Traudl Junge's Until the Final Hour

[bigschuss]

After watching Downfall last year for the first time, I became interested in the life of Traudl Junge. I bought the documentary Blindspot. I then read a book called Voices From the Bunker by Galante and Silianoff (copyright 1989).

I then saw this book called Until the Final Hour (copyright 2002), which claims to be Traudl Junge's never before published account of her life with Hitler up until the last days in the bunker. In the book, the editor, Melissa Muller, makes the claim more than once that this is the first time Junge's 1947 memoirs have been published.

Well, I began reading it last night and I felt like I had already read the book. I knew what was coming, almost to the exact text. I went back to my bookshelf and compared it to Voices From the Bunker and found that it is basically the same, almost word for word.

Traudl Junge wrote of her experiences in 1947, so her memories are fresh. Voices from the Bunker was a decent read. And I'm sure Until the Final Hour is also. But I just wish Melissa Muller, author of the latter, had been told about the former, before I went and spent my $20. I don't know how she can make the claim "unpublished."

[robertdmountfor]

After watching Downfall last year for the first time, I became interested in the life of Traudl Junge. I bought the documentary Blindspot. I then read a book called Voices From the Bunker by Galante and Silianoff (copyright 1989).

I then saw this book called Until the Final Hour (copyright 2002), which claims to be Traudl Junge's never before published account of her life with Hitler up until the last days in the bunker. In the book, the editor, Melissa Muller, makes the claim more than once that this is the first time Junge's 1947 memoirs have been published.

Well, I began reading it last night and I felt like I had already read the book. I knew what was coming, almost to the exact text. I went back to my bookshelf and compared it to Voices From the Bunker and found that it is basically the same, almost word for word.

Traudl Junge wrote of her experiences in 1947, so her memories are fresh. Voices from the Bunker was a decent read. And I'm sure Until the Final Hour is also. But I just wish Melissa Muller, author of the latter, had been told about the former, before I went and spent my $20. I don't know how she can make the claim "unpublished."

Hi Bigschuss, very interesting book, 'Until the Final Hour', and interested to hear you have read this, rather unknown book.
I remember when it was first published how it made me interested in this woman. I became aquainted with frau Junge, and at the time she told me how she had wished she had not participated in this book, and that it only contained un important gossip... I told her that no, it was an important social document on that period, but she didnt seem convinced. She wrote a nice dedication in my copy. I remember her as a very sweet and charming individual, and was very sad when she passed away, she didnt get the chance to see sympathetic public opinion regarding her, which I think she would have benefitted from. She always appeared to be shouldering so much angst.

[bigschuss]

Hi Bigschuss, very interesting book, 'Until the Final Hour', and interested to hear you have read this, rather unknown book.
I remember when it was first published how it made me interested in this woman. I became aquainted with frau Junge, and at the time she told me how she had wished she had not participated in this book, and that it only contained un important gossip... I told her that no, it was an important social document on that period, but she didnt seem convinced. She wrote a nice dedication in my copy. I remember her as a very sweet and charming individual, and was very sad when she passed away, she didnt get the chance to see sympathetic public opinion regarding her, which I think she would have benefitted from. She always appeared to be shouldering so much angst.

Hi Robert,

Yes, definitely a great read. It offers an amazing insight to "every day" Hitler. I especially enjoyed her descriptions of the daily life at the Berghof.

That angst you speak about I think is realy evident when you watch Blindspot. You can literally see her searching her soul on camera.

Reading her account also makes one realize how good a job the producers of Downfall did in trying to portray Hitler. They clearly used her accounts for the basis of much of the dialogue.

That must have been a thrill to meet her.

Blair

[Tora_Tora_Tora!]

I know that there is an italian edition with a DVD inside written by André Heller, Othmar Schmiderer....I will try to check and I will update you, maybe the dvd is the documentary as previous written from bigschuss??
fabrizio

[Tora_Tora_Tora!]

The german title of the book is "IM TOTEN WINKEL" and it comes with a dvd also with the german edition, it's like a sort of long interview with Traudl...
Yes I already saw that the english version is "Blindspot"

Fab

[robertdmountfor]

Hi Robert,

Yes, definitely a great read. It offers an amazing insight to "every day" Hitler. I especially enjoyed her descriptions of the daily life at the Berghof.

That angst you speak about I think is realy evident when you watch Blindspot. You can literally see her searching her soul on camera.

