On April 20th, 1945, the Nazi elite gathered one last time to honour their leader as Hitler marked his 56th birthday. Outside, in the increasingly ruined Berlin, housewives queued for food and news from the one-page newspaper Goebbels published. Massive Soviet armies were now moving toward Berlin's western suburbs after breaking through German defences on the Seelow Heights. Now that the Russian hoard was nearing the gates of Berlin, civilians began to wonder if there was any possibility that the Americans would arrive before the Soviets.
The American offensive in the direction of Berlin had stopped at the Elbe River. The Western Allies had no plans to conduct a ground operation to take the city. General Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander, lost interest in the race to Berlin and saw no reason to risk casualties by attacking a city that would have to be returned to the Soviets in accordance with the Yalta Conference agreement. Given the staggering losses sustained by the Soviets—over eighty thousand deaths and nearly three hundred thousand wounded—he was probably right.