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Eva Braun:
Mistress to the once “Greatest man in Germany”

by
Jennifer Duckworth

History 309
Dr. George Lamb
February 23, 2006
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“From our first meeting I swore to follow you anywhere – even unto death – I live

only for your love.”1 This quote was taken from a letter written by Eva Braun, long-time

mistress and wife of 36 hours to Adolf Hitler, after he narrowly escaped death in the July

1944 plot to kill him.

I found these words so compelling that I immediately needed to know the story of the

woman behind them. I instantly created so many questions that needed to be answered. Who

was this woman and how did she become so selflessly devoted? Where did her love come

from? Was her love returned or was she alone in her commitment? How could a girl, only

17 years old at the time of their meeting, be so sure of the path she would take? Did she even

know how true her proclamation would prove to be?

After much research and looking for a greater explanation, I have come to realize that

those words are her life story. One needs no more than these words to understand who this

woman was. There is no more to Eva Anna Paula Braun – Hitler.

Even still, I believe her story deserves to be told. We already know that she lived and

died for Hitler’s love, but is that all she should be known for? I am sure she would say that

simply for her name to be connected to Adolf Hitler’s for all of history would be more than

an honor, and for us to spend even ten pages studying her would be a waste of research that

would be better spent on her magnificent Furher. It was this selfless devotion that ultimately

separated her from all others and enabled her to share her life, and death with him.

Eva’s life began in Munich on February 6, 1912. She was the middle child of three

girls to a middle class Catholic school teacher. She was plump and pretty with blond hair and

a modern look. Her hair was wavy and neatly kept. She prided herself in looking good. It

was practically one of her hobbies. She loved to dress well, changing her outfits up to seven

times a day.
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Eva was self-preoccupied and silly. 2 Most had the impression that she had a sweet

personality. She was a fairly athletic girl. Her pastimes included swimming, exercising,

mountain-climbing, and dance, which she professionally studied. She enjoyed reading

romance novels, watching films and television, and discussing artwork. When Hitler would

purchase a new piece of artwork, he often received her opinion before buying.3 She also

loved photography. She did most of her own darkroom work, and most of the movies and

pictures that exist today are because of her. Another very interesting activity Eva was

believed to have loved was sunbathing in the nude, as well as being photographed at it. It is

said to have enraged Hitler.4

In 1929, Eva’s destiny began to unfold. She took a job which would cross her path

with that of the future leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler. It was there that she would meet the

man she loved and lived for, and loved and died for.

She began working for a man named, Heinrich Hoffman, the only man Hitler trusted

to officially photograph him or the Nazi party. Eva became an assistant first and went on to

processing and developing film.

The day Hitler came into the shop where Eva worked, Hoffman introduced the two

by saying, “Herr Wolff, our good little Fraulein Eva.” Herr Wolf was a nickname Hitler had

as a youth. At this time, Eva was 17, Hitler was 40. The first thing Eva noticed about him

was that he had a funny moustache. They all spent the evening talking of music and plays

while sharing sausages and beer. At the end of the night Hitler offered her a ride home, but

being cautious not to upset her father, she politely declined.5

Over the next couple of years Hitler would stop by periodically. During this time he

would refer to her as “my lovely siren from Hoffman’s”.6 His visits were scarce at times.

Eva would often send him letters pledging a very undemanding love for him and an

eagerness to be the object of his affection. When she couldn’t send a letter she poured her
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thoughts into a diary, which provides us with the most genuine account of their lives.

Hitler was heavily involved politically and didn’t have the time to visit her. She had

fallen deeply in love with him and was tormented by his prolonged absences. It is for this

reason she tried to end her own life on November 1, 1932. Some sources say she shot herself

in the heart, while others say she shot herself in the neck. Eva was twenty years old at the

time of her first suicide attempt.

Hitler immediately left his political campaign to see her. The surgeon alleged that

she made a very genuine attempt to end her own life because she loved him and she could not

cope with the neglect. The fear of scandals arising in the media that would tarnish his

reputation was an eminent danger to his career. From that day on, Hitler felt responsible and

that he must look after her.

Her cry for attention worked or at least it got her closer to where she wanted to be,

which was by his side. She did become his mistress, but many of Hitler’s closest confidants

knew nothing of her. During this time, Hitler fully came into power and she saw even less of

him.

