This Day in WWII History: Jan 16, 1945: Hitler descends into his bunker

On this day, Adolf Hitler takes to his underground bunker, where he remains for 105 days until he commits suicide.

Hitler retired to his bunker after deciding to remain in Berlin for the last great siege of the war. Fifty-five feet under the chancellery (Hitler's headquarters as chancellor), the shelter contained 18 small rooms and was fully self-sufficient, with its own water and electrical supply. He left only rarely (once to decorate a squadron of Hitler Youth) and spent most of his time micromanaging what was left of German defenses and entertaining Nazi colleagues like Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, and Joachim von Ribbentrop. Constantly at his side during this time were his companion, Eva Braun, and his Alsatian, Blondi.

On April 29, Hitler married Eva in their bunker hideaway. Eva Braun met Hitler while working as an assistant to Hitler's official photographer. Braun spent her time with Hitler out of public view, entertaining herself by skiing and swimming. She had no discernible influence on Hitler's political career but provided a certain domesticity to the life of the dictator. Loyal to the end, she refused to leave the bunker even as the Russians closed in.

Only hours after they were united in marriage, both Hitler and Eva committed suicide. Warned by officers that the Russians were only about a day from overtaking the chancellery and urged to escape to Berchtesgarden, a small town in the Bavarian Alps where Hitler owned a home, the dictator instead chose to take his life. Both he and his wife swallowed cyanide capsules (which had been tested for their efficacy on his "beloved" dog and her pups). For good measure, he shot himself with his pistol.

Map of the Reich Chancellery, see legend below

Rot markiert: Führerbunker

1. Mittelbau mit Marmorgalerie (Mittelbau Marble Gallery)
2. Eingang zur Reichskanzlei (Entrance to the Reich Chancellery)
3. Eingang zur Präsidialkanzlei (Entrance to the Office of the Reich President)
4. Kasernenbauten (Barracks Buildings)
5. Hebebühne zu den Katakomben (Lift to the Catacombs)
6. Gartenportal zu Hitlers Arbeitszimmer (Garden portal to Hitler's Office)
7. Bauzufahrt zum Führerbunker (Entranceway to the Fuhrer Bunker)
8. Zufahrt – Tiefgarage und Führerbunker (Access - Underground Parking and Fuhrer Bunker)
9. Einfahrt – Tiefgarage und Feuerwehr (Entrance - Parking and Fire Brigade)
10. Zufahrt Führerbunker (Access - Fuhrer Bunker)
11. Haus Kempka (Kempka House)
12. Gewächshaus (Greenhouse)
13. Ehrenhof (Courtyard of Honor)
14. Festsaal mit Wintergarten (Ballroom and Conservatory)
15. Alte Reichskanzlei (Old Reich Chancellery)
16. Speisesaal (Dining Hall)
17. Propagandaministerium (Ministry of Propaganda)
18. Erweiterungsbau zur Reichskanzlei (Reich Chancellery Extension)
19. U-Bahn-Eingang Wilhelmplatz (Wilhelmsplatz Subway Entrance)
20. Kaufhaus Wertheim (Wertheim Department Store)
21. Leipziger Platz (Leipziger Plaza)
22. Ministergärten (Ministry Garden)
23. Tiergarten (Great landscape park Tiergarten)
24. Hermann-Göring-Straße (Herman Goring Street)
25. Voßstraße (Voss Street)
26. Wilhelmstraße (Wilhelm Street)

Vorbunker (Outer bunker/Ante-bunker)[edit]

1. Keller des Wintergartens (basement of the winter garden)
2. Keller des Festsaales (basement of the ballroom)
3. Kannenberggang (Kannenberg passage)
4. Aufenthaltsräume (lounges)
5. Waschraum/Duschen (lavatory/showers)
6. Toiletten (toilets)
7. Anrichtraum/Küche (pantry/kitchen)
8. Wache (guard room)
9. Maschinenraum (engine/generator room)
10. Alte Wache (old guard room)
11. Haupteingang (main entrance)
12. Notausgang (emergency exit)
13. Warteraum (waiting room)
14. Sekretärin (secretary)
15. Aufenthaltsraum – Wache (guards' lounge)
16. Treppenhaus zwischen Bunker und Führerwohnung (staircase between bunker and Hitler's apartment)
17. Gasschleuse (airlock)
18. Aufenthaltsraum (lounge)
19. Speiseraum (dining room)

Hauptbunker (Main bunker)[edit]

