#traudl junge

[detective-jane-rizzoli]

[cinesludge]

Movie #10 of 2025: Downfall

[incorrect-downfall]

Traudl: I'm having problems with a guy… Burgdorf: Like his dead body won't fit into your trunk kind of problems, or you like him kind of problems? Burgdorf: Because I definitely can help with the first one

[cursedreverie1945]

Well, in my meanderings I found some really interesting info. Apparently, Duquesne Univerisity in the US has a large amount of information on the third reich. And it's online.

Unfortunately, I couldn't add the really interesting one because of tumblr and PDFs. Grrr.

I do have a link that you can search through. If you search for Karl Brandt, there is an interrogation (I think its an interrogation) with Brandt about the women around the weird Austrian. Of course, Eva Braun is heavily discussed. They have other interrogations as well.

I'm not sure if Karl Brandt got some information wrong or was being purposely deceptive. For example, he claimed Geli died in 1928.

Traudl Junge's in on there, so are a lot of others, plus a bunch of topics on nazi Germany in general.

https://digital.library.duq.edu/digital/collection/mussinter/id/985/

Gratuitous pic of EB.

[captain-price-unofficially]

Traudl Junge, Adolf Hitler's private secretary, on the terrace of the Berghof, 1943.

[1234567ttttttttttt]

Wierność po grób - Ostatnia sekretarka Hitlera - Traudl Junge

[nebris]

censored from 'The World At War'- Traudl Junge and the Hitler joke.

[cursedreverie1945]

Ignore the weirdo in the picture below. Its the dog that's important. Dogs are often so much better than their human counterparts. Okay, almost always.

Blondi was AH's German Shepherd, a gift as a puppy from Martin Bormann in 1941. Hitler kept Blondi even after his move into the Führerbunker located underneath the garden of the Reich Chancellery on 16 January 1945.

Hitler was very fond of Blondi, keeping her by his side and allowing her to sleep in his bed while in the bunker. According to Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge, this affection was not shared by Eva Braun, Hitler's companion, who preferred her two Scottish Terrier dogs named Negus and Stasi.

Blondi played a role in Nazi propaganda by portraying the Austrian as an animal lover. Dogs like Blondi were coveted as "germanische Urhunde", being close to the wolf, and became very fashionable during the Nazi era. On 29 April 1945, one day before his death, Hitler expressed doubts about the cyanide capsules he had received through Heinrich Himmler's SS. To verify the capsules' potency, Hitler ordered SS physician Werner Haase to test one on Blondi, who died as a result.

If I remember right, but don't quote me on this, the doubts about the capsules were because of them being made by slave labor.

In March or in early April (likely 4 April) 1945, Blondi had a litter of five puppies with Gerdy Troost's German Shepherd, Harras. Adolf Hitler named one of the puppies "Wulf", his favorite nickname and the meaning of his own first name, Adolf ("noble wolf"), and he began to train her. One of Blondi's puppies was reserved for Eva Braun's sister Gretl.

Eva sent Gretl a letter containing a photo of Blondi and three of her puppies, Gretl's being indicated with an arrow.

During the course of 29 April 1945, Hitler learned of the death of his ally Benito Mussolini at the hands of Italian partisans on 28 April. This, along with the fact that the Soviet Red Army was closing in on his location, strengthened Hitler in his resolve not to allow himself or his wife to be captured.

That afternoon, Hitler expressed doubts about the cyanide capsules he had received through Heinrich Himmler's SS. By this point, Hitler regarded Himmler as a traitor. To verify the capsules' contents, Hitler had SS physician Werner Haase summoned to the Führerbunker that afternoon to test one on his dog Blondi.

A cyanide capsule was crushed in the mouth of the dog, which died as a result. Hitler was expressionless as he viewed the dog's corpse, but he became completely inconsolable.

According to a report commissioned by Joseph Stalin and based on eyewitness accounts, Hitler's dog-handler, Fritz Tornow, took Blondi's pups and shot them in the garden of the bunker complex on 30 April 1945, after Hitler and Eva Braun had committed suicide that same day. He also killed Eva Braun's two dogs, Gerda Christian's dogs, and his own dachshund.

Tornow was later captured by the Allies. Erna Flegel, who met Hitler and worked at the emergency casualty-station in the Reich Chancellery, stated in 2005 that Blondi's death had affected the people in the bunker more than Eva Braun's suicide. While that sounds cruel and cold, I know my own dogs being murdered would kill parts of my soul.

