http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-commits-suicide
Adolf Hitler Commits Suicide
On this day in 1945, holed up in a bunker under his headquarters in Berlin, Adolf Hitler commits suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head. Soon after, Germany unconditionally surrendered to the Allied forces, ending Hitler's dreams of a "1,000-year" Reich.
Since at least 1943, it was becoming increasingly clear that Germany would fold under the pressure of the Allied forces. In February of that year, the German 6th Army, lured deep into the Soviet Union, was annihilated at the Battle of Stalingrad, and German hopes for a sustained offensive on both fronts evaporated. Then, in June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed at Normandy, France, and began systematically to push the Germans back toward Berlin. By July 1944, several German military commanders acknowledged their imminent defeat and plotted to remove Hitler from power so as to negotiate a more favorable peace. Their attempts to assassinate Hitler failed, however, and in his reprisals, Hitler executed over 4,000 fellow countrymen.
In January 1945, facing a siege of Berlin by the Soviets, Hitler withdrew to his bunker to live out his final days. Located 55 feet under the chancellery, the shelter contained 18 rooms and was fully self-sufficient, with its own water and electrical supply. Though he was growing increasingly mad, Hitler continued to give orders and meet with such close subordinates as Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler and Josef Goebbels. He also married his long-time mistress Eva Braun just two days before his suicide.
In his last will and testament, Hitler appointed Admiral Karl Donitz as head of state and Goebbels as chancellor. He then retired to his private quarters with Braun, where he and Braun poisoned themselves and their dogs, before Hitler then also shot himself with his service pistol.
Hitler and Braun's bodies were hastily cremated in the chancellery garden, as Soviet forces closed in on the building. When the Soviets reached the chancellery, they removed Hitler's ashes, continually changing their location so as to prevent Hitler devotees from creating a memorial at his final resting place. Only eight days later, on May 8, 1945, the German forces issued an unconditional surrender, leaving Germany to be carved up by the four Allied powers.
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311 - Emperor Galerius legal recognizes Christians in the Roman Empire
313 - Roman emperor Licinius unifies the entire Eastern Roman Empire under his rule.
711 - Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).
1064 - German King Henry IV gives away Utrecht county of West Friesland
1250 - King Louis IX of France was ransomed for one million dollars.
1315 - Enguerrand de Marigny is hanged on the public gallows at Montfaucon.
1349 - Jewish community at Radolszell Germany, exterminated
1396 - Crusaders & earl of Nevers depart from Dijon
1483 - Orbital calculations suggest that on this day, Pluto moved inside Neptune's orbit until July 23, 1503.
1492 - Columbus is given royal commission to equip his fleet
1492 - Spain announces it will expels all Jews
1506 - Philip of Bourgondy & England sign trade agreement
1527 - Henry VIII of England and King Francis of France signed the treaty of Westminster.
1562 - First French colonists in US: Jean Ribault and colonists arrive in Florida
1563 - Jews are expelled from France by order of Charles VI
1598 - First theater performance in America (Spanish comedy-Rio Grande)
1616 - English King Jacob I leaves Brielle/Vlissingen
1650 - French rebel Henri de la Tour Turenne signs treaty with Spain
1661 - Tsjeng Tsj'eng-Kung begins siege of Dutch fort Zeelandia, Formosa
1671 - Petar Zrinski, the Croatian Ban from the Zrinski family, is executed.
1695 - William Congreve's "Love for Love," premieres in London
1722 - Game of Billiards is mentioned in New England Courant
1725 - Emperor Charles VI and King Philip IV of Spain sign Treaty of Vienna
1748 - Ceasefire at Aken ends
1763 - London Journalist John Wilkes confined in the Tower
1772 - John Clais patents 1st scale
1774 - Pope Clement XIV proclaims a universal jubilee
1789 - George Washington inaugurated as 1st president of US
1790 - Colonial troops occupy Bonni's marroon village
1794 - The Battle of Boulou is fought, in which French forces defeated the Spanish under General Union.
