Hitler Brought Down; "Nemesis", 20 July 1944-1945

The 12-Year ReichSession 6

Hitler Brought Down, Nemesis

20 July 1944-9 May 1945

The 12-Year ReichSession 6

Hitler Brought Down, Nemesis

20 July 1944-9 May 1945

20.Juli.1944an aide shows the Führer’s trousers after his “miraculous escape”

“My task has been...under no circumstances to lose my nerve”Hitler, to his generals, 31 August 1944

Undoubting belief &fanatical “victorywill”

Martin Bormann,party chiefthe party grew more important in the final months than at any time since 1933

the hellish insanity continuesAuschwitz glee club, fall 1944

Heimkehr des Kriegesthe war comes home, Dresden, 13-15 Feb 1945

Revengefor the cruelty and evil perpetrated on the USSR--more than twenty million dead

Hitler’s last daysthe 2004 film where modern Germany faces its past

20.Juli.1944

20.Juli.1944

Hitler shows the Duce his close call

Origins of the Army resistance

as early as 1933 Gen’l Hammerstein-Equord looked in vain for fellow officers who would move against Hitler

the first serious group who planned his removal by death if necessary, gathered around Gen’l Ludwig Beck during the Czech crisis, summer of 1938

the Munich “victory” took the wind out of their sails; as did the string of diplomatic, then military successes over the next four years

Stalingrad changed all that

several centers began building a dangerous series of plots to kill Hitler and stage a coup seizing the reins of the Nazi state

Army Group Center on the Ostfront--Chief of Staff, Col Henning v. Trescow

the Abwehr, military intelligence--Adm Wilhelm Canaris & Col Hans Oster

Generals Guderian & Hoepner, plus some of their staff officers

Four big obstacles

Four big obstacles

Der Führer Eid (the Führer oath)

assassination, honor and sin

the Casablanca Conference

the power of Hitler’s personality

Der Führer Eid

"Ich schwöre bei Gott diesen heiligen Eid, dass ich dem Führer des deutchem Reiches und Völkes, Adolf Hitler, dem Obersten Befehlshaber der Deutschen Wehrmacht, übertrage unbedingten Gehorsam, und als tapferer Soldat bereit sein will, jederzeit für diesen Eid mein Leben einzusatzen."

The Führer Oath

“I swear by God this sacred oath, I will render unconditional obedience to the Führer of the German Reich and people, Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the Wehrmacht, and, as a brave soldier, I will be ready at any time to stake my life for this oath.”

August 2, 1934and thereafter

assassination, honor, and sin

Stauffenberg

Bonhoeffer

Casablanca Conference14-24 January 1943

announced “unconditional surrender” stand

“...it took a very strong personality indeed to stand up to the dictator. Those who knew him still speak of the overwhelming power of Hitler’s presence--something no photograph or film can convey. One should never forget that he was very far from the ridiculous figure that he has become to us through overexposure and pastiche. He was the most formidable enemy humanity has ever known. The German Resistance could not have been up against anything worse.”

Anton Gill, An Honourable Defeat, p.127

civilian resistance

groups

militaryresistance

groups

Abwehr

variousgenerals

CenterGroup

Kreisauer

confessingchurch

Foreign Office

Oster, Canaris

Tresckow,Stauffenberg &cMoltke, Yorck &c

BonhoefferNiemöller &c

Leber, Mierendorff& SPD intellectuals

KPD

Trott zu Solz &c

Vatican,Switzerland

Goerdeler, Beck,& conservative

civilian opposition

ROTE KAPELLE(Red Orchestra)

USSR

EnglandUSA

SwedenSwitzerland

NSDAPGestapo

NebeHelldorf

SchulenburgGisevius

Heroes of the Resistance





Two interrelated problems

Two interrelated problems

getting rid of Hitler

seizing control of the state

Solution:die Walküre Pläne(Operation Valkyrie)

autumn, 1943--Stauffenberg & Tresckow decide on an existing plan for mobilizing the reserve army within Germany in the event of serious internal unrest

now, not anti-Nazi subversives, but putschists within the Nazi Party itself would be the supposed target

“an unscrupulous clique of non-combat Party leaders has tried to exploit the situation...to seize power for selfish purposes”

‘Valkyrie’ had been intended to protect the regime; it was now transformed into a strategy for removing it

Hitler greets Fromm, 15. JuliStauffenberg, Fromm’s adjutant, looks at his target

Tom Cruise as Stauffenbergin the film “Valkyrie” scheduled for release February, 2009

20.Juli.44

Hitler, shakenwith the Führer mask off, moments after his “miraculous” escape

meeting Duce hours later for a scheduled visit to Wolfsschance

surveying the scene of the “crime”at first no one realized who might be behind the attempt or that a coup might be in progress

meanwhile, back at the Bendlerblockin Berlin, the conspirators await confirmation of Hitler’s death--”Schöne Schweinerei, das!”

