Scene from Downfall (2004), known as Der Untergang in Germany. Helmuth Weidling announces Berlin's surrender on the morning of May 2nd and orders all military to ceasefire.
One point that was inaccurate about this scene: after Weidling wrote out the speech, the Soviet officers reviewed it before letting him broadcast it. The only change they insisted on was that he remove the word "former" in front of his title because, they said, until the surrender was official, he still held that position, and if he didn't, he wouldn't have the legal authority to order the surrender. And they say the Germans have to do everything by the book!
@@justaguy328 Yes, but then the filmmakers/actor neglected to include the one change the Soviet officers insisted on. It's no big deal - they just wanted to make good and sure the surrender would be official. They were equally picky about the signing of the documents, insisting that they be signed again in Karlshorst.
I believe the soviets did this because of what happened at Stalingrad. The final german resistance was cut into 2 groups, one group surrendered with its commander but the other group's commander was captured. What followed was the troops in the 2nd pocket refused to surrender because their commander no longer had the authority to order his troops to do so.
I like how the veil fell for the General when he says he deserted everyone who was loyal to him. Absolutely devastating for so many innocent people to have died in WW2.
I respected Weidling for this as there had to be one high ranking official ultimately tell their people and citizens the true reality. Many would have probably fainted as well after having to give such a PSA. This was in total contrast to all the propaganda, lies and false hope being spewed until the very end...Could you imagine Goebbels ever giving this speech?
@@eddies4312I can't find a name anywhere but I found the photo by searching "Berlin dead woman in halftrack". Another thing you can try is "dead woman in Sd.Kfz 250/1" on google images.
Today at the 2th of May of the year 2020 AD. It's on the date exactly 75 years ago. Since the German Capitol of Berlin formerly surrendered itself to the Sovjet troops under the command of Marshall Zjoekow on 2th of May 1945.
And now again, we are poised upon another grotesque war in europe, as if the horrors of the two world wars weren't enough... Our grandparents fought in the war and we may yet face those horrors again. I pray that we won't
@@asm7406 Hitler’s eventual plan was for Germany to colonise and dominate the entire globe. But first, the USSR would have to be knocked out of the war for Hitler to go along with his plan.
To me , this is one of the best WW2 movies ever made and should be the “end cap “ if your watching a WW2 marathon . Despite how much we all hate the nazis , there is still this incredible DREAD through the entire film and you have to imagine that’s what everyone , good or evil , felt
In terms of the quality of this thing it is the most obvious labour of love ever done for a film on this specific time span. Other final-ten-days films pale in comparison and there are even some that have youtube clips that are dressed up in full Nazi regalia but ridiculously speaking English. This film returns the ten days to their authentic roots, it shows why Hitler seduced all that believed in him, it did not pull any punches on the loyalty facts of the matter, nor on the desperation it drove the SS soldiers to, meaning they shot themselves rather than continue living past their Fuhrer suiciding. It is important to understand the effects of Hitler because Putin, Netenyahu, Trump, Biden, Kier Starmer and Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson and David Cameron and Marie LePen and Emmanuel Macron and Erdogan and Orban and Milei and Meloni are the new Hitlers, targetting Muslims when they’re not targeting Jews and targeting Jews when they’re not targeting Muslims (Zionists are not Jews- that’s why they can take over lands that arent theirs and be fine about it, it is about posession, not religion.)
This isn't one of the best WW2 movies, this is the best! This beats Saving Private Ryan (which for me is overrated) and whatever else WW2 movies out there. I am so sick and tired of seeing WW2 from the perspective of the good guys because it's the usual "triumph against evil" and "bravery and courage" stories; this one deals with what it feels like knowing your days are numbered. Unfortunately, very few will be interested in seeing this because it's not action packed.
@@syhossp people can repeat it again and again but it still is a myth. Hugo Boss was ONE of hundreds of textile manufacturers in Germany who got a contract with the German army to MANUFACTURE uniforms. The design was made by the ministries, With the amount of uniforms needed in Nazi Germany, you can assume that each and every textile company regardless of size got a contract with the government to produce uniforms.
