The international political situation by April 1945 showed that the war with Germany was drawing to a close. The armed forces of the Third Reich, retreating to Eastern Front under powerful blows and pressed by the Allied forces on the Western Front, were on the verge of disaster. Germany lost all allies. Some former allies Berlin declared war on Germany.

The Soviet Union was at the peak of glory and military-political power. The successes of the Soviet Army in the European theater of operations and the skillful actions of the Kremlin in the international arena raised the prestige of the USSR in the world even higher. If by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the USSR had diplomatic relations with 25 states, then by the beginning of the Berlin operation - already with 41 states. The Soviet Union created the foundation for the formation of an alternative model of the world order, breaking the monopoly western project. The Crimean Conference was a personal victory for Stalin and the USSR. Soviet civilization got the opportunity to secure the Western strategic direction for decades to come, to form a detachment of allies in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, which created a line of security in Europe. The decisions of the Crimean Conference provided for the complete denazification, demilitarization and democratization of Germany, the hotbed of war in the center of Europe was destroyed.

Although the war brought great harm to the Soviet Union, destroying its western, southwestern regions, part of the center of the country, it proved the advantages of the socialist system and the planned beginning. Socialism allowed the USSR-Russia not only to resist, but also to continue to grow, proving the superiority and effectiveness of the Soviet model over the Western, capitalist one. During the war years, the national economy grew at a significant pace for wartime, and the military-industrial complex strengthened. There was an increase in the production of the most important types of products and the extraction of strategic raw materials, which allowed the military-industrial complex to produce weapons, equipment and ammunition for the Armed Forces of the USSR in the quantities that were needed. The Soviet military-industrial complex won a convincing victory over the German military industry. “Magnitogorsk defeated the Ruhr,” as the famous German general Guderian admitted. The technical equipment of the Soviet Army was constantly improved. Compared with the beginning of 1944, in 1945 it increased by 41.1% for self-propelled guns, for combat aircraft - by 209%, for vehicles - by 72%, for anti-aircraft guns - by 54%, for machine guns - by 23 .6%.

Thus, the national economy of the country created all the necessary means to deliver the final blow to the Reich.

Agony of the Reich

By April 1945, it was clear that, in terms of military-strategic and economic factors, Germany had lost the war. The Third Reich was dying. After the loss of most of Europe, Germany's economic situation deteriorated sharply. Germany did not have large internal resources and could not wage a war of attrition, losing in all respects to the Soviet Union and the Anglo-American alliance. In March 1945, steel production was only 15% of the average monthly level in 1944. Coal production fell to 16% and coke production to 38%. The general economic decline led to the fact that in March 1945 the output of military products decreased by 65% ​​compared to July 1944.

In the first quarter of 1945, the production of the main types of ammunition and ammunition fell so much that the German command was no longer able to fully and timely supply the troops with everything they needed. The production of aircraft satisfied about 50% of the needs, the production of tanks fell by more than two times (in 1944, 705 tanks were produced monthly, in 1945 - 333 vehicles), the production of artillery and small arms was at the level of 50% of the average monthly output in 1944 .

The human resources of the country were exhausted. The loss of Hungary, Slovakia and Austria, East Prussia and East Pomerania further weakened the resource base of the Third Reich. The losses in personnel that the German army suffered during the winter battles of January-February 1945 were replenished only by 45-50%. This was achieved by conscripting men born in 1928-1929 into the army. that is, young men of 16-17 years old were already called. The quality of the personnel has also declined significantly.

At the same time, despite the growth of internal contradictions within the German leadership, caused by the desire to save their own skin, the Third Reich retained control over the population. Carpet bombing by Anglo-American aviation, which wiped out entire cities from the face of the earth, massively destroying the civilian population, and destroying the historical and cultural centers of Germany, did not lead to the desired effect. Air terror could not break the morale of the Germans. The preservation of the solidity of the German people headed by the Fuhrer (German anti-fascists and communists did not have mass influence) was due to two factors: 1) this is skillful propaganda, which year after year (using certain psycho-technologies) laid in the masses the ideas of the superiority of the "chosen people", "the infallibility of the leader", "the invincibility of the Wehrmacht", etc.; 2) repression and terror. All "dissenters" were in concentration camps. There was no "fifth column" in Germany. There were only divisions within the Reich leadership itself. The German soldiers continued to resist in a disciplined manner until they surrendered. Workers stood at the machines in the underground factories. The entire Reich fought and worked without thinking about the uprising.

I must say that this example convincingly shows that all hopes for a “correct Maidan” in Ukraine-Little Russia are in vain. Neither war, nor impoverishment, nor the sale of the remnants of the country's wealth, including land, nor the prospect of starvation in the former granary of the USSR, will lead to a revolution that will stabilize relations between Russia and Ukraine, at least at the level of the rule of Yanukovych or Yushchenko. The modern level of the media, especially television and the Internet, allows most of the population to be programmed. Especially after the departure of generations brought up and educated in the USSR. Control over the media, the system of education and upbringing, culture allows the formation of whole "ethnic chimeras", like the "Ukrainian people" (confused Russians). Under such a system, all the blame for the problems is placed on the "external enemy", in this case, the "Muscovites". There is no hope for internal purification. A "cancer tumor" can only be cured by external surgery. Following the example of Germany, it is obvious that only a military defeat of the oligarchic, pro-Western regime, its physical liquidation (a military tribunal in Donetsk or Kyiv), complete de-Ukrainization and Russification of Little Russia can save Ukraine-Little Russia. After that, the reunification of the two parts of a single Russian civilization, Russia.

The Third Reich lost all its allies. The economic and military situation of the country was critical. However, the leadership of the Reich still hoped for a "miracle". Hitler and his followers made desperate efforts to delay the end, to prolong the war. At the expense of the Western Front, they continued to strengthen the defenses on the Eastern Front. By April 1945, Germany still had powerful armed forces: the ground forces alone numbered 325 divisions. This allowed Berlin to put up strong resistance at the final stage of the war, hoping to prolong the war and wait for a split in the ranks of the anti-Hitler coalition.

General situation in the European theater of operations

As a result of the successful offensive operations of the Soviet Army in the east and the American-Anglo-French troops (with the participation of other allied contingents) in the west, the armed struggle was transferred to the territory of Germany itself. The Third Reich was squeezed in the grip of two strategic fronts. In January - early April 1945, the Red Army defeated large Wehrmacht groups in Poland, Silesia, Hungary, Austria, Czechoslovakia, East Prussia and East Pomerania. Soviet troops advanced to the central regions of Germany on a wide front.

