Ukraine now finds itself in a similar situation, with their cities (Kramatorsk pictured) being heavily bombed by Russia while the population fleesīerlin, a fascinating new book by Sinclair McKay, allows us to hear the voices of ordinary Berliners for the first time, drawing on personal accounts collected by the Zeitzeugenbörse - a new bank of evidence created by German academics.įor years after the fall of Berlin, the city’s survivors were reluctant to speak openly about what they endured: in the wake of Nazi atrocities, it was taboo to suggest they were also victims of Hitler’s war. Yet many still chose to end their lives this way, some encouraged by Nazi propaganda which praised self-sacrifice and insisted there was no honour in surrender others through exhaustion and fear.Īny period of Berlin’s turbulent history makes for a compelling story, but right now - with the Russians attempting to crush Ukraine - none seems more poignant than those final few weeks of spring 1945, when the Red Army threatened to raze the city.
The whole process could last two to five minutes but must have felt like an eternity. The face and flesh would turn a deep, mottled red and agonising cardiac failure would follow. The reality for those who chose to take it was horribly different.Īs the chemicals hit the stomach there was a sensation of violent suffocation. Urban myth had it that cyanide was painless, the taste of bitter almonds on the tongue leading to a calm, non-violent death. The authorities in Berlin turned a blind eye to the trade in cyanide a discreet request to a sympathetic pharmacist could elicit a small glass phial, secured with a cork. Who could blame those who availed themselves of those capsules, seeking a painless way out? Russia’s army then, as now, was renowned for its ruthlessness. The Red Army was powering toward Berlin and fear stalked the city.
That evening, April 12, 1945, senior party officials, family and friends at Berlin’s Beethoven Salle had listened to the final aria from Wagner’s Gotterdammerung, The Twilight Of The Gods - knowing this was also the twilight of Hitler’s rule. As the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra took a bow following a last concert for the Nazi regime, boys from the Hitler Youth passed among the audience with wicker baskets filled with cyanide capsules, offering them around.