This Day In History…April 30th

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

APRIL 30

Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker

On April 30, 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.

WATCH: Hunting Hitler on HISTORY Vault

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 one day 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.

Citation Information

Article Title

Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/adolf-hitler-commits-suicide

Access Date

April 30, 2020

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

April 28, 2020

Original Published Date

November 24, 2009BY HISTORY.COM E DITORS

Poem ~ Perspective of the One left Behind by MwsR

When I think of you, it includes a lot of questions, so there!

Questions like “Why?” and “What Happened?”, “Was it really so unfair?”

Why is it that life proved so hard for you to bear?

I have had my share of things that weigh on my heart

Things that might, a lesser man, tear all apart.

I chose to stay

Learned it is okay to walk away.

Refused to be the one who never sees the sun again

The one who makes new friends

I chose to live and trudge right through,

Even when it gets neck high, which it often can do.

It got so hard a lot of times

But I turned that negativity around, if not it would of been a crime

A life given is an opportunity to impact,

How can you do that if you only “subtract”?

I will never be that far down, if the good Lord is willing

I will get rid of the blemishes, and all that is lacking

I wish I could of helped you, if you had been near me, possibly I would had

Instead, I found out, from the grieving relatives you made sad.

There was a feeling of helplessness, a feeling of shame

Because in a sense, our society is to blame

It takes a person’s walls and helps to make them taller

Society will make a person feel so much smaller

We walk by those of us that suffer and feel no sense of obligation

It is no longer help a neighbor, but turn the other way, leave someone in stagnation

Shame on us all, shame on the world.

Break the silence, break the stigma, help those who suffer, who feel alone

Or else this world will change so far from what we all know.

People will die and chose not to survive

If we don’t help give them a reason to live.

Quote~Suicide

Did You Know? Suicide

Facts About Suicide

Suicide is preventable. Most suicidal individuals desperately want to live; they are just unable to see alternatives to their problems.
Most suicidal individuals give definite warnings of their suicidal intentions, but others are either unaware of the significance of these warnings or do not know how to respond to them.
Talking about suicide does not cause someone to be suicidal.
Suicide occurs across all age, economic, social, racial and ethnic boundaries.
Suicidal behavior is complex and not a response to one problem that a person is experiencing. Some risk factors vary with age, gender, or ethnic group and may occur in combination or change over time.
Surviving family members not only suffer the trauma of losing a loved one to suicide, they may themselves be at higher risk for suicide and emotional problems.

National statistics

Statistics are based on the latest year for which we have national statistics, 2016.
U.S.A Suicide: 2015 Official Final Data

Suicide is currently the 10th leading cause of death in the United States. This translates into an annual suicide rate of approximately 14 per 100,000 people dying a year by suicide (44,193 a year), out-ranking homicides (ranked as the 16th leading cause of death).
The suicide rates decreased from 1990-2000 from 12.5 to 10.4 suicides per 100,000. Over the past decade, however, the rate has again increased. Every day, approximately 121 Americans die by suicide or approximately one person kills themselves every 12 minutes. (CDC)

In 2015, there were 1,104,825 attempted suicide in the United States. Approximately one person attempts suicide every 31 seconds.
It is generally estimated that there are 25 attempts for one death by suicide.
Between 25 and 50 percent of people who kill themselves had previously attempted suicide. Those who have made suicide attempts are at higher risk for actually taking their own lives.
Each suicide intimately effects at least six other people (estimated). In 2013, it was estimated that one in every 63 Americans became a suicide-loss survivor.
The most commonly reported means of completing suicide, across all groups, was by firearm (49.8%), followed by suffocation or hanging (26.8%), poisoning (15.4), cutting (1.7%) and drowning (1.2%).
Mental health diagnoses are generally associated with a higher rate of suicide. Psychological autopsy studies reflect that more than 90 percent of completed suicides had one or more mental disorders, most notably depression. (NAMI)

By age

Rates of completed suicide are highest among those between the ages of 45-54, followed by an equally high rate for the elderly (age 80 and over).
It is estimated that elderly adults have rates of suicide close to 50 percent higher than that of the nation as a whole (all ages).