1798 - Dept of Navy forms
1803 - France sells Louisiana Territory to the United States, which subsequently doubled in size through Louisiana Purchase ($15 million)
1804 - Hague's Theater opens
1808 - 1st practical typewriter finished by Italian Pellegrini Turri
1812 - (Eastern) Louisiana admitted as 18th US state
1838 - Nicaragua declares independence from Central American federation
1852 - Anton Rubinsteins opera "Dmitri Donskoi," premieres in St Petersburg
1857 - San Jose State University forms
1859 - Charles Dickens' "A Tale Of Two Cities" is first published in literary periodical All the Year Round, continues in weekly installments until Nov 26
1859 - Paul Morphy returns from 10-mo chess tour of Europe, retires
1860 - Navaho indians attack Fort Defiance (Canby)
1861 - President Lincoln ordered Federal Troops to evacuate Indian Territory
1862 - Swift Run Gap, West Virginia skirmishes
1863 - Mexican forces attacked the French Foreign Legion in Hacienda Camarón, Mexico.
1864 - Battle of Jenkin's Ferry, Arkansas; Gen W R Scurry is killed
1864 - New York becomes 1st state to charge a hunting license fee
1865 - -5/1] Gen Shermans "Haines's Bluff" at Snyder's Mill, Virginia
1869 - Hawaiian YMCA organized
1871 - The Camp Grant Massacre of Apaches in Arizona Territory, perpetrated by white andMexican adventurers; 144 die
1885 - Boston Pops Orchestra forms
1888 - Hail stones kills about 250 in Moradabad district of Delhi
1889 - First US national holiday, on centennial of Washington's inauguration
1889 - George Washington Bridge linking New York City and New Jersey opens
1900 - 165 lb Robert Fitzsimmons KOs 305 lb Ed Dunkhost in a boxing match
1900 - USA annexes Hawaii
1900 - Casey Jones dies in a train wreck in Vaughn, Mississippi, while trying to make up time on the Cannonball Express.
1902 - Debussy's opera "Pelléas et Mélissande," premieres in Paris
1903 - NY Highlanders (Yankees) 1st home game, (Hilltop Park-168th St and Broadway, Manhattan), they beat Wash Senators, 6-2
1904 - Ice cream cone makes its debut
1905 - First official soccer game between Belgium-Netherlands (1-4)
1907 - Honolulu, Hawaii becomes an independent city.
1910 - Cleveland Indian Addie Joss wins 2nd no-hitter beating White Sox
1911 - Portugal approves woman suffrage
1916 - Chicago Cubs play first game at Weeghman Park (Wrigley Field) beat Reds
1918 - Orange Nassau soccer team forms in Groningen
1919 - Phillies beat Bkln Dodgers 9-0 in 20 innings
1921 - American Professional Football Association reorganizes in Akron
1921 - Pope Benedict XV encyclical "On Dante"
1922 - Chic White Sox Charles Robertson perfect games Detroit Tigers, 2-0
1925 - Automaker Dodge Brothers, Inc is sold to Dillon, Read & Company for $146 million plus $50 million for charity.
1927 - Princess Juliana gets seat in Dutch Council of State
1928 - Cherkess Autonomous Region forms in RSFSR (until 1957)
1929 - Earnest Streeruwitz becomes chancellor of Austria
1934 - Austrian gets "Austrian facist" constitution
1935 - World Congress for Women's Rights concludes in Istanbul
1937 - The Philippines holds a plebiscite for Filipino women on whether they should be extended the right to suffrage; over 90% would vote in the affirmative.
1938 - The first televised FA Cup Final takes place between Huddersfield Town and Preston North End.
