Eva Braun

Mistress, and later wife, of Adolf Hitler

• Born: February 6, 1912
• Birthplace: Munich, Germany
• Died: April 30, 1945
• Place of death: Berlin, Germany

Cause of notoriety: Unknown to most contemporary Germans and rarely appearing in public, Braun was Adolf Hitler’s mistress. She committed suicide with him to avoid being captured alive by the Russians at the end of World War II.

Active: 1932-1945

Locale: Germany, mainly Munich, Berchtesgaden, and Berlin

Early Life

Eva Braun (AY-vah brown) was born into a lower-middle-class Catholic family. Her father, Friedrich Braun, was a teacher at an industrial college, and her mother, Franziska, was a dressmaker. Eva had an older sister named Ilse and a younger sister named Gretel. At convent school, she studied bookkeeping, French, typing, music, and drawing. However, her real interests were in sports, drama, and fashion.

At seventeen, she became an assistant to Heinrich Hoffmann, who was Adolf Hitler’s personal photographer and an early member of the National Socialist Party (the Nazi Party). In 1929, she was introduced to “Herr Wolf,” which was Hitler’s nom de guerre. Uninterested in politics, she did not at first realize who Hitler was and only knew that she was attracted to him. In 1932, she became his mistress.

Domestic Career

Braun had become intimately involved with one of the most infamous, pathological, and evil figures in history. Totally devoted to Hitler, she was by all accounts completely excluded from his politics, including details of the Holocaust and military developments. She rarely appeared in public, and her relationship with Hitler was unknown to most Germans and even to most of Hitler’s inner circle.

Much of Hitler’s support and popularity came from women, so he needed to give the impression of being unattached and totally devoted to Germany. Eva often felt neglected and isolated. She attempted suicide by shotgun in November, 1932. In May, 1935, she attempted suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. After this second suicide attempt, Hitler bought her a villa in Munich and a car with a chauffeur. In 1936, Hitler brought Braun to live at Berghof, his mountain retreat in the Alps. While the world was embroiled in World War II, Braun led a sheltered life of leisure. Her favorite activities were reading romance novels, exercising, nude sunbathing, and watching films. She was also interested in photography and filmmaking.

By January, 1945, the Allies were regularly bombing Berlin, and the Soviets had begun their final offensive. Hitler had gone to his underground bunker in the Reich Chancellery gardens in Berlin. He told Eva not to come to Berlin, but on March 7, 1945, she traveled by special train to join him. On April 28, 1945, Hitler and Braun were married. On April 30, they committed suicide to avoid being captured alive.

Impact

Eva Braun was the Third Reich’s mystery woman, a carefully guarded secret until after the war. She left diaries and home movies that have generated controversy and are of major significance for historians. Two diaries provide details about her personal life with Hitler. The National Archives at Washington, D.C., holds an authentic diary of twenty-two pages covering February 6 to May 28, 1935, both in German and in English translation.

A second, disputed diary covers the last few months of 1937 to July 23, 1944. According to Austrian filmmaker Luis Trenker, in the winter of 1944-1945 at the Kitzbuhel ski resort, Braun entrusted him with a sealed package, not to be opened until after her death. In December, 1945, Trenker took the package to a notary public for the opening. It contained an unsigned manuscript, apparently Braun’s diary. A London publisher confirmed its authenticity, and it was first published in London in 1949 and then again in 1979 and 2000. However, in October, 1948, the Munich courts had declared the diary a forgery.

Braun’s home movies of life at Berghof were filmed during the late 1930’s and early 1940’s. They are unique, candid views of the private life of Braun, Hitler, and Nazi leaders. They show Hitler relaxing and joking with friends and children. As World War II ended, the Allies discovered these films, which fascinated many people, some of whom Hitler and his policies had terrorized for more than a decade. The films were eventually published on videocassette in the 1980’s and 1990’s. In 2004, a complete DVD set was released.

Often considered Germany’s most infamous woman, Hitler’s secret mistress and later wife remained conspicuous in popular and social culture into the twenty-first century. She has been portrayed in modern media such as videos, television, and DVDs. Leonard Nimoy’s In Search Of television series produced an episode titled “Eva Braun” in 1976. The Bunker was a 1980 film about the last weeks of Hitler’s life. In 1991, Hitler’s Mistress, Eva Braun was released on video. In 2003, Adolf & Eva, a DVD based on home videos and interviews, was released.

Bibliography

Braun, Eva. The Diary of Eva Braun. 1949. Reprint. Bristol, England: Spectrum International, 2000. The diary covers late 1937 to July 23, 1944, and this edition contains letters from Hitler to Braun. Also includes a commentary by Alan Bartlett. Illustrated.

Gun, Nerin E. Eva Braun: Hitler’s Mistress. New York, Meredith Press, 1968. A lengthy biography based on interviews with Braun’s closest acquaintances, including her mother and sisters. The author concludes that Braun and Hitler had an ordinary intimate relationship, rather than a perverted one. Illustrated, with index.

Knopp, Guido. Hitler’s Women. New York: Routledge, 2003. This book about six of Hitler’s women friends devotes the first chapter to Hitler’s relationship with Braun. Illustrated. Includes bibliography and index.

Sigmund, Anna Maria. Women of the Third Reich. Richmond Hill, Ont.: 2000. Includes a chapter titled “Eva Braun: The Secret Love.” Illustrated. Bibliography.

Thomas, W. Hugh. The Murder of Adolph Hitler: The Truth About the Bodies in the Berlin Bunker. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1996. Using forensic evidence from the archives of the former Soviet Union, the author, a British surgeon, concludes that Hitler was murdered by his own guards, while Braun was allowed to escape. Illustrated. Contains bibliography and index