After the battle in Berlin ended on 2 May 1945, the remains of Hitler, Braun, and two dogs (thought to be Blondi and her offspring Wulf) were discovered in a shell crater by a unit of SMERSH, the Soviet counter-intelligence agency. The dog thought to be Blondi was exhumed and photographed by the Soviets. Which is just disgusting.

I was owned by a rescued Belgian Malinois, which is similar to a German Shepard. My poor boy ended up with a brain tumor and I had to have him euthanized. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I completely understand why people would be more upset by Blondi.

[thegreenmeridian]

Ok these are gonna be 20th century history because that’s my jam.

Personal faves:

Wild Swans by Jung Chang - modern Chinese history told by the personal history of the author, her mother, and her grandmother

Stasiland by Anna Funder - interviews with Stasi members, anti-Stasi organisation members, and victims of the regime

Dictatorland: The Men Who Stole Africa by Paul Kenyon - the cause, rise, and fall of various African dictators

A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal by Ben Macintyre the truly batshit story of one of the biggest double agent incidents of the Cold War

Dear Leader: My Escape From North Korea by Jang Jin-sung - memoir of a man who escaped North Korea, focuses mostly on the journey through China

Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell - a memoir of his time spent fighting fascists in Spain

Until the Final Hour by Traudl Junge - the memoir of of Hitler’s last secretary, notably used as the basis for the movie Downfall

A Very Expensive Poison by Luke Harding - the story of Litvenenko’s murder and a dive into post Cold War Russia’s hostility to the West

Ok tumblr friends. I’m trying to spend less time on the internet these days, and I LOVE reading non-fiction books, but trying to find recommendations for new books is a nightmare. Any time I try to look up good new non-fiction books the results are all like “would you like to read an autobiography of Paul Newman or New Reasons We’re All Doomed” and that just. Doesn’t Work for Me. So I’m asking for recs here. I’m open to books about literally any field or topic. Only caveats are that hard sciences have to be on a level I can understand as a humanities person, and medical stuff can’t be too gory (ie I loved Siddhartha Mukherjee’s The Gene and The Song of the Cell, but can’t stomach The Mother of all Maladies). And nothing TOO miserable, but I have a fairly high tolerance for historical stuff. I’m particularly fond of micro-history and books that delve into multiple overlapping topics.

As a sampling, here are some books I’ve read and particularly enjoyed in the last two years:

Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser

The Cooking Gene by Michael Twitty

The Gene: An Intimate History by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee

On Savage Shores: How Indigenous Americans Discovered Europe by Caroline Pennock

Fifth Sun: A New History of the Aztecs by Camilla Townsend

The Five: The Untold Lives of the Victims of Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold

The Last Days of the Incas by Kim McQuarrie 

The Dream and the Nightmare: The Story of the Syrians who Boarded the Titanic by Leila Salloum Elias

Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Yeats by Andrew Knoll

Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky

The Food of a Younger Land by Mark Kurlansky

Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking by Anya von Bremzen

Jesus and John Wayne by Kristine Kobes du Mez

Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution that made China Modern by JIng Tsu

The Last Island: Discovery, Defiance, and the Most Elusive Tribe on Earth by Adam Goodheart

Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake

National Dish: Around the World in Search of Food, History, and the Meaning of Home by Anya von Bremzen

The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann

Fire away!

[adribosch-fan]

La vida de la secretaria nazi que escribió el testamento del Führer

La vida de la secretaria nazi que escribió el testamento del Führer

Con 22 años Gertraud “Traudl” Junge ingresó a la cancillería alemana y compartió las horas finales de Hitler, Eva Braun y Joseph Goebbels en el búnker durante el fin de la Segunda Guerra. Su historia inspiró la película “La caída” Por Omar López Mato 3 de Marzo de 2021 Médico, historiador y autor del sitio Historia Hoy Gertraud “Traudl” Junge Gertraud “Traudl” Junge tenía 22 años cuando por…

[pintsizeddeepthoughts]

25 of 250: Favorite Film Reviews - Downfall

Not long ago, work colleagues and I got into a discussion about what our favorite films were. Given my categorical nature I could not resist writing down a list and, as a writing challenge, have decided to write 250 word reviews of my favorite 25 films of all-time. Note: these are my favorite films, not what I think are the best films of all time.

