“Von Greim being head of the Luftwaffe?” queried Kelly.
“Yes, as of that meeting with Hitler. Göring had been accused of treason and dismissed in absentia. Von Greim was promoted to Marshall of the Luftwaffe there and then.”
“And they flew out that same day?” confirmed Kelly.
“Yes, they did. They pleaded with Hitler to join them, but he refused. Their instructions were to fly to Plön and arrest Himmler.”
“Plön?”
“It’s a little town in Schleswig-Holstein. I think it was Donitz’s HQ for a short while,” explained Horst.
“Oh yes, I remember now,” said Kelly, “they moved to Flensburg shortly after. Did anyone fly out with Reitsch and von Greim?”
“I can’t say for sure. Bormann escorted them out of the bunker, but I have no way of knowing if there was already someone out there waiting. One thing I can say is that I definitely saw both Hitler and Eva Braun after Reitsch and von Greim had left.”
“Right, so that wasn’t their route out, but of course it doesn’t rule out the use of a plane a few days later … it does seem to be the logical way out.”
Kelly paused for a moment while he made notes on his pad. “Sorry, Horst, if this sounds like an interrogation. We need to get to the bottom of this.”
“It’s fine,” said Horst smiling, “I understand.”
“You mentioned that you didn’t actually see the bodies of Hitler and Braun—what you saw were two bodies wrapped in blankets, which may or may not have been them. Who actually went into the room, and who definitely saw the bodies?”
“Let me think for a minute about the sequence of events that afternoon,” said Horst, his brow furrowed.
“The first thing we heard was the shot. I immediately ran up the corridor, taking out my pistol as I did so. Bormann called to me to stop. I did so but kept my pistol at the ready. I heard Bormann tell everyone to stay where they were. He called for Linge and Günsche, and together they walked up to Hitler’s study, where they were joined by Rochus Misch …”
“Hold it there for a moment, Horst. Remind me who these people were.”
“Heinz Linge was Hitler’s valet. He had never really been a soldier, however Hitler had given him the rank of Obersturmbannführer in the SS. He thought he was quite something in his SS uniform, but the ‘real’ soldiers used to laugh at him behind his back.
“Otto Günsche was one of Hitler’s adjutants—he had several—and was a true soldier, having fought in France and on the Eastern Front. Rochus Misch was a friend of mine and a really good person. He held the rank of Oberscharführer, that’s roughly equivalent to sergeant. He had been badly wounded in Poland in the first year of the war, and because of his bravery in that campaign he had been awarded the Iron Cross and transferred to the Führer’s bodyguard.”
“Right! I’ve heard of Linge. He was captured by the Russians and transferred to Moscow, where, as far as we know, he still is. The others I need to look up in the records. Sorry, go on.”
“Bormann shouted to me to stay where I was and to stop anyone else coming up the passage. I was standing in the doorway between the west and the east corridor. The former doubled as the conference room and the latter as a staff lounge. I motioned to the staff starting to congregate to remain in the lounge. My position was very close to the door of Hitler’s study. The four men were standing outside the door, Bormann speaking in whispers to Linge who then opened it and stepped inside with Bormann at his side, Günsche and Misch following behind. From my position I could see into the office and I saw the four make their way to the door of Hitler’s sitting room. Bormann motioned the other two to remain where they were, and he and Linge went into the sitting room, coming out almost immediately. Bormann motioned Günsche to enter, then spoke to Misch who joined me in the corridor. As he did so he caught my eye, pursed his lips and shook his head—that pretty well told me everything I needed to know. After ten minutes or so, Günsche came out wiping his hands on his handkerchief. He ordered Misch to summon Goebbels and several others, then, stepping past me into the staff lounge, he announced that the Führer and Frau Hitler had taken their own lives.”
“You couldn’t see into the sitting room?” queried Kelly.
“No, and Misch only had a glimpse through the door. He told me later that afternoon that both bodies were on the couch, which was against the wall opposite the door. Hitler had slumped forward, his head resting face down on the table beside the couch. Eva Braun—Eva Hitler by this time—was angled away from him, her legs drawn up to her chest and her head thrown back, eyes wide open and her face terribly contorted.”
“Cyanide!” said Kelly grimly. “What happened then?”
“Misch returned with the people he had been ordered to bring. Goebbels walked to the end of the corridor and stood at the bottom of the staircase leading up to the garden exit. The others were ushered into the study and then into the sitting room, from where they emerged a few minutes later carrying the two bodies wrapped in blankets. They carried them up the stairs to the garden exit. That was the last I saw of the bodies. My understanding was
