Wilhelm Burgdorf

Operation Valkyrie and the Court of Honor

Following the 20 July plot to murder Hitler, which included notable members from within Germany's aristocracy and military command staff, a court was assembled to judge and condemn the conspirators.^[3] Burgdorf was one of the many members of Roland Freisler's so-called Court of Honor brought together to pass judgment, along with generals von Rundstedt, Keitel, Guderian, Schroth, Kriebel, Maisel, Kircheim, and Specht.^[4] Upwards of 200 persons or more—military and non-military alike—were executed in the wake of the 20 July events.^[5]

Role in Rommel's death

Burgdorf played a key role in the death of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, who had been implicated as having a peripheral role in the plan to assassinate Hitler.^[6] On 14 October 1944, Burgdorf, with General Ernst Maisel, arrived at the Rommel household. Burgdorf informed Rommel of the charges and, following the instructions of Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, offered him three choices: report to Hitler and plead not guilty; admit guilt, take poison, receive a state funeral and obtain immunity for his family and staff; or face a trial for treason.^[b] Rommel decided on the second option and briefed his wife and son before leaving with Burgdorf and Maisel. Rommel's family received a telephone call ten minutes later informing them that Rommel had committed suicide.^[8]

Battle of Berlin

Shortly before the Battle of Berlin, Philipp Freiherr von Boeselager overheard Burgdorf say: "When the war is over, we will have to purge, after the Jews, the Catholic officers in the army."^[9]

Burgdorf joined Hitler in the Führerbunker when the Soviets assaulted Berlin. On 28 April, Hitler discovered that Heinrich Himmler tried to negotiate a surrender to the western Allies via Count Folke Bernadotte. Burgdorf took part in Hitler's court-martial of Hermann Fegelein, Himmler's SS liaison officer and Eva Braun's brother-in-law. SS-General Wilhelm Mohnke presided over the tribunal, which included SS-General Johann Rattenhuber and General Hans Krebs. Fegelein was so drunk that he was crying, vomiting and unable to stand up; he even urinated on the floor. It was the opinion of the judges that he was in no condition to stand trial. Therefore, Mohnke closed the proceedings and turned Fegelein over to Rattenhuber and his security squad.^[10]

On 29 April 1945, Burgdorf, Krebs, Joseph Goebbels, and Martin Bormann witnessed and signed Hitler's last will and testament.^[11] After Hitler's suicide on 30 April 1945, Goebbels assumed Hitler's role as chancellor.^[12] On 1 May, Goebbels dictated a letter to Soviet Army Marshall Vasily Chuikov, requesting a temporary ceasefire, and ordered General Krebs to deliver it. Chuikov commanded the Soviet forces in central Berlin.^[13] After this was rejected, Goebbels decided that further efforts were futile.^[14] Goebbels then launched into a tirade berating the generals, reminding them Hitler forbade them to surrender. Ministerialdirektor Hans Fritzsche left the room to take matters into his own hands. He went to his nearby office on Wilhelmplatz and wrote a surrender letter addressed to Soviet Marshall Georgy Zhukov. General Burgdorf followed Fritzsche to his office.^[15] There he asked Fritzsche if he intended to surrender Berlin. Fritzsche replied that he was going to do just that. Burgdorf shouted that Hitler had forbidden surrender and as a civilian he had no authority to do so. Burgdorf then pulled his PPK to shoot Fritzsche, but a radio technician "knocked the gun" and the bullet misfired, hitting the ceiling. Several men then hustled Burgdorf out of the office and he returned to the bunker.^[16]

After midnight, in the early hours of 2 May 1945, following the earlier suicides of Hitler and Goebbels, Burgdorf and his colleague Chief of Staff Hans Krebs committed suicide together by gunshot to the head.^[17] The Soviets found the bodies of Krebs and Burgdorf in the bunker complex.^[18]