By the end of World War II, Nazi Germany, which had been rampant for a long time, was already in turmoil. On April 30, 1945, in the basement of the Chancellor's Office in Berlin, the German capital under the siege of the Red Army, Adolf Hitler, one of the culprits of World War II, saw that he was already defeated and shot himself.
(In the spring of 1945, the Red Army captured Berlin, declaring victory on the European front.) ）
Before that, Hitler had left a political will and designated his successor. His answer surprised everyone: Marshal Carl Dönitz, commander-in-chief of the German Navy. Even Marshal Dönitz himself was taken aback when he heard the news, and could not believe that his Fuehrer would choose to take over him. Because Marshal Dönitz was not a member of the Nazi Party, not a close confidant of Hitler. Hitler had previously designated his heir in the Nazi Party.
Why, then, did Hitler choose Dönitz, who was not his own concubine, as the successor of the Third Reich rather than his own cronies in the Nazi Party, such as Marshal Hermann Goering (Hitler's personally designated successor, hitler's "prince"), Heinrich Himmler (head of the SS) and others?
Let us first look at the performance of hitler's cronies.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" >, Hitler's former "prince" - Marshal Hermann Göring</h1>
Marshal Goering followed Hitler very early on, and he was involved in the turmoil in the beer hall. Marshal Goering can be called a veteran figure of "Root Zheng Miao Hong". Marshal Goering was not useless, and during World War I, he was also an air force pilot with excellent records. After the Nazi Party came to power, Marshal Goering also did a good job at hand. It can be seen that Marshal Goering is also a very capable person. Hitler's appointment of Marshal Goering as his successor was not random, but well founded.
However, Marshal Goering has a big problem, that is, he likes to brag. In the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940 (both in 2017's Dunkirk and Darkest Hour), the Anglo-French coalition was besieged by the Germans on the seashore. With the vast sea in front and the Tiger Wolf German army in the back, the Allied retreat was difficult. At that time, even British Prime Minister Winston Churchill had little hope for the retreat. There were nearly 400,000 Allied troops on the seashore, and Churchill initially thought that if tens of thousands of troops could be withdrawn, it would be thankful. It seems that the Allied troops on the seashore are already less fierce.
But Marshal Goering, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe, inadvertently sent a god assist to the Allies. In order to win the merits, Marshal Goering packed a ticket for Hitler, patted his chest and promised: To prevent the Allied retreat, it is enough to rely on our air force, and our air force is enough to complete the task alone. Hitler believed Marshal Goering's words, so he ordered the Army not to advance, and the task of preventing the Allied retreat was entrusted to the Air Force. As a result, the Allies were given valuable time to retreat. By the time Hitler re-ordered the Army to resume its offensive, it was too late, and the large Allied forces had successfully withdrawn from the European continent. German General Guderian criticized Marshal Goering for this in his memoir Blitzkrieg Heroes.
General Guderian, a famous general in the German Army in World War II
(General Guderian, a famous German Army general in World War II, the author of Blitzkrieg Heroes, is famous for founding "Blitzkrieg".) Germany was sentenced to a single time after its surrender and later released. ）
In the Battle of Stalingrad of 1942-1943, when the Soviets entered a counter-offensive, the German Sixth Army (commanded by General Paulus) was surrounded by Soviet forces. Marshal Goering once again slapped his fuehrer on the chest, assuring them that the Air Force would provide them with adequate supplies. Hitler believed it and did not agree to General Paulus's request for a breakout, which became one of the reasons for the collapse of this force. It can be said that Marshal Goering made a "great contribution" to the victory of the anti-fascist war. His lips are comparable to Zhao Kuo during the Warring States period in China.
"Blitzkrieg Heroes" also mentions that in 1944, Hitler could not stand Marshal Goering and scolded Marshal Goering for being too lazy. It's also easy to understand in reality: what leader would like to brag about subordinates?
