尼祿法令

尼祿法令（Nerobefehl），亦稱焦土法令，正式名稱為《帝國領土拆除法令》（Befehl betreffend Zerstörungsmaßnahmen im Reichsgebiet），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布的一項法令。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「命令撤退的同時對占領地區的工業、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 Seyss-Inquart, 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:

- 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 destroyed.

## Actions

The decree was in vain. The responsibility for carrying it out fell to Albert Speer, Hitler's 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 disobeyed. Hitler was angry with his minister, but allowed Speer to leave nonetheless. Hitler committed suicide on 30 April 1945, forty-two 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 U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, together with the rest of the provisional German government led by Admiral Karl Dönitz, Hitler's successor as head of state.