11. Amid the horror of the Bunker, a sense of solidarity emerged – some survivors even said they felt ‘like a family’ down there
The sense of solidarity felt among the staff became even more intense as the war drew towards its inevitable conclusion. As Erna Fegel, Hitler’s nurse in the Bunker, recalled: “The circle became increasingly small. People were pulled together. Everyone became more unassuming.” Not only did the secretaries and nurses try and keep one another’s morale up, they also drew up plans on how they could make it out of Berlin alive. Once it was confirmed that Hitler was dead, many put their plans into action, heading above ground and getting as far away as possible.
At the very end, even the officers came together with the lowly staff. During her interrogation by the Soviets after the war, Frau Fegel concluded: “At the end we were like a big family. The terrific dynamics of the fate which was unrolling held sway over all of us. We were Germany, and we were going through the end of the Third Reich and the war. Everything petty and external had fallen away.” Without a doubt, if it hadn’t been for this sense of solidarity, the number of people who killed themselves down in the Bunker would have been much higher.