Also, were there attempts in the military to get transfers away from cities likely to fall to the Russians?
After the death of Hitler the new Reichspraesident Doentiz, actively moved soldiers from the Eastern Front to the Western Front so that they could surrender to the Western Allies. However, civilians were largely left to fend for themselves. Doentiz kept the war going with holding actions to allow as many soldiers to flee as possible and thus civilians kept dying as the Soviets bombarded cities, towns, etc.
A book on this very topic is "The End" by Ian Kershaw which is about the final days of the Third Reich.