A man responsible for the purposeful infecrion of 50000 civilians with typhus in order to slow the russian advance. Biological warfare, war crime, crime against humanity. Yeah, dont rest in peace Helmuth Weidling
@@josephtownsend7481 Yet you don't count the war crimes committed by the USSR, oh hold on. Weren't they the ones who were the victors and only blamed the loser side?
@@Atajew literally didnt mention this strawman you're putting on me. The USSR murdered 19000 at Katyn, starved millions in Ukraine, the list goes on How does this make Helmuth Weidling not guilty again?
@@josephtownsend7481 Show me a war in which neither side is a cunt and i fully agree on what you say. Till that war happens (as it never did in the past) can we agree that all are cunts?
I can't tell if Andrey vlasov is standing next to wiedling or a Soviet Marshal it'd be cool if it was Andrey Vlasov but tbh I couldn't find info if he was in Germany during the battle of Berlin or idk
pretty much at this time Vlasov's army was at the South of Prague as pretty much 5-6 days after this event his own commander requested to making his division turn against the German SS Troops and Aid the Czech resistance at Prague
i always wondered what the mood in berlin must have been like these first few days after hitler‘s death. it was terrible, of course, but i mean more in the sense of all this crazy stuff that had dictated their lives for the past twelve years was over just like that. must have been really weird and strange time for those people. i hope you get what i mean…
Yup I understand you, there's quite a few good books on it that I've read which literally cover ''Germany after Hitler died until the war ended", so exactly the time frame you're talking about. It's a period people don't really think about (especially Germany during the Summer of 1945 a couple months after capitulation, naturally most people gravitate toward Japan with the battle still ongoing). It's why WW2 is by far my most read subject and why I'm juggling at least a handful of books at one time on the topic, reading every day for the last 10 years. And that's just the Western/Eastern fronts in Europe, I've not even touched the Pacfic/Asia yet. Such a monumental event with literally millions of stories and (so far) on a scale unparalleled in human history. Even just reading the memoirs of regular Soldiers who embark on essentially individual missions to return home/evade capture/blend back into civilian society after the capitulation is really interesting.
Under Hitler Berlin and Germany was thriving, but after the soviets got their hands on german lands they destroyed both cultural sites, people and the country, search for "Rape of Berlin"
May i ask someone to write down the speech in the comments .... This makes me feel happy even though I wasn't part of the war... I feel like crying... How joyfully they must have felt when the war was over
On 30th of April 1945 the Führer commited suicide, and by that let all who had sworn loyalty to him down. Faithful to the order of the Führer were you German soldiers willing to continue the fight for Berlin, even though your ammuntion was running out and the overall situation made any further resistance pointless. I hereby order the immediate discontinuation of any resistance, every hour which you keep fighting prolongs the horrendous suffering of the civil population of Berlin and our wounded. In agreement with the high command of the soviet troops I request you to stop the fight immediatley. Weidling former commander of the defense area Berlin.
Only civilians who didn't fight were happy. The youth and many soldiers were brainwashed during Hitlers reign so many saw no future for them and commited suicide. That's how fucked up Nazi-Germany was after the war.
@@gustavohernandez9742 „Am 30. April 1945 hat der Führer Selbstmord begangen und damit alle, die ihm Treue geschworen hatten, im Stich gelassen. Getreu dem Befehl des Führers wart ihr, deutsche Soldaten, bereit, den Kampf um Berlin fortzusetzen, obwohl eure Munition zur Neige ging und die Gesamtlage den weiteren Widerstand sinnlos machte. Ich ordne die sofortige Einstellung jeglichen Widerstandes an. Jede Stunde, die ihr weiterkämpft, verlängert die entsetzlichen Leiden der Zivilbevölkerung Berlins und unserer Verwundeten. Im Einvernehmen mit dem Oberkommando der sowjetischen Truppen fordere ich euch auf, sofort den Kampf einzustellen. Weidling, ehemaliger Befehlshaber des Verteidigungsbereichs Berlin.“
One of the very best films on the subject of WW2 ever made. Perhaps the only one that exposes the humanity of the characters that we only read about in history books from the accounts of others.
