Fascism is an epidemic of fanatical violence, blood and destruction. Hitler managed to bring the German nation to the point of wild fanaticism, to plunge it into a state of psychosis. Convince the Germans that they are superior to other people on earth. A huge, cultured nation in the very center of Europe, a nation that gave the world famous philosophers, naturalists and poets, became darkened. Unleashed her lowest, most bestial instincts. Reached the extreme limits of social degeneration, recklessness and blindness. The dimensions and cruelty of the war unleashed by Hitlerism are a hundred times greater than anything she knew. world history until now. And this is what the German soldiers wrote home.

Letters from German soldiers

Oberleutnant von Schirach is afraid of being bypassed in the division. In the order for his unit, Shirakh demands that the loot be taken down in one heap and distributed according to merit: "Any booty," the chief lieutenant explains, "is the property of the armed forces."

Notice the booty! For example, the pants belonged to the boy Vanya, and now they are the property of the German armed forces. And Aunt Aksinya's samovar. And a piglet stolen from a collective farm pigsty. And a gold tooth knocked out from an old teacher. Thank you, Herr Oberleutnant, for the legal clarification of what robbery is. Covered by a brown frenzy, the Nazis firmly believed in their right to rob and rob. They are even surprised, even indignant, when we resist and beat them. According to the Nazis, we are fighting completely against the rules.

five thousand six hundred and fifty five letters German soldiers, lifting the veil over the Nazi front and rear. Letters eloquently confirming the failure of the blitzkrieg. The Nazis were defeated near Moscow. They failed to capture Leningrad on the move. Selected divisions thoroughly stuck in the swamps. Hard times are coming for the fascist Reich, for its plunder-army. They still brag, commit bloody orgies, but in drunken bandit songs one can feel anguish, pessimism, and sometimes hopeless despair. Here are excerpts from their letters:

“We again had to endure many difficult and terrible hours.”

“For the third day, the Soviet artillery is beating. Sheer hell. A lot of people were killed."

“Lice. There is no escape from them."

“Our muzzles are covered with mud and gunpowder. They didn’t wash for 18 days.”

“Today there will be no food again. The kitchen is broken."

"Countless guerrillas inflict heavy losses on us."

“Unbearable cold. Minus thirty-five Celsius. Summer outfit.

“The Russians are raging all night. And today such a fire began, as if the end of the world had come.

"You need to have happiness, even a lot of happiness, in order to survive this war."

But happiness is not expected. “For seven nights, the Russians have been shelling from two sides. Shooting continues throughout the day. The place where we lie is a real hell. We are surrounded. Our platoon has completely melted. We are already missing the best of the best.”

Walter Schel, a soldier of the 506th regiment of the 291st division, writes to his homeland: “Dear Pegi and Hans, I inform you that I am still alive, but not completely healthy. I have such diarrhea that I don't have to zip up my pants. Why this is, I don’t know, on nervous grounds or from bad food. Going to the doctor is like going to a cow. He is sitting in a dugout, and we are in the snow.”

Yes, it's not fun. Belly upset. Nerves go wild. But in the beginning everything was drawn in iridescent colors. Eastern trip? Simple walk. Victory march. Blitzkrieg. . So did Lieutenant Richard Topp. He begins his diary with adventures in France. Those were truly heavenly days. Topp lists in detail the places he has visited. He writes what he did, whom he met. He pedantically lists how much he ate and drank, with how many girls he was kind. Fascist invasion of Soviet Union aroused in him an unusual surge of arrogance and fanfare: "Ambitious dreams, the desire for clarity, the search for an equation - all this for me is included in the concept - the field part."

However, the closer to the front, the less clarity. Cats scratch at the heart. There is a melancholic entry in the diary: “Who knows when my hour will strike!” Nevertheless, he is brave: “We make our hearts hard and strong. We are ready!"

At one of the stations, he sees a train with Russian prisoners of war. Exhausted people infuriate him: “No compassion. No humanity. Everything in me trembles with anger and indignation. Fingertips itch from the desire to take up the butt.

The courage is overwhelming. Before him were unarmed people, and he, you see, was not at all afraid of them. But here is the front. Bravado disappears, goes out like a match in the wind. On September 11, 1941, Topp notes: “The nights under the roof are over. Trench life begins."

It does not bode well, but he still resonates: “Nowhere can one see inner greatness along with hidden cowardice to such an extent as in a trench.”

Day by day it gets worse and worse. Thinking, philosophizing is not enough time, all worries about saving one's own skin. The notes go in a stingy telegraph style: "We burrow into the ground." "We lie in our trenches." "Rain, raincoats do not save." "A cold, uncomfortable night is coming."

The badly battered unit is taken to rest. "It gives a feeling of happiness," Topp notes in his diary.

Happiness imaginary, ephemeral. And again the telegraph style. No desire for clarity, no search for balance. And ambition on the side. The main thing is to survive, to survive: "Many soldiers left their bones here." "In the morning attack of our own planes on our positions." "Hunger". "Departure". "Urgent need for spare underpants." "Heavy losses". "We're under fire." "Lord, save and have mercy." “But there is no escape: hellfire!”

This is where the diary ends. Ambition? Thirst for distinctions and awards? Dreams of a brilliant career? About the magnificent parade on Nevsky Prospekt? Alas, dreams are unrealizable. Instead of iron, there are, it turns out, birch crosses and aspen stakes.

By the end of November 1941, the Nazis had lost 216,000 killed and wounded near Leningrad. Shot down and destroyed on the ground 1484 aircraft. Captured 759 guns, 679 tanks, a lot of small arms and ammunition. Practice, in general, says that lofty thoughts about the Fuhrer do not save from the Russian hellfire.

Willy-nilly, one has to rush into mysticism; all kinds of amulets, amulets, images of guardian angels are distributed among the German military personnel. Corporal Herman Weivild, who received a birch cross under Voybokalo, kept the "Certificate of Conduct" in his possession. “Whoever copied this and has it with him,” this sacramental document says, “nothing will hurt him. An enemy bullet will not hit him, for God protects him. Nothing will happen to him. Guns and swords, pistols and rifles - everything must be silenced at the direction of the Archangel Michael. The one who has this letter with him is protected from all dangers. Whoever does not believe this, let him rewrite the letter, hang it around the dog's neck and shoot at point-blank range. The dog will remain unharmed and doubt will disappear. Whoever has this letter will not be captured and will not be wounded by the enemy. His body and entrails will not be damaged.”

Not very smart, but encouraging. Such are they, the Germans, robbers with the image of the Archangel Michael in their bosoms. Superstitious, limited, brainwashed. Callous, cruel, forged from "German iron" hearts.

This is how the Nazis described in their diaries and letters home their advance across the Belarusian land in 1941:

Private 113th Infantry Division Rudolf Lange:

“On the way from Mir (the village) to Stolbtsy (the district center of the Brest region), we speak with the population in the language of machine guns. Screams, moans, blood, tears and many corpses. We don't feel any compassion. In every place, in every village, the sight of people makes my hands itch. I want to shoot from a pistol at the crowd. I hope that soon the SS detachments will come here and do what we did not have time to do.

Record of Corporal Zochel (Wiesbaden, field mail 22408 B):

Another fascist, Corporal Johannes Herder wrote:

"25-th of August. We are throwing hand grenades at residential buildings. Houses burn very quickly. The fire is transferred to other huts. A beautiful sight. People cry, and we laugh at tears.”

1941-1942. Liberation of Kaluga. Blood trail of fascist robbers

1942. Liberated Soviet territories. Civilians shot by the Nazis

From the diary of non-commissioned officer of the 35th Infantry Regiment Heinz Klin:

“September 29, 1941 ... The sergeant-major shot everyone in the head. One woman begged to be spared her life, but she was also killed. I am surprised at myself - I can look at these things quite calmly ... Without changing my facial expression, I watched the sergeant-major shoot Russian women. I even felt some pleasure at the same time ... ".

From the diary of Corporal Hans Rittel:

“October 12, 1941. The more you kill, the easier it is. I remember my childhood. Was I affectionate? Hardly. Must be a hard soul. After all, we are exterminating Russians - these are Asians. The world should be grateful to us… Today I took part in clearing the camp from suspicious ones. 82 people were shot. Among them was a beautiful woman, fair-haired, northern type. Oh, if only she were German. We, Carl and I, took her to the barn. She bit and howled. 40 minutes later she was shot.”