20. Betonverfüllung (concrete backfill)
21. erster Notausgang des Hauptbunkers (first emergency exit of the main bunker)
22. Abwasser/Strom (sewage/electricity)
23. Badezimmer (bathroom)
24. Privates Gästezimmer Adolf Hitlers (Adolf Hitler's private guest room)
25. Vorraum Adolf Hitlers (Adolf Hitler's lobby)
26. Arbeitszimmer Adolf Hitlers (Adolf Hitler's study)
27. Schlafraum Adolf Hitlers (Adolf Hitler's bedroom)
28. Kartenzimmer/Lageraum (map room/situation room)
29. Warteraum/Lagevorraum (waiting room/anteroom to the situation room)
30. Flur und Wartebereich (corridor and waiting room)
31. Fernschreiber/Telefon (teleprinter/telephone)
32. Sanitätsraum (infirmary)
33. Raum – Dr. Morell (room of Hitler's personal physician, Dr. Morell)
34. Schlafraum (bedroom)
35. Personal (staff/servants)
36. zweiter Notausgang des Hauptbunkers (second emergency exit of the main bunker)
37. Beobachtungsturm, im Bau (observation tower (under construction))
38. Belüftungsturm, im Bau (ventilation tower (under construction))
39. Lüftungsturm für Generator, im Bau (ventilation tower for generator (under construction))
40. Bunkerwände (bunker walls)
41. Haus Kempka (the home of Hitler's chauffeur, Erich Kempka)
42. Bunkerzufahrt (bunker entrance)
43. Pergola (pergola)
44. Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Office)
45. Führerwohnung (Hitler's apartment)
46. Lastenaufzug (goods lift)
47. Fundamente/Alte Reichskanzlei (foundations/Old Reich Chancellery)

Taken from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hitler-descends-into-his-bunker [16.01.2015]

This Day in WWII History: Jan 15, 1951: The "Witch of Buchenwald" is sentenced to prison

On this day, Ilse Koch, wife of the commandant of the Buchenwald concentration camp, is sentenced to life imprisonment in a court in West Germany. Ilse Koch was nicknamed the "Witch of Buchenwald" for her extraordinary sadism.

Born in Dresden, Germany, Ilse, a librarian, married SS. Col. Karl Koch in 1936. Colonel Koch, a man with his own reputation for sadism, was the commandant of the Sashsenhausen concentration camp, two miles north of Berlin. He was transferred after three years to Buchenwald concentration camp, 4.5 miles northwest of Weimar; the Buchenwald concentration camp held a total of 20,000 slave laborers during the war.

Ilse, a large woman with red hair, was given free reign in the camp, whipping prisoners with her riding crop as she rode by on her horse, forcing prisoners to have sex with her, and, most horrifying, collecting lampshades, book covers, and gloves made from the skin of tattooed camp prisoners. A German inmate gave the following testimony during the Nuremberg war trials: "All prisoners with tattooing on them were to report to the dispensary... After the prisoners had been examined, the ones with the best and most artistic specimens were killed by injections. The corpses were then turned over to the pathological department, where the desired pieces of tattooed skin were detached from the bodies and treated further."

Karl Koch was arrested, ironically enough, by his SS superiors for "having gone too far." It seems he had a penchant for stealing even the belongings of wealthy, well-placed Germans. He was tried and hanged in 1944. Ilse Koch was tried for crimes against humanity at Nuremberg and sentenced to life in prison, but the American military governor of the occupied zone subsequently reduced her sentence to four years. His reason, "lack of evidence," caused a Senate investigation back home. She was released but arrested again, tried by a West German court, and sentenced to life. She committed suicide in 1967 by hanging herself with a bed sheet.

Taken from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-witch-of-buchenwald-is-sentenced-to-prison [15.01.2015]

This Day in WWII History: Jan 14, 1943: Roosevelt and Churchill begin Casablanca Conference

On this day, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin D. Roosevelt meet in Casablanca, Morocco, along with the Combined Chiefs of Staff, to discuss strategy and study the next phase of the war. This meeting marked the first time an American president left American soil during wartime. Participants also included leaders of the French government-in-exile, Gen. Charles de Gaulle and Gen. Henri Giraud, who were assured of a postwar united France.

The success of the North Africa invasion, which resulted in the defeat of Vichy French forces, compelled President Roosevelt to meet with Prime Minister Churchill (Joseph Stalin, president and dictator of the USSR, declined an invitation to attend) to confer on how best to push forward an end to the war. Top priority was given to destroying German U-boat patrols in the Atlantic and launching combined bombing missions. Most important, in a controversial declaration, they announced that the Allies would accept only unconditional surrender from the Axis powers, a decision that caused consternation on all sides as too extreme and allowing too little room for political maneuvering. The meeting was kept secret--even by newspapers that knew about it--until the participants left Morocco on January 27.

Taken from: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/roosevelt-and-churchill-begin-casablanca-conference [14.01.2015]