The final year. The collapse of Nazi resistance on both Western and Eastern Fronts.

1. The 12-Year Reich
Session 6
Hitler Brought Down, Nemesis
20 July 1944-9 May 1945

2. The 12-Year Reich
Session 6
Hitler Brought Down, Nemesis
20 July 1944-9 May 1945

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

4. “My task has
been...under no
circumstances to
lose my nerve”
Hitler, to his generals,
31 August 1944
Undoubting belief &
fanatical “victorywill”

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

6. the hellish
insanity
continues
Auschwitz glee club,
fall 1944

7. Heimkehr
des
Krieges
the war comes home,
Dresden, 13-15 Feb
1945

8. Revenge
for the cruelty and evil
perpetrated on the
USSR--more than
twenty million dead

9. Hitler’s last
days
the 2004 film where
modern Germany
faces its past

10. 20.Juli.1944

11. 20.Juli.1944
Hitler shows the Duce his close call

12. 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

13. Four big obstacles

14. Four big obstacles
Der Führer Eid (the Führer oath)
assassination, honor and sin
the Casablanca Conference
the power of Hitler’s personality

15. Der Führer Eid
quot;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.quot;
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, 1934
and thereafter

16. Bonhoeffer
assassination, honor, and sin
Stauffenberg

17. Casablanca Conference
14-24 January 1943
announced “unconditional surrender” stand

18. “...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

19. civilian ROTE KAPELLE
(Red Orchestra)
USSR military
resistance KPD resistance
groups groups
Leber, Mierendorff
& SPD intellectuals
Center
Group
Kreisauer Tresckow,
Moltke, Yorck &c Stauffenberg &c
Goerdeler, Beck,
& conservative Abwehr
England civilian opposition
Oster, Canaris
USA
Sweden Foreign
Switzerland Office
Trott zu Solz &c
various
Vatican, NSDAP generals
Switzerland
Gestapo
confessing Nebe
church Helldorf
Schulenburg
Bonhoeffer
Gisevius
Niemöller &c

20. Heroes of the Resistance

21. Heroes of the Resistance

22. Heroes of the Resistance

23. Heroes of the Resistance

24. Heroes of the Resistance

25. Two interrelated problems

26. Two interrelated problems
getting rid of Hitler
seizing control of the state

27. 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

28. Hitler greets Fromm, 15. Juli
Stauffenberg, Fromm’s adjutant, looks at his
target

29. Tom Cruise
as
Stauffenberg
in the film “Valkyrie”
scheduled for release
February, 2009

30. 20.Juli.44

31. Hitler,
shaken
with the Führer mask
off, moments after his
“miraculous” escape

32. meeting
Duce
hours later for a
scheduled visit to
Wolfsschance

33. 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

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

35. Plötzensee
execution
chamber
a present day
memorial center to
those murdered here

36. The Party Takes Over

37. “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

38. Hitler’s physical condition
Bruno Ganz as the final Hitler in Untergang (Downfall)

39. Hitler’s physical condition
his 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)

40. 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”

41. Goebbels made
Reichsbevollmächtiger fur den
totalen Kriegseinsatz

42. 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

43. for liberty
and life
Volkssturm
(the Volks struggle)

44. From the Battlefront for the Battlefront
Volkssturm
Suggestions and Reports on Technical Management
instruction
sheet
Shooting at night with
the machine gun

45. Kolberg

46. Kolberg
at 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!

47. Niederlage im Westen
Defeat in the West

48. Niederlage im Westen
Defeat in the West

49. Down this road the soldiers came...

50. Down this road the soldiers came...

51. Down this road the soldiers came...

52. Down this road the soldiers came...

53. Down this road the soldiers came...

54. Down this road the soldiers came...

55. the huge
supply
buildup
had to come across
the D-Day beaches
until a port could be
seized

56. the
Germans
fought
to contain the
beachhead, just as
they had at Anzio a
half year earlier
SS Standartenführer Fritz Klingenberg (1912 - 1945)
Ritterkreuztrager
Commander, 17.SS-Panzergrenadier Division
Götz von Berlichingen

57. M-5 Stuart tank with plow
in the fight to break out from the Normandy
beachhead this device was crucial

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

59. Operation Cobra

60. Operation Cobra

61. Hitler’s four point strategy

62. 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

63. allied failure
at
Falaise
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

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

65. Southern France 15-28 Aug
Operation Dragoon forces Hitler to reluctantly
withdraw to the upper Marne to hold France

66. 15 August--LCI discharges an infantry
company near St Tropez
Landing Craft Infantry (LCIs) were the smallest seagoing
amphibious craft in the US Navy

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

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

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

70. the plan

71. 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

72. the result
both 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

73. Operation Market Garden
17-25 September 1944

75. 21 September--post-war plan revealed
“The jew Morgenthau wants to turn Germany into
a potato patch”--Goebbels

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

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

78. the plan
seize Antwerp and
split the allies with
another
Sichelschnitt

79. a last desperate attempt to
regain the initiative

80. 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

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

82. 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.

