workingclasshistory:On this day, 7 May 1945, Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered, leading to th

workingclasshistory:

On this day, 7 May 1945, Nazi Germany unconditionally surrendered, leading to the end of World War II in Europe. But rather than be punished for their crimes, many Nazi and fascist leaders continued to hold onto power and wealth.
In West Germany, despite “denazification”, most Nazi war criminals went unpunished, and many were rehired in official positions as the Cold War with the eastern bloc heated up. For example, out of around 1 million people involved in the Holocaust, only around 600 received serious prison time. Even convicted war criminals like Hanns Martin Schleyer rapidly regained power: Schleyer himself quickly became president of Germany’s main employer associations, helping to break unions. Many Nazi scientists were employed to work in the US as part of Operation Paperclip, while others were put to work in the Soviet Union under Operation Osoaviakhim.
In Greece, the US and UK backed Greek fascists and Nazi supporters in a brutal civil war against the former resistance members. In Italy, the CIA intervened in elections in 1948 to prevent victory of the left, which had been the backbone of the resistance. And in Italy and across Western Europe, ex-Nazis were employed by NATO to form an underground anti-communist army called Gladio which carried out terrorist attacks in countries like Italy and Belgium.
In the East, in Romania, resistance guerrillas were labelled “bandits” by the new Soviet authorities, who put Petru Groza and Gheorghe Tatarescu in charge. Both men had previously been part of right-wing governments, and Tatarescu was minister of state during anti-Jewish pogroms in 1927. In Bulgaria, fascist leader Khimon Georgiev was made Prime Minister, and soon repressed striking coal miners. In Hungary, the man appointed to run the first government in Russian-occupied territory was Bela Miklos, the first Hungarian to have been awarded the highest Nazi honour: Knight Grand Cross of the Iron Cross. https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1711283592390117/?type=3