Fighting 'til the Last: French Volunteers in Hitler's Final Stand
- Written by Gernot Kramper
- ~ 6 Min | Read Time
Traitors and Frenchmen: Safeguarding Hitler's final stronghold - Traitorous French Residents Defended Hitler's Final Stronghold
Berlin had fallen, but the last stand of the Third Reich was far from over. SS Officer Wilhelm Mohnke received orders to defend the government quarter, now a battleground in the "final battle." The crimson tide was unstoppable, but Mohnke's resolve was unwavering, with every meter of ground he intended to hold until the last breath. The heavy fortresses of the government complex, wide avenues, and intricate waterscape offered tactical advantages, but the desperate situation was futile even to Mohnke. The operation was senseless; all that could be achieved was a brief delay of the inevitable. Mohnke, from the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler," found himself in this last ditch effort chance-bound in Berlin, his body healing from a severe wound.
A Hodgepodge of Soldiers
Mohnke's comrades could hardly be called brothers-in-arms. His ragtag battle group was made up of remnants from the Leibstandarte, regular troops, and the Volkssturm, the disorganized and inexperienced last line of defense. The Volkssturm, failed to adapt to the unique terror of urban combat, as they had little preparatory training for the battlefield chaos that awaited them in Berlin. A motley crew of castoffs and former convicts also joined forces, marching to the beat of self-preservation, personal loyalties, and not out of a cause. On the flip side, elite fighters were handpicked to stand firm among the infantry. One of these was Georg Diers, manning King Tiger tanks numbers 314 and 100, presumed part of the heavy SS Panzer Battalion 503, and causing havoc on the Schönhauser Allee and Tiergarten Ost. But perhaps the most steadfast support came from foreign volunteers, who had chosen to face the end alongside their German brothers. The SS Division "Nordland" was stationed in the Tiergarten, while the SS Division "Charlemagne" set their sights on the Reichstag building.
The symbolism behind the Reichstag's walls was lost on the dictator, yet the Soviets saw the parliamentary building as the spiritual heart of the Third Reich. Stalin and the Red Army desired nothing more, beyond its capture, to confirm their victory and establish a new era in Europe. The buildup to the Reichstag's fall on April 30, 1945, was a bloody, chaotic affair, the likes of which the world had yet to witness. The Moltke Bridge was crucial for Soviet access to the government district and, with its capture, signaled the end of Hitler's crumbling empire. The trenches leading to the bridge were riddled with the debris of war, the remains of those who had fought valiantly but ultimately perished in the struggle. Over 5,000 defenders fought ferociously, including parts of Mohnke's battle group, only to have their hope pockmarked by the explosions of artillery shells, the detonation of grenades, and the screams of fallen comrades.
A Sacrifice for History
The defense of the Reichstag held great symbolic significance for both sides. The Soviet soldiers were intent on etching their names in the annals of history as conquerors of the Third Reich, whereas the German defenders were equally determined to fight until the bitter end. With the Red Army's assault on the Seelow Heights and the looming threat of encirclement, the Soviets could have laid siege to the Berlin suburbs and eventually worn down the Wehrmacht forces. Instead, Stalin chose to launch a brutal, headlong assault on the city center, sacrificing countless lives in the process. The agony of Berlin's civilians was already extreme, with no electricity, virtually no water, and destroyed streets. The death toll mounted as the carnage of war spilled into the heart of the city, even into the Reichstag, where the masquerade of democracy had long since dissolved into the background.
Günter Debski was just a 16-year-old working-class student when he was conscripted into military service. Fearing for his life, his parents hid him until he was discovered and sentenced to death. Instead of facing the firing squad, Debski was sent to the dreaded Penal Battalion 999. After witnessing the bloodshed of the Battle of the Seelow Heights, Debski and others like him were dispatched to Berlin to defend Hitler's last bastion with the insignia of surrender marking their cowardice upon their uniforms. A civilian by nature, Debski and those like him were hostile to the Nazis, but fate had other plans in store for them. In an interview, Debski shared his astonishment at being ordered to surrender to the Red Army rather than negotiating their safe capitulation. But the madness of war knows no logic, compassion, or mercy; the fate of Berlin and its beleaguered citizens would hang in the balance for one more bitter, savage day.
An Unlikely Alliance
The SS unit Debski encountered in the Reichstag was made up of French volunteers. It was a motley crew, scarcely a division in strength only numbering about 300-350 men, who would eventually find themselves in Berlin's final battle. By the time the city surrendered on May 2, 1945, only about 30 Frenchmen still lived, their bodies wracked with battle scars and their spirits battered by the horrors of war. Mohnke organized desperate last-stand escape attempts towards the city's outskirts to avoid capture at the hands of the Soviets. Most perished miserably in the streets, their dreams of a distant sanctuary proving to be nothing more than a phantom in the face of destruction. The Charlemagne volunteers fought with unimaginable ferocity, but the crushing weight of history was too much to bear. Among them was Paul Briffaut, a devout Catholic priest, who accompanied the soldiers in their quest for redemption, if not martyrdom.
The French volunteers viewed the upcoming battle as their own last stand against the encroaching tide of communism. The fall of the Third Reich symbolized the end of the old order, but they were not ready to let go of their own beliefs, their pride, or their legacy. The remnants of the Charlemagne Division fought with desperation and determination, roaring under the crimson skies of Berlin like creatures from an otherworldly nightmare, their bodies fueling the inferno of war one final time before the embers faded into oblivion.
Source: Documentary "Le Chagrin et la Pitié" (1971), Witness Portal
- Adolf Hitler
- Endkampf
Points of Enrichment
- SS Division "Charlemagne": A foreign SS unit consisting of French volunteers led by Henri Joseph Fenet. They were known for their tenacious combat and anti-communist fervor.
- Role of the "Charlemagne": The division did not play a significant direct fighting role in the Battle of Berlin but held symbolic weight in representing the ideological divide within France during World War II.
- Motivations: Anti-communist, fervent nationalism, misdirected patriotism, strong ideological beliefs.
- Post-War Fate: Captured, trials, conviction, and punishment in France.
- Christian de La Mazière: A Frenchman of aristocratic origins who fought for the SS in the closing stages of the war. He was later honored by Khrushchev for helping two captured Red Army soldiers escape in the chaos.
- Henri Joseph Fenet: Commander of the SS Division "Charlemagne," known for his leadership and exploits with panzerfaust weapons. He was convicted as a collaborator in France but remained firm in his ideological convictions.
- Despite the fierce fighting, the SS Division "Charlemagne", a group of French volunteers, held a unique stance, fueled by their anti-communist beliefs and fervent nationalism.
- Trapped in the chaos of the final battle, those remaining in the SS Division "Charlemagne", numbering around 300-350 men, fought with desperation, their roars echoing under the crimson skies of Berlin.
- Though Adolf Hitler might not have understood the symbolic significance, the pursuit of the captured Reichstag by the Soviets represented the end of an era for the French volunteers, embodying their last stand against the encroaching tide of communism.
