Gerhard Boldt (24 January 1918 – 10 May 1981) was an officer in the German Army (Heer) who wrote about his experiences during World War II.

During the last months of World War II, Boldt was seconded to Reinhard Gehlen's military intelligence staff.

He was stationed in German dictator Adolf Hitler's Führerbunker, located below the Reich Chancellery garden in central Berlin.

Boldt had a unique opportunity to observe at close quarters the leading members of the Nazi hierarchy during the Battle of Berlin.

By 21 April 1945, Soviet Marshal Georgi Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front had broken through the defenses of German General Gotthard Heinrici's Army Group Vistula on the Seelow Heights.

Adolf Hitler, ignoring the facts, saw salvation in the ragtag units commanded by General Felix Steiner.

Late on 21 April, Heinrici called Hans Krebs, chief of the German General Staff (OKH), and told him that Hitler's plan could not be implemented.

Though no encouraging message from General Walther Wenck (Twelfth Army) had been received, Hitler continued to clutch at that straw.

And then he gave one of the most inhuman of all his orders: because the Russians had repeatedly thrown back the German lines by advancing through the underground and other railway tunnels to attack the German forces from the rear, he now detailed special units to open the locks of the river Spree, thus flooding the railway tunnels south of the Reich Chancellery.

[2]Of 28 April, Boldt documented the following discussions between Martin Bormann, Hans Krebs, and Wilhelm Burgdorf: At about 2:00 am, I lay down completely exhausted and tried to catch a few hours of sleep.

Noise drifted across from the room next door, where Martin Bormann, Hans Krebs, and Wilhelm Burgdorf sat carousing.

Thinking they were dying for a just cause, our youth allowed themselves to be bled to death on the battlefields of Europe, sacrificing millions of innocent lives, while you, the Party leaders, waxed richer and richer, living it up like lords, accumulating untold riches, stealing vast estates, building castles, reveling in luxury, deceiving and milking the nation.

Our ideals, our morals, our faith, our soul -- all these you have ground into dirt; mankind was only a stepping stone for your insatiable greed.

"[4] On 29 April, communications were down, the Soviets were closing in, and many were morbidly anticipating Hitler's suicide and wondering what the future held.

That evening, Boldt left the Führerbunker with von Freytag-Loringhoven and Burgdorf's assistant, Lieutenant-Colonel Rudolf Weiss.

[6] The men had been tasked with trying to reach General Walther Wenck's Twelfth Army, and requesting relief for Berlin.

[8] On 12 May, after several close encounters with Soviet troops, the two other men parted company; Boldt going north to Lubeck and von Loringhoven heading towards Leipzig to join his wife and son.

This book was translated by Sandra Bance[11] and was used for the films Hitler: The Last Ten Days (1973) and Downfall (2004; Der Untergang).