In one of his last public appearances, Adolf Hitler emerged from his small Führerbunker in Berlin to meet a group of Hitler Youth members in the garden of the Old Reich Chancellery. Frail and visibly shaking, he awarded Iron Crosses to boys who had demonstrated bravery in combat. Among them was 12-year-old Alfred Czech (1932–2011), who had fought against Soviet forces in East Prussia.

Photographs of the event show a stooped and exhausted Hitler walking to the ceremony. Other prominent figures present include (third from left) Hitler Youth Leader Artur Axmann (1913–1996), (fourth from left) SS-Gruppenführer Hermann Fegelein (1908–1945), who served as Himmler’s liaison at the bunker, and (fifth from left) SS-Obergruppenführer Julius Schaub (1898–1967), Hitler’s adjutant.

The images remain a haunting symbol of the Third Reich's final days, marked by desperation and the exploitation of children in war. Shortly after this event, Hitler retreated into the bunker, where he remained until his suicide on April 30, 1945, 10 days after his 56th birthday, as Soviet forces closed in on Berlin.