ABSTRACT
Volkssturm The German Volkssturm, established on 25 Sep tember 1944 and publicly unveiled on 18 Octo ber, was a Nazi Party-controlled national militia with a twofold mission. First, the Volkssturm was a means to motivate German civilians to fight fa natically in the defense of their homes. Second, it was a local defense auxiliary designed to strengthen the Wehrmacht. According to Volkssturm founder and Party Chancellery Chief Martin Bormann (q.v.), meeting the second goal would depend on the success of the Volkssturm in attaining the first. Adolf Hitler (q.v.) always feared that a militia could damage home front morale, but Bormann con vinced him that a fully indoctrinated, party-led militia could unleash the rage of the supposedly superior German race. Appropriately, the Nazi’s christened their new force the Volkssturm, (literally, “the people’s assault”).
