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The Rise and Fall of Hitlers Reich Feeling that all was lost, Hitler shot himself on April 30, 1945. By orders formally given by him before his death, SS officers immersed Hitler's body in gasoline and burned it in the garden of the Chancellery. Soon after the suicide of Hitler, the German forces surrendered. The war was officially over; however, the world was only beginning to realize the extent of its horror. The rise and sudden fall …

…The Reich had begun. Avoiding capture by the approaching forces, Hitler shot himself on April 30, 1945. The world was never the same again. Hitler's Reich was over, and millions of jews were dead. Quite rightly, the world asked questions: How could this have happened? Truthful answers cannot put the responsibility on Hitler alone. He led the Reich, but millions of people followed him eagerly--and many others chose to stand and watch him alone in frightened silence.