1942. Gallows of the Nazi invaders for Soviet citizens. And there are still such fools who believe that the Germans came to us in 1941 as a war in order to feed Bavarian sausages to the full and drink Bavarian beer to drink ...

Entry in the notebook of Private Heinrich Tivel:

“10/29/1941: I, Heinrich Tivel, set myself the goal of exterminating 250 Russians, Jews, Ukrainians, all indiscriminately during this war. If each soldier kills the same number, we will destroy Russia in one month, we Germans will get everything. I, following the call of the Fuhrer, urge all Germans to this goal ... From a letter found with Lieutenant Gafn: “It was much easier in Paris. Do you remember those honeymoon days? The Russians turned out to be devils, we have to tie them up. At first I liked this fuss, but now that I am all scratched and bitten, I do it easier - a pistol at my temple, it cools my ardor ... A story unheard of in other places happened between us here: a Russian girl blew herself up and Lieutenant Gross. We now strip naked, search, and then ... After which they disappear without a trace in the camp.

From a letter from Corporal Meng to his wife Frida:

“If you think that I am still in France, then you are mistaken. I am already on the eastern front... We eat potatoes and other products that we take away from the Russian inhabitants. As for the chickens, they are gone… We made a discovery: the Russians bury their property in the snow. We recently found a barrel of salted pork and lard in the snow. In addition, we found honey, warm clothes and material for a suit. Day and night we are looking for such finds... Here are all our enemies, every Russian, regardless of age and gender, whether he is 10, 20 or 80 years old. When they are all destroyed, it will be better and calmer. The Russian population deserves only destruction. They must be exterminated, every one of them."

The order issued by Hitler five days before the attack on the Soviet Union, which affirmed the right of German soldiers to rob and exterminate the Soviet population, charged officers with the duty to destroy people at their discretion, they were allowed to burn villages and cities, drive Soviet citizens to hard labor in Germany.

Here are the lines from that order:

“You don’t have a heart, nerves, they are not needed in a war. Destroy pity and sympathy in yourself - kill every Russian, Soviet, do not stop if in front of you is an old man or a woman, a girl or a boy. Kill! By doing this, you will save yourself from death, secure the future of your family and become famous forever, ”the Nazi command said in an appeal to the soldiers.

From the order of the commander of the 123rd German infantry division of August 16, 1941:

“It is recommended to resort to the strictest measures of punishment, such as hanging the executed in the squares for general viewing. Report it civilian population. On the gallows there should be tables with inscriptions in Russian with the approximate text “this and that is hanged for that”.

Ivan Yuriev, grodno-best.info

In April 1945, in the Gardelegen concentration camp, the SS drove about 1,100 prisoners into a barn and set it on fire. Some tried to escape but were shot dead by the guards. Only 12 prisoners managed to survive.

European democracy against the USSR. Fragment of the film "Come and See":

Movie: "Come and See"

Some of these letters were found on the chests of Wehrmacht soldiers killed in Stalingrad. They are stored in the Panorama Museum "Battle of Stalingrad". The author of the book, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor of the Department of History of Volga State University, Nina Vashkau, found most of the messages yellowed from time to relatives and friends from the war in the archives of Frankfurt am Main and Stuttgart.

Like a real historian, having copied everything that is possible in the archives and libraries of Germany, Nina Waschau appeared at the border with a suitcase of papers. The weight was eight kilograms. The German customs officer was very surprised when he opened the suitcase and saw only a bunch of papers there: “What is this?”. The history professor explained. And ... here it is - respect for history in modern Germany! Strictly observing the letter of the law, the German customs officer missed the advantage for free. As a member of the Russian-German Historical Commission for the Study of the Modern History of Russia and Germany, Nina Vashkau, at the invitation of the German side, took a group of VolSU students to Berlin. They got to the photo exhibition "German soldiers and officers of the Second World War."

On black and white photos from family archives smiling Wehrmacht officers embracing French women, Italians, mulattos from Africa, Greek women. Then came the huts of Ukraine and downcast women in headscarves. And that’s all… “How so! Where is Stalingrad? - Nina Vashkau began to be indignant, - Why is there not at least an inscription on a white sheet of paper: “And then there was Stalingrad, in which so many soldiers were killed, captured - so many?” She was answered: “This is the position of the curator of the exhibition. And we can’t call the curator: he’s not here right now.”

In letters from the Stalingrad cauldron, German soldiers write that the war is not at all a fun walk, as the Fuhrer promised them, but blood, dirt and lice: "He who does not write about lice does not know the Battle of Stalingrad." In the 90s, the panorama museum of the Battle of Stalingrad exhibited letters from German soldiers and officers that are in the museum fund. “I was struck by the expression on the faces of the Germans who came from Rossoshki to this exhibition,” recalls Nina Vashkau. “Some of them read these letters and wept.” Then she decided to find and publish letters from German soldiers from Stalingrad.

Despite the fact that the soldiers knew about military censorship, some of them ventured to such lines: “Enough, you and I did not deserve such a fate. If we get out of this hell, we will start life anew. For once I will write you the truth, now you know what is happening here. The time has come for the Fuhrer to release us. Yes, Katya, the war is terrible, I know all this as a soldier. Until now, I have not written about it, but now it is no longer possible to remain silent. ”

The chapters of the book are titled with quotes from letters: “I have forgotten how to laugh”, “I want to get out of this madness”, “How can a person endure all this?”, “Stalingrad is hell on Earth”.

And here is what one of the German officers of the Wehrmacht writes about the women of Stalingrad:

“The moral foundations of local women are amazing, which testify to the high values ​​​​of the people. For many of them, the word "Love" means absolute spiritual devotion, few agree to a fleeting relationship or adventure. They demonstrate, in any case, as far as women's honor is concerned, a completely unexpected nobility. Not only here in the North, but also in the South it is so. I spoke with a German doctor who came from the Crimea, and he noticed that in this even we Germans need to take their example ....».

The closer to Christmas, the more often German soldiers write about how they dream of homemade pies and marmalade and describe their "holiday" diet:

“Tonight we boiled horse meat again. We eat it without any seasonings, even without salt, and the dead horses have lain under the snow for maybe four weeks ... ". « Rye flour with water, without sugar salt, like an omelette, baked in oil - excellent in taste With".

And about "Christmas chores":

About the proximity of Soviet soldiers:

“Russians are rattling with spoons on a bowler hat. So I have a couple of minutes to write you a letter. Have quieted down. Now the attack will begin ... ".

On the spirit and strength of the enemy:

« Soldier Ivan is strong and fights like a lion».

And in the end, many regretted their lives ruined for no one knows what for, wrote in farewell letters that they hid on their chests:

“Sometimes I pray, sometimes I think about my fate. Everything seems pointless and pointless to me. When and how will deliverance come? And what will it be - death from a bomb or from a shell? »

"My favorite!

It's Christmas Eve and when I think about home, my heart breaks. How bleak and hopeless everything is here. For 4 days I have not eaten bread and I live only with a ladle of lunch soup. In the morning and evening, a sip of coffee and every 2 days, 100 grams of stew or a little cheese paste from a tube - hunger, hunger. Hunger and more lice and dirt. Day and night, air raids and artillery shelling almost do not stop. If a miracle doesn't happen soon, I'll die here. Too bad I know your 2kg package of pies and marmalade is somewhere along the way...

I constantly think about it, and I even have visions that I will never get them. Although I am exhausted, I cannot sleep at night, I lie with my eyes open and see pies, pies, pies. Sometimes I pray and sometimes I curse my fate. But everything does not make any sense - when and how will relief come? Will it be death by bomb or grenade? From a cold or from a painful illness? These questions keep us busy. To this we must add constant homesickness, and homesickness has become a disease. How can a man endure all this! If all this suffering is God's punishment? My dears, I shouldn't have to write all this, but I no longer have a sense of humor, and my laughter is gone forever. Only a bundle of trembling nerves remained. The heart and brain are painfully inflamed, and trembling as from high fever. If I am court-martialed and shot for this letter, I think it will be a boon for my body. With heartfelt love, your Bruno."

Letter from a German officer sent from Stalingrad on January 14, 1943.

