German Army, their hostility towards 261, 262
Hitler, 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; reaction to his death 349–50, 355; see also Nazi regime below
living conditions see living conditions
in local militia see militia units
militarization of 392–3
morale see morale
Nazi Party’s control of 83–4, 88, 91, 96, 98, 105–6, 142, 145–6, 162–3, 180, 206, 207–8, 392–3; see also administrative systems
Nazi regime, support for 9, 10, 73–4, 207–8, 209, 210, 212–13, 239–40, 258–60, 261, 273–6; decline in 64–5, 68, 101, 104, 105, 107, 126–7, 150–51, 163, 190, 193–4, 195, 209, 213–14, 215–22, 258, 261, 312–13, 315; post-capitulation attitudes to 380–82; see also Hitler above
Red Army, their fear of 11, 12, 18, 91, 98–100, 105, 107, 108, 112–14, 117–18, 119, 120–22, 164–5, 177–84, 223–4, 270, 271, 273, 313, 324, 245, 349, 355, 356–8; see also Soviet Union below
Red Army’s treatment of 176–86; labour camps, deportation to 181
Soviet Union, fear/hatred of 70, 98–9, 120, 121–2, 222–3, 256, 271–2, 282, 306, 310, 349, 351, 362, 368, 372, 385; see also Red Army above
suicide among 177, 213, 215; post-April 1945 356–8
victims, post-capitulation view of themselves as 380–84
white flags displayed by 261, 262, 278, 314, 315, 323, 324, 325, 367; execution for 323, 326
women see women
coal supplies 80, 135, 137–9, 140, 141, 143, 205, 235, 244, 254, 275, 285, 344
see also power supplies
Coburg 297
Colmar 254
Cologne 59, 143, 227, 228
Allied bombing 148–9, 152, 235
armed insurrection 149, 228
fall of 254, 258, 318–19
communists/communism 70, 84, 227, 306, 317, 333, 344
see also Soviet Union
concentration camps 84, 123, 125, 228–35
death marches from/evacuation of see death marches
executions in 328, 329, 332–3; numbers of 332, 333, 335; German public reaction to 333, 334–6; see also numbers killed below
German demolition of 123, 228, 232
German public reaction to 333, 334–6; post-capitulation 380
guards 328, 329, 331–2, 333, 334; from SS 228, 229, 230, 332, 333–4
Himmler’s control of 119, 228, 229, 329, 330, 331; attempts to barter Jewish inmates for cash 229–30
in the ‘last phase’ 328, 329–36
liberation of 172, 230, 329, 330; German plan to liquidate inmates prior to 229, 230, 329–30
numbers of inmates 184, 228, 231, 232, 233, 234, 329, 330, 337
numbers killed 214, 231, 232, 233–4, 332, 333, 335; death from disease 329–30
in Poland 214
slave labour from 82, 83, 229–31
Swedish attempts to negotiate prisoner release 283, 284
typhus in 329, 330
women in 228
see also individual camps; Jews
Cottbus 324
courts martial 205, 211, 219–20, 252, 328, 390
summary (flying) (Standgerichte) 224–5, 243, 263, 326–7, 343, 360–61, 390–91
see also legal system
Coventry, German bombing of 236
Croatia 368
Czechoslovakia (former) see Bohemia
d’Alquen, Standartenführer Gunter 210
d’Alquen, SS-Haupsturmführer Rolf 210
Dachau concentration camp 328, 330, 333
Dankwort, Werner (German deputy ambassador in Stockholm) 282–3
Danube river 170, 300, 301, 316–17
Danzig 96, 115, 151, 179, 234, 259
Forster as Gauleiter 245
Red Army capture of 183
refugees in 183
Dargel, Paul 111
D-Day see Allied invasion
death marches 184–6, 229, 230–35, 296, 329, 330–36, 392
Gardelegen massacre during (April 1945) 333
deaths/executions during 184, 185–6, 230, 231–4, 332–3; numbers killed 332, 333, 335
see also concentration camps
Demmin 357–8
Denmark 299, 319, 338
German occupation 366–7
Dethleffsen, Major-General Erich, his memoirs 381–2
Deutscher Volkssturm see Volkssturm
Devers, General Jacob 131
Dietrich, Otto 115
Dietrich, SS Colonel-General Sepp 132, 133, 140, 155–6, 170, 252–3, 284
