The Stalwart Few: The Frenchmen and the Last Battle for Hitler's Refuge
- by Gernot Kramper
- ~ 5- minute read
Deserters and French Nationals - They Fortified Nazi Leader's Final Stronghold - Traitors and French Citizens – They Protected Hitler's Final Redoubt
In the chaotic twilight of World War II, as Soviet troops closed in on Berlin, SS officer Wilhelm Mohnke was tasked with defending the German government quarter. Mohnke, a staunch National Socialist, was resolute in his mission to hold every inch of ground until the last man. The vast structures, sprawling avenues, and network of waterways provided the defenders with a strategic advantage, but the situation was bleak - even Mohnke knew victory was inevitable. This final battle was merely to delay the inevitable by a few days, providing Hitler time to prepare his demise. Mohnke, a veteran of the 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler," was in Berlin by sheer happenstance, recuperating from a severe wound in the hospital.
A Motley Crew
Mohnke's troops were a diverse group, a hodgepodge of soldiers from the Leibstandarte, regular units, and the Volkssturm. The Volkssturm, the last resort for Germany's civilian forces, was often unprepared for urban combat in the densely built-up city of Berlin. Other formations joined them, among them soldiers from a penal battalion, neither eager nor willing to die gloriously for the führer, and elite fighters selected for the last stand. Prominent among these were Georg Diers, who battled alongside two massive King Tiger tanks - 314 and 100. These tanks, belonging to the heavy SS Panzer Battalion 503, operated in Schönehauser Allee and Tiergarten Ost during the fierce fighting. The stalwart support came from the foreign volunteers who had joined foreign SS units during the war, most of them voluntarily, as their own survival was at stake. If captured, they would have faced execution. They chose to stand with Hitler until his bitter end, rather than retreating and living in disgrace. The SS Division "Nordland," stationed in Tiergarten, was one of these foreign contingents.
However, the Frenchmen held a unique position. Members of the SS Division "Charlemagne" defended the Reichstag building, where the German parliament now convenes. The Reichstag, architecturally an imposing symbol of the Third Reich, held great significance for the Soviets, making it a strategic priority to capture the building. The Soviets considered it the equivalent of the heart of the Third Reich, despite Hitler conducting his rule from the bunker beneath the Reich Chancellery, a hidden location unknown to the Red Army.
Symbolic Tussle
The Battle for the Moltke Bridge was crucial for the Soviet advance. Its seizure would offer access to the government district. On April 28, 1945, around 5,000 defenders, including parts of Kampfgruppe Mohnke, put up fierce resistance, inflicting heavy casualties on the attacking Soviet forces. The bridge was partially destroyed before the Soviet pioneers could cross. The Soviets later reported, "The Germans defended the bridge with everything they had – machine guns, anti-tank weapons, even explosives. Our pioneers had to clear the rubble under fire." With fresh troops, the defenders were eventually pushed back until the building was stormed. The Soviet flag was raised over the Reichstag on April 30, 1945, but the fighting continued in the building's cellars and upper floors until May 1, 1945. For the Soviets, the capture of the Reichstag symbolized victory. War correspondent Konstantin Simonov wrote, "The Reichstag is almost a pilgrimage site."
A Necessary Sacrifice
The Battle of Berlin was, militarily, a futile effort, but it held a powerful symbolic significance for both sides. Had the Soviets chosen a more tactical approach, they could have circled the Wehrmacht in the sprawling suburbs and besieged the remaining troops in the city center, gradually starving them of resources. This would have likely resulted in victory much more quickly for the Soviets. However, Stalin was driven to hurry the war's end, as he was in a race against the Western Allies. The USSR's fanatical defenders willingly obliged, providing the Soviets with the brutal urban combat they desired.
Günter Debski, a 16-year-old conscript, found himself fighting in Hitler's last stronghold against his will. Debski had been duly conscripted in 1945 but managed to evade service by hiding. He was eventually discovered, sentenced to death, and forced to join the Penal Battalion 999. After the bloody Battle of the Seelower Heights, Debski was among a group of stragglers sent to Berlin, bearers of the penal battalion's distinct insignia. In an interview with the "Zeitzeugen-Portal," Debski recounted, "We were ordered to defend the southern side of the Reichstag... An SS unit was already inside the Reichstag." The madness of the final days was a hellish blur, filled with horrors like cannibalism.
The Frenchmen's Stand
A small group of French SS soldiers were part of the unit inside the Reichstag. Fewer than 300 to 350 men joined the Charlemagne Division, which became the SS's French Legion of Volunteers Against Bolshevism. Motivated by fierce anti-communist sentiment and a desire to fight the Soviet Union, these soldiers fought alongside the German forces. The Charlemagne Division, composed of aristocrats, royals, and anti-communist Catholics, saw the fall of the Third Reich as their own downfall. One French soldier described the mood, "We knew it was over, but we fought for our convictions, not for Germany."
In the final hours, Mohnke organized breakout attempts to avoid Soviet captivity, but most attempts failed amid the rubble and chaos of war-torn Berlin. Mohnke later shared, "We knew it was pointless, but we didn't want to fall into Soviet captivity." The few French soldiers who survived the bitter fighting ultimately had to face a different fate back in France, where they would be tried and convicted as collaborators. They were the last soldiers to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross, fighting for their beliefs until the very end.
Sources: Documentary "Le Chagrin et la Pitié" (1971), Eyewitness Portal
- Adolf Hitler
- Endkampf
- During the final battle in Berlin, Adolf Hitler's Leibstandarte division, including SS officer Wilhelm Mohnke, was among the forces stationed to delay the inevitable advance by the Soviets.
- The SS Division "Charlemagne," composed of French SS soldiers, defended the Reichstag building, a strategic priority for the Soviets due to its symbolic significance as an architectural symbol of the Third Reich.
- In the chaos of the Battle of Berlin, a penal battalion, which included conscripts like Günter Debski, was among the forces ordered to defend the southern side of the Reichstag, despite their reluctance to fight for the cause of Adolf Hitler.
