the fall of nazi germany the allied conquest of germany, the battle of berlin, and v-e day march –...
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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