Bernd Freytag von Loringhoven General Bernd Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven ( 6 February 1914 - 27 February 2007 ) , was an officer in the German Army during World War II . In 1956 , he joined the German Federal Armed Forces , the " Bundeswehr " and rose to the rank of Generalleutnant . Early life . Loringhoven was a Baltic - German descended from an ancient and illustrious family first ennobled in the 12th century ( Baron : Livonia , Courland 1198 ; Master of the Teutonic Order 1485 , Gotha Register 1896 , 1934 1942 ) . He was born in Arensburg ( Kuressaare ) , Governorate of Livonia . After one year of law studies at the University of Königsberg , he joined the " Reichswehr " in 1933 . He was promoted to " Leutnant " in 1937 . World War II . In late 1942 , the tank battalion under Loringhoven ' s command was encircled during the Soviet counter - offensive at the Battle of Stalingrad . On 23 January 1943 , he was awarded the German Cross in Gold ( ) as " Hauptmann " ( captain ) in the 2 . / Panzer - Regiment 2 . That same month , he was flown out of the pocket and later transferred to the staff of 111th Infantry Division on 2 March 1943 . In November 1943 , Loringhoven was promoted to major . From July 1944 - April 1945 , he served as an adjutant to the Chief of Army General Staff ( first , General Heinz Guderian and then General Hans Krebs ) . 20 July plot . Loringhoven ' s cousin , Wessel Freytag von Loringhoven , provided the detonator charge and explosives for the 20 July assassination attempt against Adolf Hitler . They knew each other well but Bernd was not involved directly in the plot ; after it failed Bernd managed to escape arrest , due to the support of Guderian . However , Wessel was suspected of complicity in the plot and committed suicide on 26 July rather than risk implicating his family and colleagues . Berlin 1945 . Loringhoven ' s last assignment was as a staff officer responsible for the preparation of reports for Adolf Hitler . This work required a constant presence in Hitler ' s entourage . After 23 April 1945 , when Hitler ' s communications staff began to desert , he had to improvise and he based his intelligence reports on information he was able to gather from the Allied news agencies Reuters and the BBC . Fortunately , Hitler was not aware of this . In the evening of 29 April , he left the " Führerbunker " with Gerhardt Boldt and Lieutenant - Colonel Rudolf Weiss . That morning , Loringhoven had approached Krebs and asked if he and Boldt could leave Berlin and " return to the fighting troops " . Krebs talked to Burgdorf to get his advice . Burgdorf approved but indicated that they should take his assistant , Weiss . Hitler was approached for his approval at midday . Surprisingly , he asked many questions and offered his advice . Hitler asked , " How are you going to get out of Berlin ? " When Loringhoven mentioned finding a boat , Hitler became enthusiastic and advised , " You must get an electric boat , because that does not make any noise and you can get through the Russian lines . " When he agreed that an electric boat would be best but added that , if necessary , they might have to use a different craft , Hitler was suddenly exhausted . He shook hands limply with each of them and quickly dismissed the group . Capture and aftermath . Captured by the British on 3 May 1945 , Loringhoven spent two and a half years as a prisoner of war . He was not charged with war crimes . After being repatriated in January 1948 , he lived in Munich , where he became a publisher . He joined the German Federal Armed Forces ( " Bundeswehr " ) in 1956 and attained the rank of general . He was later appointed Deputy Inspector General of the Armed Forces and retired from the army in 1973 , with full honours . Late in life , Loringhoven , long a knight of the Order of Saint John ( Bailiwick of Brandenburg ) , actively served the Order as its chancellor and governor . At the time of his death , he was one of the last three known living witnesses ( along with bunker telephone operator Rochus Misch and Hitler Youth courier Armin Lehmann ) to the events in the " Führerbunker " at the end of World War II . Explanatory notes . " Freiherr " is a title , translated as Baron , not a first or middle name . The female forms are " Freifrau " ( the wife of a " Freiherr " ) and " Freiin " ( the daughter of a " Freiherr " ) . Although he had left the bunker complex before the time of Hitler ' s suicide , Loringhoven was often called to testify and to co - operate in script writing . For example , he participated in this way in the film " Downfall " ( " Der Untergang " ) . In his memoirs , published as " In the Bunker with Hitler : The Last Witness Speaks " , Loringhoven focussed chiefly on the final months of the " Third Reich " . Loringhoven was the father of Arndt Freiherr Freytag von Loringhoven , currently vice president of the " Bundesnachrichtendienst " .