Dear uncle! First, I would like to sincerely congratulate you on your promotion and wish you continued good luck as a soldier. By a happy coincidence, I again received mail from home, however, last year, and in that letter there was a message about this event. Mail now occupies a sore spot in our soldier's life. Most of it from last year hasn't arrived yet, not to mention a whole stack of Christmas letters. But in our current situation, this evil is understandable. Maybe you already know about our present fate; it is not in pink colors, but the critical mark, probably, has already been passed. Every day the Russians make a ruckus on some sector of the front, throw them into battle great amount tanks, followed by armed infantry, but the success compared to the forces expended is small, at times not worthy of mention at all. These battles with heavy losses are strongly reminiscent of the battles of the world war. Material support and the masses are the idols of the Russians, with the help of this they want to achieve a decisive advantage. But these attempts are shattered by a stubborn will to fight and an indefatigable strength in the defense of our positions. It simply does not describe what our excellent infantry does every day. This is a high song of courage, bravery and endurance. Never before have we been waiting for the onset of spring so much as here. The first half of January is soon over, it will still be very hard in February, but then a turning point will come - and there will be big success. WITH Best wishes, Albert T.

Here are some more excerpts from the letters:

August 23, 1942: "In the morning I was shocked by a wonderful sight: for the first time through fire and smoke I saw the Volga, calmly and majestically flowing in its channel ... Why did the Russians rest on this bank, do they really think to fight on the very edge? This is madness".

November 1942: "We hoped that before Christmas we would return to Germany, that Stalingrad was in our hands. What a great delusion! Stalingrad is hell! This city has turned us into a crowd of insensible dead ... Every day we attack. But even if in the morning we advance twenty meters, in the evening we are thrown back.... Russians are not like people, they are made of iron, they do not know fatigue, they do not know fear. Sailors, in severe frost, go on the attack in vests. Physically and spiritually, one Russian soldier is stronger than the whole our department."

January 4, 1943: "Russian snipers and armor-piercers are undoubtedly disciples of God. They lie in wait for us day and night, and do not miss. For fifty-eight days we stormed a single house. We stormed in vain ... None of us will return to Germany, unless a miracle happens ... Time has switched to the side of the Russians "

Wehrmacht soldier Erich Ott.

"The behavior of the Russians, even in the first battle, was strikingly different from the behavior of the Poles and allies who were defeated on the Western Front. Even once in the encirclement, the Russians staunchly defended themselves."

General Günther Blumentritt, Chief of Staff of the 4th Army

From a letter from Lieutenant General von Gamblenz to his wife. 21.XI.1942

"...Three enemies make our life very difficult: Russians, hunger, cold. Russian snipers keep us under constant threat..."

From the diary of Corporal M. Zur. December 8, 1942

"... We are in a rather difficult situation. The Russian, it turns out, also knows how to wage war, this was proved by the great chess move that he made in recent days, and he did it with the forces of not a regiment or division, but much larger .. ."

From a letter from Corporal Bernhard Gebhardt, p/n 02488, to his wife. December 30, 1942

“During the attack, we stumbled upon a light Russian T-26 tank, we immediately clicked it right from the 37-millimeter paper. was without legs, they were torn off when the tank was hit. And, despite this, he fired at us with a pistol! "

Wehrmacht anti-tank gunner

"We almost did not take prisoners, because the Russians always fought to the last soldier. They did not give up. Their hardening cannot be compared with ours ..."

Tanker of the Army Group "Center" of the Wehrmacht

After a successful breakthrough of the border defenses, the 3rd Battalion of the 18th Infantry Regiment of the Army Group "Center", numbering 800 people, was fired upon by a unit of 5 soldiers. " I did not expect anything like this, - the battalion commander Major Neuhof admitted to his battalion doctor. - This is pure suicide - to attack the forces of the battalion with five fighters".

"On the Eastern Front, I met people who can be called a special race. Already the first attack turned into a battle not for life, but for death."

Tankman of the 12th Panzer Division Hans Becker

“You just won’t believe this until you see it with your own eyes. The soldiers of the Red Army, even burning alive, continued to shoot from blazing houses.”

Officer of the 7th Panzer Division of the Wehrmacht

"The quality level of Soviet pilots is much higher than expected ... Fierce resistance, its mass character does not correspond to our initial assumptions"

Major General Hoffmann von Waldau

"I have never seen anyone angrier than these Russians. Real chain dogs! You never know what to expect from them. And where do they get tanks and everything else from?!"

One of the soldiers of the Army Group "Center" of the Wehrmacht

"The last few weeks are characterized by the most serious crisis that we have not yet experienced in the war. This crisis, unfortunately, struck ... all of Germany. It is symbolized in one word - Stalingrad."

Ulrich von Hassel, diplomat, February 1943

From a letter from an unknown German soldier:

And now our situation has become so much worse that they are loudly saying that we will very soon be completely cut off from the outside world. We were assured that this mail would certainly be sent. If I were sure that another opportunity would present itself, I would still wait, but I am not sure of this, and therefore, whether it is bad or good, I must say everything.

For me the war is over…»

The famous German song about a soldier who is waiting to meet his girlfriend. "Lily Marlene"

PAULUS ABOUT THE BATTLE OF STALINGRAD
[September 1945]
The Stalingrad complex consists of three successive phases.
1. Advance to the Volga.
Within the general framework of the [Second World] War, the summer offensive of 1942 meant another attempt to achieve what was not achieved in the autumn of 1941, namely, the victorious end of the campaign in the East (which was the result of an attack on Russia that had the character of an attack), in order to thereby decide the outcome of the entire war.
In the minds of the commanding bodies, a purely military task stood in the foreground. This basic attitude regarding the last chance for Germany to win the war completely dominated the minds of the high command in both subsequent phases.
2. From the beginning of the Russian offensive in November and the encirclement of the 6th Army, as well as units of the 4th Panzer Army with a total strength of about 220,000 people, contrary to all the false promises and illusions of the OKW, the fact was increasingly realized that now, instead of a "victorious end campaign in the East, the question arises: how to avoid a complete defeat in the East, and thereby the loss of the entire [Second World] War?
This idea permeated the actions of the command and troops of the 6th Army, while the higher command bodies (the command of the army group, the chief of the general staff of the ground forces and the OKW) still believed, or at least pretended to believe, in the chances of victory.
Therefore, views on the measures of command and methods (of military operations) arising from this situation diverged sharply. Since the higher command authorities, based on the above considerations, rejected a breakthrough that was still possible in the first phase of the encirclement, it remained only to hold on to the positions occupied in order to to prevent disorganization as a result of unauthorized actions, and thereby the collapse of the entire southern part of the Eastern Front.In this case, not only hopes for victory would perish, but in short term the possibility of avoiding a decisive defeat, and thereby the collapse of the Eastern Front, would also be destroyed.
3. In the third phase, after the failure of attempts to release and in the absence of the promised assistance, it was only a matter of gaining time in order to restore the southern part of the Eastern Front and save the German troops in the Caucasus. In case of failure, the entire war would have been lost already by virtue of the expected scale of the defeat on the Eastern Front.
So, therefore, the higher command organs themselves operated on the argument that by means of "stubborn resistance to the last opportunity" the worst that threatens the entire front should be avoided. Thus, the question of the resistance of the 6th Army at Stalingrad was posed extremely sharply and boiled down to the following: how the situation seemed to me and how it was drawn to me, total defeat could only be prevented by stubborn resistance of the army to the last possible ... its impact and the radiograms received in recent days: "It is important to hold out every extra hour." Requests were repeatedly received from the right neighbor: “How long will the 6th Army last?”
Therefore, from the moment the pocket was formed, and especially after the collapse of the relief attempt made by the 4th Panzer Army (end of December), the command of my army found itself in a state of severe contradiction.
On the one hand, there were categorical orders to hold on, constantly repeated promises of help, and increasingly harsh references to general position. On the other hand, there were humane motives arising from the ever-increasing distress of my soldiers, which posed the question before me whether I should not stop fighting at a certain moment. While fully sympathizing with the troops entrusted to me, I nevertheless felt obliged to give preference to the point of view of the high command. The 6th Army had to take on unheard-of suffering and countless sacrifices in order to - in which it was firmly convinced - to enable a much larger number of comrades from neighboring formations to escape.
Based on the situation that developed in late 1942 and early 1943, I believed that the long holding of positions at Stalingrad served the interests of the German people, since it seemed to me that the defeat on the Eastern Front closed the way to any political exit.
Any of my independent going beyond the general framework or conscious action contrary to the orders given to me would mean that I take responsibility: in the initial stage, during a breakthrough, for the fate of my neighbors, and later, in the event of a premature cessation of resistance, for the fate of the southern section and thus the entire Eastern Front. Thus, in the eyes of the German people, this would mean, at least outwardly, that the war was lost through my fault. It would not take long for me to be held accountable for all the operational consequences caused by this on the Eastern Front.
And what convincing and solid arguments - especially in the absence of knowledge of the actual outcome - could be given by the commander of the 6th Army to justify his behavior contrary to orders in the face of the enemy? Does the essentially threatening or subjectively realized hopelessness of the situation contain the right for the commander to disobey the order? In the specific situation of Stalingrad, it was by no means absolutely impossible to assert that the situation was completely hopeless, not to mention the fact that subjectively it, as such, was not realized, with the exception of the last stage. How could or dare I demand obedience from any subordinate commander in the future in a similarly difficult, in his opinion, position?
Does the prospect of his own death, as well as the probable death and capture of his troops, free the responsible person from soldier obedience?
Let today everyone find the answer to this question before himself and his own conscience.
At that time, the Wehrmacht and the people would not have understood such a course of action on my part. It would have been, in its impact, a clearly expressed revolutionary act against Hitler. On the contrary, would not my arbitrary abandonment of positions contrary to orders give precisely the argument in the hands of Hitler in order to pillory the cowardice and disobedience of the generals and thus attribute to them the blame for the ever more clearly looming military defeat?
I would create the ground for a new legend - about a stab in the back at Stalingrad, and this would be to the detriment of the historical concept of our people and the much-needed awareness of the lessons of this war.
The intention to carry out a coup, to consciously cause defeat, in order to thereby lead to the fall of Hitler, and with him the entire National Socialist system as an obstacle to the end of the war, did not exist in me myself and, as far as I know, did not manifest itself in any form in my subordinates.
Such ideas were then outside the scope of my reflections. They were also outside the scope of my political character. I was a soldier, and I believed then that it was by obedience that I would freeze my people. As for the responsibility of the officers subordinate to me, from a tactical point of view, following my orders, they were in the same forced position as I myself, within the framework of the general operational situation and the orders given to me.
Before the troops and officers of the 6th Army, as well as before the German people, I am responsible for the fact that, right up to complete defeat, I carried out the orders given to me by the high command to hold on to the last.
Friedrich Paulus,
field marshal general of the former german army
"Paulus: "Ich stehe hier auf Befehl"". Lebensweg des Generalfeldmarschalls Friedrich Paulus. Mil den Aufzeichnungen aus dem Nachlass, Briefen und Doliumerrten herausgegeben von Walter Gorlitz. Frankfurt am Main. 1960, S. 261-263.

