HITLER'S LAST DAYS AND SUICIDE by James O'Donnell P. Praise for THE BUNKER "Superb Quite simply the most accurate and . . . terrifying account of the nightmare and its end I have ever read." — Theodore H. White, author of The Making ofthe President "A riveting, damned near incredible story . . , Nothing I've read on the subject reveals so vividly the psychopaths, quasi-criminals and looneys who made up the entourage around Germany's demon king/' — Gerald Green, author of Holocaust **A powerfully vivid documentary reconstruction ofAdolf Hitlei^s final days,'* * —TheNew York Times **A fresh, authoritative look at a crucial period of WW WW II. . . . Even if youre sated with II books, this highly readable, splendidly paced account is well worth your time." — Business Week **[A] spellbinder. OT)onnell projects the . . . spooky feehng of one who has a pipelin—e to evil.** Newsday Terhaps the most readable, intelligent, compre- hensive and accurate account of the coUapse of the high command since Last Days was pub- lished in 1947. Mr. OTDonnell has a fluent . . . pen and his book is as unputdownable as a FrederickForsyth thrill—er." Paperback Buyer (England) **Aspellbinding journey." •^Washington Post **The tale is enormous. . . . Mr. OTDonnell's account of the three-pronged breakout of the bunker crew after Hitlers suicide and the appall- ing self-destruction of the Goebbels family is the most detailed and dramatic yet. The analysis . . . of Martin Bormann's final movements and suicide is convincing." — New Yorker "A fresh, exciting account of the last few months of Adolf Hitlers life. . . —. O'Donnell's prose leaves nothing to be desired it's not only never dull, but it is also witty, and even at times un- pretentiously learned.'* — Kirkua **The definitive account of the last days in Fiihrers headqWuarWters. . . . The volume deserves to be in every II collection." — Library Journal BUNKER THE The History of the Reich Group Chancellery O'Donnell James P. i^ i This low-priced Bantam Book has been completely reset in a type face designed for easy reading, and was printed from new plates. It contains the complete text of the original hard-cover edition. NOT ONE WORD HAS BEEN OMITTED. THE BUNKER A Bantam Book/published by arrangement with Houghton Mifflin Company PRINTING HISTORY Houghton Mifflin edition published November 1978 3 printings through February 1979 Book-of-the-Month Club edition January 1979 History Book Club edition January 1979 Macmillan Book Club edition February 1979 Serialized in book digest April 1979 Bantam edition/December 1979 The drawing on page 46 and the map on page271 are by John V. Morris. All rights reserved. © Copyright 1978 by John P. O'Donnell. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by mimeograph or any other means, without permission. For information address: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2 Park Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02107. ISBN 0-553-13248-2 Published simultaneously in the United Statesand Canada Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, Inc. Its trade- mark, consisting of the words "Bantam Books" and the por- trayal of a bantam, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Rcglstrada. Bantam Books, Inc., 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, New York 10019. PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA To Marguerite Higgins