The defeat of German forces at the Battle of the Bulge in December 1945 ended any serious attempt by German forces to launch any further major military campaigns. In March 1945 American forces captured the Ludendorff Bridge intact allowing them to enter Germany over the Rhine. Meanwhile Soviet forces were pushing in from the East and closing in on Berlin. Due to Allied air attacks on Berlin, Hitler and his staff relocated from the Reich Chancellery to the Fuhrerbunker. This underground complex served as the command center for the Third Reich in the last months of its existence.

Hitler had remained inside this complex from the beginning of January 1945 only briefly coming up on April 20, his 56th birthday, to award the Iron Cross to Hitler Youth boys. On April 22, 1945, Soviet troops began entering Berlin suburbs meeting no resistance. When informed, Hitler was enraged and denounced the army for failing him and Germany. He stated that he knew the war was lost and despite being offered a way to flee south, decided to stay. Hermann Goering, his once designated successor, now would try to seize power under a 1941 decree giving him the power believing Hitler had incapacitated himself from power. It failed and he was forced to resign and put under house arrest. Hitler would later expel him from the Nazi Party. Heinrich Himmler was also trying to negotiate with the Allies via Sweden. When the BBC reported on April 28 that this was going on, Hitler was stunned as he considered Himmler one of his most loyal persons serving under him. He ordered Himmler’s aide in the bunker, who had been captured trying to desert, to be court-martialed and shot. He ordered Himmler’s arrest, expelled him from the Nazi party, and stripped him of all his titles. The once invincible Third Reich was in its last days.

Sources

“Hitler Admits Defeat | April 22, 1945 | HISTORY.” HISTORY. Last modified February 18, 2025. Accessed April 21, 2026. https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-22/hitler-admits-defeat.

Evans, Richard J. “Bitter End: Hitler’s Downfall and the End of the War and the Third Reich.” HistoryExtra. Last modified October 18, 2024. Accessed April 21, 2026. https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/adolf-hitler-downfall-ww2-bunker/.

Knapp, Wilfrid F. “Adolf Hitler.” Encyclopedia Britannica. Last modified April 21, 2026. Accessed April 21, 2026. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler.

Milligan, Mark. “Führerbunker – Hitler’ Last Bunker.” HeritageDaily – Archaeology News. Last modified March 22, 2022. Accessed April 21, 2026. https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/03/fuhrerbunker-hitlers-last-bunker/137885.

Documentaries & Videos

History Inside. “The Führerbunker After 1945 — What Really Happened?” Video. YouTube, November 24, 2025. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwEaeH0nD8c.

Suggested Reading

[Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.]

Allen, William Sheridan. The Nazi Seizure of Power: The Experience of a Single German Town, 1922-1945, Revised Edition. Echo Point Books & Media, 2014.

Gilbert, Martin The Second World War: A Complete History (Elsevier, 2004).

Hanson, Victor Davis. The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won. Basic Books, 2017.

Keegan, John. The Second World War. Penguin Books, 2005.

Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. Simon and Schuster, 2011.

[This has been rewritten from 2025 and new sources added.]

By April 1945, victories by Allied and Russian forces had reduced the once formidable German state to a shadow of its former self. Due to increased Allied air attacks on Berlin, Hitler had relocated his headquarters from the Reich Chancellery to the Fuhrerbunker, an underground complex that would serve as the command center for the remnants of the Third Reich earlier in the year. 19^th April saw the Soviet Army mobilize its troops to encircle Berlin. Hitler had gone above on 20 April 1945, his 56^th birthday, to award the Iron Cross to boys from the Hitler Youth.

It was on 22 April 1945 that Hitler, in an afternoon meeting, learned that Soviets were entering the northern suburbs of Berlin meeting no resistance. It enraged Hitler, who denounced the Army, and made him realize the war was lost. Hitler decided to stay in Berlin rather than flee south.

Sources:

Bullock et al., “Adolf Hitler | History, Biography, Actions, & Facts,” Encyclopedia Britannica, last modified April 21, 2025, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Adolf-Hitler/World-War-II.

Mark Milligan, “Führerbunker – Hitler’S Last Bunker,” HeritageDaily – Archaeology News, last modified March 22, 2022, https://www.heritagedaily.com/2021/03/fuhrerbunker-hitlers-last-bunker/137885.

HISTORY.com Editors, “Hitler Admits Defeat | April 22, 1945 | HISTORY,” HISTORY, last modified February 18, 2025, https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/april-22/hitler-admits-defeat.

Richard J Evans, “Bitter End: Hitler’s Downfall and the End of the War and the Third Reich,” HistoryExtra, last modified October 18, 2024, https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/adolf-hitler-downfall-ww2-bunker/.

By April 1945, victories by Allied and Russian forces had reduced the once formidable German state to a shadow of its former self. Due to increased Allied air attacks on Berlin, Hitler had relocated his headquarters from the Reich Chancellery to the Fuhrerbunker, an underground complex that would serve as the command center for the remnants of the Third Reich earlier in the year. 19^th April saw the Soviet Army mobilize its troops to encircle Berlin. Hitler had gone above on 20 April 1945, his 56^th birthday, to award the Iron Cross to boys from the Hitler Youth.

It was on 22 April 1945 that Hitler, in an afternoon meeting, learned that Soviets were entering the northern suburbs of Berlin meeting no resistance. It enraged Hitler, who denounced the Army, and made him realize the war was lost. Hitler decided to stay in Berlin rather than flee south.

Sources:

Britannica.com
HeritageDaily.com
History.com

By April 1945, victories by Allied and Russian forces had reduced the once formidable German state to a shadow of its former self. Due to increased Allied air attacks on Berlin, Hitler had relocated his headquarters from the Reich Chancellery to the Fuhrerbunker, an underground complex that would serve as the command center for the remnants of the Third Reich earlier in the year. 19^th April saw the Soviet Army mobilize its troops to encircle Berlin. Hitler had gone above on 20 April 1945, his 56^th birthday, to award the Iron Cross to boys from the Hitler Youth.

It was on 22 April 1945 that Hitler, in an afternoon meeting, learned that Soviets were entering the northern suburbs of Berlin meeting no resistance. It enraged Hitler, who denounced the Army, and made him realize the war was lost. Hitler decided to stay in Berlin rather than flee south.

Sources:

Britannica.com
HeritageDaily.com
History.com

,,

By April 1945, victories by Allied and Russian forces had reduced the once formidable German state to a shadow of its former self. Due to increased Allied air attacks on Berlin, Hitler had relocated his headquarters from the Reich Chancellery to the Fuhrerbunker, an underground complex that would serve as the command center for the remnants of the Third Reich earlier in the year. 19^th April saw the Soviet Army mobilize its troops to encircle Berlin. Hitler had gone above on 20 April 1945, his 56^th birthday, to award the Iron Cross to boys from the Hitler Youth.

It was on 22 April 1945 that Hitler, in an afternoon meeting, learned that Soviets were entering the northern suburbs of Berlin meeting no resistance. It enraged Hitler, who denounced the Army, and made him realize the war was lost. Hitler decided to stay in Berlin rather than flee south.

Sources:

Britannica.com
HeritageDaily.com
History.com

,,