The troops of the 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian fronts defeated Army Group A and advanced deeply into German territory. The troops of the 1st Belorussian Front reached the Oder (Odra) River in the area from the Baltic to the mouth of the Neisse (Nisa) River, capturing a number of bridgeheads on the western bank of the Oder. The Soviet armies in the central direction were 60 kilometers from Berlin. The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front reached the Neisse River in the area from Ratzdorf to Pentsikh, the left wing of the front fought in Czechoslovakia. On the left wing of the strategic Soviet-German front, the troops of the 4th, 2nd and 3rd Ukrainian fronts defeated Army Group South, completely liberated Hungary, Slovakia, part of Austria, took the Austrian capital Vienna and the capital of Slovakia Bratislava, liberated Brno , fought for the liberation of the Czech Republic. The Yugoslav army, with the support of the USSR, successfully completed the liberation of Yugoslavia.

It is also worth remembering that the Red Army was supported by allied formations. As part of the 1st Belorussian Front, the 1st Army of the Polish Army fought, as part of the 1st Ukrainian Front - the 2nd Polish Army, in the 2nd Ukrainian Front - the 4th and 1st Romanian armies, in the 3rd The Ukrainian front - the 1st Bulgarian army, in the 4th Ukrainian front - the Czechoslovak army corps.

The troops of the Leningrad and 2nd Baltic fronts continued the blockade in the western part of Latvia of the Kurland Army Group. The troops of the 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts surrounded and defeated the main forces of Army Group North in East Prussia. In April 1945, the armies of the 3rd Belorussian Front completed the destruction of the East Prussian grouping in the area of ​​Königsberg and the Zemland Peninsula. The fall of Königsberg was a severe blow to the Third Reich. The 2nd Belorussian Front, with the support of the 1st Belorussian Front, defeated the enemy's East Pomeranian grouping. The 2nd Belorussian Front finished off the remnants of the Vistula Army Group in the area of ​​Danzig and Gdynia.

On the Western Front, the situation was also in favor of the anti-Hitler coalition. On the Italian front, the troops of the 1st French Army occupied the front on the Franco-Italian border in the Nice area, and the troops of the 5th american army and the 8th British Army operated north of Florence. Using the success of the Red Army during the winter offensive and the transfer of the elite 6th SS Panzer Army and a number of other formations from the Western Front to the Eastern, the Allies resumed the offensive in the second half of March, crossed the Rhine in the Bonn and Mannheim sector. By April 1, the Allies reached the front of Breda, Bonn, Kassel Manheim and Mulus, completing the encirclement of the Ruhr grouping (Army Group B) of the Wehrmacht. On April 17, the commander of Army Group B, Field Marshal Walter Model, gave the order to stop resistance and soon shot himself. The Allies took more than 300,000 prisoners.

Thus, the Third Reich lost the last major grouping on the Western Front. Germany lost the Ruhr - the most important military-industrial region of the country. The defeat of the German Army Group "B" in the Ruhr actually led to the collapse of the entire Western Front. Now the Allies were moving east without much resistance from the Wehrmacht. The Germans fought back only in separate strongholds. Allied troops advanced on the Hamburg, Leipzig and Prague directions.

The initial slowness of the Western armies gave way to extreme haste. The military-political leadership of England and the United States hurried the military command in order to develop an offensive against Berlin in order to occupy the German capital before the Russians. The headquarters of the supreme command in Europe, after the defeat of the Ruhr grouping, provided for concentrating the main efforts on the central sector of the front to develop an offensive in the Dresden direction in order to divide the German troops into two parts and connect with the Red Army. Under favorable conditions, they planned to develop an offensive on the southern sector of the front from the area north of Strasbourg to Regensburg and Linz, in order to also connect with the Russians. However, this plan met with objections from Churchill, who believed that the main blow should be delivered on the northern sector of the front. He believed that the Allied forces should move as far east as possible and, if possible, take Berlin. As a result, the American plan was accepted. At the same time, the American military leadership also believed that, under favorable conditions, Berlin should be taken. Only the exit of Soviet troops directly to Berlin forced the allies to abandon this plan. In addition, Churchill believed that the entry of American troops into Prague would be of great political importance.

The distance between the Soviet and Anglo-American troops was reduced to 150-200 km. Closest to Berlin - less than 100 km - the Allied front line passed near Magdeburg, where the Allied advance detachments entered. However, the Allies no longer had time to prepare for a breakthrough on Berlin from this line. The Soviet Army has already completed preparations and went on the offensive. Advance on Berlin under these conditions supreme commander Allied armies Dwight Eisenhower found it impossible. “It is true that we captured a small bridgehead across the Elbe,” he noted, “but it should be remembered that only our advanced units reached this river; our main forces are far behind."

It is worth remembering that the Eastern Front in 1945, like previous years, was the decisive front of the Second World War. Most of the German troops fought against the Red Army. The total number of German armed forces by April 1, 1945 reached 263 divisions, 14 brigades, 82 battle groups of divisions, remnants of divisions, remnants of brigades, battle groups, which generally corresponded to 325 divisions. On the Soviet-German front, Germany had 167 divisions (including 32 tank and 13 motorized), and more than 60 battle groups, remnants of divisions, remnants of brigades, battle groups, that is, translated into divisions, this corresponded to 195 divisions.

57 German divisions fought on the Western Front (including 4 tank and 3 motorized), 18 battle groups of divisions, remnants of divisions and battle groups. In terms of divisions, this amounted to 70 divisions. In combat, qualitative terms, these were weaker divisions than on the Eastern Front. Previously, a significant part of the divisions that were defeated on the Soviet-German front were transferred to France for restoration. These formations were completed by only 50-60% due to the latest total mobilizations, when the troops took the elderly 50-60 years old and young men 16-17 years old. These formations were less well trained, armed, their combat resistance was less than that of the divisions that fought on the Eastern Front. About 11 divisions remained in the reserve of the Supreme High Command of the German Armed Forces.

Strategic plans of the German leadership

Despite the obvious loss in the war, the German leadership, and above all Hitler, who fanatically believed in a "miracle", did not want to admit defeat and was looking for a way out in protracting the war. The main hopes were placed on the fact that insurmountable contradictions would arise in the camp of opponents, and the anti-Hitler coalition would disintegrate, then it would be possible to negotiate with the Western powers. Moreover, these contradictions, according to the German leadership, should have escalated as the end of the war approached. The German leadership hoped that it would be possible to save the Nazi personnel that England and the United States would need for a new stage of the war with Russia-USSR. An updated, more "democratic" Third Reich could become the spearhead of the struggle against the Soviet Union.

