Thank You!

[Laurens]

Hi,

Some may have seen me around on these forums, others may not. But i'd like you to know this, it may help you to understand why this is one of the reasons I want to join the Marines.

It's a story about my family during WWII, It has nothing to do with today's Marines, I thought this just might be interesting for those who like to know more about WWII and what it meant for civilians at that time.


My father is German, 72 of age now, i'm 18 (I know, great genes passed over to me). His family was against Nazi-Germany, altough, saying that out loud back then would get you put against a wall, and my grandfather, had a drink to much one day and trash-talked the Nazi's in a bar, the Gestapo found out and arrested him. My grandmother could 'save' him, by proving she had 9 kids (Then, having many children was very good, since they would be defending their country later). So they let him go, but the whole family was ordered to leave Berlin, FAST! They left to Schweinfurt (Bavaria/Beieren) and started a zoo. When the war got close to Germany, my grandfather was again arrested and when he was at the Gestapo office. SS-Officers came to the zoo and shot all the animals, under the excuse that in case a bomb would fall here, the dangerous animals would be a threat. Now, it was pretty clear that Hitler at that point had lost all control over his officers so they just ****ed up everyone they could find. German or not German wasn't important anymore. After that they left Germany, worked as circus artists in Belgium and after the war started a small circus here with an American Army tent.

This happened during the war, when they were still in Bavaria/Beieren. My grandfather's oldest son, about 10 years old or so came home from school one day and proudly said to dad: "We're going to Berlin tomorrow, to defend the Fuhrer!" But then again, kids didn't know what was going on, but many family members confirmed this, at that point, my grandfather hit my uncle so hard that his whole face was swollen up, making it impossible for him to defend Berlin, and the doctor who examined my uncle stated to my grandfather: "Sir, you have just saved your son's life, I know where those kids are going tomorrow, and I also know none of them will come back..". And no one came back..

Also, Listening to British radio was prohibited at that time, and would be punished by the execution of the entire family. My grandfather, the dare devil as he appeared to be, stood at the middle of the zoo each evening, listening to British radio, to find out what was going on. That way he could also predict what was gonna happen next, and that way he knew how to escape Germany in time.

My grandmother's aunt (My mom's side of the family) was on the train to be deported (LITERALLY!) when the war ended. She had hidden 2 British Paratroopers into her house, and she was caught. I don't know what happened to the Paratroopers, but i'm guessing they got away and someone sold her out when they were already gone.

Something that some may find offensive..

My familymember of my father's side was a German officer.. An SS Officer to be precise.. BUT, before you judge, read this.

He was tall, he was muscular, he was educated, blond hair, blue eyes and had everything what was needed to become a great officer. He was a soldier.. Not a campguard, not one of Hitler's errand boys, he was a soldier, compare it to today's Navy SEAL's, SAS or Commando's.. He was elite, he fought on the eastern front against the Russians, and I heard stories, that his barrel had melted in a curve because of the never ending Russian attacks.. He was seen as the best of the best, Germany's Elite! Every civilian looked up against them, they wore these black uniforms, were fully equiped and were the meanest sons of *****es in the entire German Army. But, after the war, they were seen as the war criminals, why? Because they were SS-Officers.. When news got out that Germany had surrendered, many soldiers kept on fighting, saying it was Hitler's will.. But all of his men, including himself, surrendered immidiatly, because they were elite.. They had brains, they knew how foolish this war was, especially on the eastern front. They all got arrested, given a choice: 10 years inprisonment in Germany, or 5 years in the Siberian mines or Oran. He choose to be sent to the Siberian mines, where people died, starved and were beaten to death.. Because he could be home sooner then.. Well, he survived his 5 years in Russia and when he got back, he was seen as a traitor, and was put in prison for another 5 more years.. If you look at it, he was elite, so he paid the price for it, while a dumb ass soldier that didn't know how to wipe his ass without orders from his officer didn't get prosecuted, while mostly, they had commited crimes..

Just to show you how war was back then, honest civilians suffered the most, civilians aiding with the allies risked their lives and the lives of everyone they knew, and soldiers, who honestly believed they fought for their country, and never commited any crime, but fight for their country as best as they could..

All these stories came from several sources and i've only picked the ones out that were confirmed by multiple sources.. I've even been able to look into the diary of my father's uncle (?) who fought in Russia.. You could see where he started writing and where he stopped.. Sometimes it was only 2 or 3 words.. But 1 page contained the events of just 1 hour.. Imagine, how it was..


PS: The US came to the rescue, I am here today because of the US, my father survived as a kid, because of the US.. No matter what country America invades.. I will never forget what the US has done for Europe.. And I thank you! A response from a WWII Veteran would be very unlikely, but if you're out there, Thank you very much!

Thank you for reading..

[GT6238]

If you are talking about the Waffen SS yes, they were elite troops. However, they also were committed Nazis and were often fanatical fighters. There was an incident in Belgium I believe where a Waffen SS unit executed American prisoners. That was not uncommon on the Eastern Front where for both sides taking prisoners was just a drag on the unit. Some Waffen SS units were composed of non-Germans. Generals often used these troops first because they would fight to the end because they would be considered traitors to their home countries. They were used before committing the German units. And remember, not all SS units were in the camps. There were roving units behind the lines who participated in massacres of Jews and other people, shooting thousands.

[tdrt]

How's the green card coming along, Laurens?