Suicide is currently ranked as the second leading cause of death for youth (15 to 24 years old) in the United States behind accidents/road traffic.
Prevalence of Suicide in College Students:

Available data suggests that suicide occurs at a rate between 6.5 and 7.5 per 100,000 among college students, approximately half the rate for nonstudent college-aged adults. (SPRC)
18 percent of undergraduate and 15 percent of graduate students have seriously considered attempting suicide in their lifetimes. Between 40 and 50 percent of these same students report multiple episodes of serious suicidal thoughts.(Drum, Brownson, Burton Denmark & Smith, 2009)
Studies suggest that female graduate students are at a greater risk for suicide than male graduate students and younger students of both sexes. (Big Ten Student Suicide Study)
80 percent of students who die by suicide never contact mental health services. (NAMI)

By gender (from the CDC)

Males take their own lives at nearly four times the rate of females and represent 77.9% of all suicides.
Females are more likely than males to have suicidal thoughts.

Firearms are the most commonly used method of suicide among males (56.9%).
Poisoning is the most common method of suicide for females (34.8%)

By race/ethnicity

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported the following statistics for 2001-2010 among White/Caucasian Americans:

At 15.8 per 100,000, the suicide rate for Whites of all ages was the second highest rate among racial/ethnic groups and higher than the overall U.S. rate of 13.8. (Suicidology, 2015)
Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death for Whites of all ages and the 2nd leading cause of death for young White males ages 15-34.
The highest rate in the White population, 51.75 per 100,000, was found among adult males 85 and older.
The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts of Whites have been placed at 16.10% and 4.69%, respectively.

The CDC reported the following statistics for 2001-2010 among Black/African Americans:

The suicide rate for all ages was 5.6 per 100,000, slightly less than half of the overall U.S. rate of 13.8. (Suicidology, 2015)
Suicide was the 16th leading cause of death for Blacks of all ages and the 3^rd leading cause of death for young Black males ages 15-24.
Males ages 25 to 34 had the highest rate of suicide in the Black population, 16.43 per 100,000.
The lifetime prevalence rate of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts of Blacks has been placed at 11.82% and 4.15%, respectively.

The CDC reported the following statistics for 2001-2010 among Hispanic/Latino Americans:

The suicide rate for all ages was 5.85 per 100,000, slightly less than half the overall U.S. rate of 12.08.
Suicide ranked as the 12^th leading cause of death for individuals of Hispanic origin of all races and ages, and the 3^rdleading cause of death for Hispanic males ages 15 to 34.
The highest suicide rate in the Hispanic population, 30.58 per 100,000, was found among adult males 85 and older.
The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts of Hispanics has been placed at 11.35% and 5.11%, respectively.

The CDC reported the following statistics for 2015 among American Indians and Alaska Natives:

The suicide rate for all ages was 19.5 per 100,000, much higher than the overall U.S. rate of 13.8 and the highest of all racial/ethnic groups. (CDC)
Suicide ranked as the 8^th leading cause of death for American Indians and Alaska Natives of all ages. Suicide ranked as the 2^nd leading cause of death among youth ages of 10 to 34.
The suicide rate among American Indian/Alaska Native adolescents and young adults ages 15-34 is 19.5 per 100,00, which is 1.5 times higher than the national average for that age group.
Lifetime rates of having attempted suicide reported by adolescents ranged from 21.8% in girls to 11.8% in boys and from 17.6% of both sexes raised on reservations to 14.3% of both sexes raised in urban areas.
Lifetime rates of suicidal ideation were significantly higher among youth raised on reservations (32.6%) compared to youth raised in urban areas (21%).

The CDC reported the following statistics from 2001-2010 among the Asian American and Pacific Islander population:

The suicide rate was 6.19 per 100,000, approximately half the overall U.S. rate of 12.08.
Suicide ranked as the 10^th leading cause of death for all ages and the 2nd leading cause of death for youth ages 15-24.
The highest rate in the Asian American and Pacific Islander population, 29.76 per 100,000, was found among adult males 85 and older.
The lifetime prevalence of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has been placed at 9.02% and 2.55%, respectively.

https://wmich.edu/suicideprevention/basics/facts

Tag: Suicide