There were prerequisites for such a vision of the situation, since the leadership of Germany, even before the start of World War II, had tacit agreements with England that the British would not interfere with the Germans to crush the Soviet Union. Such negotiations between Berlin and London were led by Rudolf Hess. Not in vain, after the end of the war, he was kept in custody until old age, and then eliminated the 93-year-old man so that he would not blurt out too much.

In March 1945, General Wolf arrived in Swiss Bern with a group of officers to establish ties and separate negotiations with the Anglo-American command in order to surrender Germany to the Allies. On the part of the allies, the negotiations were conducted by the chief resident of the Office of Strategic Services (future CIA) of the United States for Europe, Allen Dulles. Negotiations continued for about two weeks. And only thanks to the measures taken by Moscow, having made the negotiations public, the plan of the German leadership was thwarted. Soviet government addressed the American President Roosevelt with a special message, demanding an end to unilateral negotiations. Roosevelt stopped them.

Another idea of ​​the Nazi leadership was the slogan "it is better to surrender Berlin to the Allies than let the Russians into it." However, the rapid offensive of the Red Army frustrated these plans. The Anglo-American troops simply did not have time to reach Berlin before the Soviet troops.

In February - March 1945, the German high command, seeking to drag out the war at all costs and stop the offensive of the Red Army, organized the last counter-offensives in Hungary and Eastern Pomerania, using the last powerful mobile formations and reserves. However, despite the power of the blows and the desperate stubbornness of the German troops, including the elite formations of the SS, the offensive of the Soviet troops could not be stopped. The German counteroffensive ended in failure and the complete exhaustion of the armored fist of the Third Reich, which was necessary for defense in the Berlin direction.

Expecting the main attack of the Red Army on the Berlin direction, the German high command concentrated a large number of forces and means necessary for the defense of the Berlin metropolitan area. Particular attention was paid to the creation of a powerful defense against west bank R. Oder. This line was to be defended by the main forces of the 9th Army. Formed reserves were concentrated north of Berlin. The essence of Hitler's strategic plan was simple: to contain the Russian offensive in the east at all costs and at the same time reach an agreement with England and the United States, avoiding the complete elimination of the Nazi regime.

To be continued…

History of Germany. Volume 2. From the Creation of the German Empire to the Beginning of the 21st Century Bonwetsch Bernd

The end of the Third Reich and the results of the war

The military defeat of the Third Reich began in June 1944 and took place in parallel on the western and eastern fronts. On June 23, 1944, the offensive of the Soviet Army began, which resulted in the collapse of the German army group "Center" on the Eastern Front. Despite their resistance, the defeat was even worse than the disaster at Stalingrad. Only in the battles for Belarus, the Wehrmacht lost 400 thousand soldiers killed, wounded and captured. By the end of August 1944, the Soviet Union was completely liberated from the German invaders.

The large-scale offensive of the Soviet armed forces allowed them, by the end of 1944, to reach the Baltic Sea near Memel (with the encirclement of the German military group of troops "Kurland") and to the border of East Prussia. The front ran from the north of the Vistula near Warsaw to the south through Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary to Budapest. The advance of Soviet troops along the Danube forced the German command to move Army Group E from Greece and Yugoslavia. During the fighting, the German Wehrmacht lost dozens of divisions. Almost 100 divisions required up to 80% replacement of personnel and equipment.

On June 6, 1944, at 6:30 am, Allied troops began landing in Northern Normandy (Operation Overlord). Thus, a second front was opened, but in the first weeks of the offensive, the German army put up unexpectedly serious resistance. On July 25, the Americans made a decisive breakthrough, and the allied forces began to move deep into French territory. The American-French landing between Cannes and Toulon on August 15 hastened the liberation of France. Paris was liberated on August 25, Brussels on September 3, Antwerp on September 4, and on October 21 the Allies took Aachen, the first major German city.

The German army could not hold the front for a long time, despite individual manifestations of the fanaticism and patriotism of the German soldiers. Having collected the last human and material reserves, the Wehrmacht command launched a militarily senseless offensive in the Ardennes (December 16-22, 1944). This offensive faltered and eventually led to even heavier losses at the end of December.

1944 went down in the history of World War II as a year of confident victories for the anti-Hitler coalition. collapse fascist bloc in Europe, by the end of 1944, it actually ended: the governments of Romania, Finland, Bulgaria and Hungary broke off relations with Germany and declared war on her. Now 44 states of the world were in a state of war with the Third Reich, its outcome was predetermined.

In the spring of 1945 fighting developed rapidly in Europe. The Anglo-American troops quickly enough, meeting much less than in the East, the resistance of the Nazis, advanced through West Germany. The hopes of Hitler and his entourage for a separate peace with the Anglo-Americans (the corresponding secret negotiations took place in Switzerland), which intensified after the death of US President F. Roosevelt on April 12, did not come true.

The loss of industrial areas and the lack of raw materials led in late 1944 - early 1945 to a rapid decline in German military production. Due to losses in South-Eastern Europe, the lack of fuel began to be strongly felt. By order of the Minister of Armaments, Speer, some of the factories were transferred to underground premises to save them from bombing. But the economic crisis continued to deepen. From May 1944 to January 1945, the production index decreased by 32%. From February to March 1945, the transport crisis paralyzed the entire industry. The current situation forced Speer to move towards the decentralization of the management of the military industry. Six large industrial districts were created, within which a closed cycle was provided for the production of products for the front. Speer, like some other leaders of the Third Reich, opposed the implementation of Hitler's "scorched earth" order, so it was possible to ensure the release of weapons and ammunition until the end of the war.

The Nazi regime intensified terror in these last months of the war. On February 15, 1945, courts-martial for deserters began to operate in the front-line zones. Flying a white flag was punishable by death. Then the action of courts-martial extended to the civilian population.

In connection with the events in the Ardennes, the Soviet command accelerated the second big offensive of its troops, which began on January 12, 1945 along the entire eastern front. Its result was the liberation of Poland and the encirclement of three German armies in East Prussia. For 21 days of the offensive, the Nazi Wehrmacht lost about 500 thousand people, 1300 aircraft, 1300 tanks, 14 thousand guns and mortars.

The military catastrophe of the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front turned into a tragedy for the inhabitants of East Prussia. The Soviet Army, having cut it off from the rest of the Reich, caused a multimillion-dollar flow of refugees from the war and the Soviet occupation. They were moving westward, towards Danzig, at the mouth of the Vistula. Many people who did not have time to cross the front line died or were captured if they did not freeze earlier from the cold January days or fell through the ice of the bay. Some part of the population did manage to evacuate to the west of Germany in the following weeks, thanks to the rescue operations of the German navy. The total number of victims among the German population of the eastern regions of Germany amounted to about 500 thousand people.

