@Western Unity There is a story going around on the internet somewhere that whilst in custody he was beaten death by a British sergeant. Apparently somebody spilt the beans on their deathbed. This could explain why some think he has a bruised looking face in the photo of him lying on the floor dead. The story of him taking a vial of poison was then concocted to hide the truth.
Another amazing and first rate video. My English students in China are shown your videos via my VPN so they can hear your clear, concise and well pronounced narration as an example of excellent English speaking.
It is not only the English language. Mark probably also speaks German. He pronounces the German names like a native speaker, unlike most Anglo Saxons. He gets his German umlauts right.
Same here, I subbed quite a while beforehand from this current video, the vid on Stalin’s car, that was what really got me-as I’m into meh engineering & history. Ü
I knew most of this, I've long been a student of WW2, but there are always details I may not have come across. Plus Mark has a way of presenting his videos which is excellent.
@orangelion03 No. Hugo Boss was only one of 15.000 companies producing nazi uniforms. He had nothing to do with the design. @Richard Short You don't seem to understand how grammar works. If someone says "these uniforms look nice" and someone else answers "you have Hugo Boss to thank for that", it's clearly a comment on the design itself.
I'm born in Flensburg and grew up there. This last rump government in Flensburg carried out death penalties against deserters as long as it existed until the last days. Very tragic for those soldiers. To die...during all around them, outside of their little government island, the war was already over. In Germany were many articles written about those last executed soldiers. Above the entrance of the former Marinefernmeldeschule and at the barracks shown in the video there are still big stone Reichseagles hanging. Only with the swastikas removed. I was allways amazed how this was possible but I'm glad that not all war history in Germany is removed.
In our country, there is an effort to erase the Confederacy; banning the Stars and Bars flag and tearing down statues of Confederate Generals. I believe this a mistake. You cant erase history. And any efforts to do so removes the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of past generations and to understand why those mistakes were made to begin with. Im also very bothered by the fact that the Japanese have been completely forgiven for their many atrocities and genocide of the Chinese people, but the Germans continue to be synonimous with Nazism and the holocaust.
@Libertatem Veritas executing deserters was as much done by the ss as by the wehrmacht. Only difference is that the wehrmaht was more leaniend concerning citizens. Until the end there were wehrmacht military courts ordering executions of deserters.
@Mark Felton Productions My father had a quite unnerving experience after VE- Day in the North of Schleswig- Holstein on the German - Danish border. He was a corporal in the RAF, a member of an RAF unit searching for missing RAF aircraft, and he drove with an officer into a small town (which town I do not know), and they stopped outside of the "Rathaus", the Mayor's Office, to make enquiries. The officer went into the Rathaus but after a couple of minutes came running back out, shouting " The bloody Germans are still here !" in this case meaning that the Wehrmacht was still in force, and in control of the town ! As my father sped off, shots were fired at them and my father loosened the rifle secured onto their jeep's bonnet and gave it to the officer, but they thankfully didn't need it as they got away without further trouble. My father told me this story a couple of times, which was unusual, he seldom spoke of the war and what he had experienced, but this event obviously stuck in his mind. So, even after the German forces had officially capitulated, in certain off the track areas, German units, still armed and obviously volatile, held control of towns and villages in Germany.
Churchill was always ahead of other allied leaders in understanding what the Soviets might do at the end of the war to consolidate control over new territory. He could use the newly occupied lands as bargaining chips for areas Stalin really wanted. Denmark was one such area, and Churchill was convinced that Stalin was going to seize Denmark. Kremlin plans discovered after the fall of the USSR showed that Churchill was mostly right. The remnant nazi government under Doenitz lasted just long enough to frustrate Stalin's plan.
He was almost too alarmist in his analysis though. His panic over the Soviet Union led the US to spare parts of the Nazi intelligence network to use in Eastern Europe as spies. In doing so, war criminals got away, and the CIA post war was compromised in the region, as many Soviets used the agents’ Nazi past as leverage to report false information.
That's no big deal, after all Churchill and Stalin have had several meetings prior to the end days of ww2, signed treaties together and they both invaded neutral Iran together with their troops in 1942 and then met in Iran.
Churchill and Stalin were close allies and knew each other rather well. British and american banks supported Stalin and his Soviet regime after all and their banks sent financial aid (and other aid) to Soviet Union.
Churchill knew because the British code breakers were probably reading Soviet messages. They were reading Japanese ones even before Pearl Harbour. Anything was easy to break if one could break Enigma and the Geheimschreiber.
Been to Flensburg countless times, I grew up on the Danish side of the border. There's still a nazi eagle-symbol on the brick gate leading into the naval school, only the swastika has been removed.
The bit about them being searched for poison reminded me of a anecdote about Stalingrad.. Upon being captured,Paulus was searched and they confiscated his grooming kit in case he used it to commit suicide. He immediately quipped 'A German Field Marshal Does Not Commit Suicide with a Pair of Nail Scissors!'
"Donitz, meanwhile, behaved as if his government were real." l m a o. Dry humor like this is one of my favorite parts of this channel. It's one thing to give a lecture on some small historical event, it's another to present it to an audience well, and a lot of historians are very good at knowing what happened and very bad at speaking about it.
Interestingly enough, the unconditional surrender was ONLY of the armed forces, not "Germany" or it's government. Granted, surrendering all armed forces leaves a government without executive. However, in the armed forces surrender there is mention of Germany subjecting itself to a regulation of it's affairs by the UN. As any annexations were illegal under UN regulations, by a strict legal definition, the German Reich didn't really seize to exist. The federal and Democratic republics founded in West and East Germany in 1949 were essentially new foundations of Sovereign governments, while the annexed regions in the East of the Reich essentially became protectorates of the new owner states. It's an interesting subject because of the clash of "legal" versus "factual" sovereignty. There is a whole bouquet of theories based on this, "Reichsbürger" ("Reich citizens") not accepting laws of the federal republic because they consider it not a legal government, or the fact that there has never been a peace treaty between the allies and Germany, hence the question if the UN enemy state clause would still allow action against Germany and Japan without a security council resolution, or questions regarding German sovereignty especially with regard to NSA activity at the worlds biggest internet hub in Frankfurt, Germany.
