Adolf Hitler ended his life on April 30th. Berlin surrendered on May 2nd.
But did you know the German unconditional surrender was on May 8th? It was the time
that the Third Reich was led by Hitler's successor: the 2nd Führer of Germany:
Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz. Who? In this video I will talk about the short-lived:
Flensburg Government. The final end of the Third Reich under Karl Dönitz.
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Let's go back to Berlin on April 20th. Hitler leaves his bunker one last time to hand out some
decoration to boys that proved themselves bravely in the desperate struggle for the Reich's capital.
By now the Soviets were inside the city. On April 30th Hitler commites suicide. He had made his last
will. Here Hitler had appointed a successor: Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz. Why Dönitz? It was
partly because he didn't trust anyone from his own circle. Himmler and Göring had fallen into
disrave. And Goebbels was willing to go down with Hitler which he did one day after Hitler took his
life. Dönitz had proven loyal and had waged an effective U-boat campaign during the war.
The new government went to the north of Germany to a small city named Flensburg near the Danish
border. This city hadn't been bombed by the allies and seemed therefore an ideal location
for... well, for what actually? By the time Dönitz took over the military situation was simply
terrible. Berlin had fallen. Germany was split in half by the Soviets and the western allies.
The Dönitz government was only a part of what Hitler appointed. Dönitz learned that Borman,
Goebbels and Seyss-Inquart (the Reichscommissaris of occupied Netherlands) had to become ministers.
Bormann and Goebbels were dead and Seyss-Inquart was negotiating with the allies for surrendering
the Netherlands. Dönitz later stated that this new cabinet was a-political. A-political? Well no,
since many high ranking SS members as well as war criminals went to Flensburg. Himmler
wanted to be a part of the new government but was excluded. Also because he had betrayed
Hitler since he in the latter stages tried to seek rapprochement (ra-proosj-man) with
the western allies. Dönitz broke relations with Himmler after which the once so mighty
and feared SS police chef went into hiding. He was eventually captured
by the allies and swallowed a poison capsule and that was the end of him.
Minster of Armement Albert Speer – spoke about him extensivily in a previous video – was back
at it again. Supreme commander of the Wehrmacht laid in the ands of fieldmarshall Keitel and
colonel general Jodl. Leading minister became Lutz Graf Schwerin von Krosigk. From origin a
conservative who served as minister of Finances in the years till May 1945. In the weeks prior
to Hitler's suicide showed interests in becoming a part of the new government.
Existing structures of power were maintained. For example the
organisation of the supreme command of the German Army kept existing. Photographs of
Hitler remained in the Flensburg offices. The Hitler salute was still in use. Also the flying
martial courts were still allowed to perform their duties. Even after the unconditional
surrender soldiers were still executed for their alledged desertion. The goal of the Flensburg
government was to save The Reich via negotiating. By pointing out to the western allies that they
one day might need Germany in a fight against the Soviet Union and that the German army was still
in control of Denmark and the largest part of Norway they hoped to avoid the
unconditional surrender. See, when an unconditional surrender is signed
all troops have to stay on their current position. That would mean that millions of
German troops would be captured by the Red Army. On May 2nd Dönitz laid out his goals:
As Dönitz himself states in a post-war interview:
From early 1945 the Soviets were overrunning the German homeland starting with capturing
East Prussia. An early incursion in the autumn of 1944 showed the vengeance the Soviets carried with
them. We saw what happened at Nemmersdorf were over 20 Germans were slaughtered. These atrocities
continued after the Soviets advanced further into East Prussia. This hatred against the German
people was caused by the German brutality of their war of extermination that kicked off in June 1941.
Both German civilians ánd soldiers knew they could expect no mercy from the soldiers of the Red Army.
Evacuation orders for civilians were carried out too late. By that time many Eastern Germans tried
to make their way west in the bitter cold. The port cities of Pilau and Gotenhafen were packed
with civilians refugees. German troops tried to fight off the Soviets as long as they could
to make these evacuations of troops and civilians happen. Futhermore the Flensburg government tried
to get as many troops to the West as possible so they could surrender to the western allies
instad of the Soviets. Was Dönitz goal in saving as many Germans from the 'bolshevik hords' a
success? Let's take a look at the numbers here: around 30% of the 10 million German troops ended
up in Soviet captivity. Considering the fact that over ¾ of the German soldier
had fought on the Eastern Front, that can be seen as a sort of success. Now you may
argue that this Dönitz guy did a pretty good job and can be considered as noble.
Well... as it turned out: the evacuation of military personal was favored over
civilians. Dönitz saw occupied Norway and Denmark as bargaining chips. Even the Hitler salute
was still used. On May 6th Dönitz stopped the destroying of German factories and infrastructure.
This stopped the scorched earth policy that was ordered by Hitler in March. As Ian Kershaw writes:
If Dönitz goal was to save as many civilians possible, why didn't he just ordered to open
the Western Front? Let the allies advance unopposed in order for many German soldiers to
shorten their lines and therefore successfully make it West to surrender to the Americans and
the British. Yet, Dönitz sense of military honor combined with his
ideology of national socialism prevented him from doing that.
The Flensburg government remained on its post till May 23rd. In a surreal
atmosphere they contuned to function as a government with cabinet meetings where they
discussed the new national flag and the rebuilding of the country. Each morning
at 10 'o clock they had a meeting in an old school building. Keitel
remained head of the Wehrmacht until his arrest on May 13th when Jodl took it over.
This pantomime of a rump government did not held out long. On May 23rd the allies summoned
the leaders of this rump government. American Major-General Lowell W. Rooks read a prepared text
‘I am under instructions… to tell you that the Supreme Commander,
General Eisenhower, has decided, in concert with the Soviet High Command,
that today the acting German Government and the German High Command shall be taken into
custody with the several members as prisoners-of-war. Thereby the
acting German Government is dissolved.’ American Major-General Lowell W. Rooks
The Third Reich had now come to its definitive end.
Von Krosigk was convicted of war crimes and sentenced to 10 years in prison, commuted in 1951.
Keitel was found guilty on crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, criminal
conspiracy, and war crimes and sentenced to death. Jodl was sentenced to death for charges of
conspiracy to commit crimes against peace; planning,
initiating and waging wars of aggression; war crimes; and crimes against humanity.
Speer was found guily of war crimes and crimes against humanity, principally for the use of
slave labor. Speer was released in 1966. Dönitz was found guilty on committing crimes
against peace and war crimes against the laws of war. He was sentenced to ten years' in prison.