The End of the Nazi Dream: The Fall of Adolf Hitler’s Empire
Nazism can be described as the most dangerous ideology of the
twentieth century, an ideology that under Mussolini and Hitler was
based, in the article’s formulation, on the destruction of the
Jewish people by Hitler and the SS.
But what caused Adolf Hitler and his Germany to go from being
contenders for the status of the world’s greatest power to a
country that lay in ruins by the end of the war, while Hitler
himself—once known everywhere—ordered his body to be burned
after his suicide so that it would not become an object of posthumous
mockery?
The Rise of Nazi Germany
With enthusiasm and determination, and with the help of talented
ministers such as Economics Minister Hjalmar Schacht, Hitler was able
to transform Germany from an isolated and weakened country into a
powerful state that surpassed others after the Treaty of Versailles.
Through his policies, serious attention to military production,
mobilisation of young people and price controls, unemployment fell
substantially and inflation was contained. Schacht abandoned the gold
standard, ensured low interest rates and used an enormous budget
deficit to stabilise the economy, helping Germany escape the
consequences of the Great Depression.
At first the Nazis, through lightning attacks, high morale and
powerful air forces, captured Poland, Norway, France, territories in
North Africa and the Balkans.
Gradually, however, the situation changed to their disadvantage.
Hitler wanted to make peace with Britain but miscalculated. During the
Battle of Dunkirk, for example, he prevented the destruction of 300,000
British and French soldiers in the hope of negotiations.
Operation Barbarossa and Stalingrad
Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union—Operation
Barbarossa, one of the largest invasions in history—raises
particular questions and can be regarded as an expression of reckless
ambition. Hitler managed to capture Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and
Ukraine. Russian soldiers, however, unlike those in the West, fought to
the death. When Hitler ordered the attack on the USSR, he was confident
of success, but within a few months he ordered all his forces to
assault Stalingrad. His generals objected, but Hitler would not listen
to their reasoning.
A massive force under General von Paulus advanced on Stalingrad. The
fall of the city would have been a major blow to the USSR, and Stalin
ordered more and more soldiers to be sent there. Retreat could be
punished by shooting. Despite Germany’s superiority in technology
and weapons, Stalin had enormous numbers of soldiers who could form
what the article calls a “wall of flesh.” For months
ferocious fighting continued from street to street and house to house;
nowhere in the city was safe. Neither Hitler nor Stalin, the article
says, cared about the fate of individual soldiers—they simply
issued orders and waged war. The German troops were encircled but
forbidden to retreat. Commander von Paulus initially refused to
surrender, but after seeing that no help was coming and that further
resistance was pointless, he capitulated. This battle became a turning
point in the war and marked the beginning of Hitler’s defeat.
Japan, meanwhile, did not want to attack the Soviet Union in order
to ease Germany’s burden. The Japanese had their own reasons for
avoiding war with the USSR—for example, they believed their
economy should not bear responsibility for such a war and did not want
to fight as a single army under the Nazi flag.
At the same time Stalin pursued a “scorched earth”
strategy, so that as Nazi troops advanced they repeatedly encountered
devastated territory stripped of resources.
The severe cold also inflicted serious losses on Hitler’s
forces, and they faced many other problems. Japan’s sudden attack
on Pearl Harbor meant that Germany had to contend not only with the
Soviet Union but also with incoming American forces. On 15 April a
statement by the Führer was read to German troops: “Berlin
will remain in German hands, Vienna will remain German, and Europe will
never pass to the Russians. Create a united community not only to
defend the Fatherland, but also to defend your families, wives,
children and, in other words, your future.”
The Fall of Berlin
The slogan “Berlin will remain German” appeared on walls
throughout Germany. Many people still somehow believed that the city
and the country could be saved.
As the power of Nazism and the SS diminished, despite sacrifices and
the mobilisation of teenagers in the final days of the war, and with
defeat in the bloody Battle of Berlin—described here as the
largest battle in history—the dreams of Nazism and Hitler
collapsed. Although the capture of Berlin is regarded as a glorious
event in Soviet history, numerous crimes were also committed, including
mass violence against German women, which was perceived as retaliation
for German actions on Soviet territory.
Sexual Violence in the Final Days of the War
Rape and sexual violence have occurred in almost every known war
throughout human history. One of the largest and most horrific
episodes, however, took place during the final days of the Second World
War and the Soviet occupation of Berlin.
“Soldier, now you are in Germany! The hour of revenge
has come! Remember how the Germans shelled your compatriots in Russia!
Answer for their crimes—punish their women and daughters, defend
communism and Stalin!” According to the article, these were the
words of the senior command of the Soviet Red Army to more than 80,000
Russian soldiers who had won the battle on the Vistula and were
preparing to enter Berlin.
Vladimir Gelfand, a young Red Army lieutenant, recorded his
observations despite the ban on keeping diaries. He clearly describes
one case in which twenty-four of his comrades raped a young German
woman. Gelfand witnessed the event and writes that the girl begged him
for help—a plea to which no one responded.
Cornelius Ryan wrote: “Women were told to seek refuge in
churches. But did the Russians believe in the church? All those women
in churches, holding crosses and embracing their children in fear, were
raped by Russians! Even nine-year-old girls, even eighty-year-old
women! This was not merely rape—it was a plan aimed at destroying
the pride of a nation that had once aspired to world supremacy.”
Could Germany Have Won?
Some historians believe that if Hitler had reconsidered a number of
his decisions, he might have won the Second World War and given Germany
the opportunity to dominate the world, including control over the
Middle East, part of Asia and the African continent. It has been argued
that if the war had begun five years later, even all the armies of the
world combined might not have been able to defeat the German army. In
the final years of the war Germany created advanced weapons that might
have changed the course of the conflict if there had been enough time
to manufacture them in sufficient quantities.
But Germany put an end to Nazism.
Author: Amin Sanei
Tarafdari — Independent media and the largest sports social network