Directed by: Oliver Hirschbiegel Eichinger

Written by: Bernd Eichinger

Starring: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara

Year/Country: 2004, Germany

A valid question one asks when approaching this film is whether it’s wrong to portray Adolf Hitler as completely human. The answer is unequivocally no. Set in the last days of Hitler’s life, most of it takes place in his bunker under Berlin as the Soviet Army closes in. Director Oliver Hirschbiegal and writer Bernd Eichniger weave an impressive tableau of interlocking stories which examines arguably one of the most extreme places in recent history. The most prominent story is that of Hitler’s personal secretary, Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara). Shown early in the film to be eager to work for her country’s leader, by the final days Truadl’s feeling trapped. As hope fades and the delusions Hitler and the rest of the bunker collapse, the question becomes will Traudl (and by extension Germany) choose to leave Hitler behind? An even more important question might be, can they?

Review of this film rightfully focuses on the performance of Bruno Ganz as Hitler. The Swiss actor spent months studying audio recordings to nail Hitler’s mannerisms and tone. The effect is a three dimensional portrait of a sociopath whose world has collapsed, whose spell seemingly cannot be broken until he commits the ultimate betrayal to his people by taking his own life. It is a brutal truth, but this is a brutal movie. It does not flinch at depicting societal collapse in truly apocalyptic terms or flinch at the extremes people will go to survive - or to escape any way they can.

[unhandmeisay]

Hiiii, thanks @sethlost for the tag and sorry that I'm soooo late to answer ><

But now I'm back from hollidays so let's get to it \o/

Favorite color : Red or brown, I'm an autumn girlie what can I say ✨

Last song : "Forêts Paisibles" from the opera Les Indes galantes by Rameau (I don't usually listen to cassical music but that one just goes soo hard)

Currently reading : Until the final hour : Hitler's last secretary by Traudl Junge, the memoir of Hitler's secretary ! It's really well written, and incredibly interesting

Currently watching : Critical Role Campaign 3, and nothing else since it just eats up too much of my time xDD

Currently craving : Hmmm... A good brownie

Coffee or tea : Neither, yuck yuck yuck hot drinks

A hobby you would like to try : There are just so many ! I would like to seriously get to embroidery, I would like to try out woodworking, or get a chance to experiment with pottery... But I don't have time, or the materials :(

An AU/Alternate universe you've been plotting for : Well, I don't write fanfiction, so that question doesn't really apply to me. But I can say that I've been having a blast imagining the ramifications of seeing the Bad Kids from Fantasy High arrive in the universe of Critical Role, and what kind of sehnanigans would ensue.

That's it for me \o/

Now, tags !

@fouroddapples , @leafistryingtheirbest , @lampboi333 , and that's all I got, so feel free to answer and anyone else feel free to join in :))

Get to know me tag game

Rules: answer + tag 9 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with.

Tagged by the lovely @hastalavistabyebye and @whiskygoldwings <3

Favorite color : Blue

Last song : Spotify says it's The Summoning by Sleep Token

Currently reading : Colorless by KENT

Currently watching : A vod of CohhCarnage playing The Calamity Mod for Terraria, and House of the Dragon

Currently craving : Either cheesecake or mint ice cream

Coffee or tea : Peach Tea!

A hobby you would like to try : Watercolour painting or clay modelling

An AU/Alternate universe you've been plotting for : I have quite a few, but the ones I have worked most on: a No O66 AU where Wolffe builds his own home after the war (this one I would like to finish one day) and Royalty!QuinFox

NPT : @serri-i @the-starry-seas @rooksunday @starwarsanthropology @bladelei

@aerjnn @coffeeandbatboys @i-eat-worlds @brokenphoenix99

[byneddiedingo]

Ulrich Matthes and Bruno Ganz in Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)

Cast: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Laga, Corinna Harfouch, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler, Heino Ferch, Christian Berkel, Matthias Habich, Thomas Kretschmann, Michael Mendl, Ulrich Noethen. Screenplay: Bernd Eichinger, based on books by Joachim Fest and Traudl Junge and Melissa Müller. Cinematography: Rainer Klausmann. Production design: Bernd Lepel. Film editing: Hans Funck. Music: Stephan Zacharias.