Dinant 160
disease 125, 184
typhus, in concentration camps 329, 330
von Dohnanyi, Hans 328
Dönitz, Grand-Admiral Karl 39, 94, 169, 264–5, 271, 306–7
character 352–3, 354, 376, 399–400
on defence of Berlin 339
as Navy C-in-C 39, 48, 169, 204, 264, 265, 306, 308, 395
in Plön (April 1945) 338, 339, 342, 346
post-war interrogation 204–5, 354
his situation reports 264–5
Dönitz, Grand-Admiral Karl, as Reich President (April–May 1945) 350–55, 366, 399
his cabinet 358–62, 377–8; choices available for 375–7
peace negotiations 351, 354–5, 362, 366–7, 387; for partial capitulation 351, 362, 376; von Ribbentrop on 361–2
suitability as President 352–4
Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp 233, 330, 333
Dorpmüller, Julius (Transport Minister under Dönitz) 360, 377
Dorsch, Xaver 64–5, 83
Dortmund 227, 228, 297
Allied bombing 235
Drauz, Richard 326
Dresden
Allied bombing (February 1945) 235, 243; casualties 235, 236–40; Nazi propaganda based on 238–9
population levels 237; Jews 237; refugees 237, 238–9
Dufner, Lieutenant Julius 66, 314–15
Duisburg 228, 297
Dulles, Allen W. 285, 363
Düren 254
Düsseldorf 142, 143, 227, 254
East Brandenburg 167, 181–2
East Frisia 366–7
East Prussia 22, 34, 37, 39, 99
evacuation of civilians 176–80, 183, 202; deaths during 180; numbers of 179, 180
Koch as Gauleiter see Koch, Erich
Red Army, fear of 98–100, 108
in Red Army offensive (Summer 1944) 24, 28, 45, 91, 93, 95
Red Army invasion (October 1944–on) 17, 108, 110–22, 167, 168–9, 173–4, 176–83, 195, 196–200, 202–3, 250–51
eastern front see Red Army
economic collapse 134, 135–7, 138–40, 164, 172, 352
Speer on 244, 258, 287–8, 289
see also scorched earth policy
Eifel 66
Eigruber, August (Gauleiter of Oberdonau) 316–17
Eisenhower, General Dwight D. 58, 156, 284, 359, 361
German peace negotiations with 368, 369, 370–71, 375, 376, 387
Kesselring and 369
Montgomery and 388
as Supreme Commander 378
Eismann, Colonel Hans-Georg 308, 309
Elbe river 237, 268–9, 270, 297, 300, 303, 339, 368, 373
Elser, Georg 328
Emmendingen 152
Emsland concentration camp 329
entertainment 6, 75. 76. 276
Erfurt 297
Essen 143, 297
Allied bombing 235
Krupp works 139, 150, 235
Estonia 94, 95
Eutin 341
evacuation
of concentration camp inmates see death marches
of military personnel 66–7, 68, 17
7; from eastern front 372–5
evacuation, of civilians 22, 42, 62–5, 68, 84, 88, 99, 108, 110, 111–12, 115, 117, 148–9, 152, 176–80, 181–4, 186, 188, 189–90, 193, 197, 199, 205, 213–14, 215, 250, 251, 275, 277, 287, 316–17, 342
from Berlin 340–41, 345
compulsory, ordered by Hitler (March 1945) 289–90, 316; difficulties of 316
German Army’s attitude to refugees 201–2
by German Navy 179, 265, 367, 368, 372
numbers of 99, 179, 180, 182, 183, 184, 205
of women 177, 178–9, 180, 182, 183, 345
execution
of American prisoners of war 156
of American-appointed German officials 279
of civilians, for defeatism 318, 322, 326–7, 390–91; of women 325–6
in concentration camps 328, 329, 332–3; numbers of 332, 333, 335; German public reaction to 333, 334–6
for cowardice 322–3
of deserters/disaffected troops 69, 120, 155, 203, 204, 216–17, 219, 220, 243, 262, 263, 320, 360–61, 390, 391
of dissenters 52, 224–5, 328; numbers of 225
of foreign workers, by Gestapo 227–8, 328
of Germans, by Red Army 181
of Nazi functionaries, in Bromberg 316–17
of prisoners in state penitentiaries 328
for treason, in final phase 341, 343, 344, 345; numbers of 328, 329
Falaise 55, 56, 60, 67, 69
Federated Steelworks 141
Fegelein, Hermann (brother-in-law of Eva Braun) 37, 345–6
