In the last days of World War II, Adolf Hitler
and his closest associates had sought shelter in a com-
mand bunker before the fall of Berlin. He knew that
defeat was close at hand and that he must prepare for
his own death.Here is a detailed description of how he
ended his life.
THE DEATH OF HITLER
William L. Shirer
During the afternoon of April 29 , news arrived at the bunkes where
Adolf Hitler and Eva Braun were separated from the outside world. Mus-
solini, Hitder's fellow fascist dictator and partner in aggression, had met
his end, and it had been shared by his mistress, Clara Petacci.
5 They had been caught by Italian guerrillas on April 27 while trying to
escape to Switzerland and executed after a brief trial.On the Saturday night
of April 28 the bodies were brought to Milan in a truck and dumped on the
town square.The next day they were strung up by the heels from lamp-
posts and later cut down so that throughout the rest of Sunday,they lay in
10 the gutter. On May Day Benito Mussolini was buried beside his mistress in
the paupers' plot of a Milan cemetery.In such a horrible climax of degrada-
tion Mussolini and Fascism passed into history.
It is not known how many of the details of Mussolini's shabby end
were communicated to the Fuehrer. One can only guess that if he heard
15 many of them he was only strengthened in his resolve not to allow himself
or his bride to be made a spectacle-not their live selves or their bodies.
Shortly after receiving the news of Mussolini's death, Hitler began to
make the final preparations for his. He had his favorite Alsatian dog poi-
soned and two other dogs in the household shot. Then he called in his two
20 remaining women secretaries and handed them capsules of poison to use
if they wished to when the advancing Russians broke in. He was sorry, he
said, not to be able to give them a better farewell gift, and he expressed
his appreciation for their long and loyal service.
Evening had now come, the last of Adolf Hitler's life. He instructed
25 Mrs. Junge, one of his secretaries, to destroy the remaining papers in his
files,and he sent out word that no one in the bunker was to go to bed until
further orders. This was interpreted by all as meaning that he judged the
time had come to make his farewells. But it was not until long after mid-
night, at about 2:30 AM of April 30, as several witnesses recall, that the
30 Fuehrer emerged from his private quarters and appeared in the general din-
ing passage where some 20 persons, mostly the women members of his
group of associates, were assembled. He walked down the line shaking
hands with each and mumbling a few words that were inaudible.There was
a heavy film of moisture on his eyes and, as Mrs. Junge remembered,
35 "They seemed to be looking far away, beyond the walls of the bunker."
After he retired, a curious thing happened. The tension which had
been building up to an almost unendurable point in the bunker broke, and
several persons went to the canteen - to dance.The weird party soon be-
came so noisy that word was sent from the Fuehrer's quarters requesting
40 more quiet. The Russians might come in a few hours and kill them all --
though most of them were already thinking of how they could escape --
but in the meantime;for a brief spell,now that the Fuehrer's strict control of
their lives was over, they would seek pleasure where and how they could
find it. The sense of relief among these people seems to have been enor-
45 mous, and they danced on through the night.
Berlin was no longer defensible. The Russians already had occupied al-
most all of the city. It was now merely a question of the defense of the
Chancellery.It too was doomed,as Hitler and Bormann learned at the situ-
ation conference at noon on April 30,the last that was ever to take place.
50 The Russians were just a block away. The hour for Adolf Hitler to carry
out his resolve had come.
His bride apparently had no appetite for lunch that day, and Hitler
took his meal with his two secretaries and with his vegetarian cook, who
perhaps did not realize that she had prepared his last meal.While they
55 were finishing their lunch at about 2: 30 PM,Erich Kempka, the Fuehrer's
chauffeur, who was in charge of the Chancellery garage,received an order
to deliver immediately 200 liters of gasoline in cans to the Chancellery
gar-den.Kempka had some difficulty in roundirig up so much fuel, but he
managed to collect some 180 liters and with the help of three men carried
60 it to the emergency exit of the bunker.
While the oil to provide the fire for the Viking funeral was being col-
lected, Hitler, having done with his last meal; fetched Eva Braun for an-
other and final farewell to his most intimate collaborators: Dr. Goebbels,
Generals Krebs and Burgdorf, the secretaries, and Miss Manzialy, the
65 cook.
They finished their farewells and retired to their rooms.Outside in the
passageway, Dr. Goebbels, Bormann and a few others waited.In a few
moments a revolver shot was heard.They waited for a second one,but
there was only silence. After a decent interval they quietly entered the
70 Fuehrer's quarters.They found the body of Adolf Hitler sprawled on the
sofa dripping blood. He had shot himself in the mouth.At his side lay Eva
Braun. Two revolvers had fallen to the floor, but the bride had not used
hers. She had swallowed poison.
It was 3: 30 PM on Monday, April 30, 1945, ten days after Adolf
75 Hitler's fifty-sixth birthday,and twelve years and three months to the day
since he had become Chancellor of Germany and had instituted the Third
Reich. It would survive him but a week.