Hitler made Eva aware that he would never marry while he was the Fuhrer of the

Third Reich. He felt that family would take away from his responsibilities to Germany. He

also knew that being married would cost him many female votes.7 I feel, as far as marriage is

concerned, Hitler had the utmost respect for it. Herman Goering, Hitler’s designated

successor, said, “Hitler had a great respect for women. He was satisfied with Eva.” He also

said, “Hitler always disapproved of his party leaders divorcing wives and marrying younger

ones.”8 Hitler knew at the time he could not be a proper husband, so he did not want to

commit to that. What he failed to realize was that even though they had not made a legal

commitment yet, Eva could not have been any more devoted than if they had married.
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Even though Eva was a ready and willing companion to Hitler he often treated her

poorly. He once stated to Captain Weidemann, “I have a girl at my disposal in Munich.”9 Is

this really all he thought of her? He would openly talk in front of her, about how “a highly

intelligent man should always choose a primitive and stupid woman.” A phrase Hitler often

used was “greater the man, smaller the woman he should have.”10 He, being the ‘greatest

man in Germany’at the time, must have really thought of Eva as virtually nothing. Now that

the whole world knows how small of a man he really was, Eva must have been larger than

life.

Eva’s love for Hitler is personally confounding for me. It was like something beyond

what most of us understand or even ever experience, bound her to him. Her love is

unquestionable. I don’t feel bad for her. Maybe she didn’t get the love and attention from

Hitler she so deeply longed for, but she had her love for him. I believe it is the one thing she

treasured most and it belonged to her. Most of us go through life and never experience that

kind of overwhelming emotion. Many of us are incapable of feeling so strongly, and I think

we are the pathetic ones. To experience that much raw emotion is a blessing. Too many of

us today get selfish and bitter and never really open our hearts up again. We live the rest of

our lives inverted and alone. Yes, it is unfortunate that it was a lifetime for Hitler to return

her love. But I believe it is better to experience an unrestrained love for someone and know

it to be real and true, than to say we love someone and enter into a marriage under god

because it ‘works’, or ‘its convenient’, or because we ‘get along fine’, and know it to be false

and empty.

Eva never got selfish or bitter. At the tender age of 17 she discovered what love was

and I believe she was intoxicated by it. Her cousin, Gertraud Weisker, said that Eva was not

a political person and the fact that he was the leader of the Nazi party did not have any affect

on her choice. Since Hitler had been introduced as Herr Wolf, she had not even known of his
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identity until after they parted. Weisker believed she would have loved him whoever he was.

Hermann Goering said, “She was completely alive for Hitler, which is as it should be.”11

I believe the best way to understand Eva’s story is through her own words. She kept

diaries throughout much of her life. These are some excerpts from her 1935 journal. At 23

years old, she is the same age as me.

“I am so infinitely happy that he loves me so much, and I pray that it will always be

like this. It won't be my fault if he ever stops loving me.”12 This statement demonstrates her

momentary happiness. She also reveals that she would never do anything to separate herself

from him. If he stops loving her it will be him, not her that caused it. It is evident that Eva

has drastic depressive mood swings because less than a month later, she first mentions

sleeping pills which will lead to a second suicide attempt.

She writes, “Why doesn't something happen to me? Why do I have to go through all

this? If only I had never set eyes on him! I am utterly miserable. I shall go out and buy some

more sleeping powder and go into a half-dreamlike state, and then I won't think about it so

much.”13

“When he says he loves me, it only means he loves me at that particular instant. Like

his promises, which he never keeps. Why does he torment me like this, when he could finish

it off at once?”14 Many would like to argue that Eva was not in touch with reality, but this

quote proves otherwise. She was very much aware of what was going on. She knew what he

was really like and what he was doing to her. She is saying that, but she still feels it is not

her choice to end it or “finish it off.” If they are to stop seeing each other, than it is he who

would have to make it happen.

In one entry she writes about a ‘date’to the Four Seasons Hotel. “I had to sit next to

him for three hours without being able to say a word. At parting he handed me, as he did

once before, an envelope with money. How nice it would have been if he had written a
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greeting or a nice word with it, it would have made me so happy. But he does not think of

such things.”15 I am sure Hitler, as many men do, thought he was doing a good thing and

taking care of her. I can tell you though that is not how Eva felt. To her, it was cold and

heartless. He may have thought that money would help her to live, but adoring words would

have made her want to live.

Here is another entry to prove her devotion and selflessness. “After all, he should

know me well enough to realize that I would never put anything in his way if he suddenly

discovered his heart belonged to someone else. What happens to me is no concern of his.”16

‘What happens to me… ’ has a hint of self-inflicted pain or death, which in a cold, hard,

reality was a ‘concern of his’because he was a prominent and public leader with the threat of

his image being tainted by scandal.