The soviets actually did occupy a part of Denmark - Bornholm. on the 4. of may the german forces surrendered in Denmark to field marshal Montgomery. Bornholm is situated in the Baltic sea. The soviets wanted the german commander on bornholm to surrender to them, but his orders were to surrender only to british forces. On the 7. and the 8. of may, without warning, Soviet bomberforces bombed Roenne & Nexoe, the two largest towns on Bornholm. On the 9. of may Soviet forces occupied Bornholm, and did not leave until the 5. of april 1946. So for people of Bornholm the war actually lasted a whole year longer than for the rest of Denmark
It is a mistake to say that the war lasted until 5 April '46, when the Soviets left Bornholm. You could use that sort of argument to say that WW2 didn't end until 1991, when the Soviets stopped occupying Eastern Europe and withdrew into Soviet territory, and then it became Russia again
@@hyperducktales You have no idea they only where fighting the Soviets at the end of the war and hoping to save most of Germany of Soviet occupation .And this teens, not children kept fighting for protecting there mothers and sisters of beeing murdered and raped by the russians . And at that time the teens where already adults after facing years of death and bombing. But of course you can talk shit about everithing with out knowing anything or just listening to your fake western propaganda.
The Flensburg government stalled for time on purpose as Mark explained. They tried in vain to get a separate armistice treaty with the Western Allies only, so Germany could concentrate on the Soviets and hoped for help from the Western Allies since they knew America and Britain were allied with the Soviets only by necessity. During the Soviet offensive on Vienna, the Axis command were trying to halt the Soviets for long enough with the same hopes in mind.
@@adude8424 Which is contrary to what General Patton was thinking...and others, including Mr Churchill. Turns out that the western allies gifted Eastern Europe entire and, most of Prussia to the soviets and decades later, people with beliefs like you abound...largely ignorant and curiously opinionated.
Incredible to think if the Soviets had moved into Denmark after WW2; my parents would have never emigrated to Canada in the 60s and I may have either grown up in a communist country or had never been born. Just goes to show that history is not just some abstract story, but has a real impact on the real world.
The Hitler-Doenitz relationship has always interested me, Doenitz seems to have been one of the few people who could hold his own with Hitler but that's just an impression, I have not studied enough to know...
I always think Donitz gets a bit of a bad wrap, I know he was a Nazi etc but as a lot of their leadership went he was reasonably balanced morality wise (even when compared to allied/soviet leadership). At least he was justly found not guilty of war crimes, with the American Navy of all people coming to his defence.
@Chicha 17 I would not say the Western Allies comitted more crimes than the Germans, but Soviets have. I am from Poland and here every single day of occupation was a crime with thousands of crimes in them. Beatings, executions, deportations, interrogations, sole murders for five years. And before that unhuman invasion wich aim was not to strike soldiers but civilians. You should really look into Julien Brian's work in Warsaw from September of 1939 (an American journalist documenting agony of our capital under German siege). Bombing of Dresden? Alright. But still nothing compared to what happend eastwards of that city.
@Chicha 17 Hunger Plan, Generalplan Ost, Holocaust, Operation Barbarossa, Blitz over London, Oradour-sur-glane and Lidice? Thats off the top of my head for German war crimes. Don't tell me that youre going to cite Dresden as an Allied war crime...
@@TheThemutedude If you can't count Dresden then you can't count the blitz. They are both indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets. If you also look at the statistics in terms if loss of life during the entire blitz 8 months and 5 days there is an estimated 40000-43000 deaths, on the other hand the bombing of Dresden resulted in 23000-25000 deaths in 2 days. So if the dresden bombings lasted the same period as the blitz there could be as many as 2976000 deaths. So you tell me which one is the most despicable act.
TRUE-JUSTASTHE BRITISH ROYAL MARINE COMMANDOESCAMETOTHEAIDOF OTTO SKORZENY-THE USNHADDONEUNTO JAPANWHAT DOENIYTZHAD HOPEDTO DIUNTO BRITAIN-AND NOBODYWASIN A MOODTTO HAVETHEIRHARD-WON VICTORY DECLAREDA WAR CRIMEBY SOME IDIOT!
I can finally post my comment without it getting piled on... I love your ww2 videos I watch them like every night they are so informative keep up the good work!
The end of wars are always the most interesting. Reminds me of how Jefferson Davis was convinced he could continue the war from Texas up until he was captured by union forces in Georgia. No one wants to accept that they have lost, no matter how dire the circumstances.
I so love the intro music, not to mention the fantastic historical facts & events that you put together & uploaded for the populas. I am new to the channel & only came across it due to my interest in submarines, anyway thanks & great work
Considering that the Soviets wouldn't have tolerated it, double- plus ungood. Sometimes Churchill forgot just who had the upper hand. The Americans played both Churchill and Stalin beautifully, something that appears to be lost on many YT viewers.
"Soviet captivity" was a very real reason for Germany to avoid at any cost for sure. It reminds me of the footage of Saddam being executed where his jailers were no more or less the same vile type of animal as him. They were right too in as much as East Germany happened - eeeow.
@@modrysokol Yes true. There is a kids story about a king with mice problems so he gets cats that wreck the palace, then dogs to get rid of the cats, then lions for the dogs and then elephants that destroy everything to get rid of the dogs. Finally he gets the mice back to rid him of the elephants and makes a deal with them.