On the central sector of the front, the advanced units of the Soviet Army captured Warsaw, reached Kustrin on the Oder, encircled Breslau and captured the little destroyed Upper Silesian industrial region. In the south, on April 13, the Soviet Army captured Vienna. The agony of the Third Reich began.

April 16, 1945 three Soviet front, numbering a total of 2.5 million people, more than 42 thousand guns, 6200 tanks and self-propelled guns and 8300 aircraft began the Berlin operation. In the Berlin area there were three defensive lines, four German armies, numbering 83 divisions, a Berlin garrison of 200 thousand people and 200 Volkssturm battalions. By order of the German high command, the city was to be held "until the last breath." On April 20, on the day of the 56th anniversary of the birth of Hitler, the storming of Berlin by Soviet troops began with a volley of thousands of guns.

The passage of the Western Allies across the Rhine on March 7, 1945 opened the way for them deep into Germany. German troops surrendered almost without resistance. On April 18, the Allies occupied the Ruhr area. Then they reached the Elbe near Magdeburg. On April 19, the Germans surrendered Leipzig. On April 25, the opening day of the founding UN conference in San Francisco, Soviet and American troops met on the Elbe. The Nazi regime was living out its last days, and divisions appeared in its leadership. The first group, led by Hitler, Goebbels, Bormann and others, hoped until the last moment that when the Western allies met with the Soviet troops, a military conflict would arise between them, which the German armed forces would use for a powerful strike from the North and South. This was the result of political blindness and fanaticism. The second group of leaders, headed by Goering and Himmler, considered it possible for the German troops to surrender in the West and to continue the joint struggle against the Soviet troops with the British and Americans. They were even able to establish contacts in Switzerland with representatives of England and the United States. But this group underestimated the strength of the negative public reaction of the anti-Hitler coalition to a possible alliance with the Nazis. The third group (Minister of Armaments Speer, representatives of business circles) considered a clash between the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition unrealistic. They sought only to avoid a general capitulation. But all these behind-the-scenes maneuvers of part of the Nazi leadership were destroyed by events on the Soviet-German front.

On April 25, two Soviet groups of troops under the command of Marshal Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov (1896-1974) and Marshal Ivan Stepanovich Konev (1897-1973) completed the encirclement of Berlin and broke into the city. Fierce street fighting began, on April 30 the Red Banner was hoisted over the Reichstag.

On the same day, Hitler and Goebbels committed suicide in the bunker of the Imperial Chancellery. In the left "testament" as his "successor" Hitler appointed Admiral Karl Dönitz (1891-1980), who in Flensburg on the Danish border (British zone of occupation) formed a "government" that sought to save the remnants of the Wehrmacht from unconditional surrender. Despite the efforts made, this intention failed.

On May 7, in Reims, in front of representatives of the Western Allies, Germany was forced to sign the Act of Unconditional Surrender. He entered the Sipu on May 9, 1945 at 0000 hours. 00 min., after the re-signing of the surrender to representatives of the Supreme Commands of the USSR, the USA, England and France in the eastern part of Berlin - Karlshorst.

Dönitz's "government" lasted just over three weeks. All his efforts these days were aimed at transferring as many people as possible from the Soviet zone of occupation to the zones of the Western Allies out of fear of Soviet Army. More than half of the German military grouping in the East (1 million 850 thousand soldiers and officers) crossed over the Anglo-American line of occupation, while 1.5 million were taken prisoner by Soviet troops. More than 2 million civilians independently reached the western zones of occupation through the Baltic, Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark. At the urgent request of the Soviet side, on May 23, 1945, British troops finally arrested the Dönitz government.

The European war was over. The Pacific War came to an end on September 2, 1945, after the surrender of Japan. In Germany, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition, in accordance with the Berlin Declaration of June 5, 1945, took over supreme power. The Third Reich ceased to exist de facto and de jure.

The war, which was planned and unleashed by the Nazi elite as a series of "blitzkriegs", turned into the Second World War, in the fire of which about 60 million people died. The total theater of operations was more than 5 times the theater of operations of the First World War. To one degree or another, 64 states with a population of 1 billion 700 million people were drawn into the war.

Second World War had enormous consequences for the fate of mankind. The borders of a number of states were revised, another “great migration of peoples” of the 20th century took place. The geopolitical situation has changed: instead of 8 "great" powers, as it was in 1939, there were 2 "superpowers" left - the USA and the USSR, the "cold war" began. Gradually, the so-called "Yalta-Potsdam" system of international relations took shape. All this directly affected the fate of Germany.

The consequences of the war were also grave for her: 7 million 234 thousand dead, or 9.5% of the pre-war population. The losses of the civilian population are close to the number of dead soldiers and officers: 3 million 204 thousand and 4 million 30 thousand, respectively. About 17 million people were left homeless. 41 large and 158 medium-sized cities were badly destroyed, the economy was paralyzed.

Total defeat and unconditional surrender for a long time crossed Germany out of the category of great powers of the European continent. After Germany had existed as a single state for three quarters of a century, it again lost its unity for 45 years. The country was led to this by the Nazi imperialist policy of creating a "new order" in Europe and the world. The collapse of the foreign policy and diplomacy of Nazi Germany seems obvious.

The war clearly demonstrated what society can come to if power falls into the hands of terrorist, right-wing extremist forces. The defeat of Germany in the war was also the defeat of the Nazi ideology. The "National Socialist Revolution" instead of the "revival" of Germany pushed it into the abyss of a world war, the international community condemned National Socialism as a system of power.

The consequences of Nazism were also severe for the morale of the Germans. A deep sense of guilt, which, perhaps, has become one of the features of the mentality of the nation, still, after more than half a century after the end of the war, makes all the disputes around Hitler's "voluntary assistants" very painful.

Hitler and his supporters, by their war, paradoxically accelerated precisely those processes in the world that they wanted to prevent: they wanted to destroy the Soviet Union and bring the United States to its knees, but it was these countries that began to determine the world's post-war development. The Nazis planned to create a vast colonial empire - and as a result of the war, the collapse of the colonial system accelerated. Hitler's National Socialism proclaimed the destruction of "world Jewry" - and thus gave a decisive impetus to the formation of the Israeli state. The intention of the Nazis was for the second time to make a "jump to world domination" - and they lost not only Germany as a world power, but also its political unity.

