Eva Braun , his wife of one day, also committed suicide by cyanide poisoning. Eyewitnesses who saw Hitler's body immediately after his suicide testified that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot, presumably to the temple. The Soviet Union restricted the release of information and released many conflicting reports about Hitler's death. Historians have largely rejected these as part of a deliberate disinformation campaign by Joseph Stalin to sow confusion regarding Hitler's death, [ 7 ] [ g ] [ h ] [ i ] or have attempted to reconcile them.
In June , the Soviets began seeding two contradictory narratives: that Hitler died by taking cyanide [ m ] or that he had survived and fled to another country. By early , Nazi Germany was on the verge of total military collapse. It was clear to the Nazi leadership that the Battle of Berlin would be the final battle of the war in Europe.
By 11 April, the Americans crossed the Elbe , kilometres 62 mi to the west of the city. Berlin was bombarded by Soviet artillery for the first time on 20 April, Hitler's birthday. By the evening of 21 April, Red Army tanks reached the outskirts of the city. At the next day's afternoon situation conference, Hitler suffered a nervous collapse when he was informed that these orders had not been obeyed.
Hitler announced that he would stay in Berlin until the end and then shoot himself. Haase suggested the "pistol-and-poison method" of combining a dose of cyanide with a gunshot to the head. By 27 April, Berlin's communication had been all but cut off from the rest of Germany. The offer was declined. Himmler had implied to the Allies that he had the authority to negotiate a surrender, which Hitler considered to be treason.
That afternoon, Hitler's anger and bitterness escalated into a rage against Himmler. By this time, the Red Army had advanced to the Potsdamer Platz , roughly a kilometre away from the bunker, and all indications were that they were preparing to storm the Reich Chancellery. This report and Himmler's betrayal prompted Hitler to make the last decisions of his life.
