German Defeat WW2

End of the War

• It was clear in 1944 that the Germans would lose the war, but the Nazi leadership would not give into defeat. They knew no matter what they would be tried for war crimes and be executed.
• Propaganda minster, Joseph Goebbels, remained committed to the end of the war. In July 1944, he was made the 'Minister for Total War'. Then in 1945, Hitler set up Volkssturm (People's Storm) and put Goebbels in charge. This unit was made up of teenagers and old men to fight the invading Allied forces. Most of these recruits were untrained and inexperienced. This was a desperate action from leaders who knew their time was drawing to an end.
• In 1945, Himmler dared to commence negotiations with Britain and the US, Hitler requested his arrest, but he went into hiding. The Germans were losing on all fronts in spring 1945. Eventually, they surrendered when Soviet troops entered Berlin and Hitler committed suicide. Germany had finally lost the war.
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• Caption: Volksstrum Group

Defeat, Divison, Denazification

• The Allied forces agreed that Germany would be divided up into four zones run by the USSR, Britain, USA and France. They agreed to also demilitarise, democratise and denazify Germany. Demilitarisation was no problem, as Germany was in ruins by the time the war concluded. Germany also faced a huge refugee crisis at the time; an estimated 12-14 million German speakers became refugees and wanted to return to Germany. For many, Germany had never been their home and they soon left the country.

Denazification of the Soviet Sector

• At least 20 million Soviets died during the course of the war
• Since the USSR was communist, it was determined to crush Nazism within its borders
• They began tearing down any symbols of Nazism within the streets and on buildings
• High-ranking Nazis were imprisoned in Soviet-run camps
• The Soviets removed one-third of German teachers and sacked large numbers of public servants
• The Soviet military administration set up local commissions across the Soviet sector to investigate individuals who had been a part of the Nazi Party
• Overall around 300,000 Germans were arrested and convicted of low-level involvement with the regime
• By 1948, the USSR had reinstated elected government in its sector of Germany
• East Germany was run by Walter Ulbricht, a communist
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Denazification in the Western Zones

• The USA, Britain and France (Western powers) all took the process of denazification very seriously
• Once Germany surrendered, the Allies put various measures in place to remove any remaining Nazi regime influence
• Leading Nazis were arrested
• All Germans over 18 had to complete questionnaires detailing their past political activities and beliefs
• Around 50,000 senior public officials were investigated and dismissed
• They also investigated teachers, doctors as well as leaders of businesses and industries
• September 1945 - they created the German Review Boards, run by Germans appointed by Allied military and answerable to it
• By 1948, these boards had investigated 3.5 million cases (5,000 trials; 4,000 guilty; 500 executed)
• Western powers introduced a programme to of re-education; this demonstrated all the horrors the Nazis committed
• After 1948, Western powers eased the denazification programme and focused on rebuilding Germany