Fritz Tornow

Fritz Tornow

Fritz Tornow was a Feldwebel in the German Army (Wehrmacht Heer) who served as Adolf Hitler's personal dog assistant and veterinarian. He was one of the last people to occupy the Führerbunker when it was captured by Soviet troops.

Biography

Tornow had the task of taking care of Hitler's beloved German shepherd Blondi, as well as her puppies, and Eva Braun's dogs. Additionally, Tornow had his own pet dachshund.

During the last days of World War II, Tornow was one of the few remaining German personnel in the Führerbunker. During the course of 29 April 1945, Hitler learned of the death of his ally, Benito Mussolini, who had been executed by Italian partisans. This, along with the fact the Soviet Army was closing in on his location, led Hitler to strengthen his resolve not to be captured alive. That afternoon, Hitler expressed doubts about the cyanide capsules he had received through Heinrich Himmler's SS.^[1] To verify the capsules' potency, Hitler ordered Dr. Werner Haase to test them on his dog, Blondi. Tornow had to force the opening of the dog's mouth while Haase crushed a cyanide capsule in Blondi's mouth. Tornow became visibly upset by these events, more so when the dog died as a result.^[2]

According to a report commissioned by Joseph Stalin and based on eye witness accounts, Tornow was further mortified when he was ordered to shoot Blondi's puppies. On 30 April, Tornow took each of the four puppies and shot them in the garden of the Reich Chancellery, outside the underground bunker complex, after Hitler and Eva Braun committed suicide together. He also killed Eva Braun's two dogs, Frau Gerda Christian's dogs, and his own dachshund.^[3][4][5]

On 2 May 1945 the Soviet Army took control of the bunker complex. Tornow was among only four living occupants; the others were Dr. Werner Haase, Erna Flegel, and Johannes Hentschel. They all surrendered to the Soviet troops.

Portrayal in the media

• Robert Pugh in the 1981 made-for-television The Bunker.
• Devid Striesow in the 2004 film Downfall.

Citations

Sources

• Eberle, Henrik; Uhl, Matthias, eds. (2005). The Hitler Book: The Secret Dossier Prepared for Stalin. New York: PublicAffairs. ISBN 1-58648-366-8. 
• Lehmann, Armin Dieter; Carroll, Tim M. (2005). In Hitler's Bunker: A Boy Soldier's Eyewitness Account of the Fuhrer's Last Days. The Lyons Press. ISBN 1-59228-578-3. 
• Kershaw, Ian (2008). Hitler: A Biography. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-06757-6. 
• O'Donnell, James (1978). The Bunker: The History of the Reich Chancellery Group. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-25719-0. 

v t e Final occupants of the Führerbunker by date of departure (1945) 20 April Hermann Göring Heinrich Himmler 21 April Robert Ley 22 April Karl Gebhardt Julius Schaub Christa Schroeder Johanna Wolf Eckhard Christian 23 April Albert Bormann Theodor Morell Karl-Jesco von Puttkamer Joachim von Ribbentrop Albert Speer 24 April Walter Frentz 28 April Robert Ritter von Greim Hanna Reitsch Walter Wagner 29 April Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven Gerhard Boldt Rudolf Weiss Wilhelm Zander Heinz Lorenz Willy Johannmeyer 30 April Nicolaus von Below 1 May Wilhelm Mohnke Traudl Junge Gerda Christian Constanze Manziarly Else Krüger Otto Günsche Walther Hewel Ernst-Günther Schenck Hans-Erich Voss Johann Rattenhuber Peter Högl Werner Naumann Martin Bormann Heinz Linge Erich Kempka Hans Baur Georg Betz Ludwig Stumpfegger Artur Axmann Günther Schwägermann Ewald Lindloff Hans Reisser Armin D. Lehmann Josef Ochs Werner Schwiedel Heinz Krüger Heinrich Doose Gerhard Schach 2 May Rochus Misch Helmuth Weidling Hans Refior Theodor von Dufving Siegfried Knappe Still present on 2 May Erna Flegel Werner Haase Helmut Kunz Fritz Tornow Johannes Hentschel Committed suicide Alwin-Broder Albrecht Ernst-Robert Grawitz Adolf Hitler Eva Hitler (Eva Braun) Joseph Goebbels Magda Goebbels Wilhelm Burgdorf Hans Krebs Franz Schädle Executed Hermann Fegelein Killed Goebbels children Unknown Heinrich Müller