1939 - NBC/RCA first public TV demo with FDR at opening of NY World's Fair
1941 - Spread of Judaism begins in Croatia
1942 - First submarine built on Great Lakes launched, (Peto), Manitowoc, Wi
1943 - Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp for Jews forms
1943 - Dutch strike against forced labor in Nazi Germany's war industry
1945 - Concentration camp Munchen-Allag freed
1945 - Lord Haw-Haw calls for crusade against the bolsheviks
1945 - Red Army occupies Demmin
1945 - Red Army opens attack on German Reichstag building in Berlin
1945 - Russian Army frees Ravensbruck concentration camp
1945 - US troops attack the Elbe
1947 - Boulder Dam renamed in honor of Herbert Hoover
1948 - Organization of American States charter signed at Bogota, Colombia
1948 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak
1952 - Mr Potato Head is 1st toy advertised on television
1955 - Element 101, Mendelevium, announced 1955 - Imperial Bank of India nationalized
1955 - West German unions protest for 40-hour work week and higherwages
1958 - Ted Williams is 10th major league player to get 1,000 extra-base hits
1961 - 1st shuttle flights between Wash DC, Boston & NYC begin (Eastern)
1961 - Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba receives Lenin-Peace Prize
1961 - SF Giant Willie Mays hits 4 HRs in a game
1962 - NASA civilian pilot Joseph A Walker takes X-15 to 75,190 m
1967 - Highest tower to the world finished, 537m (USSR)
1970 - US troops invade Cambodia
1971 - 25th NBA Championship: Milwaukee beat Balt Bullets in 4 games
1973 - Nixon announces resignation of Haldeman, Ehrlichman, et al
1973 - Paul McCartney releases "Red Rose Speedway" including "My Love"
1973 - Women's tennis groups end disputes over sanctioning tournaments
1974 - President Nixon hands over partial transcripts of Watergate tape recordings
1975 - Last US helicopter leaves US embassy grounds, Saigon surrenders
1976 - Muhammad Ali beats Jimmy Young in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1976 - Royal Canadian Mint opens a branch in Winnipeg Manitoba
1977 - Billy Graham beats Bruno Sammartino in Baltimore, to become WWF champ
1980 - Terrorists seize Iranian Embassy in London
1980 - Beatrix, Wilhelmina Armgard, crowned queen of Netherlands
1980 - Juliana, Queen of the Netherlands, abdicates
1982 - Alvaro Magana chosen to succeed Jose N Duarte as pres of El Salvador
1982 - Atlanta Braves win record 12th straight from beginning of season
1982 - Iranian offensive in Khusistan
1985 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1985 - Last edition of Brink Daily Mail/Sunday Express in South Africa
1986 - Ashrita Furman peformed 8,341 somersaults over 12 miles
1987 - Lou Lamoriello is named NJ Devils President
1987 - NY Islander Mike Bossy plays his final game
1988 - Baltimore Orioles win record 14th straight from beginning of season
1988 - Largest banana split ever, at 455 miles long, was made in Penns
1988 - New Jersey Devils beat Caps 3-2 taking 7th game of Patrick Division final
1988 - World Exposition, Expo 88 opens in Brisbane Australia
1989 - Critics Siskel & Ebert film their 500th TV movie-review show
1989 - Pope John Paul II beatifies Victoire Rasoamanarivo of Madagascar
1989 - US beats Costa Rica 1-0, in 3rd round of 1990 world soccer cup
1990 - Seattle's Brian Holman's perfect game broken up with 2 outs in 9th
1990 - US 66th manned space mission STS 31 (Discovery 10) returns from space
1990 - US hostage Frank Reed freed after 4 years in hands of pro-Iranians
1991 - In Bangladesh a cyclone killed over 131,000 & left 9 million homeless
1992 - 208th and final episode of Cosby Show on NBC-TV
1993 - The World Wide Web is born at CERN.
1993 - Virgin Radio broadcasts for the first time in the United Kingdom.
1996 - Dutch/Itallian Beppo-SAX launches from Cape Canaveral
1997 - 42 million watch "Ellen" admit she is gay
1997 - Atlanta Braves win record 19 games in April
1997 - Big Ben stops at 12:11 PM for 54 minutes
1999 - Cambodia joins the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) bringing the total members to 10. 2001 - The Mitchell Report on the Arab-Israeli conflict is published.
2002 - A referendum in Pakistan overwhelmingly approves the Presidency of Pervez Musharraf for another five years.
2004 - U.S. media release graphic photos of American soldiers abusing and sexually humiliating Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison.
2008 - Two skeletal remains found near Ekaterinburg, Russia were confirmed by Russian scientists to be the remains of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia and one of his sisters.
2009 - Chrysler automobile company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
2009 - Failed attack on the Dutch Royal Family results in 7 deaths and 17 injured. 2009 - The United Kingdom formally ends combat operations in Iraq.
2012 - The unfinished One World Trade Center overtakes the Empire State building to become the tallest building in New York
2012 - Spain's economy double dips after a 0.3% contraction and 25% unemployment rate
2012 - Overloaded ferry in the Brahmaputra River,India, killing 103 people
2012 - Manchester City defeat Manchester United 1-0 in what is claimed to be the biggest match in the English Premier League's history
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-commits-suicide
http://www.historyorb.com/events/april/30
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/apr30.htm
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory/April-30
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