I have found the way many of the top Germans behaved at this time more then a little interesting. It's as if they had no understanding of what was happening nor how the rest of the world viewed them. They seemed to think that they should be given the same standing they had always had. Whereas the Allies, Russia in particular, had different ideas.
@Buttrape Bill Case in point the Franco-Prussian war, Napoleon III and Bismarck just chilled in full dress uniform after he was captured. No trials or executions.
@Buttrape Bill This I know and understand, but they were aware of what was happening with the SS death squads and the camps as well as the atrocities carried out by their own troops.. Yet they still behaved as if nothing was wrong. And the notion of using terror as a weapon was something they had done since the Franco Prussian War. Yet they still thought nothing would be said.
To be correct and fair, Albert Speer was an architect and pushed into the role of Armaments Minister. Slave labor indeed is what he had been given and all he could get; but he went as far as he could to see that his workers were not abused and were treated as well as could be expected. We exchanged letters after his release from Spandau and came to know him quite well. He lacked by the grace of God the sentiments and instincts of a Nazi.
Mark Felton is simply the very best Historian on You Tube. None of the ridiculous conspiracy theories that seem so prevalent when it comes to the second world war, especially the Nazis. Instead well told and extremely interesting facts. On to Patreon now.
i always felt Doenitz got a raw deal by the allies. By the mid 20th century standards he fought an honorable war then was handed a sack of s**t by the real bad guys who said to make it work.."and oh and have a nice day" before they committed suicide.
Doenitz was by no means a small-time officer. He was the 2nd in command of the Kriegsmarine and got promoted to Fleet Admiral in 1943 after the resignation of the former Fleet Admiral. He designed the plans for all-out submarine warfare and other naval strategies designed to match the allied force by ignoring what was considered clean or ethical warfare in the time period.
@@birkli2959 ... because the Allies only fought with "clean or ethical tactics", right? Such as their almost complete reliance on fire bombing civilian targets and cities with literally no strategic value? Or nuking people? Or raping thousands of German women and children? Or giving all of Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union? Or occupying Paris and raping thousands of French women?
Ogdred Weary fuckin’ A. Birk Li...birk by name, birk by nature. Don’t pretend that only Germany did this shit. The Allies were just as shitfully ignorant of “clean and ethical warfare” when it suited them as well.
I read where the British did essentially the same thing, except on a slightly smaller scale, in the Philippines after Japan surrendered, to thwart an uprising among the people against the pre war authorities, the British in command simply gave the surrendered Japanese, (whom were now loyal to theit captors) back their guns, and the people, as they were terrified of the Japanese, stopped their revolting! 🤔. Thanks Mark!!
The British used Japanese troops to maintain law and order in Netherlands East Indies. Japanese troops under British orders also protected allied internees and prisoners of war of the Japanese from the local population as the Indonesian war of independence was beginning. Japanese troops were actually operating on both sides and Japanese troops were still carrying out destruction of civilian and military infrastructure, stores and equipment up to the arrival of British, Indian, Australian and Netherlands forces. British Commonwealth combat losses in peace keeping in French Indochina and the Netherlands Easts Indies until replaced by French and Netherlands forces were over 5,000 troops. It should be noted that only in Burma did the British have any resistance to the restoration of British Imperial rule in her south-east Asian empire.
The soldier in the background with the moustache at 5.51 is Charlie Brett who I knew when he was a proofreader at William Clowes, Printers, in Beccles in the 1960s. He was bonkers.
Request for a video on the fight between Robert S. Johnson vs German ace Egon Meyer. After all Robert S. Johnson managed to get his Thunderbold all the way back to England after his plane was severely damaged and severely damaged is a major understatement.
your videos are very interesting,and the only limiting factor is the lack of footage from the war. i kinda wish they were longer videos, but i understand that there might not be any more to tell, so i still thoroughly enjoy them anyway :D
Albert Speer talked about them in some detail in his memoirs. I suggest taking a look in there. Basically they were plans to restore the traffic system (roads and railways), the food distribution system, the economy as a whole, some plans for a new currency and political plans for future relations with other nations.
Have always been fascinated with this two or so post VE Day period in Germany. Also whatever military actions were being taken post Hitler's suicide. It was still an active war for 9 days thereafter. Thanks for this episode.
I’ve been subscribed since 6 k subs for you I love your videos I always watch them as soon as I can, I learn something new every day and I hope you keep this up!!
I am from Flensburg and both my grandfathers fought and survived the war. My mothers father deserted finally when he as a walking wounded marching from Denmark passed Flensburg on the 30th of April. Things must have been chaotic in those last weeks. Flensburg was lucky not to have been obliterated by allied bombers. Another story.
There are other historical channels which are very informative. But using contemporary video, along with the pulsating music and your excellent grammar in languages make for a riveting and fascinating history lesson.
novel by jean noli, 'the admiral,' story of the Uboats,their commanders, most killed in atlantic actions,,,, doenitz met with himmler regularly, one such meeting broached the root issue,of dealing with the allies,with one voice one head,doenitz said '.herr standarten fueher,,the allies will accept no one with previous party commitments,you have such commitments,,during this talk the admiral had his finger on the trigger of a loaded pistol in his right hand beneath a pile of papers
One of those interesting and necessary situations that are rarely ever talked about, the German government and Army needed to remain functioning to some degree to help manage the country and facilitate emergency services and police work. I think the Army wasn't completely disbanded until some time in 1946.
Learned something new. I thought I had a reasonable understanding of the Nazi surrender but was unaware of this tacit prolonging of the tragi-comical Reich ending. It does makes some sense. Amazing how delusional the regime was until the very end.
They were not delusional. Unlike the western allies, the Germans knew damn well the horrors of stalin and communism, and they had known about it for 20 years. The collapse of germany had to be managed to save as much of the free world as possible. If it weren't for the Nazi's, you would be living in a communist country right now.