Wtf are you on about? The child does not get in the bunker, and there is no veil on the head of the final radio guy as he (Rochus Misch) did not commit suicide. He died ten years ago at age 96.
It’s so tempting and easy to blame it on one man. But the reality is different. It was the entire regime. Although not all Germans were Nazis, and not all Nazis were evil cold blooded killers, that we must remember.
Hitler did not come to power overnight and he certainly did not do it alone the Nazi's played the long game and worked really hard for a very long time to bring the 3rd reich to fruition. Hitler promised the German people unity and prosperity and a better tomorrow and only asked for two things asked in return to surrender their civil liberties and unquestionable loyalty to him. what they got was the EXACT opposite 4 years of war that cost millions of lives and Brought devastation and destruction not just to Germany itself but across Europe
One man who was enabled to do the things he did by millions of willing accomplices. People forget that he was only human and required the support from others to do the things that he did.
Hitler was no coward, despite what that turd Stalin said about his suicide. Get your facts right. Suicide of a a defeated general was the way out for the samurai and the earlier Roman comanders such as Brutus and Cassius, the assassins of Caesar in 44 BC. Hitler received the Iron Cross Class 1 and 2 for bravery in the 1914-18 War.
i really don’t care ancient rulers of rome had more honour then hitler ever had Marcus Atilius Regulus was captured by Carthage forces during the Punic wars. He was brought before them, and was asked to go back to Rome to convince the Roman senate to surrender. If he failed, he had to come back so he could be tortured to death. Regulus agreed. He went to Rome, and did the exact opposite, not bothering to convince them at all. He went back to Carthage as promised and was tortured to death. He is now immortalised as the leading symbol of Roman virtue. Despite how barbaric the ancient times were, this is admirable. VERY admirable. Because despite knowing how torturous, how painful, how absolutely horrific is death would be, he sucked it up and showed everyone that you shouldn’t fear the enemy. He honoured his end of the deal, and yet Hitler couldn’t honour his end of the deal with Stalin when he ignored the Molotov-Ribbentrop and invaded the Soviet Union. He proceeds to loose, and instead of facing his own demise honourably like a true leader, he abandons his country and takes his own life. What a coward.
@Silver Fox Sports I don’t know if he, himself, committed war crimes or ordered their execution, more so that units under his command committed them in the field.
@Silver Fox Sports how was he a war criminal? just because he was german? are you a fucking racist or just dumb? general weidling was a general of the army and to be even more precise of the artillery Its not very common to commit war crimes or mass executions with fucking 18 cm howitzers is it? brain dead moron
@@tavish4699 Weidling commanded the XLI Panzer Corps from 1943 to 1945 and while under his command deliberately infected 50,000 Soviet civilians with typhus and placed them in the way of the 65th Soviet Army. That is, in fact, a war crime and officers are responsible for the conduct of their men.
@@DominionSorcerer Indeed. Weidling died in 1955 in a Soviet forced labor camp because of it (though, if we are to give him a tidbit of credit - when questioned by the Soviets after the surrender, Weidling fully admitted to his crimes and never once tried to deny, justify or downplay them; he did what he did, and he would own up to the punishment for it, whatever it may be.)
@@clusterflick6333 oh do you have more details about this? I didn't think that the severity or harshness of punishment was commensurate with their previous conduct actually, naive yes but I thought everyone was treated harshly in soviet captivity
Let me explain Nazi germany Women knews they would suffer more terrible fates by Soviet soldiers (They had cruel infamous fact about rape all that stuff) so they killed themselves The officers and generals commit suicides because if they captured by Soviet not US UK led allied forces they would immediately sent to Siberia Gulag a soviet Military prison usually imprison political personnel who oppose Stalin and enemy (German Japanese Italian prison of war )
"This war was a historically unprecedented attack on humanity, a destruction of all the cultural ideals that the Enlightenment had produced, a crash the likes of which had never been seen before. It was Europe's Armageddon."
