"Hitler's War Was the Most Unjust, Reckless, and Criminal War of All Time!" – German Calendar for 1946 – Repentance ...

"Hitler's War Was the Most Unjust, Reckless, and Criminal War of All Time!" – German Calendar for 1946 – Repentance for Hitler's Crimes and Nazi Germany

"Hitler Led Our Nation into Disaster and Burdened It with Heavy Guilt and Responsibility in the Eyes of All Civilized Humanity." Thüringer Volks-Kalender 1946 – "The People's Calendar of Thuringia for 1946"  - A German calendar for the  published in Thuringia by members of the German Communist Party, serving as a strong condemnation of Hitler and his regime. Throughout its pages, the calendar contains dozens of articles harshly criticizing Hitler and the Nazi government, expressing deep remorse for Nazi Germany’s crimes, and outlining a new path for the German people based on democracy and communist values. Published by Thüringer Volksverlag GmbH, Weimar, 1946. German.

At the opening of the calendar, a poem of repentance and confession about Germany’s crimes in World War II by Johannes Becht: "Where was Germany..." – "Where was Germany in all these difficult times? Where was Germany in those dark days… where the Germans confessed to theft and murder and appointed themselves leaders of the German Reich—was Germany there? … In the sorrow of the mothers, there was Germany…". On the following page, names of victims who were "murdered by Hitler’s fascism in Thuringia!". In the main calendar entries, dates are marked such as: "The Red Army enters Berlin in 1945." Instead of marking Hitler’s rise to power in 1933, it states: "1933 – The Dissolution of the Reichstag." September 1945: "Day of the Victims of Fascism" and "Japan surrenders, marking the end of World War II." The beginning and end of the Potsdam Conference, noted as "after the dismantling of Hitler’s dictatorship, it represented the first hope."

The calendar is filled with articles and passages reflecting on the shame of Nazi crimes and the beginning of a new path for Germany, as well as memorial articles honoring those who perished in the death camps. One such article is dedicated to Theo Neubauer, who was persecuted by the Nazis and deported to Buchenwald because of his beliefs. There, he became "the political leader of the German Communists in Buchenwald." Another article, written by Stefan Scheumann, titled "Anti-Fascists in Buchenwald", describes the struggle of anti-fascists against Nazi terror within the Buchenwald concentration camp: "Many reports have repeatedly documented the horrific atrocities and sadistic terror in the concentration camps. However, too little attention has been paid to the incredibly difficult struggle of German anti-fascists within the camps. If we report on this struggle today, it is to show everyone that despite the terror, despite the harsh surveillance and espionage, despite the constant threat of death from the SS guns and gallows, the committed anti-fascists fought bravely even under these conditions." The article details sabotage actions carried out by German anti-fascists against Nazi war production: "We, the anti-fascists of Buchenwald, saw our most important task as saving as many anti-fascists as possible from the Nazi hell alive because we knew that after the inevitable fall of the Nazi regime, they would be urgently needed...". The author recounts acts of rescue and resistance within the camp and cites reports submitted by various commissions after the war, praising the anti-fascists for their opposition to the Nazis in Buchenwald.

Later, an article appears titled "New Democracy in the Village!" by Ernst Busch, which elaborates on the "democratization of the German people" and calls for the return of all lands confiscated by the Nazis to the people of Thuringia. An article titled "Silent Heroism in a Concentration Camp" discusses the horrors of Hitler’s death camps: "The gates of prisons, penitentiaries, and concentration camps opened for millions of imprisoned people. The German people and the world have now learned about the monstrous crimes of Hitler’s fascists. More than 6 million men, women, and children from all nations were forced to lose their lives behind the walls of prisons, penitentiaries, and behind the barbed wire of concentration camps during the twelve years of Nazi rule...". An article appears under the title "The Reichstag Burns, " exposing the war crimes of Hermann Göring. An article by Stefan Heymann, "Buchenwald, " recounts the days of the camp's liberation. An article by Werner Sofian, "The Face of Auschwitz, " describes the horrors of Auschwitz, and more.

