Year Zero: Berlin 1945 Read online

  The excellent film Downfall which showed Hitler speaking briefly with Magda. However, the reality was that he had heard enough and wanted to be left alone. She returned to her room sobbing. The lower bunker area was cleared in an attempt to provide a semblance of dignity for the final act. Seeking a release from the unbearable tension, many went to the canteen where a macabre imitation of a party was taking place. The noise penetrated to the lower depths but attempts to stop the carousing of those involved met with little response.

  Unable to stand the tension, Hitler's youngest secretary ran upstairs where she bumped into the Goebbels' children. It transpired that none had eaten since breakfast, so she went to fetch them something to eat. On her return, she prepared the food and attempted to distract the children. Then, at some time between 15.15hrs and 15.30hrs Hitler and his wife committed suicide. There is some dispute as to whether the actual shot from Hitler's pistol was heard (the constant noise from the generators and ventilation system would have made distinguishing individual sounds difficult). The tension was finally broken by Linge who entered Hitler's room. On surveying the scene he reported to Bormann very matter-of-factly, stating 'It's done'. Gunsche then went into the room to see for himself before confirming to those waiting in the conference room that Hitler was dead.

  Time was running out fast, therefore the removal of the bodies to their cremation site above ground took place very quickly. Hitler and his wife's lifeless forms were wrapped in blankets and carried to a small trench close to the bunker exit. The bodies were doused in petrol provided by Kempka and set alight. The heavy shellfire meant that there was little opportunity for those present to stage a Wagnerian funeral, instead the disposal of the bodies was hurried and somewhat undignified. At approximately 23.00hrs, the charred (and much reduced) remains of Hitler and his wife were gathered up, and as Gunsche later recalled, 'were let down into a shell hole outside the exit from the bunker, covered with earth, and the earth pounded firm with a wooden rammer'. Nurse Flegel later recounted how by failing to answer her simple question of, 'Is Hitler still alive', Professor Hasse confirmed his death to her on the late afternoon of 30 April :

  As he gave me no answer, I knew the truth. It was natural that such an event was not discussed, and yet it affected us all very deeply, also that at such a time unimportant matters were of no interest at all. For, of course, we all believed that we, too, should not come out of this hell alive; we knew precisely what might be in store for us, everyone had made up his mind to that, there was no more question about it, we were paying attention to only what was essential.

  Like those others trapped in the bunker, Nurse Flegel knew that the death of Hitler would not bring an automatic end to the horror. The advancing Red Army would want its revenge. In the ever shrinking last bastion based around the government district, desperate defenders fought on to delay the moment of reckoning. Meanwhile, final preparations for the storming of the Reichstag were complete.

  The second attempt to fully secure the Reichstag and raise Red Banner No 5 was made at 18.00hrs. Yegorov and Kantariya were summoned by Zinchenko, who pointing to the roof of the building said, 'Well then, off you go lads, and stick the banner up there'. Fighting in near darkness, the Soviet assault groups drew German fire, whilst the banner party made their way to the roof. Progress was slow, as determined German resistance showed no signs of slackening. Writing in the Soviet Voenno–istoricheskii Zhurnal in 1960, Neustroyev recalled the severity of the fighting :

  Everywhere in the pitch-dark, smoke-filled Reichstag was soon confused and deadly. Knives and bayonets and rifle-butts were the weapons of those pitched medieval-style battles in the two side-chambers on the ground floor and on the main staircase. Then a grenade exploded, which blew to pieces Russians and Germans quite indiscriminately. There was a moments stunned silence... More explosions. Fire. Flames spread quickly over the plush furniture and wood panels and in some of the rooms actually stopped the fighting while men gasped for breath or desperately tried to stop their scorched uniforms burning...

