East Prussian refugees
April 1945
Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, M. Savin Collection


German soldiers and members of the "Volkssturm"being taken as Soviet prisoners-of-war
Berlin-Mitte, May 2, 1945
Museum Berlin-Karlshorst, T. Melnik Collection


Berlin battlefield
April/May 1945
Museum Berlin-Karlshorst,
T. Melnik Collection

1945: The War in Germany

By the beginning of 1945 the German Reich had no possibility to avert defeat. Nevertheless, a last attempt to fight back was mobilized, driven by fear of revenge by the victors, the promise of wonder weapons, or draconian punishment. This resistance was to be significantly strengthened by recruiting adolescents and the elderly to serve in a last defense effort known as the “Volkssturm.”

The German leadership made no preparations to evacuate the civilian population from the fighting. When large parts of the population fled as Soviet troops rapidly advanced into eastern Germany, hundreds of thousands died as a result of cold and hunger during the severe winter, or fell victim to the fighting or extremes of revenge.

The two Soviet army offensives—in January/February crossing the Oder River and in April the conquest of Berlin and reaching the Elbe River—also claimed a large number of victims on the Soviet side in view of strong German resistance. But the losses were far higher on the German side among the inexperienced soldiers and Volkssturm units. For the Soviet army the conquest of Berlin, the heart of Fascist rule, was the highlight of their victory after a war that had been waged for over three years on their own territory. In light of their experience with the German aggressors in their own country, the desire for revenge was widespread in the Soviet army. It was drastically intensified by government propaganda. In addition, after crossing the border the soldiers encountered a country that was enormously rich in their eyes. And so the German civilian population became the victim of numerous cases of extreme behavior. Pillaging, indiscriminate destruction and arson were daily occurrences; many women were raped; and there were numerous cases of random murder. These excesses were not desired by the Russian leadership, but its reaction was delayed and inconsistent. For example, many orders to maintain discipline were ineffective because they were not carried out locally by individual troop commanders.

One measure of the Stalinist system was to have the Soviet secret police (NKWD) arrest and deport to the Soviet Union a large number of civilians in the conquered areas as actual or suspected Nazis. Many of the several hundred thousand deportees were, however, taken merely to serve as manpower. This practice basically came to an end starting in April, but detention camps were soon established in Germany instead.

Faced with this brutal practice, it was only seldom recognized that at the same time the Soviet occupiers strived to secure scarce supplies, repair the worst war damage, establish a German administrative structure, and stimulate a rebirth of cultural life.