The End
Hitler and 147, 243, 244, 281–2, 336, 337, 399
negotiated peace, support for 280–82, 352
as Reich Plenipotentiary for Total War 38–41, 42, 49, 52–3, 73, 75–9, 86, 95, 104, 121, 142, 146–7, 241–4, 256–7, 259, 269, 279, 280, 295, 392, 396; administrative systems under 40–41, 75–9, 146, 241–2
on von Ribbentrop 243–4, 282
Soviet Union, suggests separate peace with 95–6
Speer and 24, 25, 43, 75, 76–9, 83, 146, 244, 287–8
suicide 337, 346, 352, 355
Goebbels, Magda (wife of Joseph Goebbels) 243, 282
suicide 337, 346, 355
Goldap 110, 111, 173
Göring, Hermann 20, 90, 163, 166, 205
Berlin, escape from 336
Bormann and 340
Goebbels on 243–4
as Hitler’s designated successor 20, 339, 340, 353, 397, 399
as Luftwaffe C-in-C 20, 39, 44, 48, 150, 160, 163, 169, 205, 306, 308, 342; dismissal (April 1945) 340, 342, 353, 399
negotiated peace, support for 280–81
post-war interrogation 30, 336
under house arrest (April 1945) 340, 342
suicide (October 1946) 356
Gotenhafen (Gdynia) 183, 234, 250
Gotha 297
Göttingen 297, 349
Gräser, General Fritz-Hubert 301
Great Britain see Britain
Greece 94, 121
Greifswald 324
Greiser, Arthur (Gauleiter of Reichsgau Wartheland) 214–15
escape from Poland 214, 215
execution 214
Grohé, Joseph (Gauleiter of Cologne-Aachen) 64, 318–19
Groß-Rosen concentration camp 232–3, 329
Guderian, Colonel-General Heinz 45–6, 160
as Chief of General Staff 45–6, 48, 49, 85–6, 102, 106, 127, 165, 170–71, 197–200, 205, 252, 253, 256, 259, 284, 288; dismissal 251–2, 284, 305–6
Goebbels and 46
Hitler and 165, 170
as Inspector-General of Armoured Troops 28, 45
on Red Army invasion 110
Reinhardt and 197, 198, 199, 200, 205
Speer and 398
Guernica, German bombing of 236
guerrilla activity see Werwolf . . .
Gumbinnen 173
Hague Convention (1907) 107
Halder, General Franz (Chief of General Staff) 28
Halle 297
Hamburg 157, 336
Allied bombing (July 1943) 235, 238
capitulation (May 1945) 366
Hamm 297
Hanke, Karl (Gauleiter of Breslau) 245, 262, 320–21
escape from Breslau (May 1945) 321
Speer and 321
Hanover 297
Harpe, Colonel-General Josef 168, 171, 196–7
as 5th Panzer Army C-in-C (January 1945–on) 304
dismissal (January 1945) as Army Group A C-in-C 203, 221, 304
Harris, Arthur (‘Bomber’) 235
Harz Mountains 303
Hausser, Waffen-SS Colonel-General Paul 253–4, 263
dismissal (April 1945) 299
Heidelberg 255
Heidkämper, Lieutenant-General Wilhelm 197, 200
Heilbronn 299, 326
Heiligenbeil 174
Heilsberg area 198–9, 200, 201, 250–51
Heinrici, Colonel-General Gotthard 168, 270–71
as Army Group Vistula C-in-C 270, 301, 337–8, 340; dismissal (April 1945) 338
in Berlin 307–9, 337–8, 396
post-war memoirs 309
Hitler and 307–9, 337–8
Speer mentions possible assassination of Hitler to (April 1945) 309
Hellmuth, Otto (Gauleiter of Würzburg) 291
Helm, Major Erwin 326–7
Hess, Rudolf, his flight to Britain 21
Heusinger, General Adolf 29
Himmler, Heinrich (Reichsführer-SS) 11, 22–3, 29, 35–40, 62, 65, 66, 77, 90, 113, 141–4, 174, 210, 212, 222–3, 240, 308
Allies, his attempts to negotiate with 241, 329, 330, 331, 336–7, 346; with US 229–30
as Army Group Upper Rhine C-in-C 164, 204
as Army Group Vistula C-in-C 204, 211, 250, 263, 270, 283–4, 353
Bormann and 86; Volkssturm national militia founded by 86–8; see also Volkssturm
character/personal appearance 22, 37, 240, 241, 243, 283–4
Dönitz as Reich President and 350, 352, 359–60
his exit strategy 283–4
on the Final Solution 119, 228
his health 283
