Else Krüger (9 February 1915 – 24 January 2005) was Martin Bormann's secretary (and, allegedly,

mistress Mistress is the feminine form of the English word "master" (''master'' + ''-ess'') and may refer to: Romance and relationships * Mistress (lover), a term for a woman who is in a sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a ...

) from the end of 1942 until 1 May 1945.O'Donnell, J. (2001)

978 Year 978 ( CMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Pankaleia: Rebel forces under General Bardas Skleros are defeated ...

'' The Bunker''. Junge and Christian, when interviewed by O'Donnell, both claimed that Bormann was having an affair with Krüger. When O'Donnell asked Krüger if this was true, she neither confirmed nor denied these statements. She was born in Hamburg-Altona. She was in the '' Führerbunker'' during the Battle of Berlin in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

. Krüger was with

Eva Braun Eva Anna Paula Hitler (; 6 February 1912 – 30 April 1945) was a German photographer who was the longtime companion and briefly the wife of Adolf Hitler. Braun met Hitler in Munich when she was a 17-year-old assistant and model for his ...

, Gerda Christian,

Traudl Junge Gertraud "Traudl" Junge (; 16 March 1920 – 10 February 2002) was a German editor who worked as Adolf Hitler's last private secretary from December 1942 to April 1945. After typing Hitler's will, she remained in the Berlin ''Führerbunker'' unt ...

, and

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 ...

when German dictator

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

told them that they must prepare to leave for the Berghof like the others. However, she volunteered to remain with Hitler in the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

''Führerbunker''. She was there when Braun indicated that she would never leave Hitler's side and they embraced. Hitler gave each of the women a cyanide capsule. Then on the afternoon of 30 April 1945, Hitler and Braun killed themselves. Thereafter, Krüger left the ''Führerbunker'' on 1 May 1945 in a group led by

Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

Wilhelm Mohnke Wilhelm Mohnke (15 March 1911 – 6 August 2001) was one of the original members of the SS-Staff Guard (''Stabswache'') "Berlin" formed in March 1933. From those ranks, Mohnke rose to become one of Adolf Hitler's last remaining generals. He joi ...

. On the morning of 2 May, the group was captured by soldiers of the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army ( Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, afte ...

while hiding in a cellar at the Schultheiss-Patzenhofer Brewery on Prinzenallee. After the war Krüger was interrogated by the British. She later married her British interrogator, Leslie James (1915–1995), on 23 December 1947 in Wallasey, Cheshire UK. She lived under the name Else James in Wallasey, and remained married to Leslie until his death. She died in Germany on 24 January 2005 aged 89, despite speculation that she had lived to be much older.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kruger, Else Secretaries German people of World War II 1915 births 2005 deaths Women in World War II