Mass suicides in Nazi Germany

In addition to Adolf Hitler and many high-ranking Nazi officials like Joseph Goebbels, Heinrich Himmler, and Philipp Bouhler, others chose suicide rather than accept the defeat of Germany.

"[1] German psychiatrist Erich Menninger-Lerchenthal [de] noted the existence of "organised mass suicide on a large scale which had previously not occurred in the history of Europe [...] there are suicides which do not have anything to do with mental illness or some moral and intellectual deviance, but predominantly with the continuity of a heavy political defeat and the fear of being held responsible".

First, by 1945, Nazi propaganda had created fear among some sections of the population about the impending military invasion of their country by the Soviets or Western Allies.

Information films from the Reich Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda repeatedly chided audiences about why Germany must not surrender, telling the people they faced the threat of torture, rape, and death in defeat.

[9] In March 1945, as part of Operation Periwig, the British printed a German-language black propaganda postcard, supposedly issued by the fictitious anti-Nazi "Red Horse" resistance movement, and giving detailed instructions on how to hang oneself with the minimum amount of pain.

For example, SS-Obergruppenführer Ernst-Robert Grawitz killed himself and his family with an Eierhandgranate, while Wehrmacht generals Wilhelm Burgdorf and Hans Krebs shot themselves in the head with their pistols, and Josef Terboven, the Reichskommissar for German-occupied Norway, blew himself up in a bunker by detonating 50 kg (110 lb) of dynamite.

[17] Adolf Hitler declared his preference for death over defeat in a speech he gave to the Reichstag during the invasion of Poland in 1939, saying, "I now wish to be nothing other than the first soldier of the German Reich.

"[18] When it became apparent that the Nazis were about to lose the war, Germany's leaders (including Hitler and Goebbels) spoke publicly in favor of suicide as an option.

"[19][20] Many supporters of Nazi ideology and party shared the apocalyptic message of National Socialism and looked forward to ending their lives.

[22] On 28 March of the same year, the Nazi newspaper Völkischer Beobachter published an article titled "Risk of One's Life" by Wilhelm Pleyer, which called on Germans to fight to the death.

[22] The suicidal atmosphere was enhanced by the Nazis' report of numerous Soviet mass graves and other atrocities committed by the NKVD and the Red Army towards the end of the war.