Hitler and 230, 283–4, 346, 353, 359
Jewish concentration camps inmates, attempts to barter for cash 229–30
negotiated peace, support for 280–81, 291–2
power/influence 22, 23, 35, 36, 37, 42–4, 49, 52–3, 67–8, 82, 84–5, 86, 284
as Replacement Army C-in-C 35–8, 40, 353, 396
Speer and 240–41
suicide (May 1945) 356, 360
Hitler, Adolf 396–400
as Army C-in-C 169–72, 201, 202, 272, 395–6,398; his generals, relationship with 200, 202, 203, 221, 251–2, 254, 284, 299, 304, 305–6, 338, 340, 342, 353, 366, 395–6, 397, 399; see also Wehrmacht High Command
assassination attempt (July 1944) (von Stauffenberg plot) 12, 13, 14, 29–35, 36, 43, 44, 46, 48–9, 53, 268, 387, 394, 396; effect of 379, 385, 388–9; public opinion on 31–3
in Berlin (Führer bunker) 243, 294, 336, 337, 339–40, 342, 345–7; his suicide in see suicide below
character/personal appearance 11–12, 20, 23, 24, 26, 27, 51, 206, 243, 244–6, 281, 286, 294–5, 308, 339–40, 346–7, 354, 396–7
his ‘charismatic rule’ 13–14, 25–7, 35, 52, 144–5, 151, 166, 243, 347, 398–9, 400
German allegiance to 11, 12, 13, 17–18, 20, 30–33, 51, 52, 71, 72–3, 150, 154–5, 192, 383–4; decline in 13–14, 18, 61, 65, 74, 101, 105, 122, 126–7, 150–51, 153, 154–5, 186, 191–2, 208, 212, 259, 260–61, 273–4, 291–2, 315, 317, 389–90; reaction to his death 349–50, 355
German resistance to 149
Mein Kampf 191–2
mental condition 165–6, 171, 399
negotiated peace, refusal to consider 281, 283, 387, 396–7
New Year speech (1945) 161–2
personal appearance see character/personal appearance above
in pre-war Germany 13
on Red Army atrocities 118
scorched earth decree (Nero Order) (March 1945) 290–91, 303, 309, 367; Speer’s opposition to 290–91, 303, 309
Speer mentions possible assassination of to Heinrici (April 1945) 309
strategic decisions 27, 28, 29, 39–40, 46, 48, 51, 55–6, 69–70, 76, 78, 94, 95–6, 118–19, 127–8, 130, 131–2, 133, 161–2, 165, 166, 169–71, 196–7, 210, 243, 252, 255–6, 285, 286, 289–90, 300, 308–9, 386–7
suicide (April 1945) 6, 11, 12, 118, 295, 339, 346, 356, 364; response to 348–55; Soviet suspicions of 372
his Testament (April 1945) 346, 351, 353, 354, 358
see also Nazi Party
Hitler Youth 3, 66, 73, 88, 89, 96, 103, 118, 185, 258, 280, 333
as soldiers 310–11, 320, 357, 394
Hodges, General Courtney 59
Hofer, Franz (Gauleiter of the Tirol) 317, 363, 364, 366
Hoffmann, Albert (Gauleiter of Westphalia-South) 319
Holland see Netherlands
Holz, Karl (Gauleiter of Franconia) 67–8, 319, 323
death in Nuremberg (April 1945) 319–20
Hoßbach, General Friedrich 27, 30, 34, 199, 200, 201–3
dismissal (January 1945) 203, 221
hospitals see medical services/supplies
Hübner, Lieutenant-General Rudolf 263
Hungarian Jews 123
Hungarian troops, in German Army 93
Hungary 93, 123, 170
Budapest 131, 252
Red Army invasion (1944) 131, 132, 151, 170, 252, 253, 284, 316
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nbsp; Hussein, Saddam 7
Hütten 335
industry 81, 82, 167
Allied bombing, effect on 79–80, 82, 134, 135, 136, 138, 140, 150, 235–6
armaments see armaments industry
coal for see coal supplies
collapse of 134, 135–7, 138–40, 164, 172, 244, 258, 287–8, 289
destruction/immobilization of, during German retreat 42, 80, 81, 82, 140–41, 286–7, 288, 289, 290–91; Hitler’s Nero Order on (March 1945) 290–91, 303, 309, 367
iron/steel production 136, 139, 254, 255, 287
raw materials for 80, 93, 94, 131, 135–6, 244
Rhine/Ruhr industrial area see Rhine/Ruhr . . .