83. the results

84. the results

85. the results

86. 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!

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

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

89. 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

90. Niederlage im Osten
Defeat in the East

91. Niederlage im Osten
Defeat in the East

92. Soviet superiority in materiel
and personnel

93. 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

94. 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

95. 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.

96. штурмовик
Shturmovik
the new Soviet tank-busters

97. штурмовик
Shturmovik
the new Soviet tank-busters

98. 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

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

100. Powstanie Warszawskie (Warsaw
Uprising), 1 Aug-2 Oct 1944
PW
Polska
Walczaca
(Poland
fights)
Kotwica

101. 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.

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

103. positions held by the
Polish Home Army
4 August 1944

104. 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.

105. unequal combat

106. 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

107. Thor’s target

108. soldiers of the Armia
Krajowa

109. soldiers of the Armia
Krajowa

110. soldiers of the Armia
Krajowa

111. soldiers of the Armia
Krajowa

112. monument to the uprising
notice the bullet scars on this building
the kotwica continues to be a nationalist symbol

113. Auschwitz--final days

114. Auschwitz--final days

116. “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

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

134. Country murdered
Austria 65,500
Belgium 28,500
Denmark 116
Estonia 1,000
France 76,100
Germany 165,000
Greece 59,200
Hungary 200,000
Italy 6,500
Latvia 67,000
Lithuania 220,000
Luxembourg 1,200
Netherlands 102,000
Norway 760
Poland 3,000,000
Rumania 270,000
Soviet Union 1,000,000
Tchechoslowakei 260,000
Yugoslavia 60-65,000
total 5,582,876

135. our Friend Harold’s cousin
from the memorial at Theresienstadt

136. Dresden, 13-15.ii.45

137. Dresden, 13-15.ii.45

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

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

140. an RAF Lancaster drops its bombs

141. an RAF Lancaster drops its bombs

142. an RAF Lancaster drops its bombs

143. the next day

144. the next day

145. the next day

146. the next day

147. Goebbels
adds a zero
his inflated casualty
figure, 202,040,
increased the police
report by a factor of 10

148. Kurt Vonnegut,
a young POW,
was there
his novel is an
imaginative depiction
of the event

149. the battle for Berlin
April 1945

150. the battle for Berlin
April 1945

151. propaganda till the end
STRUGGLE LEAFLET FOR THE DEFENDERS OF GREATER BERLIN
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
Heroic Rings
By Day and Night new Strong Points are being Created

152. Panzerfäuste (tank fists)
range 150 meters, armor piercing up to 200 mm
Achtung! Feuerstrahl! (Warning! Fire Jet!)

153. looking for another to kill
the panzerfaust was also used in urban fighting
to punch through walls

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

155. “Stalin’s organs” in action

156. “Stalin’s organs” in action

157. “Stalin’s organs” in action

158. 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

159. 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.

160. grasping at straws--4/12/45

161. 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!”

162. A Google view of the terrain

163. with the fall of the Seelow heights
the road to Berlin lay open
Allied propaganda sheet
to demoralize German soldiers

164. 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 sheet
to demoralize German soldiers

165. Soviet monument to the capture of the Seelower
Höhe

166. 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

167. the Zoo Flakturm a strong point in the defense

168. the Zoo Flakturm a strong point in the defense

169. the U-bahn stations were cautiously emptied

170. Hitler awards E.K.en to young defenders
in the Reichskanzlei gardens

171. Hitler awards E.K.en to young defenders
in the Reichskanzlei gardens

172. Hitler awards E.K.en to young defenders
in the Reichskanzlei gardens

173. the Reichschancellery in better days

174. the Reichschancellery in better days

175. the Reichschancellery in better days

176. the Reichschancellery in better days

177. the Reichschancellery in better days

178. the Red army takes no chances
as with the Reichstag, these symbolic buildings
were fanatically defended

181. 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

183. the iconic
symbol
30 April
(restaged
for photo
2 May)

185. Volkssturm POWs

186. HJ POWs

187. captured generas and staff

188. Jodl signs the surrender
Rheims, France 7 May 1945

189. Marshall Zhukov reads the capitulation
Berlin, 8 May

190. Marshall Keitel signs
Berlin, 8 May

191. Winston gives the “V”

192. 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