Traudl Junge, Hitler’s secretary

‘In the Führerbunker in April 1945, what was it like and what particular events do I recall the most? The atmosphere within the bunker was sad and depressing. Eva Braun, who I had come to adore much like a sister, was doing her best to be cheerful. Eva even threw a cocktail party for everyone. It was a cocktail party to the backdrop of the Russian artillery. Eva tried to lift the mood by telling everyone, “Come on and dance.” It was all false though, it felt like a funeral wake in advance of their (hers and Hitler’s) suicides. I remember how Eva came over to me took me by the hand and said, “Traudl, please dance with me.” I think she was probably a little bit drunk from the champagne, Russian artillery brought the party to a close and we all had to go back down into the bunker.

The stench of melancholy was everywhere. The air within the bunker now putrid with the smell of fear and sweat mixed with cigarette smoke. People sat around consumed within their own thoughts. Some were sitting down with their backs to the walls, drunk out of their heads, others sat and cried to themselves. It felt as if we were all in some kind of a tomb, which in many senses it was just that, a concrete tomb.

Hitler and Eva had a little wedding ceremony, afterwards I was called by Hitler as he wanted to dictate his