Plötzensee execution chambera present day memorial center to those murdered here

The Party Takes Over

“The generals are not opposed to the Führer because we are experiencing crises at the front. Rather, we are experiencing crises at the front because the generals are opposed to the Führer.”

Goebbels, diary, 3 Aug 1944

Hitler’s physical condition

Bruno Ganz as the final Hitler in Untergang (Downfall)

Hitler’s physical conditionhis ruptured eardrums were the worst injury

frequent dizziness and malaise

his balance when walking was impared

his blood pressure was too high

the left side tremor disappeared briefly but returned by September

his paranoia became pronounced

at military briefings all were searched for weapons and explosives

his food and medicines were tested for poison

Bruno Ganz as the final Hitler in Untergang (Downfall)

Bormann’s Posen Conference, 3-4 August

all the Reichsleiter and Gauleiter summoned to attend

to boost morale, Speer told of far greater armaments production than they had thought

Himmler, now head of the Reserve Army, told of plans to prevent a recurrance

Goebbels--the state and army had only caused problems for the Führer “that is going to end now. The Party will take over”

next day they all travelled to Wolfsschanze for a “laying on of hands” by the infirm Führer --“I need you now”

Goebbels made Reichsbevollmächtiger fur den totalen Kriegseinsatz

Goebbels made Reichsbevollmächtiger fur den totalen Kriegseinsatz

his decisive role in putting down the coup led to Hitler’s finally giving him this job

now all the desk jobs would be combed out to provide more combat “bodies”

a drastic radicalization of the home front

about a million men were added between August and December

all between the ages of 16 and 60

“It takes a bomb under his arsch to make Hitler see reason.”-- Goebbels’ diary

for liberty and lifeVolkssturm

(the Volks struggle)

Volkssturm instruction sheetShooting at night with the machine gun

From the Battlefront for the BattlefrontSuggestions and Reports on Technical Management

Kolberg

Kolbergat the same time as he was combing out civilian manpower for the fronts, Goebbels pulled 187,000 soldiers from active duty to be extras in a propaganda film

directed by Veit Harlan in the fall of 1944. Goebbel’s favorite. The last film made in the Third Reich.

commemorating a successful resistance in 1807 against Napoleon

the mayor --“Better to be buried under the rubble than to capitulate!”

as with all Nazi propaganda--not too subtle!

Niederlage im WestenDefeat in the West

Niederlage im WestenDefeat in the West

Down this road the soldiers came...






the huge supply builduphad to come across the D-Day beaches until a port could be seized

the Germans foughtto contain the beachhead, just as they had at Anzio a half year earlier

SS Standartenführer Fritz Klingenberg (1912 - 1945)Ritterkreuztrager

Commander, 17.SS-Panzergrenadier DivisionGötz von Berlichingen

M-5 Stuart tank with plowin the fight to break out from the Normandy beachhead this device was crucial

surrender at St Lo, 18 Julybehind them a Sherman with the “plow” for punching through the hedgerows of Normandy

Operation Cobra

Operation Cobra

Hitler’s four point strategy

Hitler’s four point strategy

buy time for the development of the new weapons

inflict a major blow on the Western Allies

hope for a split in the “unnatural” alliance

turn on the Russians from a new position of strength

allied failure atFalaise

after the breakout from the Normandy beachhead, the allies missed a major opportunity

although 100,000 troops escaped through the “gap” 40-50,000 were made prisoner

another 10,000 were killed

ambushed German convoy on the Todesgang (death highway)allied air power and growing strength on the ground forced Hitler to give way in France

Southern France 15-28 AugOperation Dragoon forces Hitler to reluctantly withdraw to the upper Marne to hold France

15 August--LCI discharges an infantry company near St TropezLanding Craft Infantry (LCIs) were the smallest seagoing amphibious craft in the US Navy

“Brennt Paris?” “Is Paris 24 August--General Choltitz defied Hitler’s order and made no destruction and little resistance

Operation Market Garden“A bridge too far”--17-25 Sept

Operation Market Garden“A bridge too far”--17-25 Sept

the plan

the plan Eisenhower’s commanders favored pursuing the seemingly shattered German army