"Rump Reich." What an interesting term. All this information is new to me, so thank you again for my continuing education. I will always feel it a damned shame that more people could not have been evacuated from East Prussia. Thus are the fortunes of war.
'Useless eaters' is language not too dissimilar to that of the various British politicians that despise those that are unemployed due to a direct consequence of how our economic system operates.
Some people say Dönitz was not so and after all...but during his short rule a ship full of German sailors got shot for defecting. They simply surrendered earlier, well knowing the war is already over.
i think it's wrong to punish the services for what the goverment did,you can strip them of their command but Prison seems wrong to me as with all Armies there just doing as their told
Another quality video Mark, I had never heard this story before! The only thing I ask of you is please say "Heinrik" instead of "Heinrish" as each time you say that I wince 😆
The end was always going to be messy. The defeated Nazis having nominal power only, while the victorious allies had yet to set up an effective actual government. It's very interesting to see what really happened during this "Limbo" time. Thanks, Mark. 😀
Does anyone else find it concerning that google recognizes every little holiday, social icon etc with a homepage graphic, yet arguably the greatest victory of the 20th century doesn't even get a mention?
What I want to know...if the war was about Polish sovereignty, why Poland was thrown to the Communists at the end of the war and why its okay for Soviets to make a treaty with Germany to split up Poland/invade but only Germany gets war declared against it...
Never forget that 8th May 1945 (VE Day?) is the date of the Bleiburg massacre when the British forced men , women and children into the hands of the Jugoslavs who massacred most of them.
Can you do a video about the Handley-Page Halifax? I had an uncle who was in the RAF and was lost over Germany and I have never seen a doc on his aircraft.
Prompt 10am cabinet meetings every morning while Germany has completely fallen apart. Thats German effiency for you.
The Himmler final days story worthy of a separate look...Thanks Mark.
Hopefully that's the next video. Himmler was not arrested in germany, he was arrested in 1967.. On the moon during the Apollo landings!
@@conspiracyscholor7866 I thought that was in 1969, but I suppose that's just when they faked it...
@@conspiracyscholor7866 Wrong, it was 1969. He was flung out of Apollo 11 halfway back to earth and is now circling Mars.
@Western Unity There is a story going around on the internet somewhere that whilst in custody he was beaten death by a British sergeant. Apparently somebody spilt the beans on their deathbed. This could explain why some think he has a bruised looking face in the photo of him lying on the floor dead. The story of him taking a vial of poison was then concocted to hide the truth.
Himmler was beaten to death by British soldiers and the fact was covered up as a suicide
Another amazing and first rate video. My English students in China are shown your videos via my VPN so they can hear your clear, concise and well pronounced narration as an example of excellent English speaking.
I used to lecture at Shanghai and Fudan Universities. Great fun and lovely students.
Why through your VPN? Is RUclips banned from China?
‘Paul Alexander,’ that kinda’ stuff happens all over the world, no place is a safe haven!
It is not only the English language. Mark probably also speaks German. He pronounces the German names like a native speaker, unlike most Anglo Saxons. He gets his German umlauts right.
@Libertatem Veritas China lol
“Rump Reich” sounds like an adult movie
"Rump Reich 2" is the one to watch 🍷🍺
Not to mention 'The return of the Third Rump'
And there is "Trump Reich" as well.
But that one is XXX rated 😂
As an adult, I can tell you that is a movie I would not like to see
Yeah
After I subscribed one year ago, I never thought that you can suprise me with every video and teach me everytime something new
Yup same for me
after i subscribed a year ago, i never though that the comments would be turned on
Same here, I subbed quite a while beforehand from this current video, the vid on Stalin’s car, that was what really got me-as I’m into meh engineering & history. Ü
I knew most of this, I've long been a student of WW2, but there are always details I may not have come across. Plus Mark has a way of presenting his videos which is excellent.
Absolutely
Damn.
Their uniforms are so sharp
Hugo Boss takes the credit for that.
@@orangelion03 Hugo Boss did not design them.
They certainly are!❤️
@@Mikhail-Tkachenko
Well, he didn't say Hugo Boss designed them, just that he took the credit.
@orangelion03 No. Hugo Boss was only one of 15.000 companies producing nazi uniforms. He had nothing to do with the design.
@Richard Short You don't seem to understand how grammar works. If someone says "these uniforms look nice" and someone else answers "you have Hugo Boss to thank for that", it's clearly a comment on the design itself.
I'm born in Flensburg and grew up there. This last rump government in Flensburg carried out death penalties against deserters as long as it existed until the last days. Very tragic for those soldiers. To die...during all around them, outside of their little government island, the war was already over. In Germany were many articles written about those last executed soldiers.
Above the entrance of the former Marinefernmeldeschule and at the barracks shown in the video there are still big stone Reichseagles hanging. Only with the swastikas removed.
I was allways amazed how this was possible but I'm glad that not all war history in Germany is removed.
In our country, there is an effort to erase the Confederacy; banning the Stars and Bars flag and tearing down statues of Confederate Generals. I believe this a mistake. You cant erase history. And any efforts to do so removes the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of past generations and to understand why those mistakes were made to begin with.
Im also very bothered by the fact that the Japanese have been completely forgiven for their many atrocities and genocide of the Chinese people, but the Germans continue to be synonimous with Nazism and the holocaust.
@Libertatem Veritas My guess is that a lot of records were lost or destroyed.
@Libertatem Veritas executing deserters was as much done by the ss as by the wehrmacht. Only difference is that the wehrmaht was more leaniend concerning citizens.
Until the end there were wehrmacht military courts ordering executions of deserters.
megatwingo Desertion was a capital offense in the US Army. Were executions carried out against the civilian populace??? 😐😐😐😐😐
Libertatem Veritas >> It’s a shame Himmler and Goering killed themselves and so missed their date with the hangman at Nuremberg.
