This is the last known photo of Hitler, reportedly taken on April 28, 1945. He came up from the bunker, briefly, one last time, to see the devastation

Part 10: April 29, 1945 – The Day Before the End

There was no silence in the bunker now. The shelling never stopped. The walls trembled. The air was a mix of smoke, sweat, and despair. Above ground, the Soviets had reached the Reichstag. Below, Hitler was making final arrangements—legal, personal, and emotional—for his death.

The man who had once stood beside Hitler as his closest SS liaison—Hermann Fegelein—was no longer in the bunker. Hitler had ordered his court-martial days earlier, when Fegelein was arrested while trying to flee the city in civilian clothes. Despite being Eva Hitler’s brother-in-law, Fegelein was executed and his body was left outside. A final warning. A final purge.

Throughout the day, Hitler’s demeanor remained eerily calm. He received visitors. He handed out signed photographs, like souvenirs. He gave Eva a framed painting and sat for tea. There was no rage left. No orders to save the city. Only final acts of ritual.

The bunker had become a mausoleum, but it still performed the gestures of a state. Guards stood post. Secretaries typed. Children played in the hallways. Goebbels drafted a final statement to the press. It was theater at the edge of death.

Tomorrow would be the end. Everyone knew it. Hitler had the cyanide. So did Eva. The doors had been sealed. The instructions were clear. But for now, the bunker persisted—half-command center, half-cult shrine.

April 29 was the last full day of Adolf Hitler’s life. It was not dramatic. It was not explosive. And he was strangely quiet. A dull thud of inevitability. The final breath before the fall.

FULL SERIES:

Yes, Hitler Really Did Commit Suicide, 80 Years Ago

Part 1: April 20, 1945 – Hitler’s Last Birthday

Part 2: April 21, 1945 – The Net Tightens

Part 3: April 22, 1945 – The Breaking Point

Part 4: April 23, 1945 – The Succession Panic

Part 5: April 24, 1945 – The Axis of Betrayal

Part 6: April 25, 1945 – No Way Out

Part 7: April 26, 1945 – The Sky Closes

Part 8: April 27, 1945 – Rienzi

Part 9: April 28, 1945 – Wedding Day

Part 10: April 29, 1945 – The Day Before the End