At the center of the calendar, a manifesto issued by the Communist Party of Germany serves as a confession and act of repentance for the crimes of Nazi Germany, presenting a detailed plan for the reconstruction of a democratic Germany. The manifesto is signed in print on behalf of all members of the German Communist Party and was written on June 11, 1945. The manifesto opens with an account of the destructive consequences of Nazi ideology: "Everywhere we look—ruins, ruins, and ashes. Our cities are destroyed. Vast areas of once fertile land have been devastated and abandoned. The economy is disorganized and completely paralyzed. The war, caused by Hitler’s regime, has claimed millions upon millions of lives… A catastrophe of unimaginable proportions has struck Germany, and the specter of homelessness, epidemics, unemployment, and hunger rises from the ruins. And who is to blame for this? The guilt and responsibility lie with the reckless adventurers and criminals responsible for the war. They are Hitler, Göring, Himmler, and Goebbels, as well as the active supporters and accomplices of the Nazi Party, the reactionary militarists like Keitel, Jodl, and the like. They are the imperialist clients of the Nazi Party… This guilt is undeniable. The Nazi leaders themselves openly admitted it when they were at the height of their false victories when triumph and spoils seemed assured… Hitler’s total war was the most unjust, reckless, and criminal war of all time! Hitler’s regime proved to be destructive for Germany: because through his policies of aggression and violence, plunder and war, and the extermination of nations, Hitler led our people into disaster and burdened them with heavy guilt and responsibility in the eyes of all civilized humanity. The violent annexation of Austria and the partition of Czechoslovakia were crimes. It was a crime to occupy and oppress Poland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, Yugoslavia, and Greece. A crime that brought upon us such terrible retribution was the bombing and destruction of English cities… and the atrocities committed by Hitler’s marauders in foreign countries are monstrous. The blood of millions of children, women, and elderly people who were murdered stains the hands of Hitler’s Germans. In the death camps, human extermination was carried out daily, industrially, in gas chambers and crematoriums. Burned alive, buried alive, dismembered while still alive—this was the way of the Nazi looters! Millions of prisoners of war and foreign workers deported to Germany were tortured to death, starved, frozen, and perished from disease. The world is shocked and, at the same time, filled with the deepest hatred toward Germany in the face of these unprecedented crimes, this horrific mass murder, systematically executed by Hitler’s Germany… Awareness and shame must burn within every German, even more so because the German people bear a significant share of the guilt and responsibility for the war and its consequences. Not only Hitler is guilty of the crime committed against humanity. Where are the ten million Germans who, in free elections in 1932, voted for Hitler, They, too, share in the guilt… Now, it is crucial to learn from the past thoroughly and permanently. A completely new path must be taken! Let every German be aware that the path our nation has taken until now was a mistaken one—a false path that led to guilt and shame, to war and destruction!... The immediate and most urgent tasks on this path are now: The complete eradication of all remnants of Hitler’s regime and Nazi Party. With the help of all honest Germans, tracking down hidden Nazi leaders, Gestapo agents, and SS marauders. A total purge of all government offices from active Nazis. In addition to the punishment of major war criminals who will stand trial before the courts of the United Nations, the severest penalties must be imposed by German courts on all Nazis guilty of criminal acts and participation in Hitler’s betrayal. The swiftest and harshest measures must be taken against any attempts to continue illegal Nazi activity, against any efforts to disrupt the establishment of peace, order, and a normal life for the population...".

The Communist Party further calls for practical steps, including: The re-establishment of self-governing bodies based on democracy, The confiscation of all assets belonging to high-ranking Nazis Compensation for the damage caused to other nations due to Hitler’s aggressive policies, The final eradication of Nazism and all its manifestations, The construction of a new democratic Germany.

142 [2] pages. Stains and minor tears on the cover and spine. Good condition.