The death of Adolf Hitler

Witness History

BBC

History, Personal Journals, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.6K Ratings

🗓️ 25 April 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

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Summary

On 30 April 1945 Adolf Hitler killed himself in a bunker in the German capital Berlin as Soviet Red Army soldiers closed in. But first he married his lover Eva Braun, and dictated his will. In 1989, Traudl Junge, one of Hitler’s secretaries who was in the bunker when he died, shared her testimony with Zina Rohan. This episode was first broadcast in 2013.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there. For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

Recent episodes explore everything from football in Brazil, the history of the ‘Indian Titanic’ and the invention of air fryers, to Public Enemy’s Fight The Power, subway art and the political crisis in Georgia. We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: visionary architect Antoni Gaudi and the design of the Sagrada Familia; Michael Jordan and his bespoke Nike trainers; Princess Diana at the Taj Mahal; and Görel Hanser, manager of legendary Swedish pop band Abba on the influence they’ve had on the music industry. You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, such as the time an Iraqi journalist hurled his shoes at the President of the United States in protest of America’s occupation of Iraq; the creation of the Hollywood commercial that changed advertising forever; and the ascent of the first Aboriginal MP.

(Photo: Adolf Hitler. Credit: Getty Images)

Transcript

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0:05.4	My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds.
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0:34.9	check out BBC Sounds.
0:40.3	Music in your life. Check out BBC Sounds. This is the Witness History podcast from the BBC World Service. On April the 30th,
0:47.3	1945, Adolf Hitler killed himself in a bunker in Berlin as Soviet Red Army soldiers advanced on the German capital.
0:56.0	In 1989, Zena Rohan spoke to Tradl Junger, Hitler's secretary, who was in the bunker when he died.
1:03.5	I came to work for Hitler actually by chance.
1:06.6	I was a 22-year-old girl and I wanted to go away from home.
1:10.7	And as my sister was in Berlin, working as a dancer, I was so longing to go to Berlin too
1:17.9	that I took a chance to get a job in the Reich's councillor, in the Reich's chance
1:25.8	as a secretary as a typist. And one day, Hitler was,
1:31.9	who was in his headquarters in East Prussia. He needed a younger secretary because one of his
1:37.3	secretaries had married. And 10 girls were sent to the headquarters, and Hitler chose me.
1:45.3	And on January 1st of 1943, I was officially engaged, employed by him.
1:53.2	To begin with, Traudel Junger only had to deal with Hitler's personal letters,
1:58.0	fan mail from German citizens, and even love letters from obsessed women.
2:02.6	She had to send out congratulations to mothers who'd just had their sixth child to tell them
2:07.7	Hitler had become that baby's godfather. When I came, it was already 1943. The war was at its deepest point, actually, after Stalingrad.
	...

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