Figure 1.--This film still shows German children playing in the rubble of Berlin in 1945 immediately after the war ended in 1945. The boy wears suspender shorts with the common H-bar strap across his chest, a sleeveless sweater, a checked shirt, and knee socks. Both these children look amazingly well dressed considering the terrible privations they must have had to endure during the terrible final battle in Berlin.

The battle for Berlin fought in April 1945 was one of the most horific engagements of World War II. Stalin ordered the Red Army to take Berlin. After the Americans seized the Remagen Bridge and crossed the Rhine, Stalin ordered the time tble speeded up and at the same time lied to Eisenhowser that he was preparing to take the German capital. Losses on both the German and Russian side were enormous. Russian losses were in part due to the fact that Stalin had ordered that Berlin be seized bfore the Americans could reach it. Stalin's ordered resulted in a race to Berlin by Marshall Zukov and Koniev, both wanting the victor' laurels. It has always been wonderd why Stalin was so obsessed with Berlin and was willining to sacrifice so many Red Army soldiers to get to Berlin before the Americans. It has always been felt that it was primarily for the political value, to demonstrate the role of the Red Army in defeating the NAZIs. A British histoian argues that there was another important reason. Beria had learned of the American Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb. Stalin as a rsult ordered a top secret Soviet atomic bomb project--Project Boradino. Located at Berlin was the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, the center of the German atomic project. While the Germans were fa behind the Americans, the Russins obrained agreat deal of valuable information an 3 tons of uranium oxide. [Beevor] The Soviet conquest of Berlin proved to be a nightmare for the surviving women, almost all of whom were raped. It is estimated that 2 million German women were raped by Russians at the end of the War. Perhaps 0.2 million of those rapes took place in Berlin. The rapes included children, nuns, old ladies, and even Russian women brought to Germany to work as slave laborers. The Soviets denied the German civilian reports, but Soviet archieves leave no doubt as to what occurred. [Beevor]

Stalin's Orders

The battle for Berlin fought in April 1945 was one of the most horific engagements of World War II. Stalin ordered the Red Army to take Berlin. After the Americans seized the Remagen Bridge and crossed the Rhine, Stalin ordered the time table speeded up and at the same time lied to Eisenhowser that he was preparing to take the German capital.

Fortress Berlin

Hitler as the Red Army pressed west designated fortress cities in which the Wehrmacht was ordered to defend to the death rather than retreat. The result was a series of horific battles and a continuing disiption of of Wehrmacht units. Now with the Soviets closing in on Berlin, Hitler ordered a fight to the death and designated Berlin as the final fortress city. Major General Hellmuth Reymann, commnding the city's defenses calculated that it would take at least 0.2 million experienced and well-armed troops to defend the capital. Hitler ordered Wehrmacht units to the north and west to come to Berlin's defense. The German commanders involved were by this point in the war more interested in moving west so they could surrender to the Western Allies.

Eisenhower

After crossing the Rhine andc reducing the Ruhr pocket, the highly mobile American Army could have moved for Berlin. Eisenhower decided not to do so. Historians bebate why. Some maintain he wanted to avoid the casualties. Others say that he was duped by Stalin who assured him that the Red Army was not pressing for Berlin. It should be noted, however, that the occupation zones had already been determined at Yalta. If Eisebhower had pressed toward Berlin, it would not have changed the post-War occupaionn zones.

German Preparations

There were substantial German forces that because of Hitler's refusal to withdraw were not available to fight the final battle--the defense of Berlin. Large numbers of German soldiers were left in Norway and unable to play a role in the defense of the Reich. He also refused o evacuiate the Courland Pocket in Latvia. His final act which ensured that string formations woukld not be available to defend Berlin was ordering two SS Panzer divisions to Hungary in a futile effort to defend Budapest from the advancing Red Army. Thus Hitler not only failed to husband available resorces, but he actually stripped Berlin of its strongest defending units. Such actions in the past had affected the Wehrmacht soldiers and the German people. This time Hitler himself wold bear the consequences of his mismanagement of the War. This mean that the defense of Berlin was left in large measure to the Volkssturm--a force of Hitler Youth boys and old men. One such boy, Armin Lehmann describes his experiences. The Volksstrum set about preparing to meet the Soviets. They built set up barricades and dug trenches to trap tanks. General Reymann had no illusions about the preparations. He is reported to have said, "I only hope that some miracle happens to change our fortunes, or that the War ends before Berlin comes under siege. Otherwise, God help the Berliners!" The Wehrmacht units that Hitler ordered to relieve Berlin either never existed or were not about to march to their death. The defenders had few tanks and little heavy artillery. The Volksstrum did have small arms and Panzer-Shrecks and Panzer-Fausts.

Soviet Forces

The Soiviets forces greatly outnumbered the Germans. They outnumbered the Germans in men (5:1), artillery (15:1), tanks (5:1), and aircraft (3:1).

