10. To the very end, Hitler was convinced he could turn things around – and he wasn’t the only one in denial
By early 1945, most of the top officers in the German Army knew that the war was all but over. But Hitler himself was in a profound state of denial – understandably, his generals were very reluctant to give him bad news. On 21 April 1945, Hitler ordered the SS General Felix Steiner to launch an attack in the north of the city. The following afternoon, Hitler was informed that the attack had not been a success. In fact, Steiner had not even attempted to make a move. Only then did the dictator concede that the war was lost.
But it wasn’t just Hitler who continued to have delusional faith in his own powers. Many SS officers believed he was all-powerful and, if wasn’t surrounded by treacherous generals, would be able to turn things around. Hitler’s nurses and secretaries likewise later revealed that many of the staff, some of whom were in their 20s and had grown up on a diet of propaganda about how brilliant their Fuhrer was, also believed he would save them all. Indeed, only when Hitler finally said goodbye to his staff did many realize, for the first time, that the war was lost.
