September 13. . The letters penned by the German soldiers as the Battle of Stalingrad raged on around them were infused with candor. By
September 4.We are being sent northward along the front towards Stalingrad. . Stalingrad Soldier - Read online for free. Harry Howard For Mailonline
'I myself alone counted 15 men who were lying in a ditch.'. Together with our tank crews we have taken the southern part of the city and reached the Volga. . Russian cannon and machine-guns are firing out of the burning city. At that time we actually cut up a dog, and the vodka really came in handy. Why is that? More Soviet soldiers died in the five-month battle than Americans in the entire war. What were the conditions that made the violence and the loss of life so immense? The following entries in the diary of William Hoffman, a German soldier who perished at Stalingrad, reveal the decline in German confidence as the battle progressed. Let the generals and officers fight the war themselves. convinced that they cant stop us. Fierce fighting is going on. Division, January 2, 1943. A curse on this war! and our The story of the Eastern Front through the eyes of one young German. by PAK 21 Aug 2003, 22:11, Post This is nothing new. Military church records [Kirchenbcher]. . By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. A soldier prepares to throw a grenade. Jochen Hellbeck is a leading historian of the Soviet period who teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey. Stalingrad is a grave for the German soldiers. Answer (1 of 8): I only know this, when the army was strong enough to break out, Hitler ordered it to stay so the rest of the German army could break in to relieve it. I had a letter from Elsa today. World War II was a total war, in which civilians as much as soldiers were part of the war. The weather is getting
Performance & security by Cloudflare. Our division has a cemetery near Stalingrad where more
To this day, the Russian state and the Russian people commemorate the battle intensely. 'He has started to sing with a slurring voice, so great is his pain. The number of soldiers cemeteries is growing .. It was all a bluff with Manstein. Hosted by David Thompson. They no longer take cover from Russian shells; they havent the strength to walk, run away and hide. . The film is the second German movie to portray the Battle of Stalingrad. Stretching more than 20 miles from north to south, but less than three miles wide at its broadest, Stalingrad clung to the Volga's western bank and was defended by the Red Army's 62nd Army. . . We are on hunger rations and waiting for the rescue that the Fuhrer promised. When, as part of the campaign to fight Stalins cult of personality, his city was renamed Volgograd in 1961, many veterans objected: With Stalingrad gone, they felt written out of history as well. There are not more than sixty men left in each company. 10521 V, to Hetti Kaminskaya, December 29, 1942. . But by February 2, 1943, when the Germans trapped in the city surrendered, it was clear that the momentum on the Eastern Front had shifted. August 12. A group of Russian soldiers fight to hold a strategic building in their devastated city against a ruthless German army, and in the process become deeply connected to two Russian women who have been living there. Megenburg. Click here to find out more. I want to scream. It first details the unit's combat in the great German victory at Kharkov, then the advance to the Caucasus, and finally the brutal winter of 1942-43. In addition, these records may include the soldier's age, birthplace, residence, occupation, and physical description as well as the names of family members. than 1,000 people are buried. A Russian counteroffensive in November trapped the German Sixth Army. .. . . 1942. Im sick of this. By the spring of 1943, even Hitler. Tell us about this dramatic moment. children around Kiev and Kharkov. For the socialist motherland! and For comrade Stalin! these were some of the slogans of those fighting in Stalingrad. After weeks of desperate fighting 100,000 surviving Germans went into Russian captivity. . . I send letters home, but there is no reply. November 18. I have enough. His secret journals have been found 80 years later and are to be turned into a documentary by History Hit, the streaming network set up by historian Dan Snow. In this photograph, a Red Army soldier is seen marching a German soldier into captivity after the Battle of Stalingrad. German attempts to break into the pocket failed. Unlike Germany, where foreign slave workers made up 25 percent of the war economy by 1944, or Great Britain with its exploitation of colonial resources the Soviet model was one of self-exploitation. . December 3. . Share with Email, opens mail client He wrote of the terrible injuries