Figure 1.--Hitler committed the SS Panzer divisions reserved for the defense of Berlin to a fruitless effort to save Budapest. As a result, much of the defense of VBerlin was left to the Volkssturm, mostly Hitler Youth boys and older men. Notice the Hitler Youth pin on the boy's cap. Here they have Panzerfausts, a very effective anti-tank weapon.

The film is a depiction of the last days of World War II. It is a depiction of the actual event in an around Hitler's bunker. Stalin was determined for prestige purposes to take the city. Allied armies were poised west of the city. Montgomery was especially anxious to take the city as were some american commanders. The German commanders west of the city wondered why the Allies did not come. Eisenhower decided, however, to leave the city to the Soviets. It was a decession to which Churchill objected and is still debated by historians. The Allies did make Berlin a target for repeated bombing raids, pulverizing the city even before the Soviets arrived. As the Red Army stormed through East Prussia and Poland, Hitler retired to Berlin. The Wehrmacht after Bragation and the Bulge was a spent force. SS armour divisions earmarked for the defense of Berlin were committed by Hitler to the defense of Budapest. After Budapest fell, this left the defense of Berlin to a considerable extent in the hands of Volkstrum made up of Hitler youth boys and older men. As the Soviets closed in, Hitler's advisers urged him to withdraw to the southern Alps. He refused and decided to make his last stand in Berlin from the bunker located near the Chancellery. HBC has developed some of the historical detils on the Battle for Berlin.

Created: 2:41 AM 4/24/2005
Last updated: 2:41 AM 4/24/2005