https://www.site/2015-06-22/pisma_nemeckih_soldat_i_oficerov_s_vostochnogo_fronta_kak_lekarstvo_ot_fyurerov

"Soldiers of the Red Army fired, even burning alive"

Letters from German soldiers and officers from the Eastern Front as a cure for the Fuhrers

June 22 is a sacred, sacred day in our country. The beginning of the Great War is the beginning of the path to the great Victory. History does not know a more massive feat. But even more bloody, expensive for its price - perhaps, too (we have already published terrible pages from Ales Adamovich and Daniil Granin, amazing frankness of front-line soldier Nikolai Nikulin, excerpts from Viktor Astafiev "Cursed and Killed"). At the same time, along with inhumanity, military training, courage and self-sacrifice triumphed, thanks to which the outcome of the battle of peoples was a foregone conclusion in its very first hours. This is evidenced by fragments of letters and reports from soldiers and officers of the German armed forces from the Eastern Front.

“Already the first attack turned into a battle not for life, but for death”

“My commander was twice my age, and he had already had to fight the Russians near Narva in 1917, when he was in the rank of lieutenant. “Here, in these vast expanses, we will find our death, like Napoleon,” he did not hide his pessimism ... “Mende, remember this hour, it marks the end of the former Germany” ”(Erich Mende, Lieutenant of the 8th Silesian infantry division about the conversation that took place in the last minutes of peace on June 22, 1941).

“When we entered the first battle with the Russians, they clearly did not expect us, but they could not be called unprepared either” (Alfred Dürwanger, lieutenant, commander of an anti-tank company of the 28th Infantry Division).

“The quality level of Soviet pilots is much higher than expected ... Fierce resistance, its massive nature does not correspond to our initial assumptions” (diary of Hoffmann von Waldau, Major General, Chief of Staff of the Luftwaffe Command, June 31, 1941).

"On the Eastern Front, I met people who can be called a special race"

“On the very first day, as soon as we went on the attack, one of ours shot himself with his own weapon. Clutching the rifle between his knees, he inserted the barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger. This is how the war and all the horrors associated with it ended for him ”(anti-tank gunner Johann Danzer, Brest, June 22, 1941).

“On the Eastern Front, I met people who can be called a special race. Already the first attack turned into a battle not for life, but for death ”(Hans Becker, tanker of the 12th Panzer Division).

“The losses are terrible, not to be compared with those that were in France ... Today the road is ours, tomorrow the Russians take it, then we again, and so on ... I have never seen anyone angrier than these Russians. Real chain dogs! You never know what to expect from them ”(diary of a soldier of Army Group Center, August 20, 1941).

“You can never say in advance what a Russian will do: as a rule, he rushes from one extreme to another. His nature is as unusual and complex as this vast and incomprehensible country itself ... Sometimes the Russian infantry battalions were confused after the very first shots, and the next day the same units fought with fanatical stamina ... The Russian as a whole, of course, is excellent a soldier and with skillful leadership is a dangerous adversary ”(Mellenthin Friedrich von Wilhelm, Major General of the Tank Forces, Chief of Staff of the 48th Tank Corps, later Chief of Staff of the 4th Tank Army).

"I have never seen anyone angrier than these Russians. Real watchdogs!"

“During the attack, we stumbled upon a light Russian T-26 tank, we immediately clicked it right from the 37-graph paper. When we began to approach, a Russian leaned out of the hatch of the tower to the waist and opened fire on us with a pistol. It soon became clear that he was without legs, they were torn off when the tank was hit. And despite this, he fired at us with a pistol! (memoirs of an anti-tank gunner about the first hours of the war).

“You just won’t believe this until you see it with your own eyes. The soldiers of the Red Army, even burning alive, continued to shoot from the burning houses ”(from a letter from an infantry officer of the 7th Panzer Division about the battles in a village near the Lama River, mid-November 1941).

“... Inside the tank lay the bodies of a brave crew, who had previously received only injuries. Deeply shocked by this heroism, we buried them with full military honors. They fought to the last breath, but it was just one little drama. great war"(Erhard Raus, colonel, commander of the Raus campfgruppe about the KV-1 tank, which shot and crushed a convoy of trucks and tanks and a German artillery battery; a total of 4 Soviet tankers held back the advance of the Raus battle group, about half a division, for two days, 24 and 25 June).

“July 17, 1941… In the evening they buried an unknown Russian soldier [we are talking about 19-year-old Senior Artillery Sergeant Nikolai Sirotinin]. He alone stood at the cannon, shot a column of tanks and infantry for a long time, and died. Everyone marveled at his bravery... Oberst before the grave said that if all the Fuhrer's soldiers fought like this Russian, we would conquer the whole world. Three times they fired volleys from rifles. After all, he is Russian, is such admiration necessary? (Diary of Lieutenant of the 4th Panzer Division Henfeld).

"If all the Fuhrer's soldiers fought like this Russian, we would conquer the whole world"

“We almost did not take prisoners, because the Russians always fought to the last soldier. They didn't give up. Their hardening cannot be compared with ours ... ”(interview with war correspondent Curizio Malaparte (Zukkert), officer of the tank unit of Army Group Center).

“Russians have always been famous for their contempt for death; the communist regime has further developed this quality, and now massive Russian attacks are more effective than ever before. The attack made twice will be repeated for the third and fourth time, regardless of the losses incurred, and both the third and fourth attacks will be carried out with the same stubbornness and composure ... They did not retreat, but rushed forward uncontrollably ”(Mellenthin Friedrich von Wilhelm, General major of tank troops, chief of staff of the 48th tank corps, later chief of staff of the 4th tank army, participant in the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk).

"I'm so furious, but I've never been so helpless"

In turn, the Red Army and the inhabitants of the occupied territories at the beginning of the war faced a well-prepared - and psychologically too - invader.

"25-th of August. We are throwing hand grenades at residential buildings. Houses burn very quickly. The fire is transferred to other huts. A beautiful sight! People cry and we laugh at tears. We have already burned ten villages in this way (diary of Chief Corporal Johannes Herder). “September 29, 1941. ... The sergeant-major shot everyone in the head. One woman begged to be spared her life, but she was also killed. I am surprised at myself - I can look at these things quite calmly ... Without changing my facial expression, I watched the sergeant-major shoot Russian women. I even experienced some pleasure at the same time ... ”(diary of a non-commissioned officer of the 35th rifle regiment, Heinz Klin).

