I'm not going to watch the whole thing but I can comment on the general topic. There were no "innocent Germans". Every German knew what Germany was and what they were doing. Every German benefited from the conquest of Europe. In the final months of the war, every German knew that payback was coming.
Who said the victors were any better? We knew the Russians weren't any better. Churchill likened Stalin to Satan. The occupation of Japan was much better. So were the British and American sectors of Germany. I knew about the rape of Berlin long before your stories. And I knew that the Germans ALL knew it was coming. They all knew how they had treated their occupied territories. It was a point that the German Army made to fight as tenaciously as they could in the East to give the Western Allies more time to advance and thus "save" more Germans from what was coming. But let's not kid ourselves. This was 1945 Eastern Europe. It wasn't a pretty sight no matter whose team you were on. It wasn't just the Germans who were being killed. The Soviets massacred millions. They even killed innocent Russian peasants.
As the Germans were advancing through Poland, two sisters on a farm in the path of the german Army. one fled. the other stayed behind. At the end of the war, bot were executed. The one that fled was accused to cowardace and abandoning her land to the enemy. The one who stayed was acused of colaboration with the enemy. There were no winners.
It was a point that the German Army made to fight as tenaciously as they could in the East to give the Western Allies more time to advance and thus "save" more Germans from what was coming.
That is true.
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They all knew how they had treated their occupied territories.
I won't belabor the issue anymore, but all = 100% which isn't true especially among the civilians. Estonia had been occupied by the Russians before the Germans, but when the Russians came back, the Estonians fought with the Germans. http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/search?q=estonia
Thank-you for this posting. This is an interesting period of time, which has been for far too long ignored. As I see it, the important lesson here is the nature of human depravity and evil. Here in the FUSA, there is a very simplistic view to the end of WW II. First the good guys won, went home to celebrate, then came Elvis, rock around the clock around the clock and the 57 Chevy. Meanwhile, back in the rest of the world, Pres Truman ordered troops to Korea. There is this void from the official end of the war to the early 50's, As if there was a story book happy ending to the end of the war. Real life is NOT that clear cut and tidy.
I'm not going to watch the whole thing but I can comment on the general topic. There were no "innocent Germans". Every German knew what Germany was and what they were doing. Every German benefited from the conquest of Europe. In the final months of the war, every German knew that payback was coming.
ReplyDeleteEvery German knew what Germany was
DeleteNot "every"....German propaganda you know, but even if so that makes the victors no better than the defeated.
http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-tragic-end-of-anneliese-and-her.html
http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2013/12/tante-marie.html
Who said the victors were any better? We knew the Russians weren't any better. Churchill likened Stalin to Satan. The occupation of Japan was much better. So were the British and American sectors of Germany. I knew about the rape of Berlin long before your stories. And I knew that the Germans ALL knew it was coming. They all knew how they had treated their occupied territories. It was a point that the German Army made to fight as tenaciously as they could in the East to give the Western Allies more time to advance and thus "save" more Germans from what was coming. But let's not kid ourselves. This was 1945 Eastern Europe. It wasn't a pretty sight no matter whose team you were on. It wasn't just the Germans who were being killed. The Soviets massacred millions. They even killed innocent Russian peasants.
ReplyDeleteAs the Germans were advancing through Poland, two sisters on a farm in the path of the german Army. one fled. the other stayed behind. At the end of the war, bot were executed. The one that fled was accused to cowardace and abandoning her land to the enemy. The one who stayed was acused of colaboration with the enemy. There were no winners.
It was a point that the German Army made to fight as tenaciously as they could in the East to give the Western Allies more time to advance and thus "save" more Germans from what was coming.
DeleteThat is true.
==========
They all knew how they had treated their occupied territories.
I won't belabor the issue anymore, but all = 100% which isn't true especially among the civilians. Estonia had been occupied by the Russians before the Germans, but when the Russians came back, the Estonians fought with the Germans. http://freenorthcarolina.blogspot.com/search?q=estonia
I won't
Thank-you for this posting. This is an interesting period of time, which has been for far too long ignored. As I see it, the important lesson here is the nature of human depravity and evil. Here in the FUSA, there is a very simplistic view to the end of WW II. First the good guys won, went home to celebrate, then came Elvis, rock around the clock around the clock and the 57 Chevy. Meanwhile, back in the rest of the world, Pres Truman ordered troops to Korea. There is this void from the official end of the war to the early 50's, As if there was a story book happy ending to the end of the war. Real life is NOT that clear cut and tidy.
ReplyDeleteGood points and thanks.
Delete