Montgomery first suggested an airborne drop to seize the Rhine bridge at Arnheim

as it developed, the airborne drops were to be supported by an armored thrust through Belgium and Holland

MARKET eight key crossings were to be seized with three drops, from south to north:

Eindhoven (several canals) 101st

Nimwegen (two canals & the Waal) 82nd

Arnheim (the Rhine) Br & Polish

GARDEN an armored column of the British Guards Regiment & 2 infantry divisions

the resultboth strategic plan and tactical execution are badly flawed

from 17 to 25 September the elite allied units strive to hold their objectives against fierce German counterattacks

after the offensive was called off these light units were left holding defensive positions for which they were not equipped

troops were brought in from the Ardennes to hold the new gains

Operation Market Garden17-25 September 1944

21 September--post-war plan revealed“The jew Morgenthau wants to turn Germany into a potato patch”--Goebbels

Wacht am Rhein (Battle of the Bulge) 16-26 December 1944

Wacht am Rhein (Battle of the Bulge) 16-26 December 1944

the planseize Antwerp and split the allies with another Sichelschnitt

a last desperate attempt to regain the initiative

a last desperate attempt to regain the initiative

Hitler draws armor from the Ostfront

he hoards precious fuel for air and panzers

with near perfect radio silence, three armies, 200,000 men, are assembled opposite 80,000 Americans in the “quiet sector” of the Ardennes

all, even Hitler, realized that this was “it,” the last chance to reverse the course of the war

For the offensive to be successful, four criteria were deemed critical by the planners:

For the offensive to be successful, four criteria were deemed critical by the planners:

The attack had to be a complete surprise;

The weather conditions had to be poor to neutralize Allied air superiority and the damage it could inflict on the German offensive and its supply lines;

The progress had to be rapid. Model had declared that the Meuse River had to be reached by day 4, if the offensive was to have any chance of success; and

Allied fuel supplies would have to be captured intact along the way because the Wehrmacht was short on fuel. The General Staff estimated they only had enough fuel to cover one-third to one-half of the ground to Antwerp in heavy combat conditions.

the results

the results

the results

Unternehmen Greif (Operation Griffin)

a “false flag” operation led by Hitler’s favorite special operator, Otto Skorzeny

over 600 English and French speaking German soldiers were recruited to train to pass as allied troops

equipped with allied uniforms and captured jeeps, even two Sherman tanks, they sew much confusion and fear behind allied lines

even Omar Bradley was detained briefly by troops when he said Springfield was the capital of Illinois. The MP thought it was Chicago!

the Malmedy massacre, 17.xii.44Some 80 POWs were assembled in a field and machine gunned. Those feigning death were shot in the head.

Dachau trial, 1946#11 Sepp Dietrich, 6th AG Cdr, #42 Joachim Peiper, Kampfgruppe Peiper Cdr

outcome of the Ardennes offensive

Casualty estimates from the battle vary widely. The official U.S. account lists 80,987 American casualties, while other estimates range from 70,000 to 104,000. British losses totaled 1,400. The German High Commandʼs official figure for the campaign was 84,834 casualties, and other estimates range between 60,000 and 100,000.

the 19,000 American deaths were the highest for any battle in WW II

the Luftwaffe is “broken” in an all out attack on 1 January 1945, leading to severe aircraft and pilot losses

by February the lines are essentially back to where they had been in December and the Allies go on the offensive

when the bridge at Remagen unexpectedly falls into US hands on 7 March, the last barrier to victory in the west is penetrated

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualty_%28person%29

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Casualty_%28person%29

Niederlage im OstenDefeat in the East

Niederlage im OstenDefeat in the East

Soviet superiority in materiel and personnel

Soviet superiority in materiel and personnel

beginning in 1941, Stalin orders defense manufacturing moved east of the Urals. After we enter the war, we supply vast amounts of equipment and supplies to the USSR.

he demands ruthless human sacrifices, both on the battlefield and in the factories, of his more numerous population ( 197 vs 60 million)

at great cost, this capacity starts turning out superior war equipment

we’ve already seen the T-34 tanks

now we’ll let the Shturmovik IL-2 aircraft stand for many other such weapons systems

development of the Shturmovik

throughout the mid-1930s, Soviet aircraft designers worked to develop an anti-tank attack aircraft like the Ju-87 Stuka

first prototypes were flown in 1939

wartime production was slow until Stalin started cracking heads

the first massive use came during Uranus, the Stalingrad encirclement

by late 1944, they dominated the skies and were the scourge of the German panzers