“I, Heinrich Tivel, set myself the goal of exterminating 250 Russians, Jews, Ukrainians, indiscriminately, in this war. If each soldier kills the same number, we will destroy Russia in one month, we Germans will get everything. I, following the call of the Fuhrer, call all Germans to this goal ... ”(soldier’s notebook, October 29, 1941).

"I can look at these things quite calmly. I even feel some pleasure at the same time"

The mood of the German soldier, like the backbone of the beast, was broken by the Battle of Stalingrad: the total losses of the enemy in killed, wounded, captured and missing amounted to about 1.5 million people. Self-confident treachery gave way to despair, similar to what accompanied the Red Army in the first months of the fighting. When in Berlin they decided to print letters from the Stalingrad front for propaganda purposes, it turned out that out of seven bags of correspondence, only 2% contained approving statements about the war, in 60% of the letters the soldiers called to fight rejected the massacre. In the trenches of Stalingrad, a German soldier, very often briefly, shortly before his death, returned from a zombie state to a conscious, human one. It can be said that the war as a confrontation of equally large troops was over here, in Stalingrad - primarily because here, on the Volga, the pillars of the soldier's faith in the infallibility and omnipotence of the Fuhrer collapsed. So - this is the justice of history - it happens to almost every Fuhrer.

“Since this morning, I know what awaits us, and it has become easier for me, so I want to free you from the torment of the unknown. When I saw the map, I was horrified. We are completely abandoned without any outside help. Hitler left us surrounded. And this letter will be sent if our airfield has not yet been captured.

“At home, some will rub their hands - they managed to save their warm places, but pathetic words will appear in the newspapers, circled in black: everlasting memory heroes. But don't let yourself be fooled by that. I am so furious that I think I would destroy everything around me, but I have never been so helpless.

“People are dying of hunger, severe cold, death here is just a biological fact, like food and drink. They are dropping like flies and no one takes care of them and no one buries them. Without arms, without legs, without eyes, with torn bellies, they lie everywhere. A film should be made about this in order to forever destroy the legend of the “beautiful death”. This is just a bestial breath, but someday it will be raised on granite pedestals and ennobled in the form of "dying warriors" with their heads and hands tied with a bandage.

"Novels will be written, hymns and hymns will be heard. Mass will be celebrated in churches. But I've had enough"

Novels will be written, hymns and hymns will be heard. Mass will be celebrated in churches. But I've had enough, I don't want my bones to rot in a mass grave. Do not be surprised if there is no news from me for some time, because I am determined to become the master of my own destiny.

“Well, now you know that I will not return. Please inform our parents as discreetly as possible. I am deeply confused. I used to believe and therefore was strong, but now I don't believe in anything and am very weak. There's a lot I don't know about what's going on here, but even the little that I have to participate in is already so much that I can't handle it. No, no one will convince me that people die here with the words "Germany" or "Heil Hitler." Yes, they die here, no one will deny this, but the dying people turn their last words to their mother or to the one they love the most, or is it just a cry for help. I saw hundreds dying, many of them, like me, were members of the Hitler Youth, but if they could still scream, they were cries for help, or they were calling for someone who could not help them.

“I looked for God in every crater, in every ruined house, in every corner, with every comrade, when I lay in my trench, I looked in the sky. But God did not show himself, although my heart cried out to him. Houses were destroyed, comrades brave or cowardly like me, hunger and death on earth, and bombs and fire from the sky, only God was nowhere to be found. No, father, God does not exist, or only you have it, in your psalms and prayers, in the sermons of priests and pastors, in the ringing of bells, in the smell of incense, but there is none in Stalingrad ... I no longer believe in the goodness of God, otherwise he would never allow such a terrible injustice. I no longer believe in this, for God would have cleared the heads of the people who started this war, while they themselves were talking about peace in three languages. I no longer believe in God, he betrayed us, and now see for yourself how you should be with your faith.

"Ten years ago, it was about ballot papers, now you have to pay for it with such a "trifle" as life"

“For every reasonable person in Germany, the time will come when he will curse the folly of this war, and you will realize how empty your words were about the banner with which I should win. There is no victory, Mr. General, there are only banners and people who die, and in the end there will be no more banners, no people. Stalingrad is not a military necessity, but a political madness. And your son, Mr. General, will not participate in this experiment! You block his path to life, but he will choose another path for himself - in the opposite direction, which also leads to life, but on the other side of the front. Think about your words, I hope that when everything collapses, you will remember the banner and stand up for it.

“Liberation of the peoples, what nonsense! The peoples will remain the same, only the authorities will change, and those who stand aside will again and again argue that the people must be freed from it. In 1932 it was still possible to do something, you know that very well. And you also know that the moment was lost. Ten years ago, it was about ballot papers, and now you have to pay for it with such a “trifle” as life.”

AUGUST 1942:

08/25/42: Hitler's bandits set out to exterminate the Soviet people. A letter was found from a murdered German soldier, a certain Hans, in which his friend Dreyer writes: “The main thing is to beat all Russians without mercy, so that this swine people will end soon.” The facts of recent days that took place in the areas of the Don temporarily occupied by the Germans show the diabolical consistency with which the Nazis carry out their cannibalistic program. ("Red Star", USSR)

08/22/42: Soldier Herbert boasts to his parents: ... “On the second day of our forest campaign, we arrived at the village. Pigs and cows roamed the street. Even chickens and geese. Each section immediately slaughtered for itself a pig, chickens and geese. Unfortunately, in such villages we stopped for one day and could not take much with us. But on this day we lived to the fullest. I ate at least two pounds of roast pork at once, a whole chicken, a frying pan of potatoes, and another liter and a half of milk. How delicious it was! But now we usually end up in villages that have already been captured by soldiers, and everything is already eaten in them. There is nothing left even in chests and cellars.

In letters to other soldiers, the punishers are even more frank. Corporal Felix Kandels sends his friend lines that cannot be read without a shudder: “Having rummaged through the chests and organized a good dinner, we began to have fun. The girl got angry, but we also organized her. It doesn't matter that the whole squad... Don't worry. I remember the advice of the lieutenant, and the girl is dead as a grave ... ". ("Red Star", USSR)

08/16/42: On the entire front, the Germans were excited: the Fritz wanted to eat after hibernation. He wants to rob. A soldier of the 542nd regiment, Iosif Gayer, writes to his parents: “The food is sufficient - we supply ourselves. We take away a goose, or chickens, or a pig, or a calf and we eat. We make sure that the stomach is always full. Resurrected "trophy parcels" to their homeland. Like flies in the spring, hungry, greedy German women came to life. Martha Trey writes from Breslau to her husband: “Don't forget about me and the little ones. We also experienced a hard winter. I'll be especially grateful for the smoked bacon and the soap. Then, although you write that you have a tropical heat, think about winter - both about yourself and about us, look for something woolen for me and for the kids ... ”(“ Red Star ”, USSR)

08/14/42: An unsent letter to his sister Sabina was found with a German soldier Josef. The letter says: “Today we organized 20 chickens and 10 cows. We are removing the entire population from the villages - adults and children. No amount of prayer helps. We can be ruthless. If someone does not want to go, they finish him off. Recently, in a village, a group of residents became stubborn and did not want to leave for anything. We went berserk and immediately shot them down. And then something terrible happened. Several Russian women stabbed two German soldiers with pitchforks... We are hated here. No one in the homeland can imagine what fury the Russians have against us.” (Sovinformburo)

08/03/42: Below are published excerpts from an unsent letter found with the murdered German chief corporal Stricker: “Yesterday, finally, mail was brought. What a surprise! I received a letter from Heinrich Sporn and Robert Treilich, they are back in Russia, somewhere in the south. They never dreamed that they would be sent out of France so soon. Heinrich writes that in the first battle his unit suffered terrible losses. Robert is furious. He hates rear stallions who, with the help of connections, advance in the service much faster than those who are on the Eastern Front and risk their heads ... Each of us has one foot in the grave. Previously, we were looking forward to the change and thought that when new units arrived, we would be taken to the rear. Now we are convinced that the change comes only for those who have already committed suicide. (Sovinformburo)

