Werner Haase (2 August 1900 – 30 November 1950) was a professor of medicine and SS member during the

Nazi era Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. He was one of

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 ...

's personal physicians. After the war ended, Haase was made a

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

. He died while in captivity in 1950.

Early life and education

Haase was born in Köthen, in

Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt (german: Sachsen-Anhalt ; nds, Sassen-Anholt) is a state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.18 million inhabitants, making it the ...

. He graduated from secondary school in 1918. Haase then joined the 66th Infantry Regiment in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. After the war, he obtained his Doctor's degree in 1924 and then became a surgeon.

Career

Haase was a ship doctor beginning in 1927. He joined the

Nazi Party The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...

in 1933. From 1934, forward, he served on the staff of the surgery clinic of Berlin University. Upon the recommendation of

Karl Brandt Karl Brandt (8 January 1904 – 2 June 1948) was a German physician and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) officer in Nazi Germany. Trained in surgery, Brandt joined the Nazi Party in 1932 and became Adolf Hitler's escort doctor in August 1934. A member of ...

, Haase began serving as Hitler's deputy

personal physician Concierge medicine, also known as retainer medicine, is a relationship between a patient and a primary care physician in which the patient pays an annual fee or retainer. This may or may not be in addition to other charges. In exchange for the reta ...

. On 1 April 1934, Haase joined the SS and on 16 June 1943 he was promoted to SS-''

Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA (''Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Obersturm ...

''. Hitler appears to have had a high opinion of him. In a telegram Hitler sent to Haase on his birthday in 1943, he stated: "Accept my heartfelt congratulations on your birthday", as reproduced in the book ''Hitler's Death: Russia's Last Great Secret from the Files of the KGB'', based on documents in Soviet archives.

April–May 1945

In late April 1945, during the last days of the fighting in the

Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...

, Haase, with

Ernst-Günther Schenck Ernst-Günther Schenck (3 October 1904 – 21 December 1998) was a German medical doctor and member of the SS in Nazi Germany. Because of a chance encounter with Adolf Hitler during the closing days of World War II, his memoirs proved historicall ...

, worked to save the lives of the many wounded German soldiers and civilians in an emergency casualty station located in the large cellar of the

Reich Chancellery The Reich Chancellery (german: Reichskanzlei) was the traditional name of the office of the Chancellor of Germany (then called ''Reichskanzler'') in the period of the German Reich from 1878 to 1945. The Chancellery's seat, selected and prepared s ...

. During surgeries, Schenck was aided by Haase. Although Haase had much more surgical experience than Schenck, he was greatly weakened by

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

, and often had to lie down while giving verbal instruction to Schenck. The large Chancellery cellar led a further one-and-a-half meters down to an air-raid shelter known as the ''

Vorbunker The ''Vorbunker'' (upper bunker or forward bunker) was an underground concrete structure originally intended to be a temporary air-raid shelter for Adolf Hitler and his guards and servants. It was located behind the large reception hall that wa ...

''. The ''Vorbunker'' was connected by a stairway down to the ''

Führerbunker The ''Führerbunker'' () was an air raid shelter located near the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, Germany. It was part of a subterranean bunker complex constructed in two phases in 1936 and 1944. It was the last of the Führer Headquarters ( ...

'', which had become a de facto Führer Headquarters. On 23 April 1945, Hitler's personal physician

Theodor Morell Theodor Gilbert Morell (22 July 1886 – 26 May 1948) was a German medical doctor known for acting as Adolf Hitler's personal physician. Morell was well known in Germany for his unconventional treatments. He assisted Hitler daily in virtually ev ...

and several others left Berlin by aircraft for the Obersalzberg leaving behind medications prepared for Hitler, which Haase and

Heinz Linge Heinz Linge (23 March 1913 – 9 March 1980) was a German SS officer who served as a valet for the leader of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, and became known for his close personal proximity to historical events. Linge was present in the ''Füh ...

, Hitler's

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "vale ...

, administered during Hitler's last week of life. SS physician

Ludwig Stumpfegger Ludwig Stumpfegger (11 July 1910 – 2 May 1945) was a German doctor who served in the SS of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was Adolf Hitler's personal surgeon from 1944 to 1945, and was present in the ''Führerbunker'' in Berlin in late ...

distributed cyanide capsules to the various military adjutants, secretaries, and staff in the bunker. Doubting the efficacy of the cyanide capsules, Hitler ordered Haase summoned to the ''Führerbunker'' to test one on his dog

Blondi Blondi (1941 – 29 April 1945) was Adolf Hitler's German Shepherd, a gift as a puppy from Martin Bormann in 1941. Hitler kept Blondi even after his move into the '' Führerbunker'' located underneath the garden of the Reich Chancellery on 16 ...

on 29 April. A cyanide capsule was crushed in the mouth of the dog, which died as a result. Hitler, in conversations with Haase during this timeframe, asked the doctor for a recommended method of suicide. Haase instructed Hitler to bite down on a cyanide capsule while shooting himself in the head. Haase remained in the ''Führerbunker'' until Hitler's suicide the following afternoon. Haase then returned to his work at the emergency casualty station. In the seven days they worked together, Schenck and Haase performed some "three hundred and seventy operations". Haase,

Helmut Kunz Helmut Kunz (26 September 1910 – 23 September 1976) was an SS dentist who, after the suicide of Adolf Hitler, was ordered to administer anesthetic to the six children of Joseph Goebbels before they were killed. Early years Kunz was born in ...

and two nurses,

Erna Flegel Erna Flegel (11 July 1911 – 16 February 2006) was a German nurse. In late April 1945 she worked at the emergency casualty station at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, and was one of the final occupants of the '' Führerbunker'' before she was ca ...

and Liselotte Chervinska were taken prisoner there by

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, after ...

troops on 2 May. On 6 May, Haase was one of those taken by the Soviet authorities to identify the bodies of the former Reich Propaganda Minister

Joseph Goebbels Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...

, his wife

Magda Goebbels Johanna Maria Magdalena "Magda" Goebbels (née Ritschel; 11 November 1901 – 1 May 1945) was the wife of Nazi Germany's Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. A prominent member of the Nazi Party, she was a close ally, companion, and politic ...

and their six children. Haase identified Goebbels' partly burned body by the metal brace Goebbels wore on his deformed right leg.

Imprisonment and death, 1945–1950

Haase was made a Soviet

. In June 1945 he was charged with being "a personal doctor of the former Reichschancellor of Germany, Hitler, and also treated other leaders of Hitler's government and of the Nazi Party and members of Hitler's SS guard". The sentence is not recorded. In 1950 Haase, who suffered from

, died in captivity. The place of death is recorded as "Butyr prison hospital", likely the

Butyrka prison Butyrskaya prison ( rus, Бутырская тюрьма, r= Butýrskaya tyurmá), usually known simply as Butyrka ( rus, Бутырка, p=bʊˈtɨrkə), is a prison in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia. In Imperial Russia it ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haase, Werner 1900 births 1950 deaths People from Köthen (Anhalt) SS-Obersturmbannführer German prisoners of war in World War II held by the Soviet Union German people who died in Soviet detention People from the Duchy of Anhalt Waffen-SS personnel Tuberculosis deaths in the Soviet Union 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Physicians in the Nazi Party German surgeons 20th-century surgeons Tuberculosis deaths in Russia German Army personnel of World War I