Fernau, Walter 327
Fiebig, Richard 137
Final Solution see Jews
financial situation 241–2
money supply 342
Finland 62, 94, 95
fire-fighters 277
First World War (1914–18) 36, 37, 48, 67, 68, 98, 209, 213, 257, 258–9, 372–3
German surrender 6, 7, 8, 11–12
Verdun 92
Versailles Treaty (June 1919) 98, 154
Flensburg-Mürwick 319, 372, 377, 378, 380
Naval Academy at, as Dönitz’s command centre 358
Florian, Friedrich Karl (Gauleiter of Düsseldorf area) 142
Flossenbürg concentration camp 328, 330
food/water supplies 6, 102, 125, 126, 138, 142, 143, 148, 163, 178, 193, 211, 213, 227, 257, 274, 275, 276, 287, 316–17, 341
in Berlin 190, 191, 274, 288, 294, 318
foraging for 274
in Netherlands 362, 363
post-capitulation 381
see also living conditions
foreign workers 25, 83–4, 89, 104, 125, 134, 138, 208, 209, 225–6
in Berlin 226
as forced labour 102, 143, 226
Gestapo persecution/execution of 225–8, 328
numbers of 226, 228
see also labour supply
Forster, Albert (Gauleiter of Danzig-West Prussia) 245
fortifications, construction of 66–7, 88–9, 101, 105–6, 108, 117–18, 138, 139, 143, 223
Ostwall 101–5
Westwall 62, 63, 65, 69, 88, 89, 131
Frank, Hans 102, 214
escape from Poland 214
Frankfurt am Main 255
Frankfurt an der Oder 215, 228, 251, 308
Freiburg 152, 299, 317
Freisler, Judge Roland 49
French Army 56, 254, 299–300
looting by 325
North African troops 300
French Army atrocities 300
Freudenstadt 299, 300
Frick, Wilhelm (Minister of the Interior) 23
von Friedeburg, Admiral-General Georg (as head of German Navy under Dönitz) 360, 378
German capitulation (7/8 May 1945), present at signing of 371, 372
peace negotiations: with Eisenhower 369, 370–71; with Montgomery 366–7, 369
Frisches Haff lagoon 173, 174, 178, 179, 180, 183, 251
Fromm, General Friedrich 35, 36
fuel supplies 93, 94, 131, 132, 165, 170, 252, 253
Allied bombing, effect on 79–80, 135
aviation fuel 135
Führerprinzip see leadership concept
Gardelegen, massacre of concentration camp prisoners at (April 1945) 333
Gauleiter (provincial/regional governors) 11, 13, 22, 25, 40, 64, 65–6, 84, 89–90, 111, 118, 125, 138, 142–4, 163, 182, 185, 216, 256, 278–9, 287, 296, 399
central control of 77, 78, 81, 83, 88
in the final phase (March/April 1945) 316–17, 318–21, 342–4, 392
Hitler and 244–5, 318, 320
local troops recruited by 85–6
power held by 392
as Reich Defence Commissars (RVKs) 22, 41–2, 43, 88, 89, 101, 102, 103, 224–5, 290–91
Speer and 290–91
suicide among (post-April 1945) 356
see also individual Gauleiter
Gebhardt, Karl 62, 113
Gehlen, Colonel Reinhard 170
Geisler, Hermann 243, 294
Geneva Convention, Hitler considers scrapping of 259
Gerland, Karl (Gauleiter of Kurhessen) 319
German Army
armaments for see armaments
casualties see casualty figures
civilian population’s hostility towards 261, 262
compulsory military service/conscription 71, 100, 138
courts martial 205, 212, 219–20, 252, 263, 390–91
deserters 155, 196, 211, 212, 218–20, 243, 259–60, 262–4, 272, 297, 305, 313, 314–15, 342, numbers of 220, 390, 391; under a white flag 320; see also execution of below
disintegration of 68, 211, 218–20, 314–15, 367–8
on eastern front 368–71; troop numbers 368; see also Red Army
evacuation 66–7, 68, 177; from eastern front 372–5
execution, of deserters/disaffected troops 69, 120, 155, 203, 204, 216–17, 219, 220, 243, 262, 263, 320, 360–61, 390, 391
Guderian 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; see also leadership below
Himmler’s reorganization of 36–8
Hitler, allegiance to 32–4, 44–5, 71, 153–4; decline in 66, 212; on his death 248–9
Hitler as C-in-C 169–72, 201, 202, 395–6, 398
