Blondi was Adolf Hitler’s German Shepherd from 1941 until 1945 and remained with him throughout the final months of the Second World War. In April 1945, as Soviet troops closed in on central Berlin, Blondi was in the Führerbunker, where she died after a cyanide capsule was tested on her on Hitler’s orders.
Blondi in Hitler’s Inner Circle
Blondi was born in 1941 and was given to Hitler that same year by Martin Bormann, one of his closest associates. Hitler was fond of the dog and spent time training her. Traudl Junge, one of his secretaries, later recalled that he took pride in the tricks and exercises Blondi had learned.
Blondi appears in numerous photographs taken at Hitler’s residences and military headquarters. Images of the dictator with his dog were also used to present a more domestic side of the Nazi leader. Later studies of Nazi propaganda have noted the role such photographs played in shaping that public image.
Traudl Junge recalled that Hitler paid a great deal of attention to Blondi. In an interview given shortly before her death, the former secretary said that he even tried to make the dog “sing” by encouraging her to reproduce certain sounds through barking.
On 16 January 1945, Hitler moved into the Führerbunker, the underground complex beneath the garden of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. Blondi remained with him there as Germany’s military situation deteriorated rapidly and the Red Army advanced towards the capital.
In the spring of 1945, Blondi gave birth to five puppies. Their father was Harras, another German Shepherd. One of the puppies was named Wulf.
At the same time, Eva Braun, Joseph and Magda Goebbels and their six children, senior members of the Nazi leadership, military personnel, secretaries, medical staff and others from Hitler’s entourage were also staying in the bunker complex. By the end of April, Soviet forces were closing in on central Berlin, while contact with the rest of Germany was becoming increasingly difficult.
The Cyanide Test and Blondi’s Death
On 29 April 1945, Hitler had cyanide capsules available for the suicide he was planning with Eva Braun. He had doubts about the effectiveness of the poison supplied through the SS, particularly after learning of Heinrich Himmler’s attempts to negotiate with the Western Allies.
One of the capsules was tested on Blondi. Physician Werner Haase was called in to carry out the procedure, and the dog died after the cyanide was administered. Traudl Junge later said that she witnessed the episode and that the purpose of the test was to verify that the poison was effective.
Blondi died one day before Hitler and Eva Braun took their own lives on 30 April 1945. Later that day, after their deaths, Blondi’s puppies were shot in the garden of the Reich Chancellery by Fritz Tornow, the soldier responsible for caring for the dogs, according to accounts of the final hours in the bunker.