| Gretl Braun | |
|---|---|
| Gretl Braun in 1939. | |
|
Name |
Margarete "Gretl" Braun |
|
Born |
31 August 1915 |
|
Died |
10 October 1987 (aged 72) |
|
Known for |
Being Eva's sister |
|
Mentioned by |
Eva Braun (but not by name) |
Margarete "Gretl" Braun (31 August 1915 – 10 October 1987) was one of the two sisters of Eva Braun. She was a member of the inner social circle of Adolf Hitler at the Berghof.
Braun was the youngest of Eva's two sisters. Gretl spent much time with Eva at Hitler's Berghof, where she enlivened the atmosphere by having fun, smoking, and flirting with the orderlies. According to Hitler's secretary, Traudl Junge, Hitler explained to her at length why he detested smoking, but she would not give up the habit.
On 3 June 1944 she married SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein, who served as Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler's liaison officer on Hitler's staff. Their wedding took place at the Mirabell Palace in Salzburg with Hitler, Himmler, and Martin Bormann as witnesses.
On 19 January 1945 Gretl and Eva arrived at the Reich Chancellery in Berlin, but they left for Berchtesgaden on 9 February. Eva later returned alone. On 23 April she wrote her last letter to Gretl and included a request for her to destroy all her business papers, but to retain the personal correspondence or bury it. Gretl was pregnant and still at the Berghoff when her husband was arrested for desertion on 28 April 1945 in an apartment in Berlin, having gone missing from the Führerbunker. Initially, Hitler considered transferring Fegelein to the defense of Berlin. However, after learning of Himmler's offer to surrender to the Allies, Hitler ordered to arrest Himmler and execute Fegelein.
On 5 May 1945 at Obersalzburg, Gretl gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Eva Barbara (after Eva Braun). Braun later married Kurt Berlinghoff on 6 February 1954 (in Munich) and died in Steingaden, Bavaria.
In Downfall Universe[]
Gretl does not appear physically in Downfall, but she is mentioned indirectly at least four times. First, when Fegelein calls Eva, she asks him if her sister [Gretel] knows where he is. The second time is when Eva types her final letter to her. Third time, when Eva talks to Traudl about Fegelein missing from the bunker. And the fourth time when she goes to Hitler to beg for Fegelein's life.
She recently appeared in Soalric's Letters from Eva Braun and Magda Goebbels, where Eva wrotes a letter to her, describing the life in Hitler's Bunker.
She was also mentioned in several minor parodies.
In Hitler's Trip to Japan, Fegelein admitted to Eva that he always prefered her over Gretl.
Since she was Fegelein's wife, her Stalin Parodies counterpart would be Nina Tukhachevskaya.
Gallery[]