Saar industrial area 58, 61, 65, 132, 136, 140, 141, 255
Silesian industrial area 167, 168, 172–3, 182, 187, 190, 195, 244, 252, 287
International Military Tribunal, Nuremberg (1945–6) 354
Iraq 7
iron/steel production 136, 139, 254, 255, 287
Italy 121, 206, 303
Bologna 267
administrative system 13, 398
Fascist Grand Council 398
German capitulation in (May 1945) 267, 285–6, 363, 396; Kesselring’s reaction to 364, 366
Kesselring in 303, 396
Rome, fall of (1944) 17
under Mussolini 7, 13, 47, 296, 364, 398
Wehrmacht in 165, 254, 256, 266–7, 284–5; see also German capitulation above
Wolff in 284–5, 292, 363
jails see state penitentiaries
Jena 297
jet-fighters 139, 269, 299
Jewish World Congress 336–7
Jews
anti-Jewish propaganda 123–4, 208
in concentration camps see concentration camps
on death marches see death marches
deportation of 208; see also concentration camps
in Dresden 237
Final Solution 23, 52, 119, 122–5, 172, 228, 229, 359, 382, 384, 391; German awareness of 123–4, 384; Himmler on 119, 128; Hitler on 122–3; Wannsee Conference on (January 1942) 359
Hungarian 123
numbers killed 123, 184, 185–6, 214, 230, 231–4, 328, 332–3, 335; deaths from disease 329–30
Polish 117, 123, 214
Red Army treatment of 394
see also racial enemies
Jodl, General Alfred (Wehrmacht Operations Staff head) 27, 44–5, 48, 50–51, 131–2, 165, 169, 170, 205, 264, 296, 304, 305
Ardennes offensive, planning of 129, 130, 133, 134
in Berlin (Führer bunker) 338, 339, 340
Dönitz as Reich President and 350, 360, 366
German surrender, signatory to 371
post-capitulation 377, 378
post-war interrogation 133
Jordan, Rudolf (Gauleiter of Magdeburg-Anhalt) 245
Junge, Traudl 118
justice system see legal system
Jüterbog 302
Jüttner, Hans 36
Kaiserslautern 255
Kaltenbrunner, Ernst 65–6, 227, 230, 285, 291, 316, 364
von Kardorff, Ursula 189, 226
Karlsruhe 299
Kehrl, Hans 135–6
Keitel, Field-Marshal Wilhelm 32, 38, 48, 69, 106, 141, 169, 205, 304, 305
Ardennes offensive and 131–2, 133, 135
arrest by Allies 377, 380
in Berlin (Führer bunker) 338, 339
Dönitz as Reich President and 350, 360, 366, 368
German surrender, signatory to 372
as OKW head 204, 218, 296, 360
post-war interrogation 355
Kersten, Felix 228, 283
Kesselring, Field-Marshal Albert 170, 285, 302
as C-in-C West 254, 255, 262–4, 296, 302–3, 363–4
Dönitz as Reich President and 368
Eisenhower, peace negotiations with 369
Hitler and 300, 303, 364
in Italy 303, 396; German surrender in, his reaction to 364, 366
Model and 304
post-war memoirs 303
Kiel 228
1918 naval mutiny 265
Klemperer, Victor 124–5
von Kluge, Field-Marshal Hans Günther 46, 48–9, 55–6
Koblenz 152, 254, 255
Koch, Erich (Gauleiter of East Prussia) 22, 88, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 111, 115, 176–7, 200, 214, 245
desertion from his post (April 1945) 319
Kolberg 250
Kolberg (propaganda film) 147–8, 250, 276
Kollontay, Alexandra Michailowna (Soviet emissary in Stockholm) 282
Konev, Marshal Ivan 168, 172–3, 176, 181, 301
Königsberg 103, 111, 169, 173, 174, 192, 199, 200, 250–51
concentration camp near 184
evacuation 177–8, 179, 203, 251
Red Army capture of 300–301, 304, 312–13
Köslin 250
Krampnitz, as OKW headquarters (April 1945) 339, 342
Krebs, General Hans 252, 306, 308
Krefeld 254
Kreipe, General Werner, Luftwaffe Chief of Staff 113, 166
Kritzinger, Friedrich Wilhelm 141
post-war interrogation 141, 393
Krupp works, Essen 139, 150, 235
Kurhessen 319
Küstrin 251, 252, 259
Kyllburg 66
Labour Front 51, 86, 89, 240, 279
Ley as head of 21, 89
labour supply 35–8, 40, 41, 65, 75, 96, 98, 101–2, 137, 139, 142, 143, 310
in armaments production 23, 24–5, 64, 69, 76–9, 81–3
forced labour 102, 143, 226
foreign see foreign workers
labour conscription 88–9, 103, 106
slave labour from concentration camps 82, 83, 229, 331
