April 30 is an important day in the pages of history

April 30 is an important day in the pages of history. On this day in 1945, fascist leader of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler committed suicide in an underground bunker in Berlin. His ultra-nationalist and fascist policies, aggression, and genocide pushed the world towards the horrors of World War II and the Holocaust. As a combined result of these two events, approximately 70-85 million people lost their lives, which was about 3 percent of the world's population at that time. Coming to power in 1933, Hitler started repression and war preparations.

In the Holocaust carried out under his leadership, 11-17 million people were killed, of whom 6 million were Jews. The rest were Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, Poles, disabled people, and political opponents. About 20.9 million more people died due to the Nazi forces' suppression policy, forced labor, mass starvation, and indiscriminate killing, of whom about 10.5 million were members of the Slavic community. In World War II, an estimated 50-55 million civilians and 21-25 million soldiers were killed.

The Soviet Union (about 27 million deaths) and Poland (about 6 million) suffered the most damage. In 1945, when the Soviet Red Army besieged Berlin and the Nazi forces faced ultimate defeat, Adolf Hitler married his longtime partner Eva Braun on April 29. But knowing defeat was inevitable, the very next day on April 30, they chose the path of suicide. Eva Braun consumed cyanide and Hitler committed suicide by shooting himself in the head.

This tragic and just consequence opened the door to the fall of Nazi Germany and the end of World War II. It symbolically ended Nazi rule, and a few days later on May 7, Germany officially surrendered. This day reminds us of the value of freedom, and the sacrifices of those people through whose blood humanity ended a dreadful chapter.

In this context, Ernest Hemingway's touching quote still stirs our conscience— "Every freedom-loving person is so indebted to the Red Army that it is impossible to repay that debt in a single lifetime." – Ernest Hemingway