The Fall of Berlin

The Fall of Berlin
Judy S, Kim H, Bella G, Aidan M
Thesis
The attack initiated on Germany’s capital, Berlin; by the Soviets,
under the leadership of Zhukov and Konev, surrounded the city of
Berlin and obliterated it. While Heinrici’s control of the Army
Group Vistula helped slow the impending attack, he was given
orders and to fight until death—which he ignored—and was
relieved of duty, leading to the Reichstag’s fall from the Soviet
attack. The collapse of Berlin, along with Germany’s surrender,
marked the end of the Nazi regime and the end of World War II
with the Soviet Union and Allies victorious.
People Involved
Zhukov: Led the attack on Berlin
Konev: Led Red Army troops on the Eastern Front
Hitler: Führer, went into hiding in the Führerbunker and committed suicide
Göring: Tried to take command of Nazi Germany, and was released after hitler died
Goebbels: Went to the Führerbunker with Hitler, and committed suicide
Himmler: Commanded Germany’s Eastern Front until Heinrici took command
Heinrici: Succeeded Himmler as commander of the Army Group Vistula, the failed to
follow orders
Hermann Göring vs. Rudolph Wegener
(Carsten Norgaard) from The Man From the
High Castle
Battle of Berlin Overview
● It was fought between April and May 1945
● Although the Reichstag was not the center of command for the
Nazis, it was symbolic of it, so the goal of the Soviets was to
remove that symbol of the German people
● Over two million artillery shells were fired into Berlin and the
surrounding area in three weeks.
● Russia’s vast tank superiority counted for little in the debris
ridden streets of Berlin.
● May 2nd 1945, Berlin surrendered to the Russians and the war
in Europe all but ended. Germany unconditionally surrendered
on May 7th.
Zhukov's 1st Belorussian Front
●
The army had some trouble because Hitler changed the Eastern Front’s leader from
Himmler to Col Gen G. Heinrici
○
●
●
●
●
This caused a delay which made Stalin really mad
Stalin ordered Konev to direct his armoured forces at Berlin so it result with two
Soviet Fronts advancing for the city.
By April 20th, the German forces defending outer Berlin were overrun by Zhukov’s
Front
On April 23, Stalin agreed that Zhukov won the race to Berlin, and all of Berlin was
surrounded by April 25th
Over 30,000 Germans were transported westward hoping to surrender to America and
not Russia
Gotthard Heinrici Army Group Vistula
●
The Army Group Vistula was comprised of Army Group A (shattered in the Soviet
Vistula-Oder Offensive), Army Group Centre (destroyed on the East Prussian
Offensive), and a variety of new formations
○
●
Before the Battle of Berlin, Heinrici had gained command of the 4th Army
○
●
●
He learned successful defence strategies against the Soviets, this included:
■ Withdrawing and counterattacking advancing forces
In Aug 1944, Heinrici became commander of the 1st Panzer Army
In March 1945, he succeeded Himmler as Army Group Vistula
○
●
This was to protect Berlin from advancing Soviet forces from the Vistula River
He was given orders by Hitler to hold Berlin at all costs, but he refused, and was relieved of his
command on 28th April 1945
After the war he became a prisoner of war by the British, but was released in 1948
●
●
●
Attacked by aircrafts from the Red Air Force, as
Soviet forces closed on the city.
British bombers dropped 46,000 tons of bombs
Americans dropped 23,000 tons of bombs
Berlin’s fortifications
● Lack of resources.
● The Germans used building and rubble for counterattacks.
● The Reichstag had some obstacles that the Soviets had to get through before
making it there, they included:
○ Water filled antitank ditches and trenches
○ Lots of guns
○ The Reichstag was heavily fortified
● Germany’s last defence was the Volkssturm ,which consisted of old men,
children and women.
● General Wenck-leader of the 12th Army-leads a counter-offensive attack against
the Soviets
● His army is eventually halted by the Soviets
Soviets
● Total of three fronts called 2nd Byelorussian Front-led by
Rokossovsky, 1st Byelorussian Front-led by Zhukov, and the 1st
Ukrainian Front led by Konev.
