'Things Are Screwed Here': Documents From the Last Days of Hitler’s Bunker Unveiled by Historians

One of the authors of the book that featured the historical documents in question reportedly called these papers the “real witnesses to history”.

New light has been shed on events that transpired in Berlin during the final days of World War II, thanks to the efforts of historians Xavier Aiolfi and Paul Villatoux, who managed to get their hands on a number of papers sent from Hitler’s bunker during that time, the Daily Mail reports.

According to the newspaper, some 70 documents were discovered in November 1945, in the office of Hitler’s private secretary, Martin Bormann, by Captain Michel Leroy, a French soldier who “broke into the bunker at the end of the Second World War and held onto the papers until his death”.

“Things are screwed here. Chief will remain here no matter what. The mood is clear,” said one of the documents, a telegram sent by Bormann after Hitler announced that he would kill himself rather than flee Berlin.

Another document is a "poignant drawing of colourful flowers and insects" made by Bormann’s daughter.

Noting that these documents are exceptional because "almost everything in the bunker was burned so that it would not fall into the hands of the Soviet troops", Aiolfi called these papers "real witnesses to history".

"More than 75 years after the events, they still smell of moisture and have traces of burns," he said. "They have considerable political significance because they belonged to Martin Bormann, who was an indispensable executor of Hitler's plans."

Aiolfi also pointed to a particular document he called “the most emblematic”: a telegram in which Hitler delivered “his last orders for the defence of Berlin.”

"He maneuvered units that no longer existed or were no longer able to reach the city, yet he remained convinced Providence would save his army," the historian mused. "It is clear from these orders that he still believed he could win the Battle of Berlin and defeat the Soviets. He thought this would place him in a position of strength to negotiate a peace treaty and turn the Allies against Russia".

The documents have now been presented in a book by Aiolfi and Villatoux, titled “The Final Archives of the Fuhrerbunker.”