Issue of the French newspaper France-Soir, dated Thursday, May 3, 1945, with the headline: “LA MORT DE HITLER” – The Death of Hitler, and: “Admiral Dönitz, appointed as his successor, calls for resistance.” Published three days after Hitler’s suicide in the Berlin bunker.
The newspaper reports: “German border, May 2. German radio announced yesterday, shortly before 10:00 PM, that the German government would soon issue an important statement. At 10:26 PM, the announcer declared: ‘The Führer’s headquarters announces that our Führer, Adolf Hitler, fell this afternoon at his command post in the Reich Chancellery, fighting to his last breath for Germany against Bolshevism. On April 30, he appointed Grand Admiral Dönitz as his successor. Our new Führer will address the German people.’”
At the center of the front page, under the headline: “Important Dates in Hitler’s Life”, appears a timeline tracing Hitler’s life from the early days of the Nazi Party. At the end of the detailed list appears a question mark next to the phrase “Hitler’s death?” – since at the time, there was still no absolute certainty that Hitler had indeed died. On the right: an early photograph of a jubilant Hitler after the fall of Paris, and next to it: “Hitler weeps over the ruins, ” 1945. Below on the right: a photograph of the body of Benito Mussolini, Hitler’s ally, who was executed by members of the Italian partisan resistance movement on Saturday, (April 28, 1945).
France-Soir was one of the most popular newspapers in France in the second half of the 20th century. It was founded in July 1941 in Paris, initially under the name Défense de la France – an underground newspaper of the resistance movement during the Nazi occupation. After the liberation in 1944, it became France-Soir, a widely circulated daily paper. Jewish editor Pierre Lazareff was among its key figures in later years.
[2] pages. Complete issue. 60×43 cm. Fold marks, minor tears. Good condition.