  It should therefore come as no surprise that it took the best part of five hours for Yegorov and Kantariya to claw their way to their final objective. At 20.50hrs, Red Banner No 5 was finally raised above the smouldering Reichstag, seventy minutes before Stalin's deadline. Order No 6 of the 1st Belorussian Front's Military Council marked the significance of this great moment :

  1. The Reichstag district in the city of Berlin was defended by crack SS units. In the early hours on April 28, 1945, the enemy parachuted in a battalion of marines to reinforce the defences of the district. In the Reichstag district the enemy resisted desperately, their troops having turned every building, stairway, room, cellar into strongpoints and defensive positions. The fighting within the main building of the Reichstag repeatedly took the form of hand-to-hand combat.

  2. Continuing the offensive the troops of Colonel-General Kuznetsov's 3rd Shock Army overcame enemy resistance, took the main building of the Reichstag and today, on April 30, 1945, raised our Soviet flag on it. Major-General Perevertkin's 79th Rifle Corps and Colonel Negoda's 171st Rifle Division and Major-General Shatilov's 150th Rifle Division won particular distinction in the fighting for the district and the main building of the Reichstag.

  3. Congratulating with the victory won, I commend all the men, sergeants, officers and generals of the 171st and the 150th Rifle Divisions and the commander of the 79th Rifle Corps, Major-General Perevertkin, who personally directed the fighting for the daring they displayed, and skilful and successful fulfilment of their combat mission. The privates, sergeants, officers and generals who won particular distinction in the fighting for the Reichstag will be selected for government awards by the Military Council of the 3rd Shock Army.

  4. The hour of the final victory over the enemy is nearing. The Soviet flag is already flying over the main building of the Reichstag in the centre of Berlin.

  'Comrade soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals of the 1st Belorussian Front! Forward against the enemy – with our last swift blow let us finish off the Nazi beast in its lair and bring the hour nearer of final and complete victory over Nazi Germany.

  'The order is to be read in all companies, squadrons and batteries of the front'

  Stirring words. However, raising the banner of victory did not in itself signal the end of the battle, as substantial numbers of German troops still held out in the basement. With complete victory over Hitler's Germany imminent, the decision was made to sit on the German defenders holed up in the basement and wait until they inevitably saw sense and surrendered.

  Chapter Ten

  Surrender

  The suicide of Adolf Hitler left Goebbels as the senior political figure in Berlin. On his authority, plans for a break-out were cancelled and General Weidling was summoned to the bunker. After a difficult journey across Berlin's moonscape, Weidling arrived at the bunker where he was met by Goebbels, Bormann and General Krebs. Soon after, he was notified of Hitler's death which was for the time being to remain a secret pending negotiations with the Soviet forces in Berlin. The main thrust of these negotiations would be to buy time in order to bring Hitler's political testament into force by means of Soviet recognition of the new Doenitz administration.

  Lieutenant-Colonel Seifert (commanding Sector Z of the Berlin defence zone) was empowered by Goebbels to to make contact with the Soviet command in Berlin in order to make arrangements for General Krebs to discuss a request for an armistice. At 23.30hrs Seifert crossed the suspension bridge over the Landwehr Canal, carrying with him a packet containing papers for the attention of the Soviet command. Seifert explained his mission to Lieutenant-General V.A. Glazunov (commander of 14th Corps). Wasting no time, Glazunov contacted General Chuikov to inform him of this startling development. Chuikov had been enjoying a rare moment of relaxation in the company of the war correspondents Vsevolod Vishnevsky and Konstantin Simonov, the poet Yevgeniy Dolmatovsky and the composers Tikhon Khrennikov and Matvei Blanter when the call came.
He instantly recognised the importance of this historic development, issuing orders for a ceasefire in the sector designated for the German envoys to cross. Chuikov set off for his command post, and once there, waited. As he did so, he ruminated on the past :

