On this day in 1945, Adolf Hitler committed suicide. He did so by swallowing a cyanide capsule and shooting himself in the head.

Since 1943, it was becoming clear that Germany would become stressed by the Allies. In February of that year, the Nazis went into the Soviet Union and were defeated at the Battle of Stalingrad. Then, in June 1944, the Western Allied armies landed at Normandy, France, and began to push the Germans back toward Berlin. By July 1944, several Nazi military commanders plotted to remove Hitler from power. Their attempt to kill Hitler failed and led Hitler to execute over 4,000 countrymen.

In January 1945, Hitler moved to his bunker to live out his final days. Located 55 feet underground, the bunker had 18 rooms, was self-sufficient, and had its own water and electrical supply. Though Hitler was losing his temper more often and becoming angrier, he continued to serve and meet with close leaders of his, such as Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler, and Josef Goebbels.

In Hitler’s last days, he appointed Admiral Karl Donitz as head of state and Goebbels as chancellor. He then retired to his quarters with his wife Braun, where they poisoned themselves. Then, Hitler shot himself with his service pistol.

Hitler and Braun’s bodies were hastily cremated in the chancellery garden as Soviet forces closed in on the building.