The Nero Decree - Hitler's Insane Order to Burn It All Down

During the last months of World War 2, when it was evident that Nazi Germany had lost, Adolf Hitler issued a decree that would have surely doomed his own people. In order to avoid benefitting the Allies as they advanced to Berlin, the dictator issued an order to destroy all German infrastructure at the expense of the country's future. Hitler's "Nero Decree" was issued on March 19, 1945. The order was termed after the infamous, and some might say insane, Roman Emperor Nero who allegedly ordered much of his own capital burnt to the ground. Both possessed by paranoia and obsessed with conspiracies against them, the parallels between Nero's and Hitler's final days were stark. Many of Hitler's closest officials were convinced that the Nero Decree would bring devastating and pointless ruin. Albert Speer, Hitler's Minister of Armaments and close friend, was left to carry out the task. To fail to do so would mean risking everything and committing high treason against the man Speer had been so devoted to for many years... As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -