The telephone conversation I had with Rybalko on the subject was quite unpleasant. He said he did not understand why his corps which were already aimed at the centre of the city should, by my order, be turned west and the direction of their advance changed. I appreciated his feelings as army commander, but all I could say was that the offensive of the 1st Belorussian Front against Berlin was going well, and that the centre of Berlin was, according to the established line of demarcation, in the zone of the 1st Belorussian Front.
Knowing Rybalko, as I did, I must say that his dissatisfaction was not due to the fact that he wanted to take a few more streets and squares in order to become famous. He had already won enough fame. But finding himself in the very thick of the fight and seeing a direct chance to speed up the clearing of Berlin, he literally had to crush his own impulse in order to carry out my order. I am certainly not inclined to censure him for feelings I can very well appreciate.
Konev then went on to state his own views regarding the situation. Though it has to be remembered that his memoirs were written in accordance with Soviet protocols which at the time aimed to portray a unified command structure:
As for my own personal views, I believe that at that period an exact line of demarcation between the two fronts had to be established. It was necessary to rule out any chance of confusion, losses caused by our own fire and other trouble caused by troops getting mixed up, especially in street fighting. I accepted the corrections made in the line of demarcation as necessary and considered them dictated by higher interests.
In truth, Konev was as bitterly disappointed as Rybalko. The prize would after all go to his rival, Zhukov.
On 28 April, General Weidling informed Hitler at the evening conference that the supply situation was so critical that his units had only enough ammunition left for two further days of combat. He then put the case forward for a breakout, ‘Speaking as a soldier, I think the time has come to risk breaking out of encircled Berlin, so as to put an end to the incredible suffering of the population’. The propaganda minister and self-styled defender of Berlin was the first to react to the suggestion of a break out, Weidling recalling that ‘Goebbels pounced on me and, using some strong language, tried to make much of my solid presentation sound ridiculous’. Perhaps Goebbels took the lead in denouncing Weidling’s suggestion as Hitler’s mind appeared to be elsewhere. As indeed it was.
Earlier in the day, word reached Hitler via the Reuters news agency that Himmler had made an offer of capitulation to the western Allies. For Hitler, this was the worst betrayal of all. The aviatrix Hanna Reitsch, who had made a hair-raising flight into Berlin with General Robert Ritter von Greim two days previously, later described Hitler’s reaction by stating that, ‘Hitler raved like a madman. He turned a dark red, and his face became almost unrecognisable’. Later that night, Hitler composed himself and ordered Reitsch and the newly appointed commander of the practically non-existent Luftwaffe to leave Berlin. Their task was to ensure that Himmler was found in order to receive his just punishment. Unable to take his wrath out on Himmler directly, Hitler satisfied his thirst for vengeance by having Himmler’s adjutant General Hermann Fegelein executed. Eva Braun made little attempt to intercede for her brother in law, who by a process of calculation and opportunism had inveigled himself into Hitler’s court circle. After his execution, all she could say was ‘Poor, poor Adolf. They have all deserted you; they have all betrayed you’.
Over the next few hours, Hitler came around to the view that it was time to bring things to an end. As renowned Hitler scholar Joachim Fest noted, ‘Once he had made up his mind after long vacillation, he made his decisions rapidly and without hesitation’. To this end, he set about dictating his personal and political testaments. Significantly, he also chose this time to marry his long-term partner, Eva Braun. As leader of the Reich, he could not allow himself close personal ties to anyone. Now that time was coming to an end, it simply didn’t matter any more. Walter Wagner, a local government official was brought to the bunker to carry out the ceremony, which because of the circumstances would be a simple ‘War Wedding’. Dr Naumann acted as registrar, and Bormann and Goebbels were the witnesses. The simple ceremony conducted in the early hours of 29 April proceeded as follows:
Wagner: I come herewith to the solemn act of matrimony. In the presence of the above-mentioned witnesses… I ask you, my leader Adolf Hitler, whether you are willing to enter into matrimony with Miss Eva Braun. If such is the case, I ask you to reply yes.
Hitler: Yes.
Wagner: Herewith I ask you, Miss Eva Braun, whether you are willing to enter into matrimony with my leader Adolf Hitler. If such is the case, I ask you to reply yes.
Braun: Yes.
Wagner: Now, since both these engaged persons have stated their willingness to enter into matrimony, I herewith declare the marriage valid before the law.
The marriage was more than an act of gratitude towards one of the few who had remained loyal to the end, it was in essence Hitler’s abdication from his role as a world historical figure. Nurse Erna Flegel who was caring for the sick and wounded in the Chancellery later recalled her impressions of the wedding. Readers should note that her date of the ceremony (28 April) is incorrect. This mistake is understandable given the conditions in the bunker at the time. Flegel’s account is taken from an interrogation by the U.S. Strategic Services Unit on 30 November 1945:
The marriage of Hitler to Eva Braun took place on 28 April… It was immediately clear to me that this signified the end of the Third Reich, for if Hitler had believed a continuation of it possible, he would never have taken this step. Now, with death facing him, he wished to thank this woman for her self-sacrificing loyalty by giving her his name. After all, she was still young and had voluntarily stayed with him in order to share his fate… The incident was of little importance to us; at any rate, we saw nothing unusual in it, for Eva was a completely colourless personality. When she was with a crowd of stenographers, she was in no way conspicuous among them. For example, the fact that Hitler had poisoned his wolfhound somehow affected us more. The dog received in Hitler’s presence a large dose of the poison with which later others were poisoned. He was very fond of that dog, and took its death very much to heart.
Nurse Flegel was absolutely correct in that Hitler’s marriage symbolised the final act in the terrible saga of the Third Reich. Hitler’s marriage to Eva Braun marked his divorce from the German people, a people whom he believed had failed him. As such, he now welcomed his coming death as a merciful release.
At 07.00hrs on the morning of 29 April, a powerful Soviet artillery and mortar barrage was unleashed against the buildings shielding the Reichstag. The two main buildings, the Kroll Opera House and the Ministry of the Interior came under intense fire which succeeded in suppressing at least part of the German defences. Meanwhile, the 756th Rifle Regiment of the 150th Rifle Division prepared to cross the Moltke Bridge. Some troops managed to smash their way through the barricades, but a crossing in force could not be effected until German resistance in the Ministry of the Interior had been totally eliminated. Throughout the night of 29/30 April, units of the Soviet 150th Rifle Division’s 756th and 674th Rifle Regiments and the 171st Rifle Division’s 380th Rifle Regiment carried out the grim task of clearing the Ministry of the Interior of its determined defenders. By 04:00hrs on 30 April, the building was finally captured and troops consolidated their positions on the lower floor which looked across the Konigsplatz towards the Reichstag. Meanwhile, fighting continued in other parts of the city as 1st Belorussian Front’s right-flank formations secured the western approaches to the city.