Life After the Third Reich

The Struggle to Rise from the Nazi Ruins

In 1945, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker as the Third Reich collapsed and the Red Army swamped Berlin. But what was it like to live in Germany after World War II?

This is the story of Germany after the Nazis, a time when two separate states rose from the ashes to face each other across the Iron Curtain. Meanwhile, the people struggled to come to terms with both the physical and psychological impact of defeat, as well as guilt for the monstrous acts that had been committed under Hitler's regime.

When Allied forces took over Germany, they were shocked at the scale of destruction. But how did they ensure that those guilty of crimes against humanity were punished, and where exactly did all the Nazis go after the war?