Who could blame those who availed themselves of those capsules, seeking a painless way out? Russia’s army then, as now, was renowned for its ruthlessness. The Red Army was powering toward Berlin and fear stalked the city. That evening, April 12, 1945, senior party officials, family and friends at Berlin’s Beethoven Salle had listened to the final aria from Wagner’s Gotterdammerung, The Twilight Of The Gods - knowing this was also the twilight of Hitler’s rule.
As the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra took a bow following a last concert for the Nazi regime, boys from the Hitler Youth passed among the audience with wicker baskets filled with cyanide capsules, offering them around.