(2 of 3)
Out of the Mousetrap. "Jodl was a quiet man who spoke little, but when he spoke, it was always clearly, frankly and to the point. Now he also came out strongly against Hitler. He declared very firmly that he, personally, would not stay in Berlin; he thought it was a mousetrap, and his job was to lead the troops, not stand with a flintlock in his hand defending the city and in the end dying in the rubble of its ruins.
"When Keitel and Bormann saw that they could not move Hitler to change his mind, they said that in spite of his orders, they would also stay. Hitler again ordered them to leave; in ten minutes, he said, the Russians might be before the Chancellery. Keitel and Bormann repeated that they would stay. Keitel added: 'We would never be able to confront our wives and children if we left.'
"Hitler then said that in two or three days, in a week at the very most, Berlin would be finished and the Chancellery taken. He said that he had considered what would happen after his own death. He gave an order to the other three men—it was not clear to whom he gave it, or whether he actually meant it as an order to one of them specifically. He said: 'You must go to southern Germany, form a government, and G&246ring will be my successor. G&246ringwird verhandeln—G&246ring will negotiate.' "
Vague & Uncertain. "Whether this last statement was an order or a prophecy, no one knows. He might have said it in a spirit of resignation, realizing that if G&246ring were to succeed him, he would undertake negotiations. He might also have meant it as a direct order to negotiate after his death. The F&252hrer was by now rather vague and uncertain, giving no direct orders, apparently preoccupied with the prospect of his own imminent death.
"Jodl interjected that Germany still had some armies capable of action. He mentioned the Central Army Group under Field Marshal Schorner which was disposed south of Berlin in the direction of Dresden, and the Twelfth Army of General Wenck, a newly formed army which was to stand against the Americans on the Elbe. Perhaps, said Jodl, these armies could change the course of events around Berlin. Hitler evidenced little interest. He gave no orders, shrugged his shoulders and said: 'You do whatever you want.' "
Search for Death. "As to Hitler's death. I don't believe we will ever find a witness who can tell us how it happened. But I don't believe the F&252hrer remained in the cellar. I believe he went out, possibly several times, looking for death to which he was now so completely resigned, and that he may have died by artillery fire. One thing we do know—he was not the last man alive in the Chancellery bunker, because after his death we still received some radio reports from there."
At this point Correspondent Knauth told Herrgesell of reports he had heard from U.S. security officers: that Hitler had been killed by 55 Hauptsturmfuhrer Guensche, the F&252hrer's personal adjutant.