Artur Axmann

Artur Axmann (18 February 1913 – 24 October 1996) was the German Nazi leader of the Hitler Youth (Reichsjugendführer) from 1940 through war's end in 1945.

Axmann was born in Hagen on 18 February 1913. In 1928, he founded the first Hitler Youth group in Westphalia. In 1932, he was called to be a Reich Leader (Reichsleiter) of the Nazi Party to carry out a reorganization of Nazi youth cells and in 1933, became Chief of the Social Office of the Reich Youth Leadership. During 1945, Axmann was continually pressured into letting young women be conscripted into combat roles for the last defense of Germany. Although Axmann had permitted young boys to fight in the final days, he refused to allow girls to fight.

During Hitler's last days, Axmann was among those present in the Führerbunker. On 30 April 1945, just a few hours before committing suicide, Hitler signed the order to allow a breakout. On 1 May, Axmann left the Führerbunker with SS doctor Ludwig Stumpfegger and Martin Bormann as part of a group attempting to break out of the Soviet encirclement. Their group managed to cross the River Spree at the Weidendammer Bridge. He later got separated from the other two.

Axmann was arrested in December 1945 when a Nazi underground movement which he had been organizing was uncovered. A Nuremberg de-Nazification court sentenced him in May 1949 to a prison sentence of three years and three months as a 'major offender'.

After release, Axmann worked as a sales representative in Gelsenkirchen and Berlin. He died in Berlin in 1996.

In Downfall Universe
Axmann has a minor role in the film, in the scene where Hitler awards and congrates several Hitler Youth soldiers, including Peter Kranz. He was portrayed by Alexander Orlov.

In the parodies, he's usually considered as a person that announces the achievements of his "soldiers", such as in Hitler finds and congratuates the water bottle thrower.

Trivia

 * Axmann is credited as HJ Führer in the movie credits, and since the only Hitlerjungend leader at the time was Axmann, then it is him.
 * His uniform is completly wrong, as Axmann was an Reichsjugendführer, and his collars should of had three golden Oakleaves in the center surrounded by large laurel wreaths on red fabric, whereas in the film it is a Gauleiter (NSDAP), and its unlekely that he was actually a member of the Nazi party, as the collar that he wore only had golden leaves, and that insignia was used before 1939. After 1939, the Third Reich Eagle in golden colour, was added on the collar, therefor he would of wore an outdated uniform. It's possibly that the prop designers could not of found golden coloured Reichsjugendführer collars, and instead decided to use Gauleiter ones.
 * The cap he's wearing is also wrong. It should of looked similar to the one wore by Goebbels.
 * The uniform he's wearing is a Gauleiter one, although there are many uniform mistakes in the film (see Hermann Fegelein and Ernst-Günther Schenck).
 * It's quite possibly that all these goofs are intentional, as the scene is different from the one that is historically known (for more info see the Hitler Congratulates the Hitler Youth Scene).