The entry on May 28, 1935 discloses her decision to take her own life. This is after

she sends Hitler her ‘crucial letter’. “If I don't get an answer before this evening, I'll take 25

pills and gently fall asleep into another world.” She says, “… the uncertainty is more terrible

than a sudden ending of it all.” On the same date she writes, “I have made up my mind to

take 35 pills this time, and it will be ‘dead certain.’”17

On May 29th, she took 20 pills of Vanoform, a narcotic or sleeping pill, in contrast to

the 35 she threatened in her diary. Eva’s sister, Ilse, found her in a coma. Since Eva had

taken only 20 pills of Vanoform, a comparatively milder sleeping aid, it is probably safe to

say that this was only a dramatic act of depression or cry for attention, and not the ‘dead

certain’ end she wrote about.

Whatever the case may be, actions did what words could not, and in August of 1935,

Hitler moved Eva and her sister Gretl, into a flat that was indirectly rented and furnished by

him. Then in 1936 he bought her a house. He also afforded her with a chauffeur and a

Mercedes. Still, none of this was what she wanted and she was still miserable.
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Then eventually in 1939, Eva was moved into Hitler’s quarters. Her room was next

to his and connected by a smaller area. During this time Eva lived a life of extreme

confinement. She was often forced to keep her presence unknown during dinner parties. He

would not allow the curtains to be opened and often required her to use the servants’

entrance. He never fully accepted her as an equal mate. He would often call her ‘Patscherl’

which is an endearing name one would use for a child.18 Even as late as 1944, Hitler felt he

had to use Eva’s sister’s marriage to Hermann Fegelein, as an excuse to have Eva at official

functions.

During Eva’s years with Hitler, her political influence was little to none. For Hitler,

that was part of her appeal. When he was with her he wanted to relax and be away from the

political stresses of his world. The only role she had in the war was her contributions to

photography.19 Something that may seem unusual is that Eva Braun was never a Nazi. Nazi

women were not to wear make-up, drink, or smoke and Eva did all of these.

Even though Hitler tried to hide his feelings for Eva from others, they knew. A

couple of Hitler’s close confidants, Gunsche and Linge, once stated, "He was always

accompanied by her. As soon as he heard the voice of his lover he became jollier. He would

make jokes about her new hats. He would take her for hours on end into his study where

there would be champagne cooling in ice, chocolates, cognac and fruit." 20

In a letter sent to Eva after the attempt on his life, he talks of how he hopes to return

home and rest in her arms. He ends the letter, “From my whole heart, your A. H.”21 Whether

Hitler was capable of loving anyone intensely is doubtful. He was a very narcissistic person,

continually self-absorbed. If ever Hitler came close to being cheerful and carefree, it was

with Eva. They would enjoy meals together, take walks on the terrace, and just sit at ease in

each other’s company. 22

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The two lived as a married couple, but constantly put on a front to everyone,

as if they were just good friends. But eventually the war brought them closer together since

the both spent much time at the bunker, and they began to lose this façade. Staff and servants

began to refer to her amongst themselves as chefin, which translates as, wife of the chief. It

is said that he would even pet her hand in the company of close friends.

As the Russian troops began to close in on Berlin, and it became evident that

Germany would lose this war, Eva was ordered out of the capital for her own safety. She

returned after only two weeks. She told her friends that she must return to him no matter

what, death did not matter, and she would share the fate of the one she loved. Upon her

return, Hitler let on to be upset with her for disobeying him, and then later spoke of how

proud he was of her devotion.

On April 22, 1945, Hitler told Eva and three other women at his aid, that there would

be a plane to transport them safely out of Berlin within the hour. Hitler’s announcement,

“All is lost, hopelessly lost.” left the women standing in shock. Eva went to Hitler and took

his hand saying, “But surely you know I shall stay with you. I won’t let you send me away.”

This all sounds so incredibly tragic, like something out of a Harlequin book. Hitler, suddenly

impassioned by Eva’s words, did something that could have been a romance novel’s last

chapter. He kissed Eva on the lips. This was undoubtedly something that the two had taken

part in before, but this was the first time anyone else had ever seen them kiss each other.

