Murder in Hitler's Bunker: Who Really Poisoned the Goebbels Children?

To this day, the murder by poisoning of the six children of Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels remains a mystery. Newly discovered records show that a doctor confessed in the 1950s to having been an accomplice, but that the judges in the case let him go unpunished.

The Goebbels children.

These are the last days of their lives, but the children don't know it. There is 12-year-old Helga, who has the eyes and dark hair of her father, Joseph Goebbels. There is Hilde, 11, who is more of a brunette; anyone looking at her quickly realizes that she is about to blossom into a true beauty. And then there are eight-year-old Holde, six-year-old Hedda and the youngest of the girls, four-year-old Heide.

H for Hitler. The name of each child evokes the name of the Führer, for whom Goebbels works as propaganda chief. The family's only son is named Helmut, a slightly languorous nine-year-old.

Heidrun Elisabeth Goebbels (1940-1945)

Holdine Goebbels in 1939.

Helga in 1939.

Holdine Goebbels, December 1938.

Helga with Prinz, Hitler’s dog.

Berlin, the end of April 1945, the Reich Chancellery. Hitler's bunker, deep underground beneath the Chancellery, is a place of gray concrete, narrow passageways, iron doors and cold light. It isn't a welcoming place, particularly not for children who, only a few weeks earlier, were living a seemingly carefree and innocent life, playing with cats and dogs on a farm far away from Berlin.

Russian soldiers are only a few hundred meters away, and everyone in the bunker is urging the parents to finally take the children to a safe place. Hanna Reitsch, a celebrated German aviator, says: "My God, Mrs. Goebbels, the children cannot stay here, even if I have to fly in 20 times to get them out."

But the Goebbels remain unyielding.

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Fascinating Color Footage Captured the Situation of Berlin in Summer 1945 and Daily Life in the Ruins

That's how it looked like just after the German surrender! Fascinating moving pictures in color show the situation of the city in summer 1945 and daily life in the ruins.

Pictures from the destroyed city, the Reichstag, Brandenburger Tor, Adlon, Führerbunker, Unter den Linden, rubble women working in the streets, the tram is running again.

A collage of archive material
Produced by: Kronos Media

Changing Berlin: 54 Vintage Photos Show Everyday Life of the Capital of Germany in 1937

These historic photographs are from a National Geographic article in the February 1937 issue titled "Changing Berlin". It offers a fascination look at Berlin, Germany, a few years before the start of World War II.

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The Last Days of East Germany: 40 Fascinating Photographs That Capture Everyday Life of Berlin in the Late 1980s

Between 1961 and 1989, the Berlin Wall divided East and West Germany and prevented the mass defection that took place after World War II. It also acted as a symbolic partition between democracy and Communism during the Cold War period. The wall was erected in the middle of the night, but it was torn down just as quickly 28 years later, leading to Germany’s reunification.

In January 1988, Erich Honecker paid a state visit to France. By all indications, the long stretch of international isolation appeared to have been successfully overcome. The GDR finally seemed to be taking its long-sought place among the international community of nations. In the minds of the GDR's old-guard communists, the long-awaited international political recognition was seen as a favorable omen that seemed to coincide symbolically with the fortieth anniversary of the East German state.

In spite of Honecker's declaration as late as January 1989 that "The Wall will still stand in fifty and also in a hundred years," the effects of glasnost and perestroika had begun to be evident in the Soviet Union and throughout Eastern Europe. Although the GDR leadership tried to deny the reality of these developments, for most East Germans the reforms of Soviet leader Gorbachev were symbols of a new era that would inevitably also reach the GDR. The GDR leadership's frantic attempts to block the news coming out of the Soviet Union by preventing the distribution of Russian newsmagazines only strengthened growing protest within the population.