07/29/42: We know that the Germans paid dearly for Rostov. The soldier Franz Grabe writes to his wife: “We do not have time to bury our dead, it was ordered to put up crosses with numbers, but we bypass this and the authorities do not insist, because there is a terrible stench” ... They walk over the corpses. They covered their path with corpses - from Tim to the Don and from Valuyki to Rostov. ("Red Star", USSR)

07/28/42: An unsent letter to Ernst Schlegel was found near the German chief corporal Alois Luring, who was killed in the Voronezh region. The letter says: “I cannot tell you what is happening here. Believe me, I have never seen or experienced anything like it during the entire war. Every day costs us many lives. Our battalion was disbanded - almost no one was left in it. I got into the 5th company. Already now there are fewer people in it than there should be in one platoon ... Russians are very desperate people. They stubbornly resist and are not afraid of death. Yes, Russia is a mystery to all of us. Sometimes it seems to me that we are involved in a very dangerous adventure. (Sovinformburo)

07/24/42: Mathaes Zimlich writes to his brother Corporal Heinrich Zimlich: “There is a camp for Russians in Leiden, you can see them there. They are not afraid of weapons, but we talk to them with a good whip ... "

A certain Otto Essmann writes to Lieutenant Helmut Weigand: “We have Russian prisoners here. These types devour earthworms on the airfield site, they rush to the garbage can. I saw them eating weeds. And to think that these are people ... ”(“ Red Star ”, USSR)

07/12/42: “It is spring here, and the Russian fields are covered with flowers. However, it is ridiculous to call these miserable plants flowers. Flowers, real flowers bloom only here in Germany...”. (Letter from Heinrich Simmert).

“There is neither art nor theater in Russia. The capital of Russia was built by the Germans and therefore was called Petersburg before the Bolsheviks. Schools in large cities were set up by the Germans, and teaching went on German, with the exception of the catechism and the Russian language - for communication between the top of the country and the common people. Dr. Kraus, who studied at a Moscow school, told me about this in detail. I don't remember a single book translated from Russian, not a single play. It’s just that Anna Karenina was shown in the cinema three years before the war, but in my opinion the script was German there, and the Germans put on the picture - there was one Russian plot in it, and a stupid one at that ”(Letter from Corporal Ludwig Kortner) .. .

Snobby bastards, they despise everyone, even their "allies". One German told me: "I will never believe that a German woman could get along with an Italian, it's like living with a monkey." Soldier Wilhelm Schrader writes to his brother from the Finnish city of Lahti: “You can get a girl here at any time of the day or night for a can of canned food. I do this vigorously after my monastic life in the snow. But it is difficult to call these persons "women". She is silent all the time, like fish, and I prefer the latest German whore to the daughter of the local doctor. Sometimes it seems to me that I am messing with them in the order of self-torture ... ". ("Red Star", USSR)

04/05/42: German non-commissioned officer R. Seyler recently wrote to his acquaintance in Germany: “Our company has been greatly reduced: many killed and even more wounded. For more than three weeks we have been fighting fierce battles day and night. Today fate overtakes one, tomorrow another. We are in a real cauldron. Who gets out of here, he was truly born in a shirt. We are days and nights in the snow. The Russians attack us suddenly from the flanks or from the rear. They are everywhere ... I hope that you can read my scribbles - I can’t do it better, because I froze my fingers. (Sovinformburo)

03/29/42: Hitler's soldier was not what he was at the beginning of the Soviet-German war. True, not all Germans who have been drafted into the army can and dare to openly express their dissatisfaction and indignation at the domestic and foreign policy of the Nazi pack. However, there are enough facts to correctly judge the true state of affairs in the Nazi army. Here are some examples.

On January 8, 1942, the German soldier Lenchen received a letter from his friend Karl, in which the latter writes: “There is literally no interest in anything anymore. I would like to throw a rifle - that's what it came to!

Corporal Alfred Akhtsein writes to his homeland: “We are already pretty dumb. There is no interest in anything. If it lasts, then you can go crazy. ("Pravda", USSR)

03/10/42: They finally guessed that we were not armed with pitchforks or rakes. They realized that we were throwing them with not warm hats. At first they hoped that we would go against them with bare hands. They prepared a war plan: they have tanks - we have carts, they have guns - we have hunting rifles, they have planes - we have sparrows. It turned out that the war is unfolding according to a slightly different plan.

So the Fritz write sad letters home. One complains that our artillery music gives him a headache. They call our artillery "organ" - a sonorous instrument. Another informs his Gretchen that he will be driven into the coffin by the Katyusha, and directly writes: “This is not a woman, this is worse ...” The third does not like that our tanks pass where the Germans stumble. The fourth does not like our attack aircraft, he admits: "The sergeant major went crazy from them, he was taken to the infirmary." ("Red Star", USSR)

JANUARY 1942:

01/25/42: “A German soldier at the front writes too much. It is unacceptable that the diaries of German soldiers or letters addressed to them by their relatives fall into the hands of the enemy. Caring relatives for a son or husband is interpreted by the enemy as our weakness. The Russian does not know our family way of life and understands the content of the letters literally.

Soldiers should be reminded again that they should not mention much in their letters and above all describe heavy losses. With such messages, we only upset our relatives, while we are obliged to support them with cheerful news. Besides, this kind word of mouth can reach the enemy. In letters to the front one can often find complaints about the length of the Russian campaign. It's time to get out of your head the thought of a quick end to the war. If in our press it is sometimes written that the Russians have been completely defeated, then such opinions of leading figures are published exclusively for foreign countries, in order to emphasize our confidence in victory.

Postal censorship stops all poor-quality mail. Each soldier, describing his experiences, should not report anything that can excite his relatives. We are men and we ourselves are obliged to endure all the bleak consequences of a hard struggle, without burdening others with them.

Another German general, commander of the 263rd division, is also seized with the itch of writing, and he also dropped a "top secret" order, marked December 18, 1941:

“Soldiers should be made aware that it is forbidden to mention in letters alleged or real difficulties, especially the adverse effect of war on the mood and health of soldiers.

Letters from home that mention hardships of any kind or personal concerns should be destroyed.

We must courageously endure the difficulties arising from the winter campaign, not giving food for enemy propaganda.

Two German generals apparently decided to destroy me: they do not want to give me material for my articles. After all, I'm greedy for Fritz diaries and Gretchen's messages. But so far the generals have pleased me: what could be better for our propaganda of these two orders? ("Red Star", USSR)

01/15/42: The German command is seriously concerned about the defeatist and decadent moods growing in the rear and in the army. The order for the 263rd German division dated December 18, 1941 states: “... Each unit must be informed so that nothing is mentioned in the letters of the soldiers to their homeland about difficulties in supply, about the unfavorable effect of the Russian winter on the mood and health of the soldiers. Letters from the homeland, which inform about the victims and hardships of the population, about all kinds of personal concerns caused by the protracted war, should be destroyed. Relatives of soldiers should be told that any negligence in correspondence is dangerous and can lead to sad consequences. The order further warns that the division will face severe trials, and invites "soldiers who will suffer misfortune and who will be captured by the enemy, pretend to be fools and give no evidence about the decrease in the strength of the resistance of the German army and about the weakening of its will to win." (Sovinformburo)

01/08/42: A letter was found from the German Chief Corporal Walter Seibel, who was killed on the Leningrad Front, addressed to the Corporal Fritz Klaugg in Berlin. “The cold here is swine,” Seibel wrote. - The daily attacks of the Russians with the participation of planes and tanks are wearing us down. Believe me, everything that happens here is beyond my powers. Many received a nervous shock. Only 3 machine gunners remained in our company, the rest were killed and wounded. You often ask yourself - when is your turn? (Sovinformburo)

DECEMBER 1941:

12/30/41: In an article published in the German magazine Das Reich, Goebbels lashes out with threats and abuse against Germans who complain about the difficulties they have to endure. According to Goebbels, only soldiers have the right to talk about hardships and sacrifices. “German soldiers in Russia,” writes Goebbels, “sometimes fight for their very existence against snow, ice and blizzards, against the most terrible opponents. Sometimes they are left completely without food, sometimes there is not enough ammunition. For six months they are deprived of any contact with the outside world. They don't hear the radio, they don't have newspapers, and they often wait months for letters." ("Red Star", USSR)

12/25/41: Moscow was another and very important bait. The officers all the time cheered up the soldiers, they inspired them that with the capture of Moscow the end of the war would come, that the Soviet government should capitulate, and then the soldiers would receive vacations. They were promised good, warm apartments and rest in Moscow. The soldiers were looking forward to the time when it would be possible to live to their heart's content in Moscow, to rob shops and apartments.

