German Reaction to D-day
When the Allies carried out one of the most dangerous and remembered attacks in WWII, D-day, it was one of the turning points in the war. But after watching the documentary there were still questions to be asked. One of the more interesting, what was the German response to D-day?American troops had set up so many decoys for Hitler when he learned about the attack at D-day it took him some time to send troops because he wasn’t convinced that D-day was the final attack that the Americans were going to launch. This was a reasonable belief, especially because at the time there was stormy weather at sea, making it extremely hard for the Allies to land people on the shore of the Normandy. Secondly, there were no harbors that were located on the beaches, making it extremely and nearly impossible for the Allies to land their troops. But the allies did not need ports to get their men off, as they brought their own engineered ports from the United States. Because Hitler was so confident that the Allies wouldn’t be launching their attack, Hitler went to sleep the night before and instructed nobody to wake him up for any reason.
Hitler learned about the attack at noon the next day. Surprisingly, when he learned about the news, he seemed relieved because he knew where the American troops were attacking from. Hitler believed that the stormy weather would favor the German troops and felt confident in his forces. According to historian Stephen Ambrose, he was even recorded saying, “The news couldn’t be better.'' Erwin Rommel had also left the fortress to visit his family, which benefited the Allies. The Germans did not have their main general to guide them through the most important attack in World War II.
Germans today hold a completely different view than they did in the past. Germans see D-day as a day of liberation because it was the day that the Germans were freed from the Nazis. In fact, they even set up a holiday for May 8th, the day that the Germans surrendered to the Allies. German resistance is celebrated, and people that had suffered from the Nazis are often praised in Germany today. Although the Nazi party has been eliminated and there is no longer a war, it is important that we never forget the past and appreciate the people who fought to make our country the way that it is today.
I really enjoyed reading about Germany and Hitler's reaction to D-day. What I found really interesting was the completely different view that Germans hold for D-day now, especially the more influential political figures like Angela Merkel. Merkel was the one who explicitly said that D-day was a day of "liberation" for Germans. However, there are also others that don't quite agree with her ideas. There are many Germans, even today, that are devastated because of the downfall of the Third Reich. Many even refer to D-day as the day of "collapse" for the Germans. Obviously, today, in Germany the popular belief is that Germany has been liberated from the Nazis through D-day.
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https://globalnews.ca/news/5361757/how-germany-feels-about-d-day/