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How the war ended in Hamburg on 3rd May 1945 Hamburg was declared as a fortress (Festung), and was to be held at all costs. Generalmajor Alwin Wolz was made Kampfkommandant. Wolz was not too happy about defending Hamburg to the last, sought to save the city from total destruction with the loss of the entire population. This he had secretly discussed with Karl Kaufmann, who was Reichsstatthalter for Hamburg and member of the NSDAP. Kaufmann agreed that negotiations should be started with the approaching British forces. Albert Schäfer, the director of the Phoenix Rubberworks in Hamburg-Harburg was also involved in the plan. The last bombs had fallen on Hamburg on Sunday, 29th April 1945. That last day the FE-Dienst was involved in action outside of the city, in the attempt to fight the fires in Schloss Friedrichsruh near Aumühle. On that same day Stabsarzt Professor Dr. Hermann Burchard, Albert Schäfer, and Leutnant Dr. Otto von Laun, as an interpreter, crossed the German lines at Appelbüttel and begann first negotiations with officers of the British 7th Armoured Division. They were encountered by Captain Thomas Martin Lindsay, who brought them to those reponsible for negociations. On Thursday, the 3rd May 1945 the last public appeal of Reichsstatthalter Karl Kaufmann to the Hamburg population was published, ending with the words: Dieser Krieg ist eine nationale Katastrophe für uns und ein Unglück für Europa. Möge dies alle erkennen, die Verantwortung tragen. Gott schütze unser Volk und das Reich. At 13.00 hours the permanent representative (ständiger Vertreter), Staatssekretär Ahrens (popularly known as Uncle Baldrian) made his last broadcast to the population of Hamburg with the message that the British troops were on the march to Hamburg (the entry begann at 17.00 hours). He bade farewell to his listeners, ending with the words: Es lebe Hamburg, es lebe Deutschland! The Wehrmachtsbericht from 4th May 1945 mentioned the city for the last time: Hamburg und Neumünster wurden von britischen Truppen besetzt, nachdem sie vom Oberkommando der Wehrmacht vorher zu offenen Städten erklärt worden waren... Photos: Soldiers of the British 8th Army in front of Hamburgs Town Hall, centre; Generalmajor Wolz Sources: Feuersturm über Hamburg by Hans Brunswig, 1978 Hamburger Abendblatt Die Welt NDR - Norddeutscher Rundfunk