question_answer

Account for the fall of Berlin and the end of the Third Reich in Germany. Or Trace the events that led to the surrender of Germany in 1945.

Answer:

 (a) The failure of the Battle of Britain led Germany to attack the Soviet Union. Due to the spirited defense put up by the Red Army and the people, the onset of winter and use of the scorched earth policy, Hitler's Russian campaign was a failure. In the battle of Stalingrad, Germany lost 300,000 soldiers and 100,000 soldiers surrendered. (b) On 6th June 1944, one lakh British and American soldiers landed in Normandy. This hastened the defeat of Germany as she was compelled to fight on more than one front. (c) After the opening of the Second Front, Germany found the Allied forces closing in on her from three directions. From Italy, the troops began advancing towards Berlin, the troops which landed in Normandy freed France and sped towards the German border and finally on the eastern front, the Germans faced a complete collapse. The Red Army crossed the Oder River and was poised to enter Berlin. (d) On 2nd May, the Soviet armies entered Berlin. On 7th May Germany surrendered, bringing the Second World War to an end in Europe. (e) According to the decisions taken at Yalta and Potsdam, Germany was divided into four zones of occupation i.e. among the Allied powers. Berlin fell within the Soviet range and was split into four sectors. A large number of Nazi leaders were captured and put on trial.