THE LAST DAYS OF THE NAZI GERMANY, 1945

THE LAST DAYS OF THE NAZI GERMANY, 1945
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By the beginning of 1945 the war which Germany had unleashed throughout the world had come back to consume it. In sharp contrast with what had occurred in 1918 in 1945 Germany fought, literally, to the bitter end. The Germans held out, although by early 1945 just about everyone knew that catastrophic defeat was the inevitable outcome. They did not give up even when Russian soldiers arrived in the garden of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. Not even the Japanese resisted like that.
By March, Western Allied forces were crossing the Rhine River, capturing hundreds of thousands of troops from Germany’s Army Group B. The Red Army had meanwhile entered Austria, and both fronts quickly approached Berlin. Strategic bombing campaigns by Allied aircraft were pounding German territory, sometimes destroying entire cities in a night. In the first several months of 1945, Germany put up a fierce defense, but rapidly lost territory, ran out of supplies, and exhausted its options. In April, Allied forces pushed through the German defensive line in Italy. East met West on the River Elbe on April 25, 1945, when Soviet and American troops met near Torgau, Germany.

On April 30th, as Russian troops entered the outskirts of Berlin, Adolf Hitler committed suicide. The leadership of Germany passed to Joseph Goebbels, but within 24 hours he too took his own life. Elsewhere, other Nazi leaders were either in Allied custody or running like fugitives. The German surrender came on May 7th, a week after Hitler’s death. Nazism, the proud and boastful movement of the 1930s, was drawing its final breaths. The Nazis had promised the German people dignity, respect and prosperity – and for a time seemed to deliver on these promises. But their ultimate legacy was a war that had claimed the lives of more than 48 million people, a racial genocide unlike any other in history, and a Germany that was devastated, occupied and torn apart for more than 40 years.

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23 Comments

  1. Amazing photos that depict the detestation of war .. It’s amazing how those countries were able to rebuild and resume life fairly quickly. Their lives seemed fairly normal on the ‘outside’ however, what an awful mark it must have left on them ‘on the inside’.
    My father was just a young boy right out of high school when he joined the army.. He fought in some tough battles and served under Patton. He died at 95, in 2016. He never complained about the 5 years he served
    When I think of the sacrifices they all made and never complained, I truly understand why they are called Them Greatest Generation’!

  2. Look at the picture Raising a flag over the Reichstag… 0:27 don't look at the guy holding the flag, look at the guy below him….he's wearing a watch on each arm, there are also edited photo's were one watch is cut out cuz it proofs the russians were plundering so the russian government edited the picture.

  3. My father, uncle, and father in law were all WWll vets. They all paid a high price, and were all true patriots. I loved them all, and miss them dearly, but I am glad they are not here to witness history being repeated. I get sick to my stomach and as mad as hell when I see how our democratic government is being destroyed by a five time draft dodging, cowardly, grifter, and those weak minded fools who prop him up. Too many good people have sacrificed, and died for the freedoms that a lot in this country take for granted.

  4. Mine did as well. A navigator on B-24s. Plane got shot up pretty regularly. Survived 2 belly landings . We all owe our freedom to the likes of these men. They had no differences of opinion. They heeded the call for God and country. My ex-father in-law fought hand to hand at Chosin basin. Lost 8 toes to frostbite and got blown up twice. He had a coffee cup full of shrapnel that worked its way out. Be proud of him. He paid the ultimate price. Thank you for your fathers service.

  5. I'm something of a WW2 buf and expected only pics I had seen before. Though I had seen about half of your pics, you unearthed some good ones I hadn't seen before. My hat's off to you!

  6. I do love the channel and the pictures, you guys do a great job of putting pictures on here that are rare and not posted on every historic channel. Keep up the amazing work!! I was only teasing about the bideos

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