A letter from the Eastern Front. Fallschirmjäger at the Front

[Witt]

I wanted to share this letter than came with a large set of photographs from a young, veteran Oberjäger of Fallschrimjäger Regiment 1. It is not known for sure when he joined the regiment but it appears he volunteered in the winter of 39/40. His baptism by fire was at 17-years-old during the Battle of Narvik. Significant casualties were experienced by FJR1 here despite having a small battle group. At 18 he made the jump over Kreta to the Iraklion flugplatz. First winter was spent in the trenches along the river Newa, east of Leningrad and south of Lake Ladoga. Here they held a defensive line through heavy and horrific fighting not much different from what was seen during the Great War. Dozens of Soviet assaults aimed at liberating the Mga railway and creating a relief line to Leningrad were repelled. Second winter saw the regiment transformed into a storm unit that was often on the move to plug areas on the Bryansk Front. It was here in April 1943 that he would fall wounded to the head by a rifle round. In August of the year he was to celebrate his 22nd birthday.

The letter was written about three months before he was killed. It is tattered and flimsy with age. He does not include an introduction nor does he address himself or the recipient. One really interesting aspect is that it was done on a typewriter. This is unique because it was typed in November 1942 while they were in Russia. The upper portion of many letters were not fully stamped with ink which made reading this more difficult. The first section is deeply philosophical and gives you a hint at how much the past 2.5 years at war had matured him. I am the same age he was when he typed this and this first portion seems like it was composed by someone much wiser in age. The next section talks a little about life at the front; small talk by the men and of friends lost. I do not have the Wolfgang or Horst he mentions being lost in my muster of the regiment so we cannot look into the lives of these two young warriors. He talks glowingly of all the warm fur clothing and winter white clothing they have received this time at the front. Some of the photographs show them wearing some of this clothing, all mismatched white and fur between men. It is much much different than what anyone was given during the first winter in Russia. At that time there was little winter white for them other than cut up sheets. Worn knochensack and M38 helmets were seen much more often than furs, whites, and field caps.

I hope this profound letter gives us a deeper look at the life for the young men at the front, and remember the life here that was tragically lost.





[4.11.42] It is now the second time that I am in the East. Even though one actually only thought of the East with horror, I am filled with an inner satisfaction to be here now. We lived in abundance in the West for half a year. Above all, none of us have had much to do with total war. There were probably some hot hours for some, but we haven't yet felt the constant stress for everyone, the annoyance of the little things and also the mental strain of the long time away from home. And are we too good for that? Now everyone can check for themselves whether they are the guy they think they are. Don't let the stressful little things of everyday life get you down, that will probably be the hardest battle for most people. It often gives you a damn strange feeling when you read these pompous, verbose national poems in soldiers' newspapers. It's better to stick to reality. I believe that simplicity and naturalness should be striven for much, much more. Certainly many people would then be deprived of the stimulus this creates.
For me, these things are actually far too serious to be treated in this way. Sometimes the natural feeling of revenge breaks through when I think of Horst and Wolfgang too. Hopefully I have the freedom to let off steam. Don't you have a damn duty to avenge your brother's death? When spoken and considered, it sounds ridiculous. But you should live according to your feelings sometimes. The sentences from my first diary come to mind: You once wanted to become a skull hussar --- Actually, you're ready now - certainly there are no personal successes and you're constantly cursing. But I think deep down I am satisfied, because if the time is over well, you will have brought home the most beautiful memories from this time and, even with good observation skills, you will have learned a lot. Of course you'll miss the time later - but you should complain about it now, when you can be grateful if you have whole bones and are healthy.

[5.11.42] In the bunker there is a lot of fibbing over dinner: Topic for example: Hospital train - Heroes' cemetery construction project - etc. People are still laughing today - let's see what tomorrow looks like.

[14.11.42] Yesterday morning our section had to pass its first little test. It is definitely said to be favorable and it has advantages for everyone, 1.) It will be better adapted in the future, because if nothing happens for too long, people become indifferent. 2.) You can now see that we are not lying here for nothing and you feel a little more comfortable. Because it's a damn stupid feeling to be a soldier in a war and then lie around like that somewhere. On the one hand, we left France a little too early. Now, under certain circumstances, we could have taken part in the Linmarsch into the unoccupied area.

[24.11.42] Everything feels quite comfortable here at our castle now that we've all gotten used to it and have finished the dirty work. We're also lucky with the weather, as we haven't had any complaints so far. The snow also brings brightness, so that even when the sky is overcast it is not completely dark. We also have enough things to wear. We could even afford to keep the little winter coat in stock. At least we have 1 additional fur vest and 1 overcoat. Then for the item 1 fur jacket or coat, Postensteifel, a warm hat and now a fur-lined windbreaker and padded underpants are given out. Snow suits have all been distributed. This year, precautions have been taken quite outrageously.



Regards, Ben

[Willmore]

Hi Ben.

What a fantastic insight into the mind of a young Fallschirmjäger, thank you for sharing it with us.

Kind regards,

Will.

[mauser9]

Thanks for sharing. Certainly many a hardship to face. Lost much too young

[TWS]

Great letter. Thanks for posting. The thoughts of the common soldier, written contemporaneously, are always interesting.

I chuckled at his use of "geflunkert". Hadn't heard that word in German for a while. Interesting that he also mentions the issue of sentry boots.

I'm guessing he was at the company or even battalion CP when he wrote that. Otherwise, a typewriter at the front would be very hard to come by.