Johannes Hentschel (10 May 1908 – 27 April 1982) was a master electro-mechanic for German dictator Adolf Hitler's apartments in the Reich Chancellery. He also served in the same capacity in Hitler's Führerbunker in 1945. He surrendered to Soviet Red Army soldiers on 2 May 1945.

Early life

Hentschel was born in Berlin, Germany on 10 May 1908.

Career

Hentschel was hired on 4 July 1934 as a master electro-mechanic for Adolf Hitler's personal apartments in the Reich Chancellery building. Years later, during the Battle of Berlin, he was responsible for the machine room in the Führerbunker. In the early morning hours of 2 May 1945, telephone operator Rochus Misch and Hentschel were two of the last people remaining in the bunker complex. They exchanged letters to their wives in case anything happened to either of them. Misch then left the bunker to try to break through the Soviet army ring of the central part of the city. Hentschel stayed in the bunker after everyone else had either committed suicide or left, as the field hospital for the wounded in the Reich Chancellery above needed power and water. He surrendered to Soviet Red Army soldiers as they entered the bunker complex on 2 May and was released from captivity on 4 April 1949. Hentschel died in 1982 in Achern, West Germany.

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