Bonus: Defeated

The History Hour

BBC

History, Society & Culture, Personal Journals

4.4 • 879 Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2025

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

8th May 1945 was a day of rejoicing in Britain, the US and many other countries: Germany had surrendered, and World War II was over, at least in Europe.

Yet it was not a day of celebration for everyone: for the vanquished Germans, it marked the end of bombings and of Nazi rule. But it was also a time of deprivation and chaos, fear and soul-searching. Millions of ethnic Germans had fled their homes to escape the approaching Red Army.

In this documentary, Lore Wolfson Windemuth, whose own father grew up under Nazi rule, unfolds the stories of six ordinary Germans who lived through that extraordinary time, through their memoirs and diaries. Amongst others, we hear from:

Siegbert Stümpke, a 12-year-old schoolboy who was used as a runner by the German Wehrmacht in the final days of the war;

Lore Ehrich, a young mother from East Prussia (now Poland) who had to flee with two small children across a frozen lagoon;

Hans Rosenthal, who was Jewish and had survived the Holocaust hidden in a Berlin allotment colony before very nearly getting shot by the Soviet liberators;

Melita Maschmann, who got hooked on Nazi ideology aged 15, became a youth leader and took years to acknowledge her share of the responsibility for the crimes committed by the National Socialists.

Narrator: Lore Wolfson Windemuth Producer / Editor: Kristine Pommert Research: Katie Harris

A CTVC production for the BBC World Service.

Transcript

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0:00.0	You're about to listen to a BBC podcast, but this is about something else you might enjoy.
0:05.4	My name's Katie Lecky and I'm an assistant commissioner for on demand music on BBC Sounds.
0:10.7	The BBC has an incredible musical heritage and culture and as a music lover, I love being part of that.
0:17.4	With music on sounds, we offer collections and mixes for everything, from workouts to helping
0:22.7	you nod off, boogie in your kitchen, or even just a moment of calm. And they're all put together
0:28.7	by people who know their stuff. So if you want some expertly curated music in your life,
0:34.9	check out BBC Sounds. Hello and welcome to The History Hour from the BBC World Service.
0:41.3	I'm Laura Wolfson here to introduce you to this bonus episode of the podcast I've hosted called Defeated.
0:49.3	You'll hear personal stories of how ordinary people in Germany experienced the end of World War II.
0:57.6	I hope you'll find them interesting.
1:00.4	The representative of the German High Command and government signed the act of unconditional surrender of all German land, sea and air forces in Europe.
1:10.1	The 8th of May, 1945, was a day of rejoicing in Britain, the United States and many other countries.
1:18.0	Germany had surrendered, and for Europe at least, World War II was over.
1:24.9	Here in London, people celebrated with bunting, bonfires and street parties.
1:31.4	Yet it was not a day of joy for everyone.
1:35.0	For the vanquished Germans, May 1945, marked the end of bombings and of Nazi rule,
1:41.6	but it was also a time of deprivation and chaos, fear and soul-searching.
1:47.5	Millions of ethnic Germans from areas now in Poland and Russia had fled from the advancing
1:53.2	Soviet forces, the Red Army. I relate closely to the time we're talking about here.
2:03.9	My own German father was 15 when the war ended.
2:07.9	In a last ditch effort of the regime, he was due to be sent to the front in February
2:12.6	1945.
	...

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