In Berlin, on October 7, the GDR leadership celebrated the fortieth anniversary of the foundation of the East German state. In his address, Honecker sharply condemned the FRG for interfering in the GDR's internal affairs and for encouraging protesters. Still convinced of his mission to secure the survival of the GDR as a state, he proclaimed: "Socialism will be halted in its course neither by ox, nor ass." The prophetic retort by Gorbachev, honored guest at the celebrations, as quoted to the international press, more accurately reflected imminent realities: "He who comes too late will suffer the consequences of history."

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40 Black and White Snapshots Show Everyday Life of Berlin in the Winter of 1964

These amazing photos were taken just after Christmas of 1964 by London-based photographer Allan. They showed everyday life of Berlin in the cold with heavy snow and mist.

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Berlin 60 Years Ago – 52 B&W Snapshots Capture Everyday Life of Germany's Capital in the 1950s

There were a lot of ruin of buildings. Easily recognized that life of the people of Berlin during this period still had difficulties. The 1950s was the period of restructuring and re-building after World War II.

These black and white snapshots will show you everyday life in Berlin during the 1950s.

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Berlin in the 1970s – Amazing Color Pictures Show the Capital of Germany 40 Years ago

Let's make a trip to Berlin 40 years ago.

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16 Rare Vintage Photographs Capture Street Scenes of Berlin in 1959

These amazing black and white photographs capture old Berlin in 1959.

This view is looking into East Berlin from the western sector. The border lies 40 metres past the notice. Despite what was commonly thought, the whole of the Brandenburger Tor was in East Berlin.

Unter den Linden was the boulevard in East Berlin encountered after passing through the Brandenburger Tor. This view looks further east into the communist sector.

Stalinallee was later renamed Karl Marx Allee.

The People's Police checking documents of people entering Potsdamer Platz S-Bahn. Picture taken from West Berlin.

This cafe at Potsdamer Platz was just inside West Berlin, with the pavement in the West and the road in the East. The man is reading NEUES DEUTSCHLAND, the communist East Berlin newspaper.

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Astounding Color Footage Shows a Bombed-out Berlin Just After the Second World War

That's how it looked like just after the Second World War in Berlin! Fascinating moving pictures in color show the situation of the city in summer 1945, just after the Second World War and the capitulation of Germany. Daily life after years of war.

(Produced by: Kronos Media)

50 Rare Vintage Photographs Captured Street Scenes of Berlin from the 1920s

After the devastation of World War I, cultural life blossomed and reached its heyday in Berlin. The 1920s were a time in which all the arts, both old and new, were cold, raw, shocking and sharp-edged. But the "live fast, die young" ethos would be cut short by the rise of the Nazis.

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Then and Now: Combining Amazing Historical Photographs of Berlin During WWII and Today

Many structures and buildings have been rebuilt after World War II, but the history will always remain in photos. Sergey Larenkov is a photographer who was affected by World War II. He researched archive footage, produced during the siege of 1941-1944, recreated exact camera location and angle, made corresponding photos of the modern city, and then combined old and modern photos in one.

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Incredible Pictures Comparing Berlin at the End of World War II and Now

Getty Images have merged photographs of Berlin during World War II and in 2015 – to stunning effect. These fascinating images show the contrast of the city devastated by defeat at the end of World War II with the modern powerhouse city it is today.

Crowds saluting to Adolf Hitler passing by in a motorcade on October 2, 1938 (Photo by Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) and a view from approximately the same perspective along on April 30, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

People walking past the ruins of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church on July, 20, 1945 (Photo by Fred Ramage/Keystone Features/Getty Images) and a view from the same perspective along Budapester Strasse on May 2, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

A German soldier sitting in front of the ruins of the Reichstag at the end of Worl War II on May 9, 1945 (Photo by Laski Diffusion/Getty Images) and a view from the same perspective on March 18, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Russian and U.S. troops in front of the ruins of the Brandenburg Gate at the end of World War II in 1945 (Photo by Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) and a view from the same perspective on May 2, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Two boys sitting at thr ruins of the Hercules fountain at Luetzowplatz after World War II in 1945 in Berlin, Germany (Photo by Fred Ramage/Getty Images) and a view from the same perspective on April 29, 2015 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

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