The Bunker (book)
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| Author |
James P. O'Donnell Uwe Bahnsen |
|---|---|
| Original title | Die Katakombe – Das Ende in der Reichskanzlei |
| Country | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Subject | Hitler's last days in the Führerbunker |
| Publisher | Deutsche Verlagsanstalt (DVA) |
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Publication date
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1975 |
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Published in English
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1978 (Houghton Mifflin) |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 436 |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 1603646 |
The Bunker (German: Die Katakombe), also published as The Berlin Bunker, is an account, written by American journalist James P. O'Donnell and German journalist Uwe Bahnsen, of the history of the Führerbunker in early 1945, as well as the last days of German dictator Adolf Hitler. Its English edition was first published in 1978. However, unlike other accounts, O'Donnell spent considerable time on other, less-famous residents of the bunker complex. Additionally, unlike the more academic works by historians, the book takes a journalistic approach. The book was later used as the basis for a 1981 CBS television film with the same name.
During World War II, O'Donnell worked in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. On July 1, 1945, he was mustered out and immediately took a position as German bureau chief for Newsweek magazine. On July 4, he arrived in Berlin with instructions to get details on Hitler's last days, as well as information on Eva Braun.
Soon after arriving, he traveled to the bunker complex, which was mainly overlooked by troops (who were more interested in the Reich Chancellory). He found it guarded by two Red Army soldiers, and for the price of two packs of cigarettes, he gained access to it. He found the bunker complex a flooded, cluttered, stinking mess.
Ironically (and essential, given his later work), the bunker had not, even at this late point, been systematically investigated by the Russians. Lying around for anyone to pick up were such historic items as Hitler's appointment book, Martin Bormann's personal diary, the battle log for Berlin, and segments of Joseph Goebbels' diary. Right in front of O'Donnell, a British colonel took as a "war souvenir" a blueprint for a reconstruction of Hitler's hometown Linz, in Austria. This historic document (brooded over by Hitler during his last days) ended up over the colonel's fireplace in Kent.
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