Summary of Volker Ullrich's Eight Days in May

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Sample Book Insights:

#1 On April 30, Hitler took his own life. Krebs and the Soviet commander, General Vasily Chuikov, arrived at Schulenburgring 2 in the Tempelhof district to inform him of the news. Chuikov seemed unimpressed.

#2 Goebbels hoped that the conflicts of interest between the western Allies and their Soviet partner would come to a head and that the Soviet leadership might be inclined to desert the anti-Hitler front. It took a while to establish a telephone connection to Chuikov's command and then to agree on a time and place for the peace envoys to meet the Soviet side.

#3 The German message was delivered by Krebs, and it was clear that the two sides were irreconcilable. The only possibility was a total unconditional surrender to the Soviet Union as well as the United States and Britain.

#4 The German negotiators returned to the chancellery to give Goebbels a preliminary report. They were accompanied by a Soviet major, who was shot when they came under SS fire en route. It took hours for Dufving to arrive at the chancellery and relay the news that the Soviets were insisting on unconditional surrender.