The Volkssturm was the national militia of Nazi Germany, existing from 18 October 1944 to 8 May 1945 during World War II. Adolf Hitler conscripted German boys and men from ages 16 to 60 to serve in the new home guard, and Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels encouraged the German people to wage a "total war" against the Allied Powers as they pushed into the German homeland. Because there were not many weapons available to supply the Volkssturm, Hitler had the Volkssturm equipped with the Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon in addition to whatever other weapons they could find. 60,000 Volkssturm troops fought in the Battle of Berlin from 16 April to 2 May 1945 as the Soviet Red Army advanced into the German capital, and the Volkssturm made up a half of the 1,230,000 German losses during the last four months of the war.
The Nazi Party was in charge of organizing the Volkssturm, with each district leader (gauleiter) having control over the leadership, enrollment, and organization of the Volkssturm in their district. The basic battalion had 642 men, and the Volkssturm was organized into four units: a battalion in every kreis (county), a company in every local chapter of the Nazi Party, a platoon in every precinct, and a squad on every city block. Most Volkssturm members were members of the Hitler Youth, invalids, the elderly, or men who had previously been considered unfit for military service, and the Germans conscripted women and girls into the Volkssturm after 12 February 1945. Girls as young as 14 were trained to use small arms, panzerfausts, machine guns, and stick grenades from December 1944 to May 1945. The Volkssturm was ultimately Germany's failed plan to replenish its depleted forces, with grandfathers and boys fighting to death under the false belief that the Axis could still win the war. The Volkssturm was so poorly-equipped that many of them were given panzerfaust anti-tank weapons, and many of them had to wear their civilian clothes (or even their job uniforms) into combat, with only an armband signifying their allegiance.
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