Hellmuth Reymann

In March 1945, Reymann was appointed commander of the Berlin Defense Area, replacing General Bruno Ritter von Hauenschild. When he entered Berlin, Reymann found that he had inherited almost nothing from his predecessor, von Hauenschild. Reymann realized that Hitler and Joseph Goebbels had ruled that any defeatist talk would lead to immediate execution. No plans were drawn up to evacuate the civilian population which remained in the city.[1]

By 21 April, Joseph Goebbels, as Reich Commissioner for Berlin, ordered that "no man capable of bearing arms may leave Berlin". Only Reymann, as commander of the Berlin Defense Area, could issue an exemption. Senior Nazi Party officials, who readily condemned members of the army for retreating, rushed to Reymann's headquarters for the necessary authorizations to leave. Reymann was happy to sign over 2,000 passes to get rid of the "armchair warriors". Reymann's Chief-of-Staff, Hans Refior, commented: "The rats are leaving the sinking ship".[2]

Both Wilhelm Burgdorf and Goebbels convinced Hitler that Reymann should be relieved of command. When Reymann chose not to locate his office next to Goebbels' office in the Zoo Tower, Goebbels held this act against him.[3] On 22 April, Hitler relieved Reymann of his command for his defeatism and replaced him with newly promoted Generalleutnant Ernst Kaether. Kaether was the former Chief-of-Staff to the chief political commissar of the German Army (Heer). But, Kaether never took command and his orders were cancelled the next day. The result of all of this was that, when the first Soviet Army units entered the suburbs of Berlin, there was no German commander to coordinate the city's defenses.[3]

One day later, on 23 April, Hitler changed his mind again and made Artillery General (General der Artillerie) Helmuth Weidling the new commander of the Berlin Defense Area.[4] Weidling remained in command of Berlin's defenses to the end and ultimately surrendered the city on 2 May to Soviet General Vasily Chuikov.[5]

After his dismissal as the commander of the Berlin Defense Area, Reymann was given a weak division near Potsdam. The division received a dubious designation "Army Group Spree".[3] Reymann's unit was unable at that time to link-up with General Walther Wenck's unit just south of Potsdam due to strong Soviet Red Army forces.[6] Thereafter on 28/29 April, Wenck's 12th Army was able to hold open the area around Beelitz long enough for about 20,000 of Reymann's men to escape through the narrow route to the Elbe.[7]