Dying SS Troops

[sitges1990]

Like Bob said, it is extremely difficult to judge anyone from this war; while we sit at our keyboards, in our safe surroundings, with a stomach full of food. It should not be our pleasure to judge anyone from this period. Almost every entity involved was complicit in unjust actions. However, once a group has lost it's compassion, it is no longer human.

Jay

[Koba64]

I too felt the discomfort that John B just mentioned, I think the silence of the clip created a sense of voyeurism and isolation.

[Paul D]

Along the same theme, found these pics while strolling the web. These depice the W-SS pulling out of Prague during the Prague Uprising in May '45.

Note the corpse on the bonnet of the SdKfz, and the PzGren anxiously scanning the buildings for snipers:

These show the withdrawal of the Der Fuhrer Regiment Kampfgruppe from Prague where they organised the safe passage of thousands of German civilians and non combatants.

[Paul D]

Some of the men could be from the Estonian SS Division part of which reformed late in the war and got caught up by Cseck partisans and many of them got killed. I have to go and look in my books. Of course views like this were common in late war Europe.

Jan is referring to the murder of a number of Estonian Waffen SS officers after they surrendered by Czech Partisans.

They included Ritterkreuztrager SS Sturmbannfuhrer Paul Maitla.

[blackheart0866]

If i was the US soldiers there when that was going on, i would lined up each, and every person in that village involved in what was going on and shot them all for others to see, and i would tell the others, it happens again, i would be back, and the mayor, every person in charge of the town would be next.

And the ones at the end spitting on them like its funny, i would shit them on principal alone.

That video footage would have been enough to legally shoot them all for war crimes, as they did violate just about every Geneva Convention law of war, and since the war was over, they all had committed murder.

I bet they felt so big and powerful, i bet they would never had the balls to do that a year before.

And that women looked as if she had been raped, and beaten already.


I'm sick and tired of hearing about the atrocities that were committed on the German people after the war, just because they were German, and nothing was ever done about it.

My grandmother would tell me about how young women would be raped, and shot by Russians, and Brittish soldiers after the war, OR US soldiers were getting drunk, and shooting Germans for no valid reason, and it all was reported, and nothing was never done about it.

They would say, its just Germans, no big deal, they probably asked for it...

Brian

[Zeller]

in truth, this did not happen. during the italian campaign the US forces witnessed war crimes and violence perpetrated by french colonial troops around Rome but were told not to intervene and later by italian partisans. they could not interfere either. in the gatherings of Trieste, the german soldiers wanted to surrender to the Brit and NZ Forces instead of tito partisans but the agreement between the two forbid the brits to take prisoners there, unless during a fight. In one occasion a smart NZ officer negotiated with the germans and they emptied their guns in the air and then they surrendered, so that the partisans could not claim for their prey. Unfortunately later on all the german prisoners were redelivered to the partisans, and those who weren't executed on the spot in front of the brit soldiers or thrown alive in natural holes, were then shipped to detention camps in Yugoslavia from where only a 10% came back. Vae Victis the latins said.
The saddest thing is that many true german war criminals bought their ticket to freedom and escaped the justice.

[blackheart0866]

in truth, this did not happen. during the italian campaign the US forces witnessed war crimes and violence perpetrated by french colonial troops around Rome but were told not to intervene and later by italian partisans. they could not interfere either. in the gatherings of Trieste, the german soldiers wanted to surrender to the Brit and NZ Forces instead of tito partisans but the agreement between the two forbid the brits to take prisoners there, unless during a fight. In one occasion a smart NZ officer negotiated with the germans and they emptied their guns in the air and then they surrendered, so that the partisans could not claim for their prey. Unfortunately later on all the german prisoners were redelivered to the partisans, and those who weren't executed on the spot in front of the brit soldiers or thrown alive in natural holes, were then shipped to detention camps in Yugoslavia from where only a 10% came back. Vae Victis the latins said.
The saddest thing is that many true german war criminals bought their ticket to freedom and escaped the justice.

But that was allowed, and acceptable, and it happened a lot, just like the when the Americans were told to hold off, and allow the Russians to go in and take Berlin, because of the brutality that they would do upon the German people.

There are stories of the German people wanting to surrender to the Americans, but were denied because of the US high command wanted the Russians to go into Berlin, and do what they do best, and at the time it was to slaughter each and every person they could, man,women, and child...

General Patton has went on record about this, and how they ordered him to stand down, and allow the Russians to go in and take Berlin.

[António Fragoeiro]

Those were very brutal and violent images, very sad situation

[Adrian Stevenson]

Like Bob said, it is extremely difficult to judge anyone from this war; while we sit at our keyboards, in our safe surroundings, with a stomach full of food. It should not be our pleasure to judge anyone from this period. Almost every entity involved was complicit in unjust actions. However, once a group has lost it's compassion, it is no longer human.

Jay

Very well said. This is an emotive subject and no Army is guilt free. I have spoken frankly first hand with Veterans of all sides (British, US, German, Soviet) who have honestly recounted their stories to me. They all did things in the heat of the moment which they now regret...

Cheers, Ade.

[Tricot]

But that was allowed, and acceptable, and it happened a lot, just like the when the Americans were told to hold off, and allow the Russians to go in and take Berlin, because of the brutality that they would do upon the German people.

There are stories of the German people wanting to surrender to the Americans, but were denied because of the US high command wanted the Russians to go into Berlin, and do what they do best, and at the time it was to slaughter each and every person they could, man,women, and child...

General Patton has went on record about this, and how they ordered him to stand down, and allow the Russians to go in and take Berlin.

And of course the Totenkopf Division which fought a rear guard so they could surrender to 3rd Army in Czechoslovakia and were handed back to the Russians to suffer brutal captivity.

Regarding Berlin, I think American leaders were happy to let the Russians take all the casualties. The occupation had already been negotiated at Malta, so why lose additional American lives in the last weeks of the war for ground we could occupy later without a shot?