WI: Hitler captured?

Well, there's no possibility of court-martial for those who break this oath.

Ok - but the allies can't put up with a situation where some large number of German soldiers still have some legal ? semi legal ? duty to resist

I think this is the right one.

"I swear by God this sacred oath that to the Leader of the German empire and people, Adolf Hitler, supreme commander of the armed forces, I shall render unconditional obedience and that as a brave soldier I shall at all times be prepared to give my life for this oath."

The oath is to Hitler in person not the office of fuhrer which would be non existent presumably once the war was over. Which raises other question's.

Firstly Hitler's defense - he would argue that he was innocent from the stand point of National Socialism. So he would argue it was all justifiable, that he wrote in Mein Kampf what he intended to do and so therefore he had a mandate from the German people.

The questions i have besides will German troops still be bound by the oath and who has authority to free them from the oath are
what if Hitler continues to claim to be Reich Fuhrer.
Who signs the surrender.
 

sharlin

Banned
Thats a tricky one. Lets say that in the battle for berlin, Hitler's bunker takes a golden BB one in a million hit that collapses part of the roof, knocks Adolf out, trapping him under some rubble and blocks him off from being rescued due to fallen debiris.

With him presumed killed the surrender might go ahead as it did originally, but if the germans fight on, it really does not matter, the war goes on for a few weeks longer. The bunker is cleared out and Adolf is found alive, but dehydrated and injured (call it a broken leg) by the Soviets. Realising who they've got i'd see him being flown to Moscow ASAP.
 
Ok - agree - they fly him to Moscow, will they announce to the world they have him ? or try to keep it a secret ?

Another thing once he is found alive again doesn't leadership revert automatically back to him.
 

sharlin

Banned
I doubt it would be secret, last thing you want is folks thinking that he somehow got away. And knowing Stalin it would be the biggest show trial possible. Probably on red square with him presiding over it.
 
Which brings us back to the question how do they release troops from the oath of aliegence ?.
They might just kill him, but an ordinary soviet soldier wouldn't or a junior officer because to do such a momentous thing would get them in a Siberian camp. If they did kill him that would raisee more questions.
 

sharlin

Banned
There was explicit orders to capture him alive. You can just imagine the scene before the Kremlin and Lenin's tomb. On a huge raised daius draped in the crimson of the Soviet flag would be Stalin, Molotov, Beria and maybe the cheif of the Army. To one side would be foriegn dignitaries from the WAllies, diplomats etc. To the other side would be a pile of German banners/standards etc, either trampled or burnt/burning. Before the podium would be a cage with a microphone in front of it waiting for the defendant to be led out for the cameras of the world to watch and the citizens watching from the sides to see.
 
There was explicit orders to capture him alive. You can just imagine the scene before the Kremlin and Lenin's tomb. On a huge raised daius draped in the crimson of the Soviet flag would be Stalin, Molotov, Beria and maybe the cheif of the Army. To one side would be foriegn dignitaries from the WAllies, diplomats etc. To the other side would be a pile of German banners/standards etc, either trampled or burnt/burning. Before the podium would be a cage with a microphone in front of it waiting for the defendant to be led out for the cameras of the world to watch and the citizens watching from the sides to see.

Love it :D

inside the cage you can just make out the crumpled pathetic quivering figure of the leader of the master race
 
I think the chances of Hitler leaving Berlin voluntarily are nil given his Gotterdammerung obsession, as said above the only way he survives the War is if he's incapacitated in some way, either through a lucky bomb or artillery strike or if he suffers a debilitating stroke during one of his regular rants. In that scenario I can well see Bormann or Goebbels ordering him evacuated to Berchtesgaden. If he gets picked up by the Americans then he probably gets paraded for the cameras, what happens next depends on just how incapacitated he is. If he's unfit to stand trial then he probably gets a Napoleonic style exile to somewhere remote but I can't see him surviving long, he'll probably have an "unfortunate" final heart attack or stroke and his body is quietly cremated.
 
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