New Words
bunher / n. strongly-built shelter for soldiers, esp.
one built underground 地堡
fascist / a. 法西斯主义的
n. 法西斯分子
dictstor / n. a ruler who has absolute power over a
country, esp. one who has obtained such
power hy force 独裁者
partner/ n. 伙伴
aggression/ n. the starting of a war, fight, or quarrel
without just cause 侵略
mistress /n. 情妇
Italian / a. 意大利的
n. 意大利人;意大利语
guer(r)illa / n. 游击队员
execute /vt. kill (sb.) by law;carry out,perform 处死;
实施,执行
exeCutive/a. & n.
dump / vt. drop or unload (sth.) in a heap or
carelessly 倾倒
string/ vt. hang with a string or rope
heel/ n. (脚)后跟
lamppost/ n. post for a street lamp 路灯柱
gutter/ n. 街沟
pauper / n. a person with no means of livelihood,esp.
one who is supported by charity 贫民
plot / n. a piece of land (usu. small)
cemetery / n. place for burying the dead 公墓;墓地
horrible / a. causing a feeling of great shock, fear
or dislike
horror/ n.
Clitnax / n. the point of greatest interest or
intensity 高潮
degradation/ n. 羞辱
Fascism / n. 法西斯主义
shabby / a. dishonourable; mean; worn out 不光彩的;
卑鄙的;破旧的
Fuehrer / n. (德)元首
strengthen/ v. make or become strong(er) 加强
resolve/ n. resolution 决心
bride / n. a girl or woman just married or about to
be mar- ried 新娘
spectacle / n. an object of contempt or disrespect; a
public show or scene 引人鄙视的对象;场面
preparation/ n. things done to get ready for sth.
Alsatian / a. 阿尔萨斯的
n. 阿尔萨斯狼犬
poison /vt. 毒死,放毒
n. 毒药
farewell / n. goodbye
appreciation /n. understanding of the qualities or worth
of sth. ; grateful feelings 欣赏;感激
loyal / a. true to one's friends, group, country,
etc; faith- ful 忠诚的
instruct / vt. give orders or directions to 命令;指示
file/ n. 卷宗;档案
wortl/ n. order
intei'pret / vt. explain or tell the likely meaning of (sth.)
interpretation/ n.
prlvate/ a. personal; one's own 私人的;个人的
mastly/ ad. chiefly; almast all
mostly/ n. a person connected with another, esp.
in work
assemble / vt. gather or collect together 集合
inaudible /a. that can not be heard
moisture / n. slight wetness; water or other liquid
spread in small drops in the sir or on
a surface 潮湿,湿气
retire/vi. withdraw; go away 退出
unendurablel/ a. unbearable
canteen / n. a place in a military camp, factory,etc.
where people may buy and eat food,meals,
drinks, sweets, etc. 食堂
weird / a. strange; unnatural
reqdest / vt. demand politely 请求
meantirne/n. & ad. (in) the time between
spell/ n. a period of time
striCt / a. rigid 严厉的
relief/ n. the fact or state of lessening or freeing
from anx-iety, fear, or pain (忧虑等的)
减轻,解除
enormdus / a. very large
defensible / a. that can be defended
doom / vt. cause to suffer sth. unavoidable and
unpleasant,such as death or destruction
noon/ n. midday
apparently / ad. evidently; it seems (that)
apparent/ a.
vegetarian / a. relating to a person who eats vegetables
but no meat (有关)素食的
chauffeur / n. a person employed to drive someone's car
liter / n. (容量单位)升
gasoline / n. 汽油
fuel / n. 燃料
intimate / a. close in relationship 亲密的
collaborator / n. partner in an activity 协作者,同伙
passageway/ n. 走廊
revolver / n. 左轮手枪
decent /a. right and suitable 合宜的;得体的
interval / n. time between two events 间隔
sofa /n. 沙发
drip/ v. fall or let fall in drops
swallow / vt. 吞咽
chancellor / n. chief minister of state (in some countries
e. g. Gexmany) 总理(或首相)
institute/ vt. set up for the first time 建立
Phrases & Expressions
meet one's end die
string up hang (sth.) high with strings; put to
death by hanging 用绳吊起;吊死
call in ask to come or go in
break in enter a buildeng by force (非法)强行
进入
build up increase, strengthen gradually
in the meantirne meanwhile
in charge of responsible for
round up collect, gather together 集拢
have done with finish with; stop doing or using 结束;
终止
to a/the day exactly (in time)
Proper Names
Adolf Hitler 阿道夫.希特勒
Eva Braun 爱娃.勃劳恩
Benito Mussolini 本尼托.墨索里尼
Clara Petacci 克拉拉.贝塔西
Switzerland 瑞士
Milan 米兰(意大利城市)
May Day 劳动节
the Fuehrer 元首(纳粹统治时期对希特勒的称呼)
Junge 荣格(姓氏)
Berlin 柏林(德国首都)
the Chancellery (德国)总理府
Bormann 鲍曼(姓氏)
Erich Kempka 埃里希.肯普卡
Viking (八至十世纪劫掠欧洲海岸的)北欧海盗
Goebbels 戈培尔(姓氏)
Krebs 克莱勃斯(姓氏)
Burgdorf 布格道夫(姓氏)
Manzialy 曼齐阿里(姓氏)
the Third Reich 第三帝国 |
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