Hitler's Last Witness (33 page)

Arndt, Wilhelm ‘Willy' (1913–1945)

Member
SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler
; 1939–45 Hitler's valet and ‘favourite' servant; killed in an air crash, 22 April 1945.

Axmann, Arthur (1913–1996)

1928 entered Hitler Youth; 1931 joined NSDAP; 1940 Reich Youth leader, previously deputy of his predecessor Baldur von Schirach; 1943 fought with 12th SS Panzer Division ‘Hitlerjugend' in Normandy; in the battle for Berlin, led the Volkssturm, mostly underage Hitler Youth; 1 May 1945 escaped Reich Chancellery, declared dead officially, assumed name Erich Siewert and lived in Mecklenburg until arrested in Lübeck, December 1945; held by Americans; 1949 sentenced to three years' work camp in denazification trial as a ‘principal perpetrator'; 19 August 1958 fined 35,000 Deutsche Mark by a Berlin court for ‘Inciting Youth'; after two proceedings for bankruptcy, active in Spain 1971–6, where he was planning a leisure centre on Gran Canaria; subsequently lived in Berlin.

Baarová, Lida, née Lidmila Babková (1914–2000)

Czech actress; 1934 moved from Prague to Berlin; Ufa star (
Barcarole
, 1935); after her affair with Goebbels became public (ended on Hitler's intervention), she was expelled from Germany and returned to Prague; later acted in Italy under Federico Fellini, Roberto Rosselini and Vittorio de Sica; 1956 ended her film career; various theatrical engagements in German language area.

Baur, Johann Peter, known as Hans Baur (1897–1993)

1926–33 Deutsche Lufthansa pilot; 1933–45, Hitler's chief pilot and commander Flugstaffel Reichsregierung (Reich government); February 1945 appointed major general of the Polizei; 1945–55 Soviet POW.

Below, Georg Ludwig Heinrich Nicolaus von (1907–1983)

Colonel, Luftwaffe; April 1928 accepted as officer candidate, 112th Infantry Regiment (Halberstadt); until 1929 flight instructor, passenger pilot school Schleissheim; 1929–33 2nd lieutenant 112th Infantry Regiment; 1 July 1933 transferred into Reich Air Ministry (Staffelkapitän J.G. ‘Richthofen' at Döberitz and J.G. ‘Horst Wessel' at Düsseldorf); 16 June 1936 Hitler's personal Luftwaffe adjutant; co-signatory Hitler's Private Testament; 1946–8 British POW.

Bernadotte, Graf von Wisborg (1895–1948)

Nephew of Swedish King Gustav V; Swedish cavalry officer; 1943–8 vice-president and later president Swedish Red Cross; February 1945 negotiated with Himmler for release of Scandinavian concentration camp inmates (Operation Weisse Busse); 1948 UN mediator in Palestine; 17 September 1948 murdered in Jerusalem by militant leaders of Jewish terrorist group.

Blaschke, Hugo Johannes (1881–1959)

1908–11 studied dentistry in Philadelphia, USA and London (mandible surgery); 1914–18 military dentist in Frankfurt/Oder and Berlin; 1919–45 own practice at Kurfürstendamm 213, Berlin; 1930 treated Hermann Göring; 1933 joined NSDAP, contact with Hitler; set up dental surgery in the Reich Chancellery to treat National Socialist leaders; 1 May 1935 joined SS; 31 August 1943 nominated senior dental surgeon to staff, Reichsführer-SS; 9 November 1944 brigadier of Waffen-SS and physician for the SS; built dental surgeries at Dachau, Oranienburg and Buchenwald, but Blaschke had no knowledge of ‘grievances' there; June 1946 to December 1948 detained; subsequently dental surgeon at Nuremberg.

Bormann, Albert (1902–1989)

Younger brother of Martin Bormann; banking professional; 1927 entered NSDAP and SA (Sturmabteilung); 1929–31 Hitler Youth Gau leader, Thuringia; 1931 active in Hitler's private Chancellery; 1933 head of private Chancellery, which from 1934 was classified as Principal Office 1 of the Chancellery of the Führer of the NSDAP; 1934 Hitler's personal adjutant; 1938 member of the Reichstag as deputy, Berlin-West; 21 April 1945 fled from Reich Chancellery to Obersalzberg; 1945–9 lived under false name as agricultural worker; 1949 surrendered himself; short period of internment.

Bormann, Martin (1900–1945)

Farmer; 1924 entered NSDAP; 1933 nominated NSDAP Reichsleiter, Reichstag deputy; 1933–41 staff manager in the office of Führer's deputy (Rudolf Hess); after Hess flew to Britain in 1941, on 12 May 1941 Hitler made Bormann chief of the Party Chancellery with the authority of a Reich minister; trustee of Hitler's private fortune and organisational leader for the construction of the Berghof (extorted land from the owner with threat ‘sell up or concentration camp'); 12 April 1943 nominated as the Führer's secretary; 29 April 1945 witness at the marriage of Hitler and Eva Braun in the Führerbunker; 2 May 1945 suicide after escaping from Reich Chancellery (identified by DNA, 1998). Bormann was named as one of the twenty-four people at Nuremberg as a principal war criminal. On 1 October 1946, he was declared guilty in his absence and sentenced to death.