The National Socialists were fanatical supporters of the domination of the white, "Aryan-Nordic" race over Europe and the world. The experience of the world war they unleashed gave impetus to the founding of the United Nations and the projects of the European Community. Thus, a decisive impetus was given to overcome the idea of ​​the nation-state and the "racial purity" of nations. All these "paradoxes" were the result of the fact that Hitler's worldview, the ideology of Nazism and fascism in general, were neither "modern" nor "rational".

The anti-fascist resistance movement failed to overthrow the Nazi regime on its own. Germany was liberated from Nazism by the forces of the anti-Hitler coalition. This shows that the fascist ideology, under certain conditions, can attract a significant part of the population. The timely recognition and struggle against it, the prevention of fascists from power are the tasks of today.

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From the book Cryptoeconomics of the Global Diamond Market author Goryainov Sergey Alexandrovich

Diamonds of the Third Reich Almost all serious sources, most researchers of the diamond market categorically state that De Beers Corporation refused to cooperate with Nazi Germany. Central marketing organization of the diamond monopoly

From the book De Conspiratione / About the Conspiracy author Fursov A. I.

Diamonds of the Third Reich Almost all serious sources, most researchers of the diamond market categorically state that De Beers Corporation refused to cooperate with Nazi Germany. Central marketing organization of the diamond monopoly

Even before the start of World War II, the leadership of the Third Reich thought about what should be done in the first place in the occupied territories. The Germans also had a plan for the development of the Soviet Union ...

Disputes on the topic

There is still no (and cannot be) consensus among historians about what would have happened to the Soviet Union if Germany had won World War II. This topic is by definition speculative. However, the documented plans of the Nazis for the development of the conquered territories do exist, and their study continues, revealing more and more new details.

The plans of the Third Reich regarding the development of the conquered territories of the USSR are usually associated with the "General Plan Ost". It must be understood that this is not one document, but rather a project, because historians do not have the complete text of the document officially approved by Hitler. But there are six documents (see table).

The very concept of Plan Ost was developed on the basis of Nazi racial doctrine under the patronage of the Reichskommissariat for the Strengthening of German Statehood (RKF), headed by Reichsfuehrer SS Himmler. Concept master plan Ost was supposed to serve as a theoretical foundation for the colonization and Germanization of the occupied territories after the victory over the USSR.

Busy work...

The Nazis began to think about how to "arrange life" in the conquered territories back in 1940. In February of this year, Professor Konrad Mayer and the planning department of the RKF, headed by him, presented the first plan for the settlement of the western regions of Poland annexed to the Reich.

The Reichskommissariat for the Strengthening of German Statehood itself was created less than six months earlier - in October 1939. Mayer oversaw the creation of five of the six documents listed above.

The execution of the "General Plan Ost" was divided into two parts: the near plan - for the already occupied territories, and the far one - for the eastern territories of the USSR, which had yet to be captured. The Germans began to fulfill the "close plan" already at the beginning of the war, in 1941.

Ostland and Reichskommissariat Ukraine

Already on July 17, 1941, on the basis of Adolf Hitler's order "On Civil Administration in the Occupied Eastern Regions", under the leadership of Alfred Rosenberg, the "Imperial Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories" was created, subordinating two administrative units: the Reichskommissariat Ostland with a center in Riga and the Reichskommissariat Ukraine with the center in Rivne.

The plans of the Nazis also included the creation of the Reichskommissariat Muscovy, which would include the entire European part of Russia. It was also planned to create the Reyskomissariat Don-Volga, the Caucasus and Turkestan.

"Germanization"

One of the main points of the Ost plan was the so-called Germanization of the population of the occupied territories. The racist concept of the Third Reich considered the Russians and Slavs to be Untermensch, that is, "non-human".

The Russians were recognized as the most non-Germanized people, moreover, they were "poisoned with the poison of Judeo-Bolshevism." Therefore, they either had to be destroyed or moved to western Siberia. The European part of the USSR, according to the plan, was to be completely Germanized.

Himmler has repeatedly said that the goal of the Barbarossa plan is to destroy the Slavic population of 30 million, Wetzel wrote in his memoirs about the need to take measures to limit the birth rate (agitation of abortions, popularization of contraception, refusal to fight infant mortality).

Hitler himself frankly wrote about the program for the extermination of the local population of the USSR: " Locals? We will have to deal with their filtering. We will remove destructive Jews altogether. My impression of the Belarusian territory is better than that of the Ukrainian one. We will not go to Russian cities, they must completely die out.<...>There is only one task: to carry out Germanization through the importation of Germans, and the former inhabitants must be considered as Indians.

Plans

The occupied territories of the USSR, first of all, were supposed to serve as the raw material and food base of the Third Reich, and their population - as cheap labor. Therefore, Hitler, if possible, demanded that agriculture and industry be preserved here, which were of great interest to the German war economy.

Ost Mayer allotted 25 years for the implementation of the plan. During this time, most of the population of the occupied territories had to be "Germanized" in accordance with nationality quotas. The indigenous population was deprived of the right to private property in the cities in order to force it "on the ground".

According to the Ost plan, margraviates were introduced to control those territories where the percentage of the German population was initially low. As, for example, Ingermanlandia (Leningrad region), Gotengau (Crimea, Kherson), and Memel-Narev (Lithuania - Bialystok). In Ingermanland, it was planned to reduce the urban population from 3 million to 200 thousand.

Mayer planned the creation of 36 strongholds in Poland, Belarus, the Baltic states and Ukraine, which would ensure effective communication between the margraviates and with each other and with the metropolis. In 25-30 years, margraviates were to be Germanized by 50%, strongholds by 25-30%.

Himmler allocated only 20 years for these tasks and proposed to consider the complete Germanization of Latvia and Estonia, as well as a more active Germanization of Poland.

All these plans, on which scientists and managers, economists and business executives worked, on the development of which 510 thousand Reichsmarks were spent, were all postponed. The Third Reich was not up to fantasy.

