Aktion Rheinland facts for kids
Aktion Rheinland (which means Operation Rhineland in German) was a brave plan by a group of people in Düsseldorf who were against the Nazi government. This group was led by Karl August Wiedenhofen. Their main goal was to give up the city of Düsseldorf to the American army without a fight. This would stop the city from being destroyed even more. This important event happened on April 17, 1945, near the end of World War II, when the Ruhr Pocket area was surrounded.
Contents
Why the City Needed Saving
Germany's Difficult Situation in 1945
By April 1945, it was clear that Nazi Germany was losing World War II. The Allied armies had invaded. The German army, called the Wehrmacht, was being defeated and had to retreat.
For years, Allied planes had been dropping bombs on German cities.
- Since May 1940, over 500,000 people had died.
- About 90 percent of buildings were damaged or destroyed.
- In June 1943, a huge firestorm was started on purpose.
By April 1945, many people felt that fighting more was pointless.
Düsseldorf Under Attack
Düsseldorf was a city right on the front lines until late February 1945. By early March, American soldiers from the 83rd Infantry Division had taken over the nearby city of Neuss. They also controlled the part of Düsseldorf on the left side of the Rhine river.
The local Nazi leader, Friedrich Karl Florian, gave a terrible order. He wanted a "scorched earth" policy. This meant destroying everything useful, like power lines and transportation. He even wanted to blow up the bridges over the Rhine. He also ordered everyone in Düsseldorf to leave the city. The city was always under attack and was completely surrounded by April 10, 1945.
The Brave Resistance Groups
People Against the Nazis
Since the 1930s, a group of people who disagreed with the Nazis met in Gerresheim. This is one of Düsseldorf's neighborhoods.
- One member was Aloys Odenthal, an architect.
- Another was Theodor Winkens, a baker who used to work at the police station.
- Karl Müller, a lawyer, was also part of this group.
Aloys Odenthal was a strong Christian. The secret police, called the Gestapo, questioned him twice. They threatened to send him to a concentration camp for speaking out. Theodor Winkens lost his job at the police station in 1938. This happened because he refused to divorce his wife, who was Jewish.
Another group fighting against the Nazis was led by a lawyer named Karl August Wiedenhofen.
- His group included Josef Knab, an engineer and businessman.
- Ernst Klein, a skilled craftsman, was also in the group.
- Josef Lauxtermann and Karl Kleppe were members too.
In the summer of 1944, Otto Goetsch joined Wiedenhofen's group. Goetsch was a high-ranking official and even a member of the Nazi party. But he secretly opposed the Nazis.
In 1943, these two groups started meeting twice a month. They planned how to free Germany from Nazi control. However, they hadn't taken any big actions yet.
The Plan to Save Düsseldorf
Starting Aktion Rheinland
Because things were getting so bad in Düsseldorf, the groups decided to act on February 15, 1945. They began to plan how to surrender the city without bloodshed. They wanted to give it to the American forces.
Their first step was to remove the Nazi leaders from the police force. They believed the police were the only armed group they could trust. The police commander, Franz Jürgens, had recently refused a Nazi order to lead a fighting group. So, the resistance thought he might help them. They met with him just days before their action, on April 16. Theodor Andresen and Hermann Weill also joined the plan at this time.
The Day of Action
The plan, now called "Aktion Rheinland," began on April 16. Odenthal, Wiedenhofen, Knab, Müller, and Andresen met with Jürgens at the police headquarters. Captain Gehrke, Jürgens's assistant, also joined their cause.
The head of the Düsseldorf police, August Korreng, who was a high-ranking Nazi, was captured. Jürgens then took full control of the police. Goetsch, the Deputy Commissioner, and Lieutenant Colonel Juergens prepared a special pass. This pass allowed Wiedenhofen to act as a negotiator for the city of Düsseldorf.
However, the plan was soon betrayed. In the late afternoon, Nazi leader Friedrich Karl Florian and some German soldiers freed Korreng. Some of the resistance group managed to escape. Others were captured at the police headquarters. Goetsch was one of those who escaped and hid with Karl Müller. On April 18, he surrendered to the Americans.
City Saved
On the afternoon of April 16, August Wiedenhofen and Aloys Odenthal reached the American lines near Mettmann. After long talks, they were able to surrender the city without more fighting. A huge air raid by 800 bombers was planned for April 17 at 1:10 AM. This attack was stopped at the very last minute!
The next day, the American 97th Infantry Division marched into Düsseldorf without any resistance. Odenthal and Wiedenhofen rode on the tanks and guided them to the police headquarters.
Sadly, during the night before, Jürgens, Andresen, Kleppe, Knab, and Weill were found guilty of treason by a Nazi court. They were sentenced to death. Of those captured, only Gehrke was found innocent. The others were executed in the yard of a school. They were buried right away. Later, in June 1945, their bodies were dug up.
After the War
The death sentences given by the Nazi court were looked at many times after the war. Eventually, in 1999, a new law canceled these Nazi judgments.
The brave resistance fighters received many honors. Those who were executed were buried in special graves of honor. These graves are in the Düsseldorf North Cemetery, the Gerresheimer Forest Cemetery, and the Stoffeler Cemetery. Memorials were built, and streets and squares were named after them. Aloys Odenthal was made an honorary citizen of Düsseldorf in 1985.
On April 17, 2011, the Weg der Befreiung ("Path of Liberation") was opened. This path has six pillars. They are placed at spots that mark the journey Odenthal and Wiedenhofen took. They went from the police headquarters to meet the American forces near Mettmann.
See also
- German Resistance
- Ruhr Pocket
- Weg der Befreiung – German Wikipedia
- Aktion Rheinland – German Wikipedia