Marshal Hermann Goering, Commander-in-Chief of the Luftwaffe
(Marshal Hermann Goering, commander-in-chief of the Luftwaffe and number two in the Nazi Party, was once Hitler's "prince" but later fell out of favor.) After World War II, he was sentenced to death by hanging by the Allies. ）
Marshal Goering's love of bragging is one thing. On the other hand, his loyalty is also in question. In 1945, Marshal Goering wrote to Hitler, suggesting that the Fuehrer should immediately take over and negotiate peace with the Western countries. Hitler, furious and believing that Marshal Goering was ready to take the opportunity to persecute himself, ordered that Marshal Goering be immediately removed from all positions and imprisoned. Marshal Goering's dream of succession was dashed, and the Air Force was excluded from hitler's succession list.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="8" > ii. Heinrich Himmler</h1>
Heinrich Himmler was the head of the SS, whom Hitler had taken very seriously. But like Marshal Goering, Himmler made a mistake in his loyalty to the Fuehrer. In 1945, Himmler negotiated peace with the United States and Great Britain through neutral Sweden and behind Hitler's back. When Hitler learned of this, he was so outraged that he gave Himmler the same treatment as Goering, scolding Himmler for his shameful betrayal. In this way, the position of successor is naturally not related to Himmler. And "Blitzkrieg Heroes" mentions that later, the rift between Hitler and the SS became more and more prominent. In 1945, Hitler even asked the SS to remove the arm emblem, which showed that the two sides were no longer as close as before. In this way, the SS people naturally could not take Over Hitler's class.
(Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS.) In 1945, he was dismissed by Hitler for private peace talks with the United States and Britain. After Germany surrendered, he was arrested by the Allies and committed suicide in fear of crime. ）
Excluding these Hitler cronies, let's look at other forces that may succeed us. After the defeat of the Air Force and the SS, the Army and Navy remained.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="10" > Third, the Army and the Nazi Party had a deep grudge</h1>
From Blitzkrieg Heroes and Lost Victory (Memoirs of Marshal Manstein of Germany), we can see that two German Army generals invariably accused Hitler of suppressing the Army. Hitler's path to power was accompanied by his long struggle with the Army. General Manstein mentioned in his memoirs that because Hitler fought for power with the Army, he was expelled from Berlin by the Nazi Party in 1938 and demoted to a local military commander.
(Marshal Erich von Manstein, a famous German Army general in World War II and author of Lost Victory.) Like General Guderian, he was sentenced after the war and later released. ）
It is also mentioned in Blitzkrieg Heroes that Hitler repeatedly expanded the SS in order to suppress the Army, because Hitler did not believe in the Army at all. It can be seen that Hitler and the Army have a deep grudge. Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for him to find an army general as his heir.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="12" > Navy—Hitler's only choice</h1>
Since the Army could not be Hitler's choice, Hitler's choice was only the Navy. There was no contradiction between the Navy and the Nazi Party. As Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Marshal Carl Dönitz had a lot of success (such as wolf pack tactics that dealt heavy blows to the Allies). Although Marshal Dönitz was not a member of the Nazi Party, marshal Dönitz was also loyal to his fuehrer. (Similar to the two field marshals mentioned above, Marshal Dönitz spent several years in prison before regaining his freedom.) But even after his post-war release, Marshal Dönitz continued to carry out Nazi propaganda. We can also read it from Marshal Dönitz's memoir, Ten years and Twenty Days. ）
Moreover, Marshal Dönitz did not belong to any political faction. That is to say, Marshal Dönitz belongs to the kind of figure that everyone can accept. In this way, Marshal Dönitz, who was not Hitler's close confidant, became Hitler's best successor at this time.
(Marshal Carl Dönitz, commander-in-chief of the German Navy, founded the "Wolf Pack Tactics" that inflicted great losses on the Allies, author of Ten years and Twenty Days.) ）
Combining the above reasons, Hitler chose Dönitz as his successor.
However, the fall of the Third Reich was already doomed by this time. Marshal Dönitz, though he took over Hitler's class, was useless. Soon after, The German fascists were defeated and surrendered, and the Third Reich also stepped off the stage of history.