Constanze Manziarly

Constanze Manziarly (14 April 1920 – disappeared 2 May 1945) was born in Innsbruck, Austria. She served as a cook and dietitian to Adolf Hitler until his final days in Berlin in 1945.

Early life

Manziarly was born in Innsbruck, Austria, on 14 April 1920. According to Hitler's secretary Traudl Junge, Manziarly wanted to be a teacher and only took up cooking for Hitler temporarily.

Career

Manziarly worked as cook and dietitian for Hitler from his 1943 stays at the Berghof until his death in Berlin on 30 April 1945. According to Junge, as of late 1944 Manziarly was still considered too new to be included within Hitler's "inner circle". On 16 January 1945, Hitler began residing in the ''Führerbunker'', the newer and lower unit of the Reich Chancellery bunker complex. Two rooms in the '' Vorbunker'', the older and upper unit, were used for food supply. Another room was used as the kitchen, with a refrigerator and a wine store. Manziarly prepared Hitler's meals in this kitchen during his last months.

On 22 April, Hitler personally requested Manziarly to leave Berlin, along with Junge and Gerda Christian. However, all three women volunteered to stay with the dictator until his death, and he apparently gave each of them a cyanide capsule to take should they decide to end their own lives. On 30 April at around noon, Hitler told his private secretary Martin Bormann it was time; he would shoot himself that afternoon. Thereafter, Manziarly was present for Hitler's last meal at the usual time of 1:00 p.m. His secretaries, Christian and Junge were also present. After lunch, Hitler's adjutant SS-''Sturmbannführer'' Otto Günsche told the secretaries that Hitler wanted to bid everyone farewell. According to Junge, Manziarly cooked a posthumous meal for Hitler later that day so others without direct knowledge of his death would not become suspicious.

On 1 May, Manziarly left the bunker in a breakout group led by SS-''Brigadeführer'' Wilhelm Mohnke. Evading the Soviet Red Army troops, they made their way north to a German Army holdout in the cellar of the Schultheiss-Patzenhofer Brewery on Prinzenallee. The group included Dr. Ernst-Günther Schenck, Else Krüger, Christian, and Junge.O'Donnell, James (2001) 978 ''The Bunker'', New York: Da Capo Press, pp. 271, 274, 283, 291. Early on 2 May, the group was captured by Soviet soldiers. Mohnke tasked the four women with trying to deliver his written report to Hitler's successor, Karl Dönitz. The women walked out of the brewery courtyard and made their way into the Soviet occupied area of Berlin. The women split up, with Christian and Krueger waiting at a water supply area.Junge, Traudl (1989). ''Voices from the Bunker'', pp. 150–151. Manziarly was wearing a Wehrmacht jacket, and went to find some civilian clothes while Junge waited for her. Junge next saw Manziarly being taken towards a U-Bahn subway tunnel by two Soviet soldiers; she reassured Junge that "They want to see my papers." Manziarly was never heard from again. Junge implies in her memoir that Manziarly would have been as likely as anyone to be raped by Soviet soldiers, with a note in Junge's memoir speculating that Manziarly could have committed suicide using her poison capsule.

Depictions in film

Constanze Manziarly has been portrayed by the following actresses in film and television productions:
* Phyllida Law in the 1973 British film '' Hitler: The Last Ten Days''
* Carole Boyd in the 1973 British television production '' The Death of Adolf Hitler''
* Pam St. Clement in the 1981 American film '' The Bunker''
* Bettina Redlich in the 2004 German film ''Downfall'' (''Der Untergang'')

See also

* List of people who disappeared

References

Footnotes

Citations

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Manziarly, Constanze
1920 births
1940s missing person cases
Austrian chefs
Dietitians
Austrian civilians killed in World War II
Missing Austrian people
Missing person cases in Germany
People from Innsbruck
Personal staff of Adolf Hitler
Women in World War II