@Mark Felton Productions
My father had a quite unnerving experience after VE- Day in the North of Schleswig- Holstein on the German - Danish border. He was a corporal in the RAF, a member of an RAF unit searching for missing RAF aircraft, and he drove with an officer into a small town (which town I do not know), and they stopped outside of the "Rathaus", the Mayor's Office, to make enquiries. The officer went into the Rathaus but after a couple of minutes came running back out, shouting " The bloody Germans are still here !" in this case meaning that the Wehrmacht was still in force, and in control of the town ! As my father sped off, shots were fired at them and my father loosened the rifle secured onto their jeep's bonnet and gave it to the officer, but they thankfully didn't need it as they got away without further trouble. My father told me this story a couple of times, which was unusual, he seldom spoke of the war and what he had experienced, but this event obviously stuck in his mind. So, even after the German forces had officially capitulated, in certain off the track areas, German units, still armed and obviously volatile, held control of towns and villages in Germany.
I wonder if in those cabinet meetings, they the ministers had to uneasily salute ‘Hail Donitz...?’
Churchill was always ahead of other allied leaders in understanding what the Soviets might do at the end of the war to consolidate control over new territory. He could use the newly occupied lands as bargaining chips for areas Stalin really wanted. Denmark was one such area, and Churchill was convinced that Stalin was going to seize Denmark. Kremlin plans discovered after the fall of the USSR showed that Churchill was mostly right. The remnant nazi government under Doenitz lasted just long enough to frustrate Stalin's plan.
He was almost too alarmist in his analysis though. His panic over the Soviet Union led the US to spare parts of the Nazi intelligence network to use in Eastern Europe as spies. In doing so, war criminals got away, and the CIA post war was compromised in the region, as many Soviets used the agents’ Nazi past as leverage to report false information.
Churchill spent most of the thirties warning the government about Stalin and Hitler, at the time people were more afraid of Stalin.
That's no big deal, after all Churchill and Stalin have had several meetings prior to the end days of ww2, signed treaties together and they both invaded neutral Iran together with their troops in 1942 and then met in Iran.
Churchill and Stalin were close allies and knew each other rather well. British and american banks supported Stalin and his Soviet regime after all and their banks sent financial aid (and other aid) to Soviet Union.
Churchill knew because the British code breakers were probably reading Soviet messages. They were reading Japanese ones even before Pearl Harbour. Anything was easy to break if one could break Enigma and the Geheimschreiber.
Been to Flensburg countless times, I grew up on the Danish side of the border.
There's still a nazi eagle-symbol on the brick gate leading into the naval school, only the swastika has been removed.
The bit about them being searched for poison reminded me of a anecdote about Stalingrad..
Upon being captured,Paulus was searched and they confiscated his grooming kit in case he used it to commit suicide.
He immediately quipped
'A German Field Marshal Does Not Commit Suicide with a Pair of Nail Scissors!'
No, just a mouthful of pills!
One thing I have to say, those trench coats are lit!
Hugo Boss designed the uniforms for the Nazi's and the German army.
Earl el-amin Well, the Nazis designed the uniforms to look good so it would divert idiots attention away from what they were really like.
"Donitz, meanwhile, behaved as if his government were real."
l m a o.
Dry humor like this is one of my favorite parts of this channel. It's one thing to give a lecture on some small historical event, it's another to present it to an audience well, and a lot of historians are very good at knowing what happened and very bad at speaking about it.
Donitz would have considered his government to be real seeing as Hitler gave him the post and Hitlers rule over Germany was unarguably real enough.
Interestingly enough, the unconditional surrender was ONLY of the armed forces, not "Germany" or it's government.
Granted, surrendering all armed forces leaves a government without executive.
However, in the armed forces surrender there is mention of Germany subjecting itself to a regulation of it's affairs by the UN. As any annexations were illegal under UN regulations, by a strict legal definition, the German Reich didn't really seize to exist. The federal and Democratic republics founded in West and East Germany in 1949 were essentially new foundations of Sovereign governments, while the annexed regions in the East of the Reich essentially became protectorates of the new owner states.
It's an interesting subject because of the clash of "legal" versus "factual" sovereignty.
There is a whole bouquet of theories based on this, "Reichsbürger" ("Reich citizens") not accepting laws of the federal republic because they consider it not a legal government, or the fact that there has never been a peace treaty between the allies and Germany, hence the question if the UN enemy state clause would still allow action against Germany and Japan without a security council resolution, or questions regarding German sovereignty especially with regard to NSA activity at the worlds biggest internet hub in Frankfurt, Germany.
I always liked Mitchell and Webb's take on the Reich's final "Donitz Days." ruclips.net/video/FHnyQXyuTGY/видео.html
The soviets actually did occupy a part of Denmark - Bornholm. on the 4. of may the german forces surrendered in Denmark to field marshal Montgomery. Bornholm is situated in the Baltic sea. The soviets wanted the german commander on bornholm to surrender to them, but his orders were to surrender only to british forces. On the 7. and the 8. of may, without warning, Soviet bomberforces bombed Roenne & Nexoe, the two largest towns on Bornholm. On the 9. of may Soviet forces occupied Bornholm, and did not leave until the 5. of april 1946. So for people of Bornholm the war actually lasted a whole year longer than for the rest of Denmark
Very interesting, thanks 😊
Mayhaps mr Fenton can do a special abaout this?
It is a mistake to say that the war lasted until 5 April '46, when the Soviets left Bornholm. You could use that sort of argument to say that WW2 didn't end until 1991, when the Soviets stopped occupying Eastern Europe and withdrew into Soviet territory, and then it became Russia again
Mange tak!
Thanks for showing me an aspect of my country‘s history that I didn‘t have a clue existed
A pleasure
Very interesting, I never knew they were allowed to exist that long, probably not a bad thing for the German refugees from the east.