Following this, the other women insisted on staying, to which Hitler grabbed each one of

their hands and proclaimed, “If only my generals were as brave as you are!”23

Even as the end drew near, Eva took special care of her appearance, changing her

outfits several times in trying to lift Hitler’s spirits.24 Subsequent with her vain

characteristics she gave Traudl Junge her favorite fox fur coat and said, “I always like to have

well-dressed people around me.”25

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In the following days, Eva made several comments to close friends, already preparing

for the end. Her remark to Traudl Junge was, “If only everything would finally be over.”26

In a goodbye letter to her friend Herta, she writes, “These are my last lines, and therefore, the

last sign of life from me… I can’t understand how all of this can have happened, its enough to

make one lose one’s faith in God.”27 The next day her letter to her sister reads, “It goes

without saying, however, that we will not let ourselves be captured alive.”28

In Hitler’s last days he made a decision that would fill Eva’s life long wish. He

would make her his wife. Hitler began to mistrust everyone around him, and as this

happened he began to care for Eva even more. He said that only Eva, and his dog Blondi,

were dedicated to him. He began to understand that the only friend that would be steadfast to

him until the end was Eva.29 He called upon Traudl Junge to write his will. This may be the

only explanation we have as to why he decided to marry, and why they chose to die the way

they did. His will reads:

Since I did not feel that I could accept the responsibility of marriage during

the years of my struggle, I have decided now, before the end of my earthly

career, to take as my wife, the girl who, after many years of loyal friendship,

came of her own free will to this city, already almost besieged, in order to

share my fate. At her own request she goes to her death with me as my wife.

Death will compensate us for what we were both deprived of by my labors in

service of my people.30

With nothing else to lose, he still does not disclose the long concealed romance they

were believed to have had. He refers to their relationship as a loyal friendship. He speaks of

it as if he is bestowing some great honor on her, and the fact is that, that is how she felt. He

still takes no ownership in how honored he would be to be with her. He does use the word,

us, only when referring to death compensating them. He could not share his life with her, but
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now he was willing to share his death! How unfair! Once again he tries to take no

ownership in her decision to die with him. He acts as if it is something she wants then she

can most certainly have it, yet when she had the desire to wed it wasn’t even considered.

Nevertheless, they were wed just before midnight on April 28th. Only eight guests

attended the ceremony. When it came time to sign the marriage certificate, Eva did just as

any nervous bride would do, and began to sign her now maiden name, Braun. She crossed

out the ‘B’and signed ‘Hitler’. They stayed up all night feasting and talking of old times.31

All of this is so bittersweet. For Eva to have finally received her heart’s greatest desire, only

to know their self inflicted deaths drew nearer by the hour. The whole thing just turns my

stomach. The best day of her life was shadowed by the knowledge that in the very near

future, their predetermined suicides would take place.

On April 30th, Eva neatly fixed her hair and wore Hitler’s favorite dress. She joined

her husband on the couch in their suite. I can only imagine the words that were spoke

between them, and the thoughts that entered their minds. I think that there was no question

of each person’s intent to die. Each had no doubt that the other would join them. Hitler

would not be captured alive, and she would not live without him.

Eva was the first to die. She chose to ingest a cyanide capsule, which was a very

quick and effective way to die. Some sources say that Hitler took the poison as well. If he

did, he soon thereafter shot himself in the head with a 7.65 caliber Walther pistol. Hitler was

56 years old. Eva was 33.

It was finally over, just as she had wanted it to be. She did finally get what she had

yearned for all of her adult life. She got to marry the man that she loved, after 16 years of

indignity and neglect. I think she was tired. Her whole life was not her own. I think she just

wanted out. She wanted out of not only the war, or her life, but she wanted out of whatever

bound her to her suppressed existence with this dominating man.

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She had followed him all her life, living only for his love, and in staying true to her

resolute promise, she followed him without hesitation, into death.

1
http://www.shoah.dk/Hitler/new_page_14.htm
2
http://www.fpp.co.uk/Hitler/Eva_Braun/cousin.html
3
Trevor-Roper, 156.
4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Braun
5
Toland, 237.
6
Toland, 237.
7
Wilding, http://www.onwar.com/articles/f0108.htm
8
Goldensohn, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/parkersburg/Doc?id=10067151&ppg=158
9
Toland, 365.
10
Goldensohn, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/parkersburg/Doc?id=10067151&ppg=158
11
Goldensohn, http://site.ebrary.com/lib/parkersburg/Doc?id=10067151&ppg=158
12
http://www.humanitas-international.org/holocaust/evadiary.htm
13
http://www.humanitas-international.org/holocaust/evadiary.htm
14
http://www.humanitas-international.org/holocaust/evadiary.htm
15
Toland, 376.
16
http://www.humanitas-international.org/holocaust/evadiary.htm
17
http://www.humanitas-international.org/holocaust/evadiary.htm
18
Waite, 229.
19
Wilding, http://www.onwar.com/articles/f0108.htm
20
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eva_Braun
21
Waite, 230.
22
Bullock, 396.
23
Toland, 869.
24
Bullock, 789
25
Bullock, 999.
26
Toland, 872.
27
Bullock, 985.
28
Toland, 872.
29
Trevor-Roper, 120.
30
Toland, 883.
31
Toland, 884.