Bornholdt, Hermann (1908–1976)

Farmer; 1929 entered NSDAP; 1933 member of
SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler
' (LSSAH), SS-Hauptsturmführer (= army rank of captain).

Brandt, Karl (1904–1948)

Surgeon; major general, Waffen-SS; 1932 entered NSDAP; 1933 entered SA; 1933 treated Hitler's senior adjutant Wilhelm Brückner; from 14 June 1933 Hitler's personal physician; 28 July 1942 commissioner-general for medicine and health; 5 September 1943 head of all medical supply and care organisations, and coordinator of medical research (initiator and accomplice in experiments on humans); end of war arrested by Allied forces at Flensburg; from 9 December 1946 to 20 August 1947 tried at Nuremberg (trials of medical personnel); sentenced to death; 2 June 1948 executed at Landsberg.

Braun, Eva Anna Paula, married name Hitler (1912–1945)

1928 convent school (commercial studies), Simbach am Inn; 1929 laboratory worker with Heinrich Hoffmann, Hitler's personal photographer; October 1929 first meeting with Hitler and frequent meetings in circle of the Hoffmann couple; 1932 and 1935 attempted suicide because of lack of attention from Hitler; 1936 moved into villa at Munich-Bogenhausen bought for her by Hoffmann at Hitler's instigation; frequent stays at the Berghof as Hitler's unofficial paramour; end of 1944 and beginning of 1945 several trips from Munich to Berlin to see Hitler; from March 1945 remained with Hitler in Berlin; 29 April 1945 married Hitler; in 1957 Berchtesgaden court determined that Braun entered suicide pact with Hitler and took cyanide at 15.28 hrs on 30 April 1945.

Braun, Margarete ‘Gretl', married name Fegelein (1915–1987)

Younger sister of Eva Braun, 1932 female clerk to Hitler's personal photographer Hoffmann; 1943 trained at the Bavarian State Film School; 3 June 1944 married Hermann Fegelein; May 1945 at Berghof and pregnant at the time of her husband's death; 5 May 1945 daughter Eva Barbara Fegelein born (who committed suicide in 1975).

Brückner, Wilhelm (1884–1954)

Officer, Bavarian Infantry Regiment, WWI; end 1922 entered NSDAP; 1 February 1923 leader SA Regiment
München
; 9 November 1923 involved in Munich Putsch; short period of remand; January 1930 Hitler's adjutant and bodyguard, later chief adjutant until break with Hitler end of 1940; succeeded by Julius Schaub.

Burgdorf, Wilhelm (1895–1945)

1935 tactical instructor, War Academy, Dresden; 1 October 1942 deputy chief, army personnel office; from 20 July 1944 head of army personnel office; Hitler's chief Wehrmacht adjutant; 14 October 1944 gave Rommel choice of suicide to avoid his family being arrested (
Sippenhaft
= guilt by blood association) for his involvement in the Stauffenberg plot; co-signatory with Goebbels, Bormann and Krebs to Hitler's Political Testament; 1 May 1945 suicide.

Chekhova, Olga, née Knipper (1897–1980)

German actress of German-Russian origin; Ufa star; 1935 appointed state actress, Hitler's favourite actress; reported by British historian Antony Beevor to have been a ‘passive' Soviet agent.

Christian, Gerda ‘Dara', née Daranowski (1913–1997)

1937 personal secretary to Adolf Hitler; 2 February 1943 married Eckhard Christian, Jodl's adjutant; left service until end 1943; April 1945 successful flight from Reich Chancellery to southern Germany; held by US forces and interrogated; later worked in commerce in the Rhineland.

Darges, Friedrich ‘Fritz' (1913–2009)

1933 joined SS; 1934 SS military academy Bad Tölz; 1935 platoon leader, SS-Standarte
Germania
; from August 1937 adjutant to Martin Bormann in staff of Rudolf Hess; October 1940 until 16 March 1942 Ordonnanz officer (young or low ranking adjutant, 2nd lieutenant to captain) with Hitler; drafted to front, 5th SS Panzer Division
Wiking
; 5 April 1945 Knights Cross; May 1945 captured by US forces; 30 April 1948 released; correspondended with Misch until 2007.