The Battle

The Red Army deplpyed 1.3 million experienced and well-armed troops to take Berlin. Marshal Zhukov called the battle for Berlin the "final hour of vengenance." Stalin ordered the Soviet soldiers to swear an oath on the Soviet flag to fight with "special zeal for the motherland, the Communist Party and final victory". The Soviets launched their offensive (April 16). It became a building to bulding struggle. The Soviets both drove ito the city, but also encircled it. The encirclement was complete (April 25). Red Army soldiers seizrd the Reichstag raised the Soviet flag (April 30). The Germans finally surrendered (May 2).

Hitler's Bunker

Hitler's bomb-proff bunker was built under the Chancellry. Hitler's advisers pleaded with him to leave the Berlin and continue the War from an Alpine redoubt. He refused and decided to stay where he was still in control of the situation. He fantasized over a map table about armies long since destroyed. The ones that still existed were ignoring his orders. When President Roosevelt died (April 12), Goebbels fueled the fantasy that the British and Americans wold make a separate peace. The last photographs of Hitler (newsreel footage) was taken on the occasion of hif his 56th birthday (April 20). Thatmorning he played with Bolndie (his German Shapard). He took his cocaine eyedrops. Then he climbed the steps into the Reich Chancellery courtyard. There he received the NAZI salute from representatives of the cutoff Courland Army, the SS-Division "Berlin", and 20 HJ boys who had erarned the Iron Cross. Hitler muttered a few words to them and patted a few of the younger boys on the cheek. He then disappeared back into the nunker leaving the boys to face Russian tanks. There in the bunker Martina Goebels played solitare after killing her children. He ordered Eva Braun's brother shot for trying to escape. When picked up by the SS, he had a pocket full of jewells. Italian partisans shot Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci and string up their bodies (April 28). Hitler was determined that he not be caught on the run like Mussolini. Hitler finally married his long-time mistress Eva Braun (April 29). On the same day he dictated his last will and testimony to his private secretary, Martin Bormann. He expelled Göring and Himmler from the Party for disloyalty. And he designated Admiral Karl Doenitz as his replacement. (Doenutz was not informed until the next day after Hitler was dead.) The next day with the Soviet sildiers in the nearby Reichstag, Hitler set about commiting suiside (April 30). After testing the cyninide pills on his dog Blondie, he and Braun took cyninide and he shot himself. Martin Borman and the remaining NAZIs gave a farewell salute as the bodies were burned. [Fest] That pitiful scene was a far cry from what Hitler wanted. He had told his associates, "We may go down, but we will take the world down with us."

Importance

It has always been wonderd why Stalin was so obsessed with Berlin and was willining to sacrifice so many Red Army soldiers to get to Berlin before the Americans. It has always been felt that it was primarily for the political value, to demonstrate the role of the Red Army in defeating the NAZIs. A British historian argues that there was another important reason. Beria had learned of the American Manhattan Project to build an atomic bomb. Stalin as a result ordered a top secret Soviet atomic bomb project--Project Boradino. Located at Berlin was the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, the center of the German atomic project. While the Germans were far behind the Americans, the Russins obrained agreat deal of valuable information an 3 tons of uranium oxide. [Beevor]

Red Army Revenge

The Soviet conquest of Berlin proved to be a nightmare for the surviving women, almost all of whom were raped. This begun even before the Red Army reached the Reich. It did not just occur in Berlin. It is estimated that 2 million German women were raped by Russians at the end of the War. Perhaps 0.2 million of those rapes took place in Berlin. The rapes included children, nuns, old ladies, and even Russian women brought to Germany to work as slave laborers. The Soviets denied the German civilian reports, but Soviet archieves leave no doubt as to what occurred. [Beevor] This is still very contoversial in Russia, as the Great Patriotic War is still considered in an almost religious way by Russians. While Soviet authors were not allowed to mention it, famed war correspondent Vasily Grossman did detail it in his notebooks. Grossman admired and empthized with the Red Army soldiers who defeated the NAZIs. He was apauled, however, by the riotous behavior he observed, especially the raping of girls and women. He wrote of the "horror in the eyes of women and girls". He reports that liberated Soviet slave workers reported being raped to him and even liberated contration camp imates were raped. [Beevor and Vinogravoda]

Losses

Losses on both the German and Russian side were enormous. Some estimates run as high as 0.5 million men. [Fest] Other estimates are substantially lower, but still very high. One respected historian estimates 78,000 men. [Beevor] Russian losses were in part due to the fact that Stalin had ordered that Berlin be seized bfore the Americans could reach it. Stalin's ordered resulted in a race to Berlin by Marshal Zukov and Koniev, both wanting the victor' laurels.

Sources

Beevor, Antony and Luba Vinogravoda. A Writer at War: Vassily Grossman with the Red Army, 1941-1945 (Pantheon, 2006), 378p. This is an important document. There are passages from Grossman's notebooks (without the distortions of the Red Star editors along with interperative material written by Beevor.

Beevor, Anthony. The Fall of Berlin 1945.

Fest, Joachim. Inside Hitler's Bunker: The Last Day of the Third Reich (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2004).

Created: May 30, 2004
Last updated: 4:19 AM 5/11/2009