Why Did the German Army Fight to the End?

Why did the German army continue to fight the Allies even in the face of certain defeat? Following the Battle of Stalingrad and defeats on other fronts in 1943, the tide had turned against the German war machine – and most German officers knew it. The Wehrmacht’s Last Stand chronicles the final campaigns of WWII in Europe from January 1944 until the Wehrmacht’s ultimate collapse and the storming of Berlin by the Red Army in May 1945. Join us as Dr. Citino traces the “death ride” of the German army and explains why millions of men kept fighting in the face of increasingly hopeless odds.

[ramicohen]

I love Dr Robert Citino! He is just so gripping in his story telling of WWII. His enthusiasm is infectious. Thank you.

[alexbowman]

That typically grim German contemporary late war joke, “enjoy the war whilst you can, the peace will be worse”.

[Torgo]

"Enjoy the war -- the peace will be terrible." -- Graffiti left on walls in Berlin in early 1945.

[jvincent]

As a young graduate I began my first job in Germany (West Germany, back then). I was 25 years old. I stayed at a small family run hotel opposite the railway station. The family had run it for years. It was a fine old building and I had estimated that it was built around 1880, judging from the style of its architecture. I spoke fluent German and got on with the family well. Herr Ralf Dommershausen would invite me up to the family's apartments to drink beer and to watch football: West Germany were on their way that year to winning a World Cup. Ralf was a very handsome and engaging man and we laughed a lot together as I listened to his stories. He had been aged just 10 years at the very end of the war. He told me that he and his friends used to 'shimmy up' to the loudspeakers attached high on lamp posts in the town to stuff old socks into them in order to muffle the recorded rantings of the Führer which were broadcast incessantly from them. He also told me that the Nazis had told the population that black US soldiers would eat captured German children. Herr Dommershausen had two older brothers. I can not remember their names. One evening I was invited to dinner with the family and there I met Ralf's brothers. Both were grim, tough, hard looking men, unsmiling with etched skin taught over their angular features. Both strikingly handsome and both tall, lithe and fit, though both would have been well into their seventies at the time. Both had been soldiers - and at least one, I think, an 'offizier' - in the Waffen SS. Still, today I get a shiver and a thrill when I recall that evening. I did not dare to ask them about their time fighting during the war. The company I worked for was founded by a young highly gifted physicist who had walked back to Germany after his release from a Russian POW camp sometime in the late 1940s. His company became, and still is, part of the world-famous German Mittelstand. I do look back fondly at my 10 years in Germany.

[davidswift]

Citino’s passion is undeniable, he really conveys a confidence that he truly knows what he explains. I’m sure he was very close to being insanely involved in his research. Doctorates take you to this next level. Well done, very comprehensive. Thanks for the post 👍

[russingle]

My father's father died in one of the battles around the bridge at Remagden.My father never knew his father.His mother became a total drunk and my father and little sister were left alone many a nite at around 4 yrs old.Fucking horrible.My father was a terrible husband and father.My grandfather was around 26.His grave is near my home but recently we found that there were no remains buried here.Thats just one story.There are 10's of millions of others.If anyone believes there is glory in war is a fool.

[bradleyeric]

'People should know when they are conquered.'
'Would you Quintus, would I?'

[jhb]

It's very nice to see a long term academic of this caliber being engaged in a Q&A session like this. He was asked some very interesting questions, and clearly loved the chance to share his knowledge with an appreciative audience. I have no real interest in the high res history of WWII, but the enthusiasm, scope and ability to extract and share lessons fellows like this have to offer is fascinating.

[bcvetkov]

More people need to say this. Thank you for leaving the comment section up so people can actually share their own opinions with this video.

[sophigenitor]

One of those soldiers senselessly killed in the last year of the war was my Granddad, my Dad was 4 at that time and never new his father.

[chocolatte]

Another possibility is the phenomenon that surfaces in the U.S. occasionally that is suicide by police. The soldiers could surrender to the Soviets knowing how much they would suffer for that. They could desert or run and suffer the humiliation at the hands of their countrymen and possibly execution. Or they could fight their best and retain their dignity and die a warrior’s death. The last choice may have seemed the most palatable.

[JakobFischer]

My grandfather went towards the US army with a white flag to prevent our village from beeing bombed, only after he could be sure the SS has fled the area. He was more afraid of the SS than of the Americans. Many germans died in the last days by SS groups prowling around on the search of soldiers as well as civilians who wanted to surrender.

[diedertspijkerboer]

I suppose one of the reasons why the generals went on until the end is one I have often observed in people however skilled in their jobs :
Many are not able, or maybe inclined, to see their work within the wider context of society. They do the tasks at hand without wondering what the broader purpose is.
I can easily imagine German generals basically losing themselves in the battles at hand and pushing from their minds how futile and even counter-productive their actions are.

[GenXstacker]

This is one of the most illuminating presentations on the subject I've ever listened to. So much has been written or said about WW2 that it is hard to separate fact from fiction, reality from misconception. To learn the lessons of history we must first understand what actually happened.

[tarmbruster]

Fantastic interview. Gotta get his book.
... he made me laugh a few times as well.
Excellent questions from the gallery. I was appreciative, too.

[powerslave]

As always I always enjoy hearing Robert Citino’s lectures and from the Q&A session it’s pretty clear that he’s just so enthusiastic in answering the questions with lots of thoughts given.

[andersmidby]

Starting off by using generals like Rommel (forced by Gestapo to commit suicide in 1944), Guderian (sacked two times after controversies with inter alia Hitler) and von Manstein (sacked in 1944, also partly due to controversies with Hitler) as examples of high officers who kept on fighting for den Führer to the bitter end only to turn on the war effort in their memoirs would seem somewhat odd.

[AFGuidesHD]

I highly doubt German officers fought to the end because they were being paid. No more than French officers or British officers would have fought to the end because of a pay check.

[moridin]

If you look at the German surrender in ww1 you'll notice that the German army was told and so were the populace that they didn't actual lose that war which set everything up for the second one. If you have an unconditional surrender you don't have the game playing to the extent that occurred post 1918

[Khyira]

I´ve been waiting literal years for another lecture from Dr. Citino on this topic, amazing, see you in an hour and a half.