Zero hour (1945)
Zero hour (German: Stunde Null, pronounced [ˈʃtʊndə nʊl]) is a term referring to the capitulation at midnight on 8 May 1945 and the immediately following weeks in Germany.
According to some historians, the term implies "an absolute break with the past and a radical new beginning" or a "sweeping away of old traditions and customs".
[1] People at the time were living in a devastated country – roughly 80 percent of its infrastructure was in need of repair or reconstruction[3] – which helped the idea that Germany was entering a new phase of history.
[1] Not only was it used in militaristic terms, it also suggests a call to action, Erika Mann says "And one man should be forbidden to entreat you: 'Act!
The term was used to illustrate the need for America to act in World War II,[1] and to show the urgency for an American military intervention.
[1] Both were used in militaristic settings, displaying urgency to their respective audiences, to the need to intervene and help stop the German advances.
[2] When the Soviets (who were the first occupying power) arrived in Berlin, they saw a city devastated by the air raids and street fighting.
On May 15, the Russians introduced a new five-tier ration-card system: The highest tier was reserved for intellectuals and artists; rubble women and Schwerarbeiter (manual workers) received the second-tier card, which was more valuable to them than the 12 Reichsmark they received for cleaning up a thousand bricks; the lowest card, nicknamed the Friedhofskarte (cemetery ticket) was issued to housewives and the elderly.
[citation needed] Due to the meagre rations, the black market thrived, and thousands traded on it daily.
Problems with law and order occurred in the areas that had still been controlled by the Wehrmacht on May 8, 1945 (e.g. western Austria, Bavaria, South Tyrol (Italy), East Frisia and Schleswig-Holstein), the date of the final German surrender.
Also at the time of Stunde Null, Germany lay in ruins after the destruction wrought by World War II.
This thought process began to appear more and more in German culture and speech, with people like Ernst Wiechert talking about making new beginnings in his 1945 address to Germany, talking of "a renewal of German spiritual life",[1] or Werner Richter saying "The only possible source for a spiritual rebirth lies in an absolute and radical new beginning".
"[1] This is what really created the culture that sought to wash away the wrongs of the predecessors, they wanted the respect and admiration on the world stage once again, and to do that they needed to distance themselves from this idea of Hitler and the Nazi party.
"[1] Even some of the diplomats negotiating with Germany seemed to want to honor the idea of Stunde Null, further propagating the culture of new beginnings instead of endings.
[2] To a large extent, even scholars started to ignore questions about race, treating the end of World War II as if it solved all of these issues.
For instance, many East European Jewish Holocaust survivors who resided in post-war displaced persons camps were considered "parasitic foreigners" who were stealing resources from the German people in need of them.
[2] Germany during reconstruction also looked toward the occupying powers for guidance in regards to these matters, but what they saw was segregationist U.S. military policies.
This was called Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coping with the past), though not much of the politics of the time was shaped by this there were many people did not want Germany to simply forget the crimes it had committed during World War II.
The concept of Vergangenheitsbewältigung (coping with the past) is what experts allude to and Stunde null conflicts directly with this idea, necessitating its judicious use.