[Laurens]

If you are talking about the Waffen SS yes, they were elite troops. However, they also were committed Nazis and were often fanatical fighters. There was an incident in Belgium I believe where a Waffen SS unit executed American prisoners. That was not uncommon on the Eastern Front where for both sides taking prisoners was just a drag on the unit. Some Waffen SS units were composed of non-Germans. Generals often used these troops first because they would fight to the end because they would be considered traitors to their home countries. They were used before committing the German units. And remember, not all SS units were in the camps. There were roving units behind the lines who participated in massacres of Jews and other people, shooting thousands.

Yes, I find it very interesting all of this.. It gives you a good idea how bad the conditions were back then in Germany, that people actually believed a man who said that everything was the fault of the Jewish..

What's also interesting, Hitler is a war criminal and should've been tortured to death, but Stalin who killed MANY Russians, POW's and just like Hitler 'Inferiors'. But that isn't mentioned anywhere..

I've heard about the massacre in Belgium, and this was something that I just couldn't understand, how can a soldier obey an order like that? But ALL the Germans that were brought to trial said the exact same thing: 'Befehl ist befehl!'. It may sound stupid and ignorant, but you and your family would be executed if you didn't follow those orders. In NO WAY am I saying 'The Germans weren't so bad', but I just gotten to understand them. While American/Russiann/British prisoners were locked up in a camp, German POW's were picking cotton from the field in the US. Then again, be very thankfull you are an American, you don't have to teach you're children what your country has done in the war. Germany will always have to live with this. That's why I said thank you, America showed up as a liberator, even their enemies, they treated with respect, and they won, the Russians never accomplished that because, similiar to the Americans, they had also won, but they were animals, shooting basically every POW where he stands and looting wherever they could.

Again, if America talks about WWII, they don't have anything to be embarissed about.

[Laurens]

If you are talking about the Waffen SS yes, they were elite troops. However, they also were committed Nazis and were often fanatical fighters. There was an incident in Belgium I believe where a Waffen SS unit executed American prisoners. That was not uncommon on the Eastern Front where for both sides taking prisoners was just a drag on the unit. Some Waffen SS units were composed of non-Germans. Generals often used these troops first because they would fight to the end because they would be considered traitors to their home countries. They were used before committing the German units. And remember, not all SS units were in the camps. There were roving units behind the lines who participated in massacres of Jews and other people, shooting thousands.

PS: There's many famous examples of Germans who fought back against Hitler. Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg for example, he was a Wehrmacht officer though, but still, they were also seen as Nazi's, if he wouldn't have tried to assassinate Hitler, he would've been arrested just like any other Officer. I think there would be a MAJOR difference in history if the US got to Berlin first, instead of Russia. As in, more people who could testify what really happened, more eye witnesses, etc..

[GT6238]

PS: There's many famous examples of Germans who fought back against Hitler. Colonel Claus Von Stauffenberg for example, he was a Wehrmacht officer though, but still, they were also seen as Nazi's, if he wouldn't have tried to assassinate Hitler, he would've been arrested just like any other Officer. I think there would be a MAJOR difference in history if the US got to Berlin first, instead of Russia. As in, more people who could testify what really happened, more eye witnesses, etc..

Maybe...but like in France, if you listened to them you would believe that everybody was a member of the Resistance.

In another note, my German professor in college was a member of the Hitler youth, as were most German children. In his early teens, he had been selected for training in the SS. Lucky for him the war ended and he lived through the end. He was very Aryan, short-cropped blond hair and so on. Occasionally in colder weather he would wear this long black leather coat where you could still see where the double lightning bolts had been. Oddly his specialty was Bertolt Brecht, a communist. Go figure.

[Laurens]

Maybe...but like in France, if you listened to them you would believe that everybody was a member of the Resistance.

In another note, my German professor in college was a member of the Hitler youth, as were most German children. In his early teens, he had been selected for training in the SS. Lucky for him the war ended and he lived through the end. He was very Aryan, short-cropped blond hair and so on. Occasionally in colder weather he would wear this long black leather coat where you could still see where the double lightning bolts had been. Oddly his specialty was Bertolt Brecht, a communist. Go figure.

Hah

Every German that lives today has a distant relative or grandfather that served in the German Army during WWII.. Wich made me post this. I appreciate it you responding to this article, I was kinda scared I would get bad responses off this. It's very hard talking about Hitler without being called a Neo-Nazi, he did do good things though, child support, retirement money and stuff like that, all didn't exhist before Hitler. But then he lost his mind and went to war with the world, what also deserves some respect is how Germany managed to withstand for so long..

What shocked me most, happened in Washington D.C.

A mixed group of Neo-Nazi's/KKK had a meeting in the capitol of the USA. They walked in the streets with brown shirts, Nazi-flags and were doin' the Hitler salute and shouting out Nazi slogans. Well, Freedom of speech is a nice thing, but I just couldn't believe how they got permission to march into the capitol of the US, it's a slap in the face of every WWII Veteran.. In Belgium, if these guy would rent a building to have a meeting/party, as soon as the gouverment finds out it's a neo-nazi meeting, they instantly shut it down. It should be like this EVERYWHERE. You can say Hitler had good idea's, and you can say he did do good things, BUT he was a war criminal, he murdered millions and left Europe in ruins.. For that, he shouldn't be honored in ANY way!

But then again, the US respects Freedom Of Speech unconditionally..

[GT6238]

Within certain limits. You can't go into a crowded theater or club and yell fire to provoke a stampede. And yes, differently from Europe, people can be neo-Nazis here. I think they're idiots, but we're free, for the time being, to be idiots.