Hungarian troops in 93
in Italy 165, 254, 256, 266–7, 284–5; troop numbers 364
Krebs as Chief of General Staff 252, 306, 308; see also leadership below
leadership 11, 12, 33–4, 36–7, 44–6, 48–52, 53, 154, 169, 171, 196–206, 211–12, 218, 263–73, 296, 302–10, 340, 394–5; criticism of 64–5, 44–7, 68, 70; disaffection among 220–21; generals, number of 266; numbers killed 394; OKH 169–70, 197, 198, 199–200; surrender by 297, 300–301, 304, 368, 369, 373, 376; see also Guderian above; individual officers; Krebs above; Wehrmacht High Command
looting by 212, 259, 315, 342
militia see militia units
morale see morale
mutiny among 259; viewed as impossible 272–3
Nazi Party’s unpopularity with 214, 261, 312
new divisions planned (1944) see Replacement Army
organizational structure 250, 253
rear echelon (Etappe) 67–8, 81
refugees, treatment of 201–2
troops numbers 132, 165, 168, 170, 174, 206, 247, 250, 251, 252, 253, 255, 256, 266, 285, 301, 308–9, 310, 353; in Berlin 308–9; on eastern front 368; in Italy 364; in Norway 367
troops, quality/standard of 137–8, 247, 253, 255, 270, 301, 307, 308, 310–11
Volksgrenadier divisions 64, 151, 222–3
Volkssturm see Volkssturm
Women’s Battalions 310
see also individual units; Waffen-SS; Wehrmacht
German Army atrocities 98, 107, 112
German capitulation (May 1945) 6, 11–12, 14–15, 18, 348–85
Act of Military Surrender (7 May 1945) 371; Soviet
version (8 May 1945) 371–2; events following 371–9
Allied demands 370–71; see also Allied strategy, unconditional surrender . . .
Dönitz’s peace negotiations 351, 354–5, 362, 366–77; for partial capitulation 351, 362, 376; von Ribbentrop on 361
Eisenhower, negotiations with 368, 369, 370–71, 375, 376
German-controlled areas at time of 366–7; map 365
in Italy 267, 285–6, 363, 364, 366
Montgomery, negotiations with 366–7
post-war trials 328; at Nuremberg 354
German Navy 205, 265
Dönitz as C-in-C 39, 48, 169, 204, 264, 265, 306, 308, 395
evacuation of civilians by 179, 265, 367, 368, 372
von Friedeburg as C-in-C 360
morale 265, 360–61
transfers from, to Wehrmacht 206, 265, 267, 308, 353, 372
welfare provision in 265
German prisoners of war 32, 56, 70, 71, 154, 160, 196, 211, 226, 254, 255, 260–61, 267–9, 270, 306, 315, 369
in Australia 306
in Soviet hands 94, 254, 368, 369, 371; from Army Group Centre 375; deaths among 375
German Red Cross 183, 192
German–Soviet Treaty of Friendship (September 1939) 99
Germany
administration see administrative systems; Gauleiter
border provinces 72, 85, 86; see also East Prussia
civilians see civilian population
collapse of 207–25, 240–46, 247–92; maps showing 248, 249
radicalization of 51–3
as a totalitarian regime 8–10, 84, 207–8
war aims/objectives 37
see also Hitler, Adolf; Nazi Party
Germany (pre-war) 8, 13, 98, 208, 384
see also First World War
Germany, occupation of (1945–on) 7, 12, 71, 379–85
Allied-appointed mayors 279
as a legal state 378
reconstruction phase 377
by Soviet Union 379
Yalta Conference communiqué on 246
Gerngroß, Captain Rupprecht 343
Gestapo 149, 208
foreign workers, persecution/execution of 227–8, 328
Giesler, Paul (Gauleiter of Munich-Upper Bavaria) 214, 344
Glogau 204
Goebbels, Joseph (Minister of Propaganda) 11, 22, 23–4, 35, 63–4, 67, 90, 114–16, 118, 119, 159, 279, 315, 316, 358, 391
Bormann and 43, 317, 352; attempts to negotiate with Allies 352
character/personal appearance 23, 77, 146, 164, 243–4, 336, 337
his diaries 146–7, 149, 151, 160–61, 337
Dresden bombing, propaganda based on 238–9
family 243, 282; his murder of 337, 346
on Göring 243–4
Guderian and 46