Reading her account also makes one realize how good a job the producers of Downfall did in trying to portray Hitler. They clearly used her accounts for the basis of much of the dialogue.

That must have been a thrill to meet her.

Blair

Traudl Junge put her experiences down on paper after the war, and so much of what came after was based mainly on these notes.
The feeling of a kind of 'guilt' came after she noticed the memorial to sophie scholl, who she later realised was hung for her part in the 'white rose' organisation at about the same time Traudl joined AH at fuhrerheadquarters.
I believe that up until then she had considered that her young age was the reason for her 'naivety', but that after seeing this memorial many years later felt that she could no longer feel this was a sound reason. Of course she had no reason to feel any guilt at all, but sadly it would appear that the older she became the more anxious and less stable she felt about her work with her Fuhrer. As I said before, she was almost embarassed that the information that she gave in her memoirs were , to her more like gossip and not of any real importance...I hope that she did manage to realise this was not the case before she passed away, just before the German premiere of 'Blindspot'.

[Stahlhelm]

I have seen Downfall and Blindspot more than once. Now, to make it all complete, I will also be reading Until the Final Hour. I've nearly bought the book more than once already, so this thread is the final straw.

Although it makes perfect sense, I had no idea that the Sophie Scholl memorial perse had such an effect on her later thoughts of her own "naivety" versus her perceived guilt. This thread is very interesting and informative, indeed.

I agree that the perspectives which she provided are of the greatest historical importance. From my understanding in all that I have so far read and seen, she did not have knowledge of anything that should give reason to make her feel guilt. I also hope that she passed on aware of this and without guilt.

Chris

[BrianK]

Bravo - "Blind Spot"

I've just seen this on DVD. This deserves much widespread attenion, and is the perfect companion to "Downfall". Never heavy-handed, always poignant, a must see interview loaded with historical information. Once seen, I doubt that anyone could forget it. It also might show interested parties why we find the TR period, and in particular the "Final Days", so fascinating.

[billmunny]

one issue...

Thanks for the interesting discussion.

My big issue with the film Downfall, is the outright BS changing of the facts as to the outcome of many of the main characters in the film--including Junge.

The first time I saw the film, I was entranced, but then the part where Junge and the young boy manage to walk through the Red Army soldiers unscathed and then literally ride off into the German sunset seemed a bit odd, given what we know was the fate of over a million women in 1945.

The reality was wholly different from the fictionalized ending as portrayed in the film. Together with others in the bunker, Gerda Christian, Traudl Junge, Else Krüger and Constanze Manziarly left the bunker on May 1st led by SS-Brigadeführer Wilhelm Mohnke. This group slowly made its way north hoping to link up with Heer holdouts on the Prinzenallee. Hiding in a cellar, they were captured by the Soviets on the morning of May 2nd.

Like thousands of other German women during the fall of Berlin, Gerda Christian was repeatedly raped by soldiers of the Red Army in the woods near Berlin. And despite the film stating that Manziarly vanished in 1945, Junge recounts Manziarly being taken into an U-Bahn tunnel by two Soviet soldiers, reassuring the group that "They are just going to see my papers."

And while Junge does not mention it in her autobiography, she herself suffered a fractured jaw when she was raped repeatedly by Soviet soldiers and kept as a personal prisoner of a Soviet officer well into 1946.

I find it fascinating that the filmakers had no issue with depicting some of the brutality of the fall of Berlin, but then made a conscious effort to conceal other major facts.

[DaveNZ]

My big issue with the film Downfall, is the outright BS changing of the facts as to the outcome of many of the main characters in the film--including Junge.

The first time I saw the film, I was entranced, but then the part where Junge and the young boy manage to walk through the Red Army soldiers unscathed and then literally ride off into the German sunset seemed a bit odd, given what we know was the fate of over a million women in 1945.

Yes I found myself disappointed at the 'hollywood' ending of downfall; an odd omission of some grusome facts about what happened to these woman and german women in general.

[DaveNZ]

Reading her account also makes one realize how good a job the producers of Downfall did in trying to portray Hitler. They clearly used her accounts for the basis of much of the dialogue.

I wouldnt be so fast to give the makes of Downfall such warm fuzzies.

I wrote to Rochus Misch earlier this year and asked him some questions about the movie Downfall.

He replied saying that the movie was a 'hollywood fantasay' and "not reality": my translation as he replied in German.

Things beefed up, emotions over acted etc

He was not impressed with the movie.

He was there: so its hard to argue with that.