence of decisive command.
Günsche told Schwartz there was no unified command in the country at that moment. Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, stationed in southern Germany, voiced himself as Hitler’s successor late in April, while the adjutant quoted by Schwartz noted Goering’s perceived failures in air force management and personal conduct as factors undermining his authority.
Details about Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, paint a picture of a network under strain. Himmler, who was moving through northern Germany, faced severed ties with the regime as contact with the Allies was severed and internal factions grew tense. The dispatches describe widespread anger toward Goering and Himmler among other Nazi leaders.
According to Günsche, Hitler began to feel isolated from his closest circle and from the party in the days before his death. He reportedly rejected suggestions to evacuate Berlin by air, deeming such an attempt futile. The adjutant described his mood as unsettled, yet noted that some believed in the possibility of miraculous outcomes even as events in Berlin appeared chaotic. Schwartz relayed these impressions as spoken by the Soviet guard and included Günsche’s account of what was discussed among the personnel guarding the Führer.
The files indicate that fear of capture by Soviet forces colored the final actions. Hitler is described as clinging to a resolve to endure until the end or perish rather than surrender. A German officer’s remark cited in the material reflects hesitation about aligning with the Allies against Bolshevism, even while some officers entertained different futures for Germany.
Günsche also shared that key Nazi officials such as Martin Bormann, Reich Minister for NSDAP Affairs, and other senior aides had died during the conflict. The testimony mentions the deaths of Burgdorf and Axmann, among others, and notes the deaths of Joseph and Magda Goebbels after they killed their children and themselves to avoid capture.
Accounts describe attempts by Günsche and fellow SS members to reach the West from the subway tunnels on May 1, 1945, only to be forced to surrender when Soviet tanks blocked routes and rescue efforts faltered. Schwartz added that British propaganda played a role in the mindset of Wehrmacht and SS officers, with one prisoner reportedly being asked about serving under British command in exchange for favorable treatment. The FSB documents emphasize that these conversations illustrate shifting loyalties and the complexities of the final days of the regime.
Further, the records reference the discovery of Hitler and Eva Braun after their deaths, with a guard reporting that Hitler’s face remained obscured by a veil while his boots and clothing were identifiable on the stretcher. Soviet troops found the burned remains of the Führer and his wife after Germany’s surrender. The archive notes that similar materials were released previously, including testimony from Hitler’s pilot Hans Bauer in 2022 about Hitler’s stance on leaving Berlin and the decision not to evacuate despite pressure from others around him.
These archival notes contribute to a broader, ongoing examination of how the Nazi leadership reacted to a rapidly deteriorating military situation and the eventual collapse of the regime. They are presented as part of a continuing effort to document the final chapters of World War II and the dynamics within the inner circle as the war ended, with attribution to the FSB and its archival releases for context and verification.