Bizarre. It’s almost like they couldn’t accept it was over 😰 but I guess anything to stall the Soviets
@@hyperducktales You have no idea they only where fighting the Soviets at the end of the war and hoping to save most of Germany of Soviet occupation .And this teens, not children kept fighting for protecting there mothers and sisters of beeing murdered and raped by the russians . And at that time the teens where already adults after facing years of death and bombing. But of course you can talk shit about everithing with out knowing anything or just listening to your fake western propaganda.
@@hyperducktales , >tmw you'll never get to see Allied/Nazi soldiers fighting together against soviets
Feelsbadman.jpeg
*Death is a preferable option then Communism*
The Flensburg government stalled for time on purpose as Mark explained. They tried in vain to get a separate armistice treaty with the Western Allies only, so Germany could concentrate on the Soviets and hoped for help from the Western Allies since they knew America and Britain were allied with the Soviets only by necessity. During the Soviet offensive on Vienna, the Axis command were trying to halt the Soviets for long enough with the same hopes in mind.
@@adude8424 Which is contrary to what General Patton was thinking...and others, including Mr Churchill. Turns out that the western allies gifted Eastern Europe entire and, most of Prussia to the soviets and decades later, people with beliefs like you abound...largely ignorant and curiously opinionated.
Really interesting and informative! As always. Thanks for this!
As a Dane I can only thank the Allied Forces for keeping USSR out of Denmark.
Thank You
It’s so relieving to hear someone pronounce German names correctly. Thank you
Incredible to think if the Soviets had moved into Denmark after WW2; my parents would have never emigrated to Canada in the 60s and I may have either grown up in a communist country or had never been born. Just goes to show that history is not just some abstract story, but has a real impact on the real world.
The Hitler-Doenitz relationship has always interested me, Doenitz seems to have been one of the few people who could hold his own with Hitler but that's just an impression, I have not studied enough to know...
I always think Donitz gets a bit of a bad wrap, I know he was a Nazi etc but as a lot of their leadership went he was reasonably balanced morality wise (even when compared to allied/soviet leadership). At least he was justly found not guilty of war crimes, with the American Navy of all people coming to his defence.
@Chicha 17 I would not say the Western Allies comitted more crimes than the Germans, but Soviets have. I am from Poland and here every single day of occupation was a crime with thousands of crimes in them. Beatings, executions, deportations, interrogations, sole murders for five years. And before that unhuman invasion wich aim was not to strike soldiers but civilians. You should really look into Julien Brian's work in Warsaw from September of 1939 (an American journalist documenting agony of our capital under German siege). Bombing of Dresden? Alright. But still nothing compared to what happend eastwards of that city.
@Chicha 17 Interesting. I'd like to read about them. Please provide some links.
@Chicha 17 Hunger Plan, Generalplan Ost, Holocaust, Operation Barbarossa, Blitz over London, Oradour-sur-glane and Lidice?
Thats off the top of my head for German war crimes. Don't tell me that youre going to cite Dresden as an Allied war crime...
@@TheThemutedude If you can't count Dresden then you can't count the blitz. They are both indiscriminate attacks on civilian targets. If you also look at the statistics in terms if loss of life during the entire blitz 8 months and 5 days there is an estimated 40000-43000 deaths, on the other hand the bombing of Dresden resulted in 23000-25000 deaths in 2 days. So if the dresden bombings lasted the same period as the blitz there could be as many as 2976000 deaths. So you tell me which one is the most despicable act.
TRUE-JUSTASTHE BRITISH ROYAL MARINE COMMANDOESCAMETOTHEAIDOF OTTO SKORZENY-THE USNHADDONEUNTO JAPANWHAT DOENIYTZHAD HOPEDTO DIUNTO BRITAIN-AND NOBODYWASIN A MOODTTO HAVETHEIRHARD-WON VICTORY DECLAREDA WAR CRIMEBY SOME IDIOT!
Dang Mark, I've been bingeing since I subscribed... wife left, got fired, kids disowned me and my dog ran away but I continue bingeing... THANKS!! lol
Duke Raul ...freedom’s just another word, for nothin’ left to lose. Enjoy.
It was allowed to remain until 05/23/1945, to have an entity that could issue orders to the armed forces to surrender.
I wrote my MA thesis on doenitzs government... fascinating period.
I can finally post my comment without it getting piled on... I love your ww2 videos I watch them like every night they are so informative keep up the good work!
I finally got a good lesson in the correct pronunciation of 'Albert Speer' here. I hadn't fully gotten that there are two syllable in that last name!
The post war German government is the most fascinating subject of WWII.
how so?
The Weimar Republic never had a chance.
The end of wars are always the most interesting. Reminds me of how Jefferson Davis was convinced he could continue the war from Texas up until he was captured by union forces in Georgia. No one wants to accept that they have lost, no matter how dire the circumstances.
@@cyberpimp29 the Weimar Republic was pre ww2
1945 post war Germany has an absolutely fascinating history... Keep episodes like this up!
I so love the intro music,
not to mention the fantastic historical facts & events that you put together & uploaded for the populas.
I am new to the channel & only came across it due to my interest in submarines, anyway thanks & great work
You should be given a channel 4 series Mark. I thought i knew everything about WW2 by now but Every one of your videos is an education !
Sparkyicus nah short obscure informative vids are is his style. Maybe the history channel?
I've often wondered what post-war Germany would have been like if the good Admiral had been allowed to deal with things
considering that he was a devoted Nazi and a war criminal not very good.
Considering that the Soviets wouldn't have tolerated it, double- plus ungood. Sometimes Churchill forgot just who had the upper hand. The Americans played both Churchill and Stalin beautifully, something that appears to be lost on many YT viewers.
@@comsubpac by court of the victors?
@@comsubpac I dont think he had a part in any warcrimes.
@@comsubpac how was dönitz more of a war criminal than a churchill or stalin?
