Abstract
The Ostwall is an all-embracing label for the defences constructed or strengthened in eastern Germany during the final months of the Second World War. Other than their failure to halt the Red Army in 1945 little is known about the fortifications. Key background issues such as the scale of the enterprise, the composition of the labour force and the factors governing the construction process have hitherto remained unexplored. Militarily, the Ostwall was unsuccessful but it had considerable significance in determining public mood and highlighted the extent of Party power during the final period of the Third Reich.
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