● As the Red Army pushed across Poland to the River Oder they
could muster a very strong fighting force.
● Joseph Stalin had effectively ordered his two leading generals –
Zhukov and Konev – to race to the German capital.
● Russian victory saw the end of Hitler’s Third Reich.
● Berlin surrendered to Marshal Zhukov, who received the honour
of being the conqueror of Berlin.
Soviet Treatment of the Surrendered
“Those who were forced to surrender to the Soviets knew what lay ahead of them:
the Siberian gulags (the last German pows were released in 1954). It was a fate
shared by civilians as well — not only were men and boys shipped back east to
replenish the labor supply, but also women and girls who “were marched off to
the Soviet Union for forced labor ‘in forests, peat bogs and canals for fifteen to
sixteen hours a day.’ A little over half of them died in the following two years. Of
the survivors, just under half had been raped.” (Beevor)
Statistics
Germany
Russia
Soldiers
596,500
1,670,000 (20
armies)
Artillery
8,230
28,000
Tanks
700
3,300-6,300
Aircraft
1,300
8,500-10,000
Russians: 80,000 men killed and 275,000 wounded or missing
2,000 Russian tanks were destroyed.
Germans: 150,000 were killed during the battle.
First Hand Accounts
● “We started to fire at the masses,' says one former German machine gunner.
'They weren't human beings for us. It was a wall of attacking beasts who
were trying to kill us. You yourself were no longer human.' There was
confusion all around. According to one Russian veteran, Soviet artillery was
fired without proper guidance, killing scores of Red Army soldiers”
(Remme)
● “Friday, April 20, was Hitler's fifty-sixth birthday, and the Soviets sent him a
birthday present in the form of an artillery barrage right into the heart of the
city, while the Western Allies joined in with a massive air raid”(Remme).
One of the Last Soviet Soldiers to Storm the
Nazi Reichstag
“Nikolay’s regiment began its invasion of the Reichstag in the early morning of
the last day of April in 1945. Stalin declared that it was in the hands of the Soviet
Red Army the next day so the USSR’s May Day parades could celebrate the
victory across the country.
Even though Stalin had made the announcement, the actual fighting to take the
building continued all day on the 30th of April and on through to the early
morning of the 1st of May. Even when the troops erected the Red Flag over the
building, there was still fighting going on inside.”
Adolf Hitler’s death
●
●
●
●
●
Hitler moved into the Führerbunker, this was below the Chancellery
buildings in Berlin
Hitler claimed the Reich was a failure and how there was nothing left
for him to do but to stay in Berlin and fight till the end
Left authority to Admiral Dönitz, Goebbels, and Bormann
Hitler and his wife then went into their private quarters Several
moments later a gunshot was heard. Goebbels entered and found the
body of Hitler on the sofa, with a gunshot to his head.
Eva Braun died from swallowing poison.
Joseph Goebbels’ death
● He was to become one of Hitler’s successors, and become
Chancellor, The day after Hitler committed suicide, Goebbels
took his own life
● Put their children to sleep (drugged them) then poisoned the six
children
● Ordered the SS officers to shoot him and his wife Magda
● They had their bodies burned afterwards
Himmler’s death
● Himmler was secretly proposing the surrender of
German troops to the west
● He was captured by British soldiers, he used the
name Heinrich Hitzinger to cover his identity
● He was searched and they found two cyanide
phials were found, but as a doctor was examining
him he bit down on another hidden in his tooth, and
died
Göring’s letter to hitler
"My Führer! In view of your decision to remain in the fortress of
Berlin, do you agree that I take over at once the total leadership of
the Reich, with full freedom of action at home and abroad as your
deputy, in accordance with your decree of June 29, 1941? If no
reply is received by 10 o'clock tonight, I shall take it for granted
that you have lost your freedom of action, and shall consider the
conditions of your decree as fulfilled, and shall act for the best
interests of our country and our people..."
Hermann Göring’s death
● When Hitler committed suicide, he was released, and he went to
find American troops to surrender
● At the Nürnberg Trials, he refused taking part in any of the nazi
activities, but was still sentenced to death
○ He asked to be shot instead of being hanged, but they didn't
allow it
● On the day of the planned execution he took a cyanide capsule
Gotthard Heinrici Death
●
●
●
Between 28 May , 1945 and May 19, 1948, he was taken captive by british troops.
