The Volkssturm was a national militia established by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War 2. It was not set up by the Military, the ground component of the combined German Wehrmacht armed forces, but by the Nazi Nazi on the orders of Adolf Hitler, and its existence was only officially announced on 16 October 1944.It was staffed by conscripting males between the ages of 16 and 60 years who were not already serving in some military unit. The Volkssturm comprised one of the final components of the total war promulgated by Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, part of a Nazi endeavor to overcome their enemies’ military strength through force of will.