"Soviet captivity" was a very real reason for Germany to avoid at any cost for sure. It reminds me of the footage of Saddam being executed where his jailers were no more or less the same vile type of animal as him. They were right too in as much as East Germany happened - eeeow.
Some countries need benevolent dictators in order to maintain order and functional state leadership like Saddam, Benito, etc.
@@modrysokol Yes true. There is a kids story about a king with mice problems so he gets cats that wreck the palace, then dogs to get rid of the cats, then lions for the dogs and then elephants that destroy everything to get rid of the dogs. Finally he gets the mice back to rid him of the elephants and makes a deal with them.
I appoint my new cabinet....
.....I now dismiss my new cabinet. Thank you for your service.
I have found the way many of the top Germans behaved at this time more then a little interesting. It's as if they had no understanding of what was happening nor how the rest of the world viewed them. They seemed to think that they should be given the same standing they had always had. Whereas the Allies, Russia in particular, had different ideas.
@Buttrape Bill Case in point the Franco-Prussian war, Napoleon III and Bismarck just chilled in full dress uniform after he was captured. No trials or executions.
@Buttrape Bill This I know and understand, but they were aware of what was happening with the SS death squads and the camps as well as the atrocities carried out by their own troops.. Yet they still behaved as if nothing was wrong.
And the notion of using terror as a weapon was something they had done since the Franco Prussian War. Yet they still thought nothing would be said.
Keep these videos coming my friend. Very good as always. 10/10
Your productions are very interesting and professional, Mark! I'm a Patreon supporter now.
As always, you bring us fascinating snippets of forgotten history. Thanks again for sharing!
To be correct and fair, Albert Speer was an architect and pushed into the role of Armaments Minister. Slave labor indeed is what he had been given and all he could get; but he went as far as he could to see that his workers were not abused and were treated as well as could be expected. We exchanged letters after his release from Spandau and came to know him quite well. He lacked by the grace of God the sentiments and instincts of a Nazi.
Mark Felton is simply the very best Historian on You Tube. None of the ridiculous conspiracy theories that seem so prevalent when it comes to the second world war, especially the Nazis. Instead well told and extremely interesting facts. On to Patreon now.
Yes, and without the contrived Pythonesque and ill-informed ranting of Lindybeige.
i always felt Doenitz got a raw deal by the allies. By the mid 20th century standards he fought an honorable war then was handed a sack of s**t by the real bad guys who said to make it work.."and oh and have a nice day" before they committed suicide.
But he fullfill all orders. And if you look for later interviews you see that he was part of the nazi doctrine.
Doenitz was by no means a small-time officer. He was the 2nd in command of the Kriegsmarine and got promoted to Fleet Admiral in 1943 after the resignation of the former Fleet Admiral. He designed the plans for all-out submarine warfare and other naval strategies designed to match the allied force by ignoring what was considered clean or ethical warfare in the time period.
@@birkli2959 ... because the Allies only fought with "clean or ethical tactics", right? Such as their almost complete reliance on fire bombing civilian targets and cities with literally no strategic value? Or nuking people? Or raping thousands of German women and children? Or giving all of Eastern Europe to the Soviet Union? Or occupying Paris and raping thousands of French women?
Ogdred Weary fuckin’ A.
Birk Li...birk by name, birk by nature.
Don’t pretend that only Germany did this shit. The Allies were just as shitfully ignorant of “clean and ethical warfare” when it suited them as well.
What is more fascinating is how they give Europe to Stalin
quality information. If only the history channel was more like your channel
The comment section in this channel makes me happy that i subscribed 🤗
Yup! Most comments are knowledgeable and respectful, both of which are quite rare on RUclips.
not always, certain videos you find one too many neo-nazis lurking not so subtly in the comments
I read where the British did essentially the same thing, except on a slightly smaller scale, in the Philippines after Japan surrendered, to thwart an uprising among the people against the pre war authorities, the British in command simply gave the surrendered Japanese, (whom were now loyal to theit captors) back their guns, and the people, as they were terrified of the Japanese, stopped their revolting! 🤔. Thanks Mark!!
Same happened in indo-China with the French fighting the Viet-Minh
The British rearmed the Japanese army in Vietnam to counter a communist uprising by the Vietminh.I didn’t know about the Philippine one too!
The Americans took the Philippines, not the British. Perhaps you are thinking of somewhere in Southeast Asia.
The British used Japanese troops to maintain law and order in Netherlands East Indies. Japanese troops under British orders also protected allied internees and prisoners of war of the Japanese from the local population as the Indonesian war of independence was beginning. Japanese troops were actually operating on both sides and Japanese troops were still carrying out destruction of civilian and military infrastructure, stores and equipment up to the arrival of British, Indian, Australian and Netherlands forces. British Commonwealth combat losses in peace keeping in French Indochina and the Netherlands Easts Indies until replaced by French and Netherlands forces were over 5,000 troops. It should be noted that only in Burma did the British have any resistance to the restoration of British Imperial rule in her south-east Asian empire.
Geoffrey Mowbray great summary that I must read more about. Thanks
The soldier in the background with the moustache at 5.51 is Charlie Brett who I knew when he was a proofreader at William Clowes, Printers, in Beccles in the 1960s. He was bonkers.
Request for a video on the fight between Robert S. Johnson vs German ace Egon Meyer. After all Robert S. Johnson managed to get his Thunderbold all the way back to England after his plane was severely damaged and severely damaged is a major understatement.
your videos are very interesting,and the only limiting factor is the lack of footage from the war. i kinda wish they were longer videos, but i understand that there might not be any more to tell, so i still thoroughly enjoy them anyway :D
It would be interesting to know a summary of those papers on post war reconstruction. I wonder what plans they had in mind.
Albert Speer talked about them in some detail in his memoirs. I suggest taking a look in there. Basically they were plans to restore the traffic system (roads and railways), the food distribution system, the economy as a whole, some plans for a new currency and political plans for future relations with other nations.