YOU HAVE LET DOWN OUR COUNTRY AND OUR RED ARMY. YOU HAVE NOT MANUFACTURED IL-2S UNTIL NOW. THE IL-2 AIRCRAFT ARE NECESSARY FOR OUR RED ARMY NOW, LIKE AIR, LIKE BREAD. SHENKMAN FACTORY PRODUCES ONE IL-2 A DAY AND TRETIAKOV BUILDS ONE OR TWO MIG-3S DAILY. IT IS A MOCKERY OF OUR COUNTRY AND THE RED ARMY. I ASK YOU NOT TO TRY THE GOVERNMENT'S PATIENCE, AND DEMAND THAT YOU MANUFACTURE MORE ILS. I WARN YOU FOR THE LAST TIME. STALIN.

the new Soviet tank-busters

штурмовикShturmovik

the new Soviet tank-busters

штурмовикShturmovik

When I was working on my book Red Phoenix, I did interview a number of German pilots who told me of the overwhelming numbers of Soviet a/c [aircraft] (supplemented with USA Lend Lease). At the [Smithsonian] Museum, I just turned in the restoration package for our Il-2 Shturmovik, one of a handful of survivors of a production effort of over 30,000 warplanes of this type.

Von Hardesty,Director, Aerospace Museum

Smithsonian Institution,e-Mail to JBP, 17 April 2008

Powstanie Warszawskie (Warsaw Uprising), 1 Aug-2 Oct 1944

Powstanie Warszawskie (Warsaw Uprising), 1 Aug-2 Oct 1944

PWPolska

Walczaca(Polandfights)

Kotwica

Soviet Gains, January-August 1944

As both Rumania and Bulgaria cease to be allies, Hitler forces Horthy in

Hungary to become even more of a German puppet. The Soviet’s

summer offensive brings them to central Poland.

Operation Bagration brings Soviet forces to the outskirts of Warsaw by August, 1944the Polish Home Army begins an uprising to assist in driving out Nazi forces

positions held by thePolish Home Army

4 August 1944

Instead of coming to their aid as the Poles expect, the Red Army waits for 62 days while the Germans butcher the less well

armed Poles.

Now the way is clear for the Soviet puppets, the Lublin Committee, to be the

post-war communist government of Poland.

unequal combat

unequal combat

initially the Poles had 45,000 soldiers (only 23,000 armed and combat ready) the German Warsaw garrison, 11,000

ultimately, the Germans deployed 90,000 combat hardened forces to crush the Poles

here, the Dirlewanger brigade employs the Thor siege mortar which they had used to capture Sevastopol

Thor’s target

soldiers of the Armia Krajowa




monument to the uprisingnotice the bullet scars on this buildingthe kotwica continues to be a nationalist symbol

Auschwitz--final days

Auschwitz--final days

“If the album consisted only of photographs of people who hadn’t been seen at Auschwitz, and of areas of Auschwitz that hadn’t been portrayed, or if it merely expanded the photographic record of Auschwitz, it would be valuable historically…but it has an enhanced value….In the fifty-four days between May 15 and July 8, 1944, a period partly covered in the Hoecker album, and called the Hungarian Deportation, four hundred and thirty-four thousand people were put aboard trains to Auschwitz—so many people that the crematoriums, which could dispose of a hundred and thirty-two thousand bodies a month, were overrun.”Here is a portfolio of images from Auschwitz

Nordhausen (Dora-Mittelbau) KZin Thuringia, on the edge of the Harz mountains. Liberated by US troops,12 April 1945

Country murdered

Austria 65,500Belgium 28,500Denmark 116Estonia 1,000France 76,100

Germany 165,000Greece 59,200Hungary 200,000

Italy 6,500Latvia 67,000

Lithuania 220,000Luxembourg 1,200Netherlands 102,000

Norway 760Poland 3,000,000

Rumania 270,000Soviet Union 1,000,000

Tchechoslowakei 260,000Yugoslavia 60-65,000

total 5,582,876

our Friend Harold’s cousinfrom the memorial at Theresienstadt

Dresden, 13-15.ii.45

Dresden, 13-15.ii.45

a view of the city in 1910Dresden was a beautiful city in central Germany, the baroque capital of Saxony