Speer on 25–6, 37, 38, 76–9
women workers 25, 75–6, 88, 89, 101, 104
working hours 76, 83
Lammers, Hans-Heinrich (Reich Chancellery head) 25, 38, 39, 40, 42, 162
in Berchtesgaden (March 1945) 340–41
Lammerz, Karl 138
Lasch, General Otto 200–301, 312–13
Lattre de Tassigny, General Jean, German surrender, signatory to 372
Latvia 94, 95, 368–9
Lauenburg 234
leadership concept/principle (Menschenführung)
(Führerprinzip) 144–5, 318, 351
Hitler’s charismatic rule 13–14, 25–7, 35, 52, 144–5, 151, 166, 243, 347, 398–9, 400
see also German Army, leadership; Wehrmacht High Command
legal system 207–8, 393
courts martial 205, 211, 219–20, 252, 328; summary (flying) (Standgerichte) 224–5, 243, 263, 326–7, 343, 360–61
Germany (post-capitulation) as a legal state 378
state penitentiaries 328, 391
see also police force
Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler 253, 284
Leiling, Lieutenant Ottoheinz 343
Leipzig 197
Leipzig, battle of (Battle of the Nations) (October 1813) 106
Ley, Robert (Labour Front head) 21, 51, 77, 86, 89, 152, 240, 279–80
Bormann and 89
character 89, 163–4, 240, 279
suicide (October 1945) 356
Liebel, Willi (Mayor of Nuremberg) 320
Liège 133
Limpert, Robert 3–5
Lindau 342
Lindemann, Colonel-General Georg, as C-in-C Norway 367
Linz, planned post-war rebuilding of 243, 244
Lithuania 93, 94
living conditions 5–6, 10, 25, 120–21, 193, 273–6, 277, 297, 320–21
in Berlin 189–91, 293, 294, 345
in concentration camps 233, 329–30; see also concentration camps
disease 125, 184
food/water supplies see food/water supplies
in labour camps 104
under Allied occupation 379–80
local militia see militia units
Löhr, Colonel-General A
lexander 368, 369
London
German bombing raids 236
V2 attacks 153
looting
by German Army 212, 259, 315, 342
by liberated concentration camp inmates 330
from occupied countries 214
by Red Army 357
Lorraine 58–9, 61, 62, 66, 131, 136
Lötzen 173–4, 197, 198
4th Army retreat from 197–200, 201, 202
Lübeck 300
Ludendorff, Erich 258–9
Ludwigshafen 355
Luftwaffe 20, 60, 79, 110, 205, 301, 303
armaments for 44
aviation fuel for 135
Britain, bombing of 236
Göring as C-in-C 20, 39, 44, 48, 150, 160, 163, 169, 205, 306, 308, 342; dismissal (April 1945) 340, 342, 353, 399
as ineffective 60, 61, 79, 90, 121, 132, 150, 160, 163, 165, 236, 247, 265, 269, 399
Kreipe as Chief of Staff 113, 166
transfers from, to Wehrmacht 206, 308
Lüneberg 366
Luxemburg 56, 65–6, 136
Lyons 56
Magdeburg 297
Maier, Domprediger Johann 343
Main river 299
Mainz 255
Majdanek concentration camp 123
Malmédy 156
Mannheim 152, 255
von Manteuffel, General Hasso 132, 133, 155, 156, 159–60, 301
Marseilles 56
Mauthausen concentration camp 330
Mecklenburg 366, 367
medical services/supplies 275
Memel (Baltic Sea port) 95, 107, 108, 110, 151
Menschenführung see leadership principle
Messerschmitt 262 jet-fighter 139
Metz 131
Meuse river 133, 156, 160
Meyer, Ernst 3–4
Meyer-Detring, Colonel Wilhelm 373–4
military police (Geheime Feldpolizei) 68, 69, 113, 211, 218, 262–3
see also police force
militia units 85–6, 151
see also Volkssturm
Mittelbau concentration camp see Dora-Mittelbau
Model, Field-Marshal Walter 28, 49, 56, 59, 60, 69, 122
as Army Group B C-in-C 132–3, 135, 151, 156, 157, 160, 161, 253–4, 263, 297, 303–5, 314; his dissolution of (April 1945) 314; Speer and 290–91
Kesselring and 304
penal institutions, action against inmates 328
suicide (April 1945) 305
Mons 59
Montgomery, Field-Marshal Bernard 58, 255, 359, 361
Eisenhower and 388
German peace negotiations with 366–7, 369
morale
civilian 3–5, 6, 18, 24, 25, 60–62, 65, 98–100, 104–5, 115, 121, 124, 125–7, 148–52, 186–94, 206, 207–8, 209, 210, 239–40, 258–60, 261, 273–6, 356–8, 390; in Berlin 212–13, 258, 293–4, 344–5; post-capitulation 379–81; see also public opinion