Acting on his view that Germany's military failures meant it had forfeited its right to survive as a nation, Hitler ordered the destruction of all German industrial infrastructure before it could fall into Allied hands.
Bertindak dengan pandangannya bahwa kegagalan militer Jerman turut menghilangkan haknya untuk berdiri sebagai suatu bangsa, Hitler memerintahkan penghancuran semua infrastruktur industri Jerman sebelum jatuh ke tangan Sekutu.