Last Man to Die (30 page)

Much of the action and argumentation outlined in this book took place, particularly the fierce disagreements between Eisenhower and Churchill as to how the War should be brought to its end. But this is a work of fiction and, I hope, entertainment. It is also a work of love, for my father.

M.J.D.

Michael Dobbs has spent many years at the most senior level of British politics, advising Mrs Thatcher, Norman Tebbit and many other leading politicians. He worked as a journalist in the United States throughout the Watergate crisis, and after returning to London in 1975 played major roles in the elections of 1979 and 1983. During the 1987 elections he was Chief of Staff at Conservative Party headquarters. He has a doctorate in defense studies. He lives in London with his wife and two young sons.

Last Man to Die
is Michael Dobbs’ third novel, and the sequel to his number one bestseller
House of Cards
.

Michael Dobbs’ most recent novels, featuring his latest political hero, Thomas Goodfellowe MP, are
Goodfellowe MP
and
The Buddha of Brewer St
.

‘Hencke’ was not the last man to die
.

After arranging for the disposal of Hitler’s body, Goebbels and his wife Magda prepared their six young children for bed in the family’s quarters within the Bunker. Frau Goebbels dressed them all in clean nightgowns and brushed their hair, before feeding them chocolates laced with poison. The six tiny bodies were then wrapped in white shrouds
.

Afterwards the parents went up to the Bunker garden where Hitler’s and Eva’s bodies had been burned in a shallow trench. Standing by the cremation site, Magda bit into a capsule of cyanide. As she fell to the ground, Goebbels put a bullet in the back of her head. He then bit into his own capsule, shooting himself in the right temple as he did so. They both wanted to make sure … An SS aide poured petrol over the bodies from a jerry can and set light to them. The semi-charred corpses were discovered by the Russians two days later
.

Bormann attempted to break out of Berlin the night after Hitler and Goebbels died. He got less than a mile from the Reich Chancellery before he disappeared. His skull, identified through dental records, was dug up by developers preparing the site for an exhibition park nearly thirty years later
.

The notary who had performed the wedding ceremony, Walter Wagner, was shot dead the same evening
.

‘Thrilling escapism … what a corker, with a cunning twist in the tail. After this, the last moments of the war will never seem the same again.’

Daily Express

‘Arrestingly authentic.’

Manchester Evening News

THE FRANCIS URQUHART TRILOGY

House of Cards

To Play the King

The Final Cut

THE THOMAS GOODFELLOWE SERIES

Goodfellowe MP

The Buddha of Brewer Street

THE CHURCHILL SERIES

Winston’s War

Never Surrender

Churchill’s Hour

Churchill’s Triumph

OTHER TITLES

Wall Games

The Touch of Innocents

Whispers of Betrayal

The Lord’s Day

First Lady

This novel is entirely a work of fiction.
The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are
the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to
actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is
entirely coincidental.

Harper
An imprint of HarperCollins
Publishers
77–85 Fulham Palace Road,
Hammersmith, London W6 8JB

www.harpercollins.co.uk

This edition first published by Fontana 1992

First published in Great Britain by
HarperCollins
Publishers
1991

Copyright © Michael Dobbs 1991

The Author asserts the moral right to be
identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is
available from the British Library

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2013 ISBN 9780007397853

HarperCollinsPublishers has made every reasonable effort to ensure that any picture content and written content in this ebook has been included or removed in accordance with the contractual and technological constraints in operation at the time of publication.

Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au

Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East – 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca

New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz

United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77–85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk

United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com