In 1945, Hitler's Nero Decree ordered the total destruction of Germany's infrastructure
Faced with imminent defeat in 1945, Adolf Hitler issued the scorched-earth Nero Decree, ordering the total destruction of Germany's own infrastructure to ensure nothing remained for the advancing Allies.
On March 19, 1945, Adolf Hitler issued the Demolitions on Reich Territory Decree, famously known as the Nero Decree. As Allied forces closed in, Hitler calculated that if the German people had lost the war, they no longer deserved the means for basic survival. He ordered the systematic destruction of all bridges, factories, and communication lines.
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