  Through my mind flash recollections of days and nights of battle from all four years of the war. Episodes then lived through pass before my eyes. There it lies, our Volga, distant now yet at the same time so close; over it spreads the burning petroleum, and the raging flames devour everything – barges, timber, boats... There are Goebbels' propaganda leaflets, in which the Nazi's threatened that they would treat as deserters all those who did not surrender on the west bank of the Volga, and list as wilful deserters all those who crossed to the east bank... There is Zaporozhye and its capture by night. There is Nikopol, Odessa, Lublin, Lodz... And finally, Berlin. Having fought for and held the sacred ground by the Volga, our warriors have come to the Spree. Now, our arms lowered for the time being, we await envoys who will parley in the name of the Wehrmacht's leaders – of those same men who not only dreamt of a speedy end to the Soviet state, but were sure they would achieve it. Envoys coming to parley for the leaders of the Third Reich. Were they perhaps imagining, those leaders, that our memories were short, and that we had already forgotten the millions of dead, the tens of millions of widows and orphans?

  The waiting played on the nerves of Chuikov who chain-smoked whilst pacing back and forth around his gloomy command post. As it approached 03.30hrs, the tension heightened even further. In Berlin it was still dark, whilst in Moscow, celebrations for May Day had already begun.

  Finally, at 03.50hrs, General Krebs arrived, accompanied by a Latvian SS officer named Neilands. Krebs had no need of an interpreter as he spoke good Russian. However, he chose to take Neilands with him in order to give himself extra thinking time during the negotiations. Krebs began the talks without any preamble (nor formal introductions). The first phase of the talks proceeded as follows :

  Krebs : I shall speak of exceptionally secret matters. You are the first foreigner to whom I give the information that on 30 April Hitler passed from us of his own will, ending his life.

  Chuikov : We know that.

  Krebs : According to the Fuhrer's testament... (reads from document). The aim of this declaration – to find the most favourable way out for those peoples who have borne the greatest loses in the war. The document may be passed to your command.

  Chuikov : Is this document concerned with Berlin or with the whole of Germany?

  Krebs : I am empowered to speak on behalf of the entire German Army. I am Goebbels' plenipotentiary.

  Chuikov : I shall report to Marshal Zhukov.

  Krebs : My first question : there will be no firing during the talks?

  Chuikov : You are introducing yourself in two capacities as: a military representative of an army which has been defeated; and a representative of a government which is seeking talks with my government. I am a military man and I see no other way out for your army but for it to lay down its arms forthwith, to surrender, in order that blood shall not be shed in vain. In the given situation Goebbels and Bormann are not strengthening your army or its fighting capacity. Therefore would it not be better for you and Goebbels to give orders to your troops to cease all resistance?

  Krebs : There are other possibilities for ending the war. For it is essential to make possible a meeting of the new government, headed by Doenitz, which will decide this question by means of talks with the Soviet government.

  Chuikov : What government can there be if your Fuhrer has ended his life and thus admitted the invalidity of the regime he headed? It may be that he leaves behind him one of his deputies, who has the right to decide whether or not there shall be further bloodshed. Who is now in Hitler's place?

  Krebs : Now Goebbels is in Hitler's place. He has been appointed Chancellor. But before his death, Hitler created a new government, headed by Grand-Admiral Doenitz.

  At this point, Chuikov contacted Marshal Zhukov with news of these developments. Zhukov in turn contacted Stalin, rousing him from the much needed sleep he required before the May Day parade. Always a man of few words, Stalin responded to the news of Hitler's death by saying, 'So – that's the end of the bastard. Too bad that we did not manage to take him alive'. With regard to the negotiations, Stalin insisted on unconditional surrender.

  Having been informed by Zhukov that there was no room for negotiation, Chuikov went about his task of forcing Krebs to accept that there was no alternative other than a complete surrender. Krebs, desperately trying to buy time, continued to sidestep the issue of a surrender which he knew would in effect draw a final line under any lingering hopes of a continuation of the regime. The discussions dragged on, developing into a circular argument in which Krebs continued to make a case for the recognition of the Doenitz government. As the following exchange demonstrates, Chuikov was wise to his scheming and was having none of it :

  Krebs : For the purpose of enabling us to discuss your demands, I ask that there be a temporary cessation of hostilities, and for help in arranging a meeting of our new government here, in Berlin. Particularly in Berlin, not in any other place.

