Transcript MARCH, 1945 - Faculty Access for the Web

THE FALL OF NAZI
GERMANY
THE ALLIED CONQUEST OF GERMANY, THE BATTLE OF BERLIN,
AND V-E DAY
MARCH – MAY, 1945
ALLIES DRIVE INTO GERMANY
 FEB.-MARCH,
ALLIES MOVE INTO GERMANY
 GERMANS CANNOT REPLACE HUMAN, MATERIAL
LOSSES
 HITLER & STAFF MOVE INTO FORTIFIED
UNDERGROUND BUNKER IN BERLIN
MARCH, 1945: BERLIN STILL CONTROLLED BY
GERMANS
 RUSSIANS DESPERATE TO TAKE BERLIN BEFORE
ANGLO-AMERICANS
 WHY?
 U.S. FORCES ARE 50 MILES FROM BERLIN
 ANGLO-AMERICANS HALT ADVANCE
 WHY?


1945:
U.S. & Red Army troopers meet, 1945
V-2 ROCKET LAUNCH SITES
THE ALLIED DRIVE INTO GERMANY AND BERLIN, SPRING, 1945
THE BATTLE OF BERLIN



WHEN?
 APRIL-MAY, 1945
TRAITS:
 GERMAN FORCES PRIMARILY TO S.S. UNITS, ARMY, AND
“VOLKSSTURM” UNITS
 LUFTWAFFE AND ARMORED FORCES BASICALLY COMBAT
INEFFECTIVE
 BERLIN POPULATION HAS BEEN ORDERED TO FIGHT TO DEATH
 HITLER STILL “COMMANDS” FROM HIS BUNKER; HITLER IS IN
DENIAL
SOME HIGH RANKING NAZIS DECIDE TO ABANDON HITLER AND
ESCAPE or TRY TO NEGOTIATE
 Example? Hermann Goering, Heinrich Himmler
ORDER OF BATTLE
FORCE
GERMANY
SOVIET UNION
TROOPS
1,000,000
2,500,000
ARTILLERY 10,5000
41,500
ARMOR
1500
6250
AIRCRAFT 3300
7500
“THE
AMOUNT OF EQUIPMENT
DEPLOYED FOR THE BERLIN
OPERATION WAS SO HUGE I SIMPLY
CANNOT DESCRIBE IT AND I WAS
THERE…”
Alex Popov, Soviet 5th Shock Army, 1945
GERMAN
“VOLKSSTURM”,
1944-45
GERMAN “VOLKSSTURM” WAIT IN AMBUSH FOR TANKS
GOEBBELS DECORATES “VOLKSSTURM” YOUTH SOLDIER
GOEBBELS CHILDREN AFTER “SUICIDE”, MAY, 1945
RED ARMY TROOPS IN STREET FIGHTING, BERLIN, APRIL, 1945
RED ARMY TROOPERS FIRING ON GERMANS, BERLIN, MAY, 1945
ADOLF HITLER’s
“CORPSE”,
PHOTO TAKEN BY
SOVIET TROOPS,
BERLIN, 1945
U.S. MILITARY
NEWSPAPER,
STARS AND
STRIPES,
HEADLINE, MAY,
1945
CITY CENTRE, BERLIN, GERMANY
NATURE OF THE BATTLE






SOVIETS USE TWO ARMIES TO ATTACK BERLIN:
 GEN. ZHUKOV – BELORUSSIAN FRONT ARMY
 GEN. IVAN KONEV – UKRAINIAN FRONTARMY
HEAVY FIGHTING IN AND AROUND CITY
 URBAN COMBAT CAUSES MASS CIVILAIN
CASUALTIES
 HOUSE-TO-HOUSE FIGHTING COMMON
FIRECE GERMAN RESISTANCE, esp. FROM S.S.
HITLER REMAINS IN FUHRERBUNKER
HITLER COMMITS SUICIDE, W/EVA BRAUN: APRIL, 30,
1945
MAY 2, 1945: SOVIETS ACCEPT GERMAN SURRENDER
FINAL RESULTS
 MAY
2-3, 1945: REDARMY ACCEPTS
GERMAN SURRENDER,
 MAY 8, 1945: VICTORY IN EUROPE DAY
 NAZI GERMANY CEASES TO EXIST
 GERMANY IS OCCUPIED NATION
 GERMANY DIVIDED INTO 4 OCCUPATION
ZONES
 EUROPE IS DIVIDED BETWEEN ANGLOAMERICAN AND SOVIET FORCES
 THE COLD WAR BEGINS
RED ARMY
TROOPS
CELEBRATE
REISCHSTAG
FLAG RAISING,
APRIL, 1945
“REICHSTAG” FLAG, BERLIN, 1945
RED ARMY
TROOPS
ADVANCE
TOWARDS
REICHSTAG
BUILDING,
MAY, 1945
GERMAN PRISONERS, BERLIN, MAY, 1945
RUSSIAN SOLDIER STANDS GUARD IN BERLIN RUINS, MAY, 1945
RED ARMY
TROOPER
STANDING
GUARD,
BERLIN, MAY,
1945
RED ARMY TROOPS CELEBRATE CAPTURE OF THE REICHSTAG
HITLER’S BUNKER TODAY, BERLIN, GERMANY
NEW YORK TIMES
V-E DAY
HEADLINE
ALLIED ARMIES & FINAL POSITIONS, MAY 10, 1945
ROYAL FAMILY & WINSTON CHURCHILL, V-E DAY, 1945
THE POTSDAM CONFERENCE




