In the spring of 1945, the war had long been lost militarily. Nevertheless, Hitler ordered the destruction of all infrastructure on German soil that could potentially be used by the enemy - an act of scorched earth. The article analyzes the ideological blindness with which Hitler continued to focus on total annihilation even in defeat. At the same time, Prof. Dr. Schlie shows how individual actors such as Albert Speer attempted to limit the damage. The “Nero Order” thus becomes the historical beacon of a dictator who ultimately sacrificed his own people.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie on Hitler's “Nero Order” of 19 March 1945 in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie on Hitler's “Nero Order” of 19 March 1945 in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung
In his article, Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie shows how Adolf Hitler finally sealed the downfall of the German Reich with the “Nero Order” of 19 March 1945, driven by fanaticism, a loss of reality and a ruthless equation of his fate with that of the German people.
Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie zu Hitlers "Nero-Befehl" vom 19. März 1945 in der Neuen Zürcher Zeitung
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Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schlie is a political scientist and historian and has been Henry Kissinger Professor for Security and Strategy Research at the University of Bonn since 2020. Previously, he was a member of the German Foreign Service for over 27 years.