Flensburg government

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The Flensburg government was the short-lived administration that attempted to rule Germany in May 1945 following the suicides of Adolf Hitler and Joseph Goebbels and the Fall of Berlin. Led by Hitler's designated successor, Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz, the administration was referred to as the Flensburg government, as Flensburg, near the border with Denmark, was the headquarters of Dönitz by this time, and because the area the government controlled was limited to the vicinity of the town by the encroaching Allied armies. Dönitz asked Ludwig von Krosigk to be Chancellor on May 1, 1945 (Goebbels, whom Hitler had appointed Chancellor, committed suicide in Berlin on that day). Von Krosigk refused the job, and instead the two agreed that Von Krosigk would be the 'Leading Minister'. The cabinet had its first meeting in Flensburg on May 5th. Heinrich Himmler and Alfred Rosenberg were both dismissed from office on May 6th. Some accounts say this was done in an attempt to make the government more acceptable to the Allies, others because the two were interfering with the functioning of the new regime. Other members of the Flensburg government included Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel, General Alfred Jodl, and Albert Speer. They attempted to direct what was left of Germany's armed forces towards the invading western armies in hopes that they would be captured by British and American forces rather than the Soviet Red Army.

On May 7, 1945, Dönitz authorized Jodl, the Chief-of-Staff of the German Armed Forces, to sign the unconditional surrender of German forces to the Allies. Albert Speer had suggested that after the surrender the government should dissolve itself. Instead the Flensburg government chose to continue in hope of presiding over post-War Germany as a provisional government. However, the Allies wished only the unconditional surrender of the German state, government and armed forces. Following the surrender it was only a matter of time before the occupation would hold the German government to account for World War II. The government's attempts to work with the occupation forces were ignored by General Dwight Eisenhower, Allied Supreme Commander in Europe.

Dönitz and his ministers attempted to run what was left of Germany communicating its orders through Radio Flensburg but were largely unsuccessful. On May 23, 1945, a British liaison officer went to Dönitz's headquarters and asked to speak with all members of the government. He then read an order from Gen. Eisenhower quashing the government and ordering the arrest of all its members.

[edit] The Dönitz Cabinet

  • General Alfred Jodl was Chief of Staff of the German Armed Forces and Dönitz' representative in negotiations with the Allies
  • Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel was on the General Staff and represented Dönitz in negotiations with the Red Army
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