WW II was the direct result of the bastardry perpetrated on the derfeated German Rerich by the allies, especially the bloody French, after 1918. The kicks Germany received when she was down, including being blamed for the 1914 war, which Berlin did not start, led naturally to a desire for revenge and the rise of the Nazis.
Dead. That's taken straight from an actual April/May 1945 Berlin picture, by the way. The woman in question was a Swedish volunteer nurse from the Waffen-SS "Nordland" Division. She was killed during one of the breakout attempts. You can find the original photo by googling something like "dead Swedish nurse berlin 1945".
@@nandopassante6888 well I googled the picture and this story exist yes but the woman in the Vehicle is the secretary friend of the main character In the movie
According to Wikipedia Weidling was convicted of biological warfare in Belorussia in 1943/44. By infecting the local populace with Typhus he hoped to infect approaching Soviet Army troops and slow their advance. He might have had humanity for the German populace but apparently this was lacking for conquered Untermenschen.
@@nvramdotli Don't even bother, since the thing in Ukraine happened, you're gonna find a lot of brainwashed people rewriting history saying that the soviets were worse than the nazis, expect more tolerant comments towards nazism and more support towards Germany in WW2, that's how propaganda gets ya
@@nvramdotli no, it would be the same thing you stupid, USSR had Britain had a pact against Germany before the war, you clearly don't know anything for what it matters
@@nvramdotli Just because one nation is cruel, doesnt mean the others have to adapt. What kind of kindergarden logic is that? How old are you? Get your head checked. Idiot is trying to justify rape because "Germans started the war"
After his release from Soviet captivity in 1955, Weidling settled in the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) and worked as a transport planner. He wrote his memoirs titled "The Battle for Berlin" which was published in East Germany in 1958. He died in Berlin on November 17, 1955, at the age of 64.
To the Germans it was either suicide or get caught by the Red Army. The Reds were out for blood on the Germans. Especially ones that were involved in the SS or inner circle
But they would have to in the end. The war was completely lost for the germans and the only way was to not surrender and die at the hands of either the soviets or the allies, or surrender and maybe be able to become a normal citizen.
@@charles_0017 True, but if your refering to the german generals in Berlin, it was almost impossible for them to flee as they had been completely encircled.
German people would trust Hitler and his ideology, despite it's evilness on it's extermination against other people the German patriotism affects why they would support him. He changed Germany to became a powerful country who could shock the world, like what he do to rise on power he would fall down as a weakling nor already know his doomed fate according to his ideologies to protect Europe against the East Socialist Dominion. Instead of fighting to death he immediately committed suicide and all of the words and his actions as a great leader also would be all gone once the Soviets enter Berlin. Unlike Stalin Hitler never faced this kind of war before, he should known that Stalin was been sent to hardest areas of the civil war, from glorious defence of Petrograd (St. Petersburg) to Tsaritsyn humiliating tactics to a surprise victory Stalin shows that his organizing tactics would show how he was determined to fought for the Soviet people.
Too bad people still think communism and socialism is the right way to rule a country. Communism and socialism always end up with poverty, starvation of the civilians, mass murder and deportations to work camps
@@SorryBadName Too bad people still fall for that propaganda. The statistics don't back up those claims. The USSR had higher caloric intake than the United States. More than half of East Germans preferred life under Communism. The work camps imprisoned far less people than US prison system, and the conditions were much better.
I suspect this was one of the reasons why so many German men continued to fight even after Germany officially surrendered. They were fighting for their homes and families and not for an ideology anymore. They would have heared of rumours of what the Soviet army was doing to the women in Poland as they were making their way to Berlin. They would mass execute the men and take their wives, daughters, mothers and do unspeakable things to them. Well if they were going to be executed anyway, might as well fight them and give your family time to escape.