Thus, the soldier Ximan from the SS wrote to his wife in Munich on December 3: “At present we are 30 kilometers from Moscow. When you leave the house, you can see some of the towers of Moscow from a distance. Soon the ring will close, then we will occupy luxurious winter apartments, and I will send you such Moscow gifts that Aunt Minna will burst with envy.

Chief Corporal Adolf Huber wrote to his wife on November 30: “Despite the cold, snow and ice, our campaign continues further along the indicated path. We, infantrymen, are today at a distance of 35 kilometers from Moscow. It will not last long, we will overcome the last resistance of the Russians, and victory will be achieved. The Russians will pay us then for everything!”

An unknown soldier wrote to his wife Anna Goter on December 1: "We have 30 kilometers left to Moscow, we will take it, and then they will let us go, and you will get your fur coat." ("Red Star", USSR)

December 21, 1941: Under the blows of the Red Army, the clothed soldiers of the Nazi robber army are quickly squandering their warlike ardor. In letters found Lately among the killed German soldiers, there are no longer boastful statements about an imminent victory. Now they are dominated by whining, complaints about the plight.

The murdered German soldier Wolf Werner, in an unsent letter to a certain Lizabeth Lutu, wrote shortly before his death: “Our conditions cannot be described ... terrible lice will drive you crazy someday.”

Soldier Schultz Stelmacher writes home: "We must spend Christmas here, suffering from lice."

The German soldier Walter Reingold received a letter from his relatives in Weide. It says: “The fact that insects will eat you soon is not good at all. You wanted to have a comb, but now there are no combs, since many of us have been called again and they have bought everything. ("Red Star", USSR)

12/05/41: During the defeat near Rostov-on-Don, the German division of the SS "Viking" was captured by our units a large number of unsent letters from soldiers from the Nordland regiment. The letters say that even the elite Hitlerite thugs are extremely exhausted and long for a speedy return home. Soldier Karl writes home: "... If we could now get out of Russia, then for us there would be no greater joy, because staying here is suicide." Willy Franz complains: “... It is very cold in Russia, we all freeze. Our division has been here for 16 days. All this time we are starving - there is nothing to eat. They don't deliver anything to us. A few more words about the torment that lice cause us. My body was covered with wounds. Hurry home." Soldier Keller writes: "... We all have one thought, one password - home, to Germany." Lieutenant Getlich, in his letter to his family, admits that he was mistaken. Getlich hoped that the war would end soon, but now he was convinced that "the struggle would be very stubborn and cruel." Non-commissioned officer Boyme in his letter describes one of the many front-line days: “...Today we have hell. This has been going on for three days. The Russians shoot day and night. They are distinguished by unprecedented perseverance, every minute we expect death. (Sovinformburo)

NOVEMBER 1941:

11/21/41: Letters were found from German soldiers captured in the Mozhaisk direction of the front, which they did not have time to send. Soldier Simon Baumer writes home: “We are 100 kilometers from Moscow, but it cost us huge losses ... There will be more fierce battles, and many more will die. The Russians put up very strong resistance. If the war continues for another six months, we are lost.” Soldier Rudolf Rupp tells his mother: “The fighting is fierce and bloody, as the Russians defend themselves fiercely. Many of us will never see our homeland again.” Corporal Otto Salfinger, in his letter to his parents, complains about the incredible hardships and suffering that he endures, and concludes: “...Very little is left to Moscow. And yet it seems to me that we are infinitely far from it ... We have been marking time in one place for more than a month. How many of our soldiers lay down during this time! And if you collect the corpses of all the dead Germans in this war and put them shoulder to shoulder, then this endless tape will stretch, perhaps, to Berlin itself. We walk over German corpses and leave our wounded in the snowdrifts. Nobody thinks about them. The wounded is ballast. Today we walk over the corpses of those who fell ahead; tomorrow we will become corpses, and we will also be crushed by guns and caterpillars.” (Sovinformburo)

11/11/41: A letter from his father was found in the pocket of a German soldier. He wrote: “I don’t understand you, Hans. You write that in Ukraine they hate you, they shoot from behind every bush. It is necessary to explain well to these cattle, because you are freeing them from the Bolsheviks, maybe they did not understand you. ("Pravda", USSR)

10/29/41: Letter found with Lieutenant Gafn: “It was much easier in Paris. Do you remember those honeymoon days? The Russians turned out to be devils, we have to tie them up. At first I liked this fuss, but now that I'm all scratched and bitten, I do it easier - a gun at the temple, it cools the ardor.

A story unheard of in other places happened between us here: a Russian girl blew herself up and Lieutenant Gross. We now strip naked, search, and then ... After which they disappear without a trace in the camp.

Letter from soldier Heinz Müller: “Herta, dear and dear, I am writing to you last letter. You won't get anything else from me. I curse the day I was born a German. I am shocked by the pictures of the life of our army in Russia. Debauchery, robbery, violence, murders, murders and murders. Old people, women, children were exterminated. They just kill. That is why the Russians defend themselves so madly and bravely.

We want to exterminate an entire nation, but this is a fantasy, it will not come true. Our losses are gigantic. We have already lost the war. We can take one more, two large cities, but the Russians will destroy us, defeat us. I am against all this! Two hours later we are thrown into battle. If I survive from Russian bullets and shells, I will die with my mood from a German bullet. Farewell, Hertha! ("Red Star", USSR)

SEPTEMBER 1941:

09/23/41: General Guderian's adjutant Lieutenant Gorbakh was killed in the battles near Pogar. An unsent letter was found in the lieutenant's pocket. writes:

“You ask what I think about Russians. I can only say that their behavior during the battle is incomprehensible. Not to mention perseverance and cunning, the most remarkable thing about them is their incredible stubbornness. I myself saw how they did not move from their place under the strongest artillery fire. The gap was immediately filled with new rows. It sounds incredible, but I have seen it often with my own eyes. This is the product of a Bolshevik upbringing and a Bolshevik worldview. The life of an individual is nothing to them, they despise it "... ("Red Star", USSR)

09/21/41: Lieutenant Gorbakh - a staff officer under Guderian - wrote on August 21 that he would soon be in Moscow. “We will close the last ring around the Soviets beyond Moscow through Bryansk and Tula,” Gorbakh wrote to some “Mr. Director.” “You will obviously be surprised that I tell you everything so openly. But this is true, and when you receive this letter, everything I write about will become reality.

Reality cruelly deceived both Gorbakh and the "Mr. Director", and Guderian himself, who left up to 500 wrecked tanks near Bryansk. ("Red Star", USSR)

09/11/41: Letters and diaries of the soldiers of the fascist army themselves testify to the moral character of the fascist army ... German officers and soldiers cynically report in their letters about the executions of prisoners of war by the fascists, about the killings of civilians.

Albert Kreutzer wrote to Rudolf Kreutzer from the front from Lithuania on June 29, 1941: “Already after the first clash, we had one dead and five wounded. The next day, another one was killed by partisans, for which, however, we immediately shot seven Russians.

Non-commissioned officer Lange (field mail 325324) wrote to Gedi Beisler: “There was real bloodshed in Lvov ... Exactly the same in Tarnopol. None of the Jews survived." You can imagine that we had no remorse for them. What else happened I can't tell you."

“Our division no longer takes prisoners, and we shoot everyone who falls into our hands,” Lieutenant Zilbert Kuhn wrote to his wife Frida on July 9, 1941. “Believe me, everyone who gets in our way is shot: be it a civilian or a soldier, if he only seems suspicious to us.”

Max Gruber writes to Karl Seitzinger on July 8, 1941: “You cannot imagine what is going on here. Everything that we meet along the way is shot, because there have never been so many partisans as there are in Russia in Poland. You can imagine how we treat them: when we pass through some Russian village and they shoot at us, we shoot the whole village.” ("Izvestia", USSR)

AUGUST 1941:

08/23/41: And what "military secrets" are told in the diaries of the Nazi warriors? Many examples of this type of literature have already been cited in our press. In the records of fascist soldiers and officers, the impudent confidence in their “invincibility” from the very first days of the war gives way to bitter disappointment, confusion in the face of an unexpected crushing rebuff from the Red Army and the Soviet people. The utter surprise for the Nazis was the powerful strikes of Soviet aircraft and tanks, well-aimed fire from our artillery, Russian bayonet fighting, partisan bullets and grenades.