Third Reich is the unofficial name of the German state, which existed from January 1933 to May 1945. It was a National Socialist state with a totalitarian fascist regime.
The possessions of the Third Reich stretched from France in the west to the European part of the USSR in the East, from Norway in northern Europe to Libya and Tunisia in northern Africa.
Fascist Germany completely occupied France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, Poland, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Hungary, Serbia, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Monaco, the European part modern Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, annexed as a result of the Anschluss of Austria.
The main satellite countries of the Nazi Reich were fascist Italy and imperialist Japan.
Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Spain, Yugoslavia took an active part in the hostilities on the side of the Nazi Reich. In all of the above countries, totalitarian regimes similar to the fascist one were created.
In addition to the countries directly occupied and included in the Third Reich, German troops were also in Finland, Greece, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria.
The population of the Third Reich was 90 million people.
The capital of the fascist empire was the city of Berlin.
The administrative division of the Third Reich was extremely complex. Directly on the territory of Germany, the division into lands continued to exist, however, in parallel with this, new administrative-territorial units, the Gau, were introduced. Reichsgau, Reichskommissariats, protectorates, Reichsprotectorates, districts, governor-generals, and military administrations were created in the occupied countries.
Gau (in Germany): Baden, Bayreuth, Greater Berlin, Upper Silesia, Weser-Ems, East Prussia, East Hanover, Württemberg-Hohenzollern, Halle-Merseburg, Hamburg, Hesse-Nassau, Düsseldorf, Westmark, Cologne-Aachen, Kyrggessen , Magdeburg-Anhalt, Main-Franconia, Mark Brandenburg, Mecklenburg, Moselland, Munich-Upper Bavaria, Lower Silesia, Pomerania, Saxony, North Westphalia, Thuringia, Franconia, Swabia, Schleswig-Holstein, Essen, South Westphalia, South Hanover.
Reichsgau: Wartheland (in Poland), Vienna (in Austria), Upper Danube (in Austria and Slovakia), Danzig (in Poland), Salzburg (in Austria), Carinthia (in Austria and Slovenia), Lower Danube (in Austria and Slovakia) ), Sudtenland (in the Czech Republic), Tirol-Vorarlberg (in Austria), Styria (in Slovenia), Wallonia (in Belgium), Flanders (in Belgium),
Districts: Brussels (in Belgium), Galicia (in Ukraine), Krakau (in Poland), Lublin (in Poland), Radom (in Poland), Warsaw (in Poland).
Protectorates: Bohemia (in Slovakia), Prague (in the Czech Republic), Moravia-Brunn (in Slovakia and Austria), Königgratz (in Austria), Pilsen (in Austria), Brunn (in Austria), Budweis (in Austria), Iglau ( in Austria), Mörisch-Ostrau (in Austria).
General Government: Krakow (in Poland).
Reich Protectorate: Bohemia and Moravia (in the Czech Republic and Slovakia).
Reichskommissariats: Netherlands (in the Netherlands), Norway (in Norway), Ostland (in Austria), Ukraine (in Ukraine).
In addition, the leadership of the Nazi Reich planned to create three more Reichskommissariats: Muscovy (on the territory of Russia), the Caucasus (on the territory of Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan), Turkestan (on the territory of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan), however, these plans come to life have not been implemented.
Military administrations were located: in Belgium, France, Serbia, Denmark, Monaco, northern Italy, Libya and Tunisia.
The rulers of the Reich even wanted to create a colony of New Swabia on the coast of Antarctica - their territorial appetites were so insatiable.
The Third Reich has a complex history. An important role in the emergence of fascism was played by the defeat of Kaiser Germany in World War I and the revanchist sentiments that then intensified among the upper strata of the German elite. Yes, and ordinary Germans were also continuously hammered into the head with the idea that Germany should take revenge on the world for the defeat in the First World War. With the appearance of these sentiments, fascism began to emerge in Germany.
Adolf Hitler skillfully played on the feelings of ordinary Germans, and above all on their feelings of resentment and humiliation, which Germany suffered after the signing of the Peace of Compiegne in 1918, under the terms of which the Weimar Republic was created in Germany, the size of the army was very limited (up to 100,000 people) . The onset of frenzied inflation and mass unemployment only whipped up the feelings of the Germans, the people wanted a regime change.
Taking advantage of the weakness of the German ruler, Field Marshal Hindenburg, and his inability to eliminate unemployment and the country's economic problems, Hitler organizes elections to the Reichstag and conducts an active election campaign, promising the Germans mountains of gold and the elimination of unemployment (by the way, on the eve of World War II, unemployment in Germany was really eliminated, every German was obliged to work for the good of the Reich and received quite a decent reward for this).
The elections to the Reichstag ended with a landslide victory for the National Socialists, led by the future Fuhrer of Germany, Adolf Hitler. January 30, 1933 Hitler announces the liquidation of the power of the President of Germany and proclaims himself Reich Chancellor. Thus began the era of the "brown plague".
One of Hitler's first moves was to ban the Communist Party. Hitler organizes a large-scale provocation - the Reichstag fire. After that, the German communist Ernst Thalmann is arrested and sent to a concentration camp.
In July 1933, all political parties except for the Nazis.
Hitler, like Stalin, had his opponents. The most powerful opponent of the Fuhrer was considered the leader of the SA assault detachments, Ernst Rehm. Hitler decided to eliminate all objectionable opponents.
On one of the nights, called by historians the "Night of the Long Knives", Ernst Rehm and his entourage were killed. Hitler's former party ally Gregor Strasser and former Reich Chancellor Kurt von Schleicher were also killed.
Two years after Hitler came to power, unemployment in Germany was eliminated. The economy showed steady growth. The construction of high-speed autobahns throughout Germany began in full swing. Hitler became increasingly popular with ordinary Germans.
The army of fascist Germany began to increase, the military-industrial complex began to work. Modern weapons began to come to the troops. It became obvious that Nazi Germany was preparing for war
In 1936, Germany signed the Anti-Comintern Pact with Italy and Japan. A trio of countries aspiring to world domination was formed - the “Hitlerian axis”.
1938 was a turning point for German Jews. On the night of November 9, Jewish pogroms took place throughout Germany, this event was called "Kristallnacht". After that night, mass arrests and extermination of Jews began. Shops, businesses, houses were taken away from them. Mass emigration of Jews to other countries began, primarily to the United States, Canada, to the territory of modern Israel and to the countries of South America.
A large number of Jews who did not have time to go abroad were sent to the Nazi concentration camps, where only one fate awaited them - death. By the beginning of 1942, there were no Jews in Germany - all remaining Jews were destroyed.
In 1938, the Third Reich annexed its first territory - it annexed Austria. Now this country has become part of the Reich.
In 1939, on the eve of the outbreak of World War II, all of Czechoslovakia was annexed to Germany.
In 1939, Germany concludes a treaty of friendship and non-aggression with the USSR. A few weeks after this event, the German Wehrmacht crossed the Polish border (September 1, 1939) and the Second World War began.
In 1940, German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov sign an agreement on the division of spheres of influence in the occupied territories. Historians call this event the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. As a result of this pact, the territory of Poland was divided between Germany and the USSR. The USSR included western Ukraine, western Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina (the territory of modern Chernivtsi region in Ukraine). The Germans got the rest of Poland and the territory of the Kaliningrad region.
In the same year, Germany concludes a Tripartite Pact with Italy and Japan, soon joined by Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Spain.
After the occupation of Poland, Germany attacked France and Belgium. Then Denmark was taken almost without a fight. The same fate befell the Netherlands. By the beginning of the war with the Soviet Union, all of Europe worked for the economy of the Third Reich, with the exception of Sweden, Great Britain, Ireland, Iceland and Switzerland. However, the Swiss bankers kept the gold and foreign exchange reserves of the Reich in their banks, so they can also be seen as direct accomplices of the Nazi regime.
the only country Western Europe, which openly opposed the Nazi regime and was not afraid to give an armed rebuff - this is Great Britain.
Before the summer of 1941, Hitler hesitated for a long time - on which front to continue the war - against the USSR or against Great Britain. The choice fell on the Soviet state and on June 22, the Third Reich, without an official declaration of war, violates the western borders of the USSR and begins to bomb Soviet cities and airfields from the air. The Great Patriotic War.
In the occupied territories began mass extermination communists and Jews. With the outbreak of the war, the Nazi concentration camps were overcrowded. On the territory of Germany itself, the Gestapo operated, Gestapo departments were created in all the occupied cities of the USSR and Western Europe.
The mistakes of the Stalinist leadership allowed the German Wehrmacht to come close to Moscow. However, here the Nazi generals failed - they failed to take Moscow, moreover, a counteroffensive began in December 1941. German troops began to retreat, the front stopped at the beginning of 1942, about 200 km from Moscow.
In Germany itself, the anti-fascist movement grew. The Red Capella group, consisting of high-ranking officers and employees of the central apparatus of the Reich, passed secret information to the Stalinist Headquarters regarding the state of the German economy and Hitler's future plans for waging war. In June 1942, Harro Schulze-Boysen, the head of the radio operator group, was arrested. He was imprisoned by the Berlin Gestapo. Most of the group members were soon arrested. After three months of interrogation and torture, a trial took place, which sentenced all members of the group to death. All members of the Red Chapel were executed in December 1942 in the Pletzensee prison in Berlin - just at the height of the Battle of Stalingrad.
The second blow was suffered by the Nazi Reich after the defeat at Stalingrad. Hitler failed to realize the strategic plan - oil fields
He failed to capture the North Caucasus. After the defeat in Germany, the economy began to decline.
After the defeat near Kursk in 1943, it became clear to many generals close to Hitler that Germany would be defeated in this war. An assassination attempt began on Hitler. In the summer of 1944, after the opening of the Western Front, a bomb exploded at Hitler's headquarters in Berchtesgaden. However, the Fuhrer was lucky - he arrived at the meeting five minutes late, and he was not in the room. Many generals suspected of plotting the assassination were arrested and soon executed.
After the opening of the second front and the landing of the allied troops in Normandy, it became clear to everyone that the defeat of the Reich was inevitable. In part, Hitler himself understood this, but he did not want to show his fears to his entourage and fanatically believed in the victory of the German nation.
In February 1945, hostilities were already underway in Germany. Soviet troops advanced from the east, Americans, British and French from the west. There was already no one to call on the German Wehrmacht - the Reich's mobilization resources were depleted. Throughout Germany, Hitler Youth detachments were organized, which included German teenagers. Hitler's hopes for new weapons - the V-1 and V-2 rockets, as well as the Messerschmitt-262 jet fighter - collapsed, the Americans soon seized the factories in the town of Peenemünde, where missiles were produced and launches were made towards Great Britain, as well as Messerschmitt aircraft factories.
Many Nazi party bosses managed to escape abroad before the end of the war. There was a split in Hitler's inner circle.
In May 1945, the Berlin garrison capitulates. Two days before the surrender, Hitler commits suicide in his underground bunker, before his death, he appoints Admiral Doenitz as head of the Reich.
On May 8, 1945, Field Marshal Keitel and Marshal Zhukov sign the German Surrender Act. However, a large grouping of the German Wehrmacht continues to fight in Prague.
On May 9, 1945, Prague surrenders. The Great Patriotic War ends.
On May 23, 1945, in the German city of Flensburg, bordering Denmark, the government of the Third Reich, headed by Dönitz, was arrested. So the Third Reich ceased to exist.
This empire turned out to be the bloodiest in history. During the years of the existence of the Reich on the fronts of World War II, in Nazi concentration camps and forced labor, 60 million people died - exactly the same number of people lived in Germany at the beginning of 1933! The Germans lost 27 million people in this war.
More than 6 million people were killed in Nazi concentration camps. In Auschwitz alone, 1 million people died.
The Nuremberg Tribunal of 1946 put an end to the history of the Nazi Reich. Major war criminals were executed, some received long prison terms (mostly life).