  Chuikov : We can understand what your new government wants. All the more easily since we know about the attempts made by your friends Himmler and Goering to find out the lie of the land with our allies. You surely cannot be unaware of this.

  Krebs : I am an envoy with powers from the new government which was formed in accordance with Hitler's will. A new government may appear in the south, but it will be illegal. So far there is only a government in Berlin, it is the legal one, and we are asking for an armistice so that all members of the government can meet together, discuss the situation and conclude a peace advantageous to you and to us.

  Chuikov : The question of an armistice or of peace can be settled only on the basis of a general surrender. That is our decision and the decision of our allies and no talks nor promises will enable you to break this united front of the anti-Hitlerite coalition.

  Krebs : We think that the U.S.S.R. will take account of the new legal government. This is advantageous and convenient to both parties. If you gain control of the area in which the government is, and destroy us all, then the Germans will have no chance to work with you and....

  Chuikov : We came not to destroy Germans, but to liberate them from Fascism. And Germans, honourable Germans, are already working with us to avoid further bloodshed.

  Krebs : We ask you to recognise the new government of Germany up to the time of a complete surrender, to establish contact with it and to give it the opportunity to enter into relations with your government. It is only you who will gain by this.

  Exasperated and exhausted by the interminable wrangling, Chuikov once again conferred with Zhukov by telephone. Zhukov gave instructions to keep the talks going and in the meantime try to discern the real reason behind Krebs' proposals. After nearly an hour of fruitless discussions, Chuikov sat down for round two. Krebs was the first to speak :

  Krebs : I am not able to carry on any other talks. I am only an envoy and cannot answer for my government. It is in your interest to hold talks with the new government of Germany... It is you who are strong – we know that, and it is what you think yourselves.

  Chuikov : You must understand General, that we know what you want of us. You are intending to warn me that you will carry on the struggle, or to be more precise, your senseless resistance, which will increase the number of victims... What is the point of your struggle?

  Krebs : We will fight on to the last.

  Chuikov : General, what have you left? With what forces do you mean to fight? I am waiting for complete surrender.

  Krebs : No! In the event of a complete surrender we shall not exist as a government.

  It was now 05.00hrs. It was clear to Chuikov that Krebs had no authority to authorise a complete surrender and that his sole task as an envoy was to seek legitimacy for the new government. Chuikov pressed on his
demands for surrender by injecting a dose of reality into the discussions :

  Chuikov : You are insisting on an armistice, you are proposing to engage in peace talks, and this at a time when your troops are surrendering of their own accord, giving themselves up.

  Krebs : Where?

  Chuikov : Everywhere.

  Krebs : Without orders?

  Chuikov : Our men are advancing, yours are surrendering.

  Krebs : Perhaps in some isolated cases?

  After reading out loud a Soviet news report on Himmler's attempt at starting negotiations with Britain and America, Chuikov pressed home his point that Hitler's regime was finished and as such any new government formed in the wake of his political testament was invalidated :

  Chuikov : Your so-called new government will not agree to a general surrender because it has bound itself in advance by Hitler's will, and intends to carry on the war. Your new government, or new cabinet as Hitler calls it in his political testament, wants to carry out his will in the future...

  For Chuikov, the hands on the clock appeared to be moving even more slowly. He could do nothing but wait for a final decision from Moscow regarding the formal surrender terms.

  In order to pass the time, Chuilov turned to more personal matters, by asking Krebs about his service in the army. The two then talked about the progress of the war, particularly Stalingrad, which both regarded as a turning point. It was only now that Krebs came to realise that he was sitting opposite the famous defender of Stalin's city on the Volga.