Here, for example, is the diary of a German officer killed at the front - the commander of the 2nd reconnaissance company of the 20th motorcycle rifle battalion of the 20th tank division. Already on July 4, it was written in the diary: "The difficulties of the campaign are monstrous." The following are the entries:

“July 6th. The enemy pushed back the 59th Infantry Regiment from here. Heavy Russian artillery fire.

July 19. Today, Russian bombers are on the move again. The situation is unclear, but critical.

26 July. Today the Russians have been advancing all day with heavy artillery fire. Continues until night. The tanks and the training brigade arrived at the last moment.

Entries in the diaries of Hitler's soldiers and officers more and more often reveal that their nerves are beginning to fail, that the horrific losses of the Nazi troops, the death of their best regiments and divisions, cause feelings of despondency and doom among the Nazis. The strong resistance of the Soviet troops and the huge losses of the Nazis are two topics that do not leave the pages of the diaries of Nazi soldiers and officers. ("Pravda", USSR)

08/20/41: Fascists love strong sensations. Books, theatre, cinema give only a surrogate for experiences. Is it a matter of approaching a Belarusian collective farmer, snatching a baby out of her hands, throwing him to the ground and listening, slowly twisting her mouth with a smile, how a woman screams and rushes towards him, helpless and safe, like a bird whose chick has been killed, and in the end when these cries of an impudent woman reached the nerves, poke her with a bayonet under the left nipple ... Or drag from the farm to the forest edge, where the tanks for refueling are located, a dozen and a half girls and women, order them - a German, with a hoarseness, a team, - strip naked, surround them, putting their hands in their pockets, winking and releasing bold words, disassemble them by seniority and rank, drag them into the forest and enjoy their desperate screams and weeping, and then waddling back to their tanks, lighting a cigarette and leaving, in order to subsequently write friends in Germany postcards about a funny adventure: "I must confess, Fritz, these damned girls in the end we got tired of their screams and scratching ...". Collective farmers later found them in the forest - some had their chests cut out, their heads broken, their throats cut ... ("Red Star", USSR)

08/09/41: His mother writes to soldier Gert Nigsche from Dresden on June 12: “Today I received flour ... I was also very glad to receive drying oil from you. After all, now we don’t have oil paint ... From the material that you sent, I will not sew a suit for myself ... ”.

His fiancee Lenchen Stenger from Dettingen writes to Sergeant-Major Siegfried Kpyrepy on June 13: “The fur coat has become wonderful, it was only a little dirty, but my mother cleaned it, and now it is very good ... Mom's shoes are just like poured. And the material on the dress is very good. I am also very pleased with stockings and other things as well. Kruger answers his mother in Dettingen on 28 June: "Very glad that the boots fit you, they are from Belgrade."

In an effort to kindle the dark, base instincts of the soldiers, the German command favors looting and provides "organizational assistance" to the robbers. Corporal Forster reported on July 9 to his wife in Neukirch Lausitz: "A special wagon was sent from here to Germany, and each of us could send something home ...". ("Pravda", USSR)

08/08/41: Why is this happening? Why are S.S., who shouted “To Moscow!” a month ago, now sending melancholic letters to the standing brides? Why, in the second month of the war against us, German soldiers are already keeping diaries full of despair, similar to the pages of Remarque's novel? Why do captured saboteurs suddenly fall to their knees and whimper, begging for life?... The time has come for a check. The executioners and spies failed the test. A person who is used to humiliating another is first of all a coward - he knows that he can be humiliated too. He either stands with a whip, or exposes his ass to the whip. The courage of our fighters is born of love for a free homeland, a sense of human dignity, an understanding of human solidarity. The Nazis yelled: “Long live the war!”, And when it came to real war, they began to sigh. We did not revel in the word "war", but our fighters fight simply, severely and seriously.

And in the head of a German soldier, the first thoughts are vaguely born. Here is a letter from soldier Franz: “Anna, I cannot sleep, although my whole body hurts from fatigue. For the hundredth time I ask myself - who wanted this? .. ”The soldier Franz was killed - there is a pale red spot on the sheet. But soon the other French will ask: "Who wanted this?" Perhaps Hitler will then call on his S.S. guards, murderers, thieves, molesters, to help. But the "knights of honor" will betray yesterday's idol. In the notebook of one murdered S.S., I found among the records of drinking parties and stages the following aphorism: “Together to rob, to die apart ...” (“Pravda”, USSR)

08/02/41: The letters of the SS men, selected, notorious fascist thugs from security detachments, were especially self-confident. One of these degenerates - a certain Ziege with cheeky impudence wrote on June 23 to Lie Ziege in Stuttgart: "I believe that the war with Russia will be over in 3 weeks." He was a little mistaken, this Hitlerian serpent. For him, "it's all over" was not in "three weeks", but much earlier. From a Red Army bullet in battle, he received three arshins of the coveted Russian land, and only his letter got to Moscow - a document of disgusting stupidity ...

Franz Weiger, a member of the SS security detachment, wrote to his friends in Purg Stahl, in the Niederdonau region: “I am proud to be able to participate in the fight against the Red Army. Don't be afraid for me, nothing will happen to me..." He hoped for an easy walk. The Red Army shut his arrogant throat.

Senior corporal Eduard Willy also gathered for a "military walk". In a letter that was never sent (field post No. 09201), he wrote on July 10 in the tone of a conqueror of the universe: "I expect to be in Kyiv on Sunday." Perhaps his assumption was justified and he managed to get to Kyiv at the appointed time, but, of course, not as a conqueror, but as a prisoner of war!

Days turn into days. The ranks of the Nazi armies are thinning under the blows of the Red Army. And gradually in the letters the puffy tone begins to subside. Between the lines you can already hear disturbing notes. Corporal Max Gruber (field post No. 00567), in a letter to senior corporal Karl Leitzinger, writes with apprehension that their armored division is passing through burned villages, that partisans are shooting in their backs everywhere.

But the idiotic self-confidence has not yet been broken - he still hopes to "be in Moscow in 10 days." The same Max Gruber, in a letter dated July 5 to his brother Sixtus Gruber in Munich, at Brüdershulstrasse 10, again promises to take Moscow in a few days, "after which, in his opinion, the war will be over. The fascist degenerate does not intend to linger, does not want to linger on the way to Moscow. He has very good reasons for that. He frankly and sadly tells his brother about them: “It is worse in Russia than in Poland. There is nothing to steal (!) here at all. Firstly, there is no time, and secondly, everything is burned.” ("Pravda", USSR)

07/30/41: Reuters transmits from Zurich a letter from a German soldier from the Eastern Front, transmitted by the Berlin correspondent of the Swiss newspaper Bund. “This war makes us absolutely wildly tired,” the soldier writes. “We yearn to spend at least an hour outside the noise of battle, we long to see at least a piece of the sun-drenched road that does not smell of burning or corpses. But all this is nothing compared to what you want pure water to drink and bathe. This is the worst war Germany has ever fought. This is a life-and-death war against soldiers who fight with desperate tenacity and do not retreat. ("Pravda", USSR)

Chief Corporal of the 119th Infantry Regiment Siegberg Mayer writes to his wife: “Our division has survived four difficult days. We had to endure terrible air attacks. This morning 10-15 Red bombers strafed us, and we already thought that our last hour had come. They appear 6-9 times a day.

More news: four guns of our regiment are disabled. All servants were taken prisoner by Russian infantrymen. 264 soldiers of our battalion were captured. We were given several tanks, since many of our units were already weakened by losses.

Here, in the east, is truly the greatest bloodshed that the world has ever seen. God grant that all of us who are still safe and sound are spared and that there are not too few of us left.

The letter of Chief Corporal Otto Geweiler is filled with the same despair: “We were met with real fire and I had to lie with my nose buried in the ground, and today one of us shot himself in the foot, as if by accident.” ("Red Star", USSR)

07/21/41: Hitler miscalculated. He counted on a lightning victory, but his elite divisions and tank corps had already been defeated, and he would not see victory as his own ears.

A very interesting letter from the German corporal Karl Herms to Germany to Oberleutnant Sander: “We gradually advanced into Russia. It didn't happen as soon as we first thought. We counted on a crappy 1,200 kilometers to Moscow for 10 days. We haven't even done half, and that's in 20 days. Suddenly - stop again. Russians came to reasonable thoughts and destroy numerous wooden bridges. The most unpleasant thing is the Russian pilots. How unpleasant! Corporal Karl Herms. Field mail 24/535. ("Pravda", USSR)