尼祿法令，亦稱焦土法令，正式名稱為《帝國領土拆除法令》，是 1945 年 3 月 19 日由阿道夫希特勒下達，納粹德國國防軍最高統帥部頒佈的一項法令。該法令旨在下令摧毀納粹德國的基礎設施，以防止盟軍在深入德國境內時使用這些設施。其大致內容為 命令撤退的同時對佔領地區的工業、文化、經濟等進行破壞。隨後被稱為尼祿法令，以羅馬皇帝尼祿的名字命名，根據一個虛構的故事，他在公元 64 年設意製造了羅馬城的大火。戰中阿爾伯特施佩爾刻意不遵守該法令。 背景 在 1945 初，德國的處境已陷入絕望。其大部分征服的領土都已被解放或被重新奪回，突出部戰役已經失敗，盟軍正從德國東方及西方同時向德國本土進攻。然而，希特勒並不接受無條件投降，並將其視為跟凡爾賽條約一樣的恥辱。甚至據希特勒身邊的一些人所言，希特勒認為德國人民令他失望，他們辜負了他們的偉大任務而且活該跟他的政權一同陪葬。 這並不是第一次希特勒試圖在基礎設施被敵人利用前將其摧毀。就在巴黎解放的不久前，希特勒下令在重要地點 例如艾菲爾鐵塔，及一些重要運輸樞紐放置爆裂物，如果盟軍靠近城市，時任巴黎軍政長官迪特里希馮柯爾提茲將會引爆炸彈，使巴黎僅僅留下 碎片。然而迪特里希並沒有執行命令並向盟軍投降，其後，迪特里希稱此時他已意識到「希特勒已經瘋了」。同樣地，在 1944 年末，盟軍解放荷蘭前夕，希特勒發布命令，要在荷蘭執行焦土政策，但尼德蘭國家專員阿圖爾賽斯 英夸特極大程度地限制了該政策執行的規模。 Background By the beginning of 1945 the German situation was desperate Most of the conquered territories had been liberated or recaptured the Ardennes Offensive had failed and Allied armies were advancing on Germany proper from both the East and the West However Hitler was not willing to accept the terms of unconditional surrender and considered this as repeating the same shame as Versailles Moreover according to some around him Hitler came to view the German people as having failed him unworthy of their great mission in history and thus deserving to die alongside his regime This was not the first time Hitler had tried to destroy infrastructure before it could be taken Shortly before the Liberation of Paris Hitler ordered explosives to be placed around important landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower and key transportation hubs If the Allies came near the city the military governor General Dietrich von Choltitz was to detonate these bombs leaving Paris lying in complete debris Von Choltitz however did not carry out the order and surrendered to the Allies later alleging that this was the moment he realized that Hitler was insane Similarly Hitler had issued orders to enact a scorched earth policy upon the Netherlands in late 1944 when it became obvious that the Allies were about to retake the country but Arthur SeyssInquart the Reichskommissar in charge of the Netherlands during its occupation was able to greatly limit the scope to which the order was executed The Decree Its most pertinent section reads as follows It is a mistake to think that transport and communication facilities industrial establishments and supply depots which have not been destroyed or have only been temporarily put out of action can be used again for our own ends when the lost territory has been recovered The enemy will leave us nothing but scorched earth when he withdraws without paying the slightest regard to the population I therefore order 1 All military transport and communication facilities industrial establishments and supply depots as well as anything else of value within Reich territory which could in any way be used by the enemy immediately or within the foreseeable future for the prosecution of the war will be destroyedHugh R Trevor Roper ed Blitzkrieg to Defeat Hitlers War Directives 19391945 NY Holt Rinehart and Winston 1971 pp 206207 Actions thumbleftAlfred Jodl between Major Wilhelm Oxenius to the left and Generaladmiral HansGeorg von Friedeburg to the right signing the German Instrument of Surrender at Reims France 7 May 1945 The decree was in vain The responsibility for carrying it out fell to Albert Speer Hitlers Minister of Armaments and War Production According to him Speer was appalled by the order and lost faith in the dictator Just as von Choltitz had several months earlier Speer deliberately failed to carry out the order Upon receiving it he requested to be given exclusive power to implement the plan instead using his power to convince the generals and Gauleiters to ignore the order Hitler remained unaware of this until the very end of the war when Speer while visiting Hitler in his Berlin bunker admitted to him that he deliberately disobeyedHamsher Wiliam Albert Speer Victim of Nuremberg Londres Frewin 1970 Schmidt Matthias Albert Speer Das Ende eines Mythos Munich Scherz 1982 Hitler was angry with his minister but allowed Speer to leave nonetheless Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945 fortytwo days after issuing the order Shortly afterwards on 7 May 1945 General Alfred Jodl signed the German military surrender and on 23 May Speer was arrested on the orders of US General Dwight D Eisenhower together with the rest of the provisional German government led by Admiral Karl Dönitz Hitlers successor as head of state 參見 Albert Speer Gotthard Heinrici Hellmuth Reymann Is Paris Burning Morgenthau Plan Destruction of Warsaw Railroad plough Scorched earth 參考文獻 Category 納粹德國法律 Category 政令 Category 柏林戰役 Category 軍事計劃