Hitler's Demise
As Allied troops battled to liberate Caen in July 1944, Hitler's officers, believing the führer was insane, plotted to assassinate him. One staff member was poised to take over to form a new government. But a heavy desk saved Hitler when the conspirators' bomb exploded during a meeting. When the coup failed, those responsible knew what Hitler's retaliation would be like. Indeed, some were executed, but others took poison first.
On April 30, 1945, Hitler and his new wife, Eva Braun, realizing that Berlin was finally falling, committed suicide in the bunker where they had lived for the past six months. The Nazis burned their bodies. Hitler's Third Reich was literally reduced to ashes.
Who was known as “the Desert Fox”?
The extraordinary military skill of Field Marshal General Erwin Rommel of Germany, who had led the German forces in Africa, earned him the moniker “the Desert Fox.” He was among those who committed suicide after the failed attempt to assassinate Hitler.
After the Americans and Soviets converged in Germany in April 1945, Berlin fell to the Allies at the month's end. As his last significant act before his suicide, Hitler named Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz to succeed him as chief of state. Though loyal to the führer, Doenitz had no other course but to surrender. General Alfred Jodl, Doenitz's representative, signed the surrender document at Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims on May 7. Forces elsewhere in Europe had already thrown down their arms. The full and unconditional surrender took effect at one minute past midnight after a second signing in Berlin with Soviet participation. May 8, 1945, would forever after be known as V-E Day, short for Victory in Europe.
