Model's decision ended the war for his men, but he  had little desire to witness the aftermath of defeat.
He said to his staff before dissolving his command: "Has everything been done to justify our actions in the light of history?
What can there be left for a commander in defeat?
In antiquity they took poison".
His decision to commit suicide was sealed when he learned that the Soviets had indicted him for war crimes, specifically the deaths of 577,000 people in concentration camps in Latvia and the deportation of 175,000 others as slave labor.
These acts were committed by the SS and there is no evidence he was aware of them.
He shot himself in the head in a forest on 21 April 1945.
The site of the event, between Duisburg and the village of Lintorf, is today part of the city of Ratingen.

Model was buried by his men where he died.
In 1955, his son, Hansgeorg Model had Model's remains recovered from its field grave and organized a reburial in the Soldatenfriedhof Vossenack, a German military cemetery in the Hürtgen Forest.
Model's decision ended the war for his men, but he  had little desire to witness the aftermath of defeat. He said to his staff before dissolving his command: "Has everything been done to justify our actions in the light of history? What can there be left for a commander in defeat? In antiquity they took poison". His decision to commit suicide was sealed when he learned that the Soviets had indicted him for war crimes, specifically the deaths of 577,000 people in concentration camps in Latvia and the deportation of 175,000 others as slave labor. These acts were committed by the SS and there is no evidence he was aware of them. He shot himself in the head in a forest on 21 April 1945. The site of the event, between Duisburg and the village of Lintorf, is today part of the city of Ratingen.
Model was buried by his men where he died. In 1955, his son, Hansgeorg Model had Model's remains recovered from its field grave and organized a reburial in the Soldatenfriedhof Vossenack, a German military cemetery in the Hürtgen Forest.
Walter Model