Yalta, 4-11 February 1945Bomber Command was eager to show that the Western Allies were doing their bit for the Soviet offensive

an RAF Lancaster drops its bombs



the next day

the next day

the next day

the next day

Goebbels adds a zerohis inflated casualty figure, 202,040, increased the police report by a factor of 10

Kurt Vonnegut, a young POW, was therehis novel is an imaginative depiction of the event

the battle for BerlinApril 1945

the battle for BerlinApril 1945

propaganda till the end

Goebbels’ ministry produced this news sheet

Der Panzerbär (The Armed Bear)

the city crest of Berlin is a rampant bear

here he’s depicted with shovel and Panzerfaust (antitank rocket)

this last issue, 29 April

STRUGGLE LEAFLET FOR THE DEFENDERS OF GREATER BERLIN

Heroic RingsBy Day and Night new Strong Points are being Created

Panzerfäuste (tank fists)range 150 meters, armor piercing up to 200 mmAchtung! Feuerstrahl! (Warning! Fire Jet!)

looking for another to killthe panzerfaust was also used in urban fighting to punch through walls

Soviet Katyusha rocketsmounted on a Studebaker Lend-Lease truck;by war’s end 10,000 launchers are produced

“Stalin’s organs” in action



Stalin’s winter offensive, 17.i

with massive superiority, the Red Army drives all before it

civilians clog the roads

German forces, stripped for the Ardennes offensive, fall back

Königsberg and Posen hold out

As rumor of the approaching Soviet forces reaches German civilians, they flee on foot.Goebbels doesn’t have to exaggerate the outrages which vengeful Red soldiers perpetrate.

grasping at straws--4/12/45

grasping at straws--4/12/45

Hitler to Speer:

“Here! You never wanted to believe it. Here! …

“Here we have the great miracle that I always foretold.

“Who’s right now? The war is not lost. Read it!

“Roosevelt is dead!”

A Google view of the terrain

with the fall of the Seelow heights the road to Berlin lay open

Allied propaganda sheetto demoralize German soldiers

with the fall of the Seelow heights the road to Berlin lay open

16-19 April --the Soviet offensive began with the biggest artillery barrage of the war

2.5 million men, 6,250 tanks, 7,500 aircraft, 41, 600 artillery pieces and mortars, 3,255 truck-mounted Katyusha launchers, & 95,383 motor vehicles

German trenches atop the Seelower Höhe were evacuated before the opening barrage

143 searchlights blinded the defenders as the Reds crossed the Oder River under fire

finally, after four days, numbers prevailed

Allied propaganda sheetto demoralize German soldiers

Soviet monument to the capture of the Seelower Höhe

the end game

a race develops between Zhukov’s generals, Konev and Chuikov, to see who can enter Berlin first

a terrible slaughter of German soldiers and civilians occurs on the narrow roads of the pine forests south of Berlin

Hitler continues to micromanage from the Führerbunker beneath the Reichschancellery

by Hitler’s last birthday, 20.iv.45, Berlin is invested

the Zoo Flakturm a strong point in the defense

the Zoo Flakturm a strong point in the defense

the U-bahn stations were cautiously emptied

Hitler awards E.K.en to young defendersin the Reichskanzlei gardens



the Reichschancellery in better days





the Red army takes no chancesas with the Reichstag, these symbolic buildings were fanatically defended

or was he?Stalin first published the photo of the Doppelgänger’s corpse, then discredited it

a special team of Red Army forensics experts, in great secrecy, examined the burned remains found in the Reichschancellery gardens

not until after the fall of the USSR were the reputed fragments of Hitler’s skull shown to Westerners

there still remain questions of their authenticity

stories about Hitler’s “escape” and “sightings” appeared for years after his death

the iconic symbol30 April

(restagedfor photo2 May)

Volkssturm POWs

HJ POWs

captured generas and staff

Jodl signs the surrenderRheims, France 7 May 1945

Marshall Zhukov reads the capitulationBerlin, 8 May

Marshall Keitel signsBerlin, 8 May

Winston gives the “V”

The funeral rites of the Third Reich’s leader were indeed macabre. Hitler’s jaws, kept so carefully...were retained by SMERSH, while the NKVD kept the cranium. These remnants were recently rediscovered in the former Soviet archives. The rest of the body, which had been concealed beneath a Soviet army parade-ground in Magdeburg, was exhumed at night [in 1970] and burned. The ashes were flushed into the town sewage system.

Beevor, The Fall of Berlin 1945, p. 431

Education

Hitler Brought Down; "Nemesis", 20 July 1944-1945