Honestly, it could be either or.
De-Nazification didn't just mean imprisoning or purging ex-party members from the civil service.
It also meant de-nazifying schools, churches, courts, businesses, etc.
What Post April '45 PoD could make this process fail in Western Germany?
Okay. I'll give it a shot. I'm trying to define a POD, but in order to define it, I had to write quite a bit to outline why it might work... Sorry for the length. It's practically a TL in-itself!
So, post April '45 means a.) Hitler is dead, b.) That US and Soviet forces have linked up t the Elbe, and c.) Berlin is going to fall no-matter what.
I thought hard about this, and this is about the only thing I could come up with. It's a horrible scenario (who wants to see Nazism continue?!?!). Suggestions are obviously welcome. Especially sketchy are available aircraft and bases to fly from for phase 2 (see below). Not sure how plausible this is...
POD:
In the early hours of May 1st 1945: Upon hearing of the death of Hitler, Nazi fanatics with access to stocks of chemical weapons (there had been a lot of talk of using them against the Soviets in the last month so it is conceivable that they could be accessed) hastily patch together a black-flag operation to “harden the resolve of the German people”, inspire anger towards the Soviets and possibly make matters worse for the Soviets post-hostilities. The Plan involves the use of a handful of remaining aircraft and limited stocks of 250kg Tabun gas bombs and 105 mm Sarin gas shells used in two phases. Phase 1 is conducted by a team that has no knowledge of team two's existence (other than a very small group of fanatical organizers). Knowledge of phase 2 is limited to a small team of dedicated fanatics.
- The first phase is a single artillery attack against Soviet troop concentrations to the east of Berlin using Sarin Gas shells fired from 105mm artillery.
- The second phase would only be launched following a successful phase 1 AND provided it generates a strong and threatening response from Stalin and the Soviet press. It would be conducted no sooner than 4 days of the successful execution of phase 1. The second phase is a dawn attack on a small (so lightly-occupied) civilian center well behind Soviet lines (in what would eventually become the GDR), but this time, using the Tabun gas bombs dropped from a single aircraft piloted by a fanatical volunteer (not sure on available aircraft at this time, or what aircraft could carry the payload).
The goal of the entire operation is to make it appear to the German people and the western press that the second attack was a Soviet retaliation for the first attack using captured stocks of Nazi chemical weapons. The reason for the delay between phases it to make it look like the Soviets needed time to plan the retaliation.
Somehow, the plotters manage to successfully launch phase 1 without any sane leaders catching wind of the plan. The attack is launched on May 2rd. and results in 1000's of Soviet dead including martial Zuchov and his staff. Stalin is enraged, and after several drinks performs a short but fiery speech including references to barbarity of the German people. In west, the attack is condemned as further evidence of the barbarity of the Nazi regime. In what remains of Germany, sane leaders are concerned about the ramifications of the use of Chemical weapons and the effects on the impending occupation.
May 3rd. Given the shifting events on the ground and out of concern that one more rapid Allied advance would result in their inability to launch phase 2, the chief plotters decide to proceed earlier than planned. Using one of the few available planes (obviously something that can make the range and carry a large enough payload) the mission takes off in the early-hours of May 4th. Flying low and fast, the aircraft makes to its target: a small town in the occupied area of eastern Germany. Seeing no evidence of a Soviet occupation force, the pilot reluctantly releases his bombs and makes heads home. Half way home, he is engaged by Soviet aircraft and is shot down.
The attack results in the deaths of nearly 1000 German civilians sleeping in their beds. Large numbers of livestock lay dead in the fields close to the town. News filters into Moscow around mid-morning. Stalin (although already partially drunk and fuming from the day before) quickly realizes how this could be interpreted in the west and decides to cover it up. Still, word of the “Soviet revenge attack of May 4th” spreads quickly among the east-German populace in neighboring towns. Mid afternoon on May 4th, a brave amateur photographer sneaks close to the village (before an effective cordon can be setup) and snaps a few pictures of Soviet Troops in chem-gear piling and burning civilian bodies. In one image, he captures the hardly noticeable image of a dead woman with her cold-dead child wrapped in her arms. He sneaks away and hides the film.
Jump forward a 6 months: Soviet occupation of eastern-Germany is much harsher than OTL largely out heightened anger over the May 1st attack that killed Zuchov and 1000s of brave heroes of the Soviet Union. News of these Soviet “atrocities” is more prevalent than OTL simply due their frequency. In the west, the public is disturbed by the stories of what has gone on in the following months. Public opinion the western occupation zones shifts towards subdued anger and disgust at the Soviet actions and frustration at the West's lack of ability to do anything about it.
Three months later, the pictures taken on May 4th 1945 make it to the west and burst onto the scene. The Western press immediately paints the May 4th attack as Soviet payback taken out on innocent civilians using captured chemical weapons in the closing days of the war. Headlines read “REVEALED: SECRET SOVIET CHEMICAL WEAPONS ATTACKS ON CIVILIANS IN THE CLOSING DAYS OF WAR – EXPERTS SPECULATE THAT THIS MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN AN ISOLATED INCIDENT”. “SOVIET REPRISALS AGAINST GERMANS IN THE OCCUPIED ZONES INCLUDED THE USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS”. Many papers feature images of the dead mother holding her child.
Outside Germany the public is repelled by the images and opinion shifts heavily against the Soviet Union. While there is an obvious tempering of the response given the all-too familiar and horrifying images of Nazi death-camps, Westerners remain appalled that the Soviets could do such a thing. There are calls for a UN investigation.
In a defiant and aloof tone, Stalin responds by denying the attack and claiming it was a Nazi operation. This further pushes Western public opinion against the Soviets. Distrust builds.
Within Germany, there is a growing feeling of anger and disgust. The German public consciousness shifts focus away from shame of the holocaust and towards the Soviet “problem”. The holocaust is talked about less and replaced with simmering anger and frustration at Germany's powerlessness. Through the May 4th photos, a new generation of children witness “what the Communists are capable of” at an early age. Seeds are sewn.