Dietrich, Jacob Otto (1897–1952)

Volunteer WWI; studied philosophy and political science; 1926 newspaper editor; 1929 joined NSDAP; 1930–1 deputy chief editor of Essen
Nationalzeitung
(National Newspaper); 1933 entered SS; 1931–45 Reich press chief NSDAP; 1937–45 state secretary at Reich Propaganda Ministry; 1938–45 chief of press, Reich government (Dietrich and Axmann, Reichsleiter for the NSDAP press, were Goebbels's most important rivals in the area of press policy); 13 April 1949 in the so-called Wilhelm-Strasse trials before the IMT at Nuremberg, sentenced to seven years' imprisonment; 1950 pardoned and released.

Dietrich, Josef ‘Sepp' (1892–1966)

General, Waffen-SS; volunteer WWI; 9 November 1923 took part in Munich Putsch; 17 March 1933 on Hitler's instructions formed the SS-Stabswache
Berlin
; later commanded the
SS-Leibstandarte
of divisional strength; WWII Ardennes offensive, finished as commander-in-chief 6th SS Panzer Army; 1946 in Malmedy-trial at Dachau found guilty of war crimes by US military court and sentenced to life imprisonment. Released in 1955, he was rearrested and convicted by a West German court in 1957 of involvement in the shootings during the Röhm putsch of 1934. Released on health grounds in 1958, he died in 1966.

Dirr, Adolf ‘Adi' (1907–?)

Blacksmith; semi-professional boxer; 1929 entered NSDAP and SA; 29 February 1932 one of the first eight members of the
SS-Begleitkommando
(SS bodyguard); 22 April 1945 flew out from Berlin to Obersalzberg; detained until 1948.

Dönitz, Karl (1891–1980)

1 April 1910 entered imperial navy; U-boat commander WWI; 5 October 1918 until 15 July 1919 British POW; 1935 began the rebuilding of the U-boat arm; from 17 October 1939 commander of the U-boats (BdU); January 1943 took over from Admiral Raeder as commander-in-chief Kriegsmarine, promoted to grand admiral; 17 April–30 April 1945 also commander-in-chief Wehrmacht (North); 1 May 1945 commander-in-chief Wehrmacht and appointed Reich president in Hitler's Testament; 2 May 1945 set up caretaker German government; 23 May 1945 arrested at Flensburg; 1 October 1946 at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg sentenced to ten years' imprisonment for war crimes; October 1956 released.

Dörnberg, Alexander Freiherr von (1901–1983)

1919 Freikorps; studied law; 1934 entered NSDAP; 1936 Foreign Ministry, Berlin; 1938 entered SS; 1938–41 chief of protocol, Foreign Ministy and member, staff of Reichsführer-SS; Envoy Class I; 1945 detained; 1948 exonerated by denazification tribunal at Garmisch-Partenkirchen for ‘active and passive resistance'.

Esser, Hermann (1900–1981)

Volunteer WWI; 1919 entered DAP (Deutsche Arbeitpartei/German Workers' Party); 24 February 1919 member, NSDAP; editor,
Völkischer Beobachter
; 1923 first head of propaganda, NSDAP; received three months' imprisonment for part in the failed Munich Putsch; 1933–5 head of Bavarian State Chancellery; 1933–45 Reichstag deputy and vice-president; 1939 state secretary at Propaganda Ministry; author of the anti-Semitic book
Die jüdisch Weltpest
published in 1939, two months after the November 1938 pogrom; 1945–7 detained by US forces; 1949 classified as ‘principal guilt carrier' in denazification processes and sentenced to five years' work camp; 1952 released; subsequently lived in seclusion in Munich.

Exner, Helene ‘Marlene' Marie von (b. 1917–?)

Trained at the University of Vienna as a cook–nutritionist; September 1942 until July 1943 specialist cook for dictator Ion Antonescu in Bucharest; July 1943 until dismissed from service 8 May 1944 (found to be of Jewish blood), special cook for Hitler.

Fegelein, Hermann (1906–1945)

1931 entered NSDAP; 1933 entered SS; 1939 Waffen-SS; commander SS Cavalry Brigade; 1942 inspector of mobile and mounted troops,
SS-Führungshauptamt
; 1943 commander, 8th SS Cavalry Division
Florian Geyer
, wounded; 1 January 1944 Waffen-SS liaison officer to Hitler; 3 June 1944 married Gretl Braun; 21 June 1944 major general, Waffen-SS; 27 April 1945 demoted by Hitler to SS-Mann; 29 April 1945 field court martial and executed.

Frick, Helmut (1913–?)

1931 entered NSDAP; 1933 ‘
SS-Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler
' (LSSAH).

Gesche, Bruno (1905–1980)

1922 entered NSDAP; 1928 entered SS; March 1932 in newly founded
SS-Begleitkommando
des Führer
(Führer's SS bodyguard); 16 June 1934 until December 1944 commander SS bodyguard; then sent to front and demoted from SS-Obersturmbannführer (lieutentant colonel) to SS-Unterscharführer (corporal) for alcoholism; British POW; detained until 1947.