The Third Reich (Drittes Reich) was the unofficial name of the German state from 1933 to 1945. The German word Reich literally means "lands that are subject to one authority." But, as a rule, it is translated as "power", "empire", less often "kingdom". Everything depends on the context. Further, the article will describe the rise and fall of the Third Reich, the achievements of the empire in foreign and domestic policy.

general information

In historiography and literature, the Third Reich is called fascist or Nazi Germany. The first name, as a rule, was used in Soviet publications. But this use of the term is somewhat incorrect, since Mussolini in Italy and Hitler had significant differences. There were differences in both ideology and political structure. At that time, Germany was a country in which a totalitarian regime was established. The state had a one-party system and the dominant ideology - National Socialism. Government control extended to absolutely all areas of activity. The Third Reich was supported by the power of the German National Socialist Workers' Party. The head of this formation was Adolf Hitler. He was also the permanent head of the country until his death (1945). Hitler's official title is "Reich Chancellor and Fuhrer". The fall of the Third Reich occurred at the end of World War II. Shortly before this, in 1944, the unsuccessful attempt coup and assassination attempt on Hitler ("Conspiracy of the Generals"). The Nazi movement had a wide scope. Of particular importance was the symbolism of fascism - the swastika. It was used almost everywhere, even the coins of the Third Reich were issued.

Foreign policy

Since 1938, there has been a certain desire for political and territorial expansion in this direction. Marches of the Third Reich took place in different states. So, in March of the year indicated above, the Anschluss (attachment by force) of Austria was carried out, and in the period from September 38 to March 39, they were attached to to the German state Klaipeda region and the Czech Republic. Then the territory of the country expanded even more. In the 39th, some Polish regions and Danzig were annexed, and in the 41st, the annexation (forced annexation) of Luxembourg took place.