Have always been fascinated with this two or so post VE Day period in Germany. Also whatever military actions were being taken post Hitler's suicide. It was still an active war for 9 days thereafter. Thanks for this episode.
Excellent commentary and unique film footage never seen before. Great work!
I’ve been subscribed since 6 k subs for you I love your videos I always watch them as soon as I can, I learn something new every day and I hope you keep this up!!
This channel reminds me of the history channel before it became utter nonsense
I am from Flensburg and both my grandfathers fought and survived the war. My mothers father deserted finally when he as a walking wounded marching from Denmark passed Flensburg on the 30th of April. Things must have been chaotic in those last weeks. Flensburg was lucky not to have been obliterated by allied bombers. Another story.
Imagine all the finger pointing...."YOU'RE in CHARGE NOW!" "NO, I"m not, HE is..." No HE IS.... I'm not, you are....now HE is.." LOL
I've learnt so much about ww2 from this channel. Thanks
Fascinating history as always. Thank you.
Excellent work as usual. Thank you!
There are other historical channels which are very informative. But using contemporary video, along with the pulsating music and your excellent grammar in languages make for a riveting and fascinating history lesson.
Another awesome video !
Your videos are great. So comprehensive and well read. Great job, very interesting content, please keep making videos.
Another excellent video, Dr. Felton.
novel by jean noli, 'the admiral,' story of the Uboats,their commanders, most killed in atlantic actions,,,, doenitz met with himmler regularly, one such meeting broached the root issue,of dealing with the allies,with one voice one head,doenitz said '.herr standarten fueher,,the allies will accept no one with previous party commitments,you have such commitments,,during this talk the admiral had his finger on the trigger of a loaded pistol in his right hand beneath a pile of papers
One of those interesting and necessary situations that are rarely ever talked about, the German government and Army needed to remain functioning to some degree to help manage the country and facilitate emergency services and police work. I think the Army wasn't completely disbanded until some time in 1946.
Learned something new. I thought I had a reasonable understanding of the Nazi surrender but was unaware of this tacit prolonging of the tragi-comical Reich ending. It does makes some sense. Amazing how delusional the regime was until the very end.
They were not delusional. Unlike the western allies, the Germans knew damn well the horrors of stalin and communism, and they had known about it for 20 years.
The collapse of germany had to be managed to save as much of the free world as possible.
If it weren't for the Nazi's, you would be living in a communist country right now.
"Rump Reich." What an interesting term. All this information is new to me, so thank you again for my continuing education. I will always feel it a damned shame that more people could not have been evacuated from East Prussia. Thus are the fortunes of war.
'Useless eaters' is language not too dissimilar to that of the various British politicians that despise those that are unemployed due to a direct consequence of how our economic system operates.
The video summed up in one sentence
Donitz and Himmler Play make-believe
Excellent work, thanks for the video.
Some people say Dönitz was not so and after all...but during his short rule a ship full of German sailors got shot for defecting. They simply surrendered earlier, well knowing the war is already over.
Such educational enriched videos 👍🏻. Always when I think I know lots about WW2, you always find something new, great work!
1:17 Field Marshal Albert "Cyclops" Kesselring.
i think it's wrong to punish the services for what the goverment did,you can strip them of their command but Prison seems wrong to me as with all Armies there just doing as their told
they were the government and issued the orders...
There’s ample evidence that the Wermacht was very active in atrocities.
This has got to be the best History vlog on the intricacies of wwii
Always good presentation Dr. Felton.
Oh wow that donitz guy lived. Long life. Died in 1980 at the age of 89. That was rare for anybody much leas Europeans from ww2.
as usual an excellent video--- thanks for posting!
Everyone wants to be king, even if it's only for a short time.
Another quality video Mark, I had never heard this story before! The only thing I ask of you is please say "Heinrik" instead of "Heinrish" as each time you say that I wince 😆
I reckon you've gained 2k subscribers since yesterday?! Excellent stuff as always.
Another WW2 mini film 😊 great stuff Mark, keep up the good work.
My 14 year old dad along with his friends tattooed VE on their arms to remember the day. The moms were not impressed!
Mark, your videos get better all time. Thank you.
Yay new video
you make great videos. thanks for posting.
I'm no lover of Churchill but this was a brilliant piece of planning by him
Excellent stuff as usual. The now very old and rather slim book _Capitulation '45_ remains a must-read text on the death throes of Nazism.
Just when you think you know it all....
The end was always going to be messy. The defeated Nazis having nominal power only, while the victorious allies had yet to set up an effective actual government.
It's very interesting to see what really happened during this "Limbo" time. Thanks, Mark. 😀
Does anyone else find it concerning that google recognizes every little holiday, social icon etc with a homepage graphic, yet arguably the greatest victory of the 20th century doesn't even get a mention?
What I want to know...if the war was about Polish sovereignty, why Poland was thrown to the Communists at the end of the war and why its okay for Soviets to make a treaty with Germany to split up Poland/invade but only Germany gets war declared against it...
Appreciate and thanks for the video.
Aha! Now we know the rest of the story! Kinda got shelved? Until now!👀. 😋 Thanks Mark!!
Goring honestly thought he would be placed in charge of Germany after acquittal
When Karl Dönitz was arrested, he said his name was Idunnowho. Idunnowho Dönitz. Ba-dum tssshh!
Never forget that 8th May 1945 (VE Day?) is the date of the Bleiburg massacre when the British forced men , women and children into the hands of the Jugoslavs who massacred most of them.
Mark Felton, what Lawrence Rees did for history at the BBC, you could be doing much more at Channel 4.
Your narratives are expanding public knowledge.
Can you do a video about the Handley-Page Halifax? I had an uncle who was in the RAF and was lost over Germany and I have never seen a doc on his aircraft.