Скачать или смотреть WHY MILLIONS FLED TO AMERICA

In 1945, nearly three million German soldiers deliberately surrendered to American forces to avoid the far harsher conditions of Soviet captivity. The collapsing Western Front saw unprecedented mass capitulations, including 317,000 troops in the Ruhr Pocket and tens of thousands fighting desperately toward U.S. lines during the Battle of Halbe. With a Soviet POW death rate over 35%—compared to less than 1% under U.S. control—survival became the deciding factor. Fueled by the Eastern Front’s brutal history, staggering losses, and Dönitz’s surrender directives, millions fled west in a final bid to escape annihilation as Nazi Germany crumbled.