WHEN? JULY 17TH – AUGUST 2ND , 1945
WHERE? POTSDAM, GERMANY (suburb of Berlin)
WHAT?
 CONFERENCE HELD BY THE THREE MAJOR ALLIED
POWERS TO DECIDE HOW MAJOR ISSUES CAUSED BY
WAR WOULD BE HANDLED AT WAR’S END
KEY ISSUES:
 HOW WOULD GERMANY BE
ADMINISTERED/CONTROLLED?
 DISARMAMENT OF GERMANY
 REPARATIONS – HOW WOULD GERMANY REPAY?
 REFUGEES & P.O.W.s – HOW WOULD THEY BE HANDLED?
 POLAND: FUTURE BORDERS, GOVERNMENT, etc.
 WAR CRIMES TRIALS
 TERMS OF JAPAN’S SURRENDER
THE POTSDAM CONFERENCE
 FINAL DECISIONS:
 GERMANY: DIVIDED INTO 4 PRIMARY OCCUPATION
ZONES, AS WELL AS BERLIN:
 PRIMARY OCCUPYING POWERS:
 UNITED STATES: WESTERN/SOUTHERN GERMANY
 UNIKED KINGDOM; NORTHWEST GERMANY
 SOVIET UNION: EASTERN GERMANY
 FRANCE: SOUTHWEST GERMANY
 GERMANY WOULD BE DISARMED
 “FREE” ELECTIONS GURANTEED IN POLAND
 U.S.S.R. WOULD DECLARE WAR ON JAPAN
 ONLY UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER OF JAPAN
ACCEPTED
 WAR CRIMES TRIALS IN NUREMBERG
THE “BIG THREE”
AT THE
POTSDAM
CONFERENCE,
POTSDAM,
GERMANY,
1945
LIFE
MAGAZINE
COVER,
MAY, 1945
GERMANY POST-1945 AND OCCUPATION ZONES
BERLIN OCCUPATION ZONES, POST-WWII
THE NUREMBERG TRIALS





WHEN? NOV., 1945 – OCT., 1946
WHERE? NUREMBERG, GERMANY
WHY THERE?
 CITY WAS SYMBOLIC HOME OF NAZIISM
 BERLIN WAS NOT SUITABLE DUE TO WAR DAMAGE
WHAT? WAR CRIMES TRIALS
WHO? KEY NAZI LEADERS (those still alive)


EXAMPLES? HERMANN GOERING, KARL DONITZ
CHARGES: 4 BASIC CHARGES
 CONSPIRACY TO WAGE WARS OF AGGRESSION
 CRIMES AGAINST THE PEACE
 WAR CRIMES
 CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
THE NUREMBERG TRIALS
 PROSECUTION?


ALLIED NATIONS CREATE PANEL OF JUDGES
EVIDENCE COLLECTED FROM OCCUPIED
NATIONS
 RESULTS?




24 CHARGED W/CRIMES
DEATH SENTENCE: 12
PRISON SENTENCES: 9
ACQUITTED: 3
ALLIED SECTOR BOUNDARY, BERLIN, SUMMER, 1945
O
THE COLD WAR BEGINS
 GERMAN
DEFEAT LEAVES EUROPE DIVIDED
 HOW?
 EFFECTS


ON EUROPE:
SHORT-TERM?
LONG-TERM?
 WHAT
WILL BE THE GOALS OF EACH SIDE
TOWARDS EUROPE?


WESTERN ALLIES?
SOVIETS?
POST-WWII
CENTRAL
EUROPE
GUESS
WHO?
SUPERPOWER GOALS IN EUROPE, 1945-50
UNITED STATES
SOVIET UNION
ENCOURAGE DEMOCRACY IN
EUROPEAN NATIONS TO HELP
PREVENT THE RISE OF COMMUNIST
GOVERNMENTS
ENCOURAGE COMMUNISM IN
EUROPEAN NATIONS AS PART OF A
WORLD-WIDE “WORKERS
REVOLUTION”
GAIN ACCESS TO RAW MATERIALS
AND MARKETS TO FUEL BOOMING
INDUSTRIES & BUSINESSES
REBUILD RUSSIA’S WAR-RAVAGED
ECONOMY USING E.EUROPE’S
INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT AND RAW
MATERIALS
REBUILD EUROPEAN GOVERNMENTS
TO PROMOTE STABILITY AND CREATE
NEW MARKETS FOR AMERICAN
GOODS
CONTROL E. EUROPE TO PROTECT
SOVIET BORDERS AND COUNTERACT
U.S. INFLUENCE IN W. EUROPE
REUNITE GERMANY TO STABILIZE IT
AND INCREASE THE SECURITY OF
EUROPE
KEEP GERMANY DIVIDED TO PREVENT
IT FROM WAGING WAR AGAIN
“NO
ADMITTANCE BY
ORDER - JOE”
STALIN
AND THE
MARSHALL
PLAN
N.A.T.O. and THE WARSAW PACT