World War II

It is necessary to note the unprecedented success of the German Empire in the first years of the war. Marches of the Third Reich passed through most of continental Europe. Many territories were captured, with the exception of Sweden, Switzerland, Portugal and Spain. Some areas were occupied, others were de facto considered dependent state formations. The latter, for example, include Croatia. At the same time, there were exceptions - these are Finland and Bulgaria. They were allies of Germany and nevertheless carried out an independent policy. But by 1943 there was a significant turning point in hostilities. The advantage was now on the side Anti-Hitler coalition. By January 1945, the fighting had been transferred to pre-war German territory. The fall of the Third Reich occurred after the dissolution of the Flensburg government, which was led by Karl Doenitz. It happened in 1945, on May 23rd.

Revival of the economy

During the early years of Hitler's rule, Germany achieved success not only in foreign policy. It must be said here that the Fuhrer's achievements also contributed to the economic revival of the state. The results of his activities were evaluated by a number of foreign analysts and in political circles as a miracle. Unemployment, which prevailed in post-war Germany until 1932, fell from six million to less than one by 1936. In the same period, there was an increase in industrial production (up to 102%), and income doubled. The pace of production has accelerated. During the first year of Nazi rule, the management of the economy was largely determined by Hjalmar Schacht (Hitler himself hardly interfered in his activities). At the same time, it was aimed, first of all, at the employment of all the unemployed due to a sharp increase in the volume of public works, as well as stimulating the sphere of private entrepreneurship. For the unemployed, a state loan was provided in the form of special bills. Tax rates for companies that expanded capital investments and ensured a stable increase in employment were significantly reduced.

Contribution of Hjalmar Mine

It should be said that since 1934 the country's economy has taken a military course. According to many analysts, the true rebirth of Germany was based on rearmament. It was on him that the efforts of the working and entrepreneurial class, together with the activities of the military, were directed. The war economy was organized in such a way as to function both in peacetime and during the period of hostilities, but was generally oriented towards war. Mine's ability to deal with financial affairs was used to pay for preparatory measures, rearmament in particular. One of his tricks was printing banknotes. Shakht had the ability to turn quite cleverly various frauds with currency. Foreign economists even calculated that at that time she had 237 courses at once. Shakht entered into very profitable barter deals with various countries, showed, to the surprise of analysts, it must be said that the higher the debt was set, the wider it was possible to expand the business. The economy thus revived by Mine was used from 1935 to 1938 exclusively to finance rearmament. It was estimated at 12 billion marks.

Control by Hermann Göring

This figure took over part of Schacht's functions and became the "dictator" of the German economy in 1936. Despite the fact that Goering himself was, like, in fact, Hitler, an ignoramus in the economic sphere, the country switched to a system of military total domestic policy. A four-year plan was developed, the purpose of which was to turn Germany into a state capable of independently providing itself with everything necessary in case of war and blockade. As a result, imports were reduced to the lowest possible level, prices and wages were strictly controlled, and dividends were limited to 6% per annum. The superstructures of the Third Reich began to be massively built. These were huge factories for the production of fabrics, fuel, and other goods from their own raw materials. The steel industry also began to develop. In particular, the super-structures of the Third Reich were built - the giant Goering factories, where only local ore was used in production. As a result, the German economy was fully mobilized for military needs. At the same time, industrialists, whose incomes have risen sharply, have become the mechanisms of this "war machine". At the same time, the activities of Shakht itself were constrained by huge restrictions and reporting.

Economy before the Second World War

Shacht was replaced by Walter Funk in 1937. He first served as Minister of Economics, and then, two years later, in 1939, became President of the Reichsbank. According to experts, by the beginning of World War II, Germany, on the whole, of course, "dispersed" the economy. But it turned out that the Third Reich was not ready to conduct long-term hostilities. The supply of materials and raw materials was limited, and the volume of domestic production itself was minimal. Throughout the war years, the situation with labor resources was extremely tense, both in a qualitative and quantitative sense. However, despite all the difficulties, due to the total control of the state apparatus and the German organization, the economy nevertheless got on the right track. And although there was a war, production in the country grew steadily. Increased over time and the volume of the military industry. So, for example, in 1940 it amounted to 15% of gross production, and by 1944 it was already 50%.

Development of scientific and technical base

There was a gigantic scientific sector in the German university system. Higher technical institutions and universities belonged to it. The Scientific Research Institute "Society" belonged to the same sector. Organizationally, all institutions were subordinate to the Ministry of Education, Education and Science. This structure, which consisted of thousands of scientists, had its own scientific council, whose members were representatives of various disciplines (medicine, foundry and mining, chemistry , physicists, etc.) Each such scientist was subordinate to a separate group of specialists of the same profile. Each member of the council had to direct the scientific and research activities and planning of his group. Together with this sector, there was an industrial independent scientific research organization. Its significance became clear only after Germany's allies appropriated the results of its activities in 1945. The sector of this industrial organization included laboratories of large concerns "Siemens", "Zeiss", "Farben", "Telefunken", "Osram". These and other enterprises had huge funds, equipment that met the technical requirements of that time, and highly qualified employees. These concerns could work with greater productivity than, for example, institute laboratories.

Speer Ministry

In addition to research industrial groups and various scientific laboratories at universities, the Scientific Research Institute of the Armed Forces was a fairly large organization. But, again, this sector was not solid, but was split into several parts, scattered among separate types of troops. Speer's ministry assumed particular importance during the war. It must be said that during this period the possibilities of supplying raw materials, equipment and personnel to laboratories and institutes were significantly reduced, the industry in the country could hardly cope with the large volume of orders from the military departments. Speer's ministry was empowered to deal with various production issues. For example, about which one should be stopped as unnecessary, which one should be continued, since it is of great strategic importance, which research should become a priority, playing a decisive role.

Warfare

The weapons of the Third Reich were produced with the introduction of various scientific developments, using specially created technologies. Of course, with the chosen course of the economy, it could not have been otherwise. Germany had not only to provide for itself in the industrial sense, but also to have complete troops. In addition to the usual, the "cold weapons" of the Third Reich began to be developed. However, all projects were frozen even before the defeat of fascism. results of many research work served as a starting point for the scientific activities of the states of the Anti-Hitler coalition.

Third Reich awards

Before the Nazis came to power, there was a certain system, according to which the presentation of commemorative insignia was carried out by the rulers of the lands, that is, it was territorial in nature. With the advent of Hitler, significant changes were made to the process. So, before the start of World War II, the Fuhrer personally appointed and presented awards of the Third Reich of any kind. Later this right was given to different levels commanders troops. But there were some insignia that, except for Hitler, could not be awarded by anyone (for example,