Downfall may be best known today for memes: the video parodies that take parts of the film, particularly the ranting of Bruno Ganz's Hitler, and supply new subtitles that spoof everything from contemporary politics to the efforts of the producers to suppress the parodies on YouTube because of copyright concerns. The producers were misguided: The parodies probably led more people to watch the actual film than would have without their notoriety. It's a well-made film, particularly because it manages to deal with an inherent problem: Would a dramatization of the last days of Hitler and his coterie tend to glamorize their futile struggle to survive, turning it into something like heroism? Ganz's superb performance helps the film sidestep that danger: His Hitler is humanized, to be sure, even to the point of once shedding a tear, but ultimately it's a portrait of repellent fanaticism and megalomania. He's a twitchy old man, one hand held behind his back in a palsied claw, but it's easy to see how the rather beleaguered men and women who surround him could be filled with a terrified awe of the man. I'm not particularly happy with the framing of Downfall, however. I think the decision to see much of the story through the eyes of Hitler's pretty secretary, Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Laga), shifts the focus away from the desperate horror of the final days, using a somewhat glossy survival story to keep the audience entertained. The footage of the real Traudl Junge that begins and ends the film doesn't much help illuminate why the "ordinary" German could be hoodwinked by Nazism, and her insistence that she didn't know of the true horrors of the Reich feels a little specious. There are, however, some moments of genuine drama in the film that emphasize how foul a spell Hitler cast over his followers, particularly the hysterical collapse of the otherwise icy Magda Goebbels (Corinna Harfouch) at Hitler's feet when she realize the end is at hand. She pulls herself together and then proceeds to systematically murder her five children. I also liked the depiction of the cynicism of the Nazis who, when someone reminds them of the plight of the German people, sneeringly retort that it was their fault for bringing them to power in the first place. There's a lesson in the film somewhere for contemporary Americans, but I don't want to be the one to spell it out. Kudos to Stephan Zacharias for avoiding Wagnerian clichés in his score, although I thought the quotation from Purcell's aria "When I Am Laid in Earth" might have been a touch too sentimental.

[peiperpotts]

Albert and Martin Bormann

Two brothers who became enemies in Hitler’s circle

Martin Bormann as personal secretary to the Führer introduced his younger brother to the Führer - only to regret it later. Albert married a Hungarian woman against his brother’s wishes - who was not considered ‘Aryan enough’ by Martin and his wife, Gerda

Gerda Bormann with the Führer and 7 of her 10 children by Martin Bormann. Gerda was the mastermind behind the idea of Volksnotehe (Volksnote marriage which would have allowed ‘pure’ German men to have as many children legally as possible. 

Hitler took a liking to Albert and this soured the relationship between the brothers as well - Martin started to call his brother ‘the man who holds the Führer’s coat’ instead of his name and the two refused to communicate directly. Albert’s influence on Hitler was considered a threat by Martin after the Führer appointed Traudl Junge on his recommendation.  

"Bormann rose steadily in the Nazi hierarchy... It was clear that Bormann, a master of the arts of intrigue and political infighting, was headed for lofty eminence in the Third Reich."

According to Christa Schröder, Hitler’s secretary : "The two brothers became estranged. If they were standing together, each would ignore the other. If for example Hitler gave one of them a job to pass to the other, that brother would send for an orderly officer to convey the instruction to his brother standing a few feet away. If one of the brothers told a funny story everybody present would laugh except the other brother who would keep a straight face."

Hitler seemed to be aware of this conflict and in 1938, Arthur was assigned to a small group of adjutants who were not subordinate to Martin Bormann. Later that year Bormann became Chief of Persönliche Angelegenheiten des Führers (Personal Affairs of the Führer). In this job, Bormann handled much of Hitler's routine correspondence and was the direct boss of his adjutants, including Max Wünsche.

Following this, something of a ‘minor scandal’ happened in which Hitler's butler complained of the orderly officers (under Albert’s command) who were "not behaving correctly" thus Wünsche (and a couple more officers) were dismissed and reassigned to the Leibstandarte” most likely to appease Martin Bormann. 

The Führer tried to reach out to his ex adjutant after he was captured by the British, even offered valueable prisoners in exchange - while not doing the same for Kurt Meyer, who was higher in rank than Wünsche - hinting that this was more of a personal choice.