After, he was released back into the world.
He died sometime between 10-13 Dec 1971
Results
● 4 May 1945 General Kinzel and Admiral H. G. von Friedeburg signed the
surrender paperwork relating to german forces in the Netherlands, Northwest
Germany, Friesian Islands, Heligoland and Schleswig-Holstein.
● The final documents signed by Field Marshal Keitel (Wehrmacht), Admiral
Friedeburg (Kriegsmarine) and General Stumpff (Luftwaffe) appeared before
Marshal Zhukov, General de Lattre de Tassigny, Tedder and Spaatz.
○ This marked the end of the european part of WW2 on 8 May 1945
● The Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands (SPD) was formed in 1945, it
is the largest political party in Germany
Timeline
April
16th,
1945
April
20th,
1945
April
23rd,
1945
April
24th,
1945
April
26th, 1945
April
30th,
1945
May 1st,
1945
May 2nd,
1945
May 78th, 1945
Oct 15th,
1946
-Stalin
released
his armies
with the
objective
to capture
Berlin
-Hitler’s
Birthday
-Massive
air raids,
and a
Soviet
union
barrage in
the
middle of
Berlin
-Berlin’s
suburbs
fall
-Soviet
forces
surround
the city,
slowly
take over
Nazi
resistance
American
and Soviet
Armies
meet at
the Elbe
River.
-Soviets
take over
Reichstag
-Hitler
and his
newly
wedded
wife Eva
commit
suicide
Himmler,
his wife
Magda
and their
six kids
commit
suicide
-Berlin
surrenders
-The war
in Europe
officially
ends
(Today)
-German
forces
officially
surrender
-Göring
commits
suicide
Works Cited
"Adolf Hitler Commits Suicide in His Underground Bunker." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 06 Apr. 2016.
Antill, P., Battle for Berlin: April – May 1945, Historyofwar.org. Web. 27 April 2016.
"Battle for Berlin." Battle for Berlin. N.p., 2000. Web. 01 May 2016.
Beevor, Antony. "A Contest of Brutality - The Fall of Berlin 1945." A Contest of Brutality - The Fall of Berlin 1945. N.p., June 2002. Web. 29 Apr.
QQQQ 2016.
Biography.com Editors "Hermann Göring." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Biography.com Editors. "Joseph Goebbels." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Chen, Peter C. "Battle of Berlin." WW2DB RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016
C N Trueman "Death Of Heinrich Himmler" historylearningsite.co.uk. The History Learning Site, 26 May 2015. 3Mar 2016.
"Generaloberst Gotthard Heinrici." Generaloberst Gotthard Heinrici. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
"The History Place - World War II in Europe Timeline: April 30, 1945 - Death of Hitler." The History Place - World War II in Europe Timeline:
April QQQQ 30, 1945 - Death of Hitler. 1997 The History Place, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Remme, Tilman. "The Battle for Berlin in World War Two." BBC History. BBC, 3 Oct. 2011. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.
"The Battle of Berlin, 1945," EyeWitness to History, Ibis Communications, Inc. 2002. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
RHP. "Berlin at the End of the War, 1945." Rare Historical Photos. N.p., 16 Mar. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
Simkin, John. "Spartacus Educational." Spartacus Educational. N.p., Aug. 2014. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.
"The History Place - Defeat of Hitler: Downfall of Adolf Hitler." The History Place - Defeat of Hitler: Downfall of Adolf Hitler. The History Place,
2010. Web. 02 May 2016.
Truman, CN. "The Battle for Berlin - History Learning Site." History Learning Site. History Learning Site, 3 Mar. 2016. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.
War History Online. "Last Soviet Red Army Soldier From St Petersburg to Storm the Nazi Reichstag Has Died." WAR HISTORY ONLINE. War
QQQQ History Online, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
War History Online. "Last Soviet Red Army Soldier From St Petersburg to Storm the Nazi Reichstag Has Died." WAR HISTORY ONLINE. War
QQQQ History Online, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 29 Apr. 2016.