THE FALL OF NAZI GERMANY THE ALLIED CONQUEST OF GERMANY, THE BATTLE OF BERLIN, AND V-E DAY MARCH – MAY, 1945.

THE FALL OF NAZI

GERMANY THE ALLIED CONQUEST OF GERMANY, THE BATTLE OF BERLIN, AND V-E DAYMARCH – MAY, 1945

ALLIES DRIVE INTO GERMANY

FEB.-MARCH, 1945: 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?

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 BATTLEFORCE 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 ANGLO-

AMERICAN 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 MAGAZINECOVER, 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-WWIICENTRAL EUROPE

GUESS WHO?

SUPERPOWER GOALS IN EUROPE, 1945-50

UNITED STATES SOVIET UNIONENCOURAGE 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