Allies Counterattack

What happened to the Nazi leaders after the Berlin War was over?

The battle of Berlin was one of the bloodiest battles in history. Approximately 350000 men were killed and Berlin lay in ruins. This battle was between Germany vs. Soviet Union and Poland.

This battle began on April 16, 1945 until May 2^nd, 1945. In this battle the city of Berlin was surrounded and defeated. Hitler announced on a declaration that the war was lost; he also announced that he would stay in Berlin until the end, but before the battle has got to an end, Hitler and other high-ranking Nazi officials committed suicide due to the lost of the war. Some historians say that Hitler committed suicide by drinking a poison, others say that he died by a self-inflicted gunshot.

Before committing suicide Hitler appointed two successors: Karl Donitz as the new President of Germany and Joseph Goebbels as the new Chancellor of Germany. But Goebbels committed suicide and leaved Donitz as the leader of all Germany

Hitler’s suicide meant more than one life lost, it meant the end of the holocaust, the Holocaust is considered the greatest crime against humanity recorded in history; and the end of the Nazis, due that their leader was dead.

Many Nazis moved to other places; some moved to countries in South America such as Argentina, because many South America countries had governments that were sympathetic to the regime so Nazis could have new documents and protection. But not all Nazis were safe; some of them were killed, other committed suicide.

More than 100,000 Jewish people had been killed throughout Europe by the Nazis; Germany was in late 1940 an anti-Semitic country, in Romania half of its Jewish population was eliminated, this means 350,000 Jewish people killed. But after Hitler’s suicide many Jews moved to the United States, to Israel and to other countries because there were no Nazis that could control them.

But everything was not over, few years after the war Neo Nazis appeared, they were young that did not live in the time of war and tried to stick with Nazi ideology, but they didn’t have a real organization and knowing how bad Nazis were with Jewish people, they deny that the Holocaust ever happened, so by doing this they convince more people to support them. They hate black people, Jews, the disabled and homosexuals. If they have a powerful position at their jobs, they might practice discrimination, only hiring straight, non-Jewish, non-disabled white people.

Hitler’s suicide after the battle of Berlin brought advantages and disadvantages for some people.

Benefits primarily for Jews, besides that they would no longer be assassinated due that their great torture was over; they also wouldn´t have to scape from the Nazis. And disadvantages primarily for members of the Nazi party, now that their leader has committed suicide it was the end of the Nazi party, also the liberation of the Jews from the concentration camps, must have hurt them much because the Nazis were anti anti-semitic and the last thing they wanted was the deliverance of the Jews.

Short video about the battle:

 

Valerie

sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Berlin
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/death_of_adolf_hitler1.htm
http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005131