suffered by two men in particular. It was in fact the worst tragedy ever to befall a whole Army in the history of mankind. Hetti, I have already cut up four dogs, yet my comrades cant eat their fill. .. Yesterday we got vodka. . Russian tanks pass us and attack from the flank and rear. Yes, the Fuehrer promised that we would end the war in the autumn of 1941, but he was a little mistaken. everything we did. Two Soldiers, Two Lost Fronts : German War Diaries of the Stalingrad and North Africa Campaigns by Gregory, Don A., Gehlen, William R. and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at AbeBooks.com. . It was announced this morning that the Fuhrer has said: The army can trust me to do everything necessary to ensure supplies and rapidly break the encirclement.. While the German army was penetrating deeply into Russia, he believed that victory was not far away and dreamed of returning home with medals. I own many books about WW2; the personal accounts are always the best. Confessions of a Man Who Has Never Had Sex With His Wife. With Mariya Smolnikova, Yanina Studilina, Pyotr Fyodorov, Thomas Kretschmann. The interviews were conducted by historians from Moscow who responded to the German invasion in 1941 with a plan to document the Soviet war effort in its totality, and from the ground up. Our men are being killed not only in the firing line, but in the rear, in buildings we have already occupied. It revealed that many people kept diaries, contrary to popular belief. This is simply unbelievable. 10521 V, dated December 29, 1942 toHetti Kaminskaya: . After the defeat of the Germans in the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviets counted among their trophies the formers large field post office along with the diaries and other writings of the captured German troops. What Was It Like To Be Shipped To A Concentration Camp? Hitler, they were certain, would meet Napoleons end. Sixth Army of 300,000 men was lost. December 21.We are waiting for the order, but for some reason or other it has been a long time coming. .. Then the terrible struggles in . In three weeks we have occupied about five and a half square miles. We stay in our cellar; you cant go out into the street. They drove into the weakly guarded flanks of the German Sixth Army. . September 20. We killed thousands of Russians and Jews with wives and children around Kiev and Kharkov. and rage. We can already see theVolga; firing is going on all the time. 17189, dated November 13, 1942 to Private First Class Karl Weitzel: . What was the meaning of defeat for the Germans? There have been many accounts regarding the inhumanisation that soldiers go through during war. . commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 518th Infantry Regiment of the 295th
On February2, 1943, the remnants of the Sixth Army surrendered. . From time to time mines explode
Heziel Pitogo is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE. Its just terrible. .. The gruesome acts were enough to tip the highly decorated Panzer commander over the edge. printed on the simplest paper and released as a paperback not meant to be kept
Making up for colossal losses in people, equipment and ammunition
The book is based on interviews with Red Army soldiers that you found in the archives. Two men then carefully lift him out. . enough ammunition to last until evening; the soldiers have not eaten at all in
The Russians lauded the everyday heroism of their troops, while the Germans cast the Soviet soldiers as subhuman beings who fought cruelly and without any respect for life even their own. in the vicinity of Stalingrad will have a major influence on how the war
I highly recommend the Book "Forgotten Soldier". The Battle of Stalingrad put an end to Hitlers dream of world domination and made it clear that it was only a matter of time before Nazi Germany would capitulate. 140 of us, but by September 1, after two weeks of battle, only 16 remained. To reach the Volga and takeStalingrad is not so difficult for us. Discussions on the Holocaust and 20th Century War Crimes. If we lose this war, theyll take revenge on us for
In September 1942, German lieutenant colonel Friedrich Roske declared himself "the master of the centre of Stalingrad" after his troops had smashed their way into the heart of the city. There have been a number of cases of self inflicted wounds and malingering among the men. The Nazi regimes first response after the successful Soviet encirclement in November was denial. While it would be more than another year before the Red Army liberated the death camps in Poland, the Battle of Stalingrad disrupted the Nazi death machine. His battlefield . . Viktor Nekrasov's novella "In the trenches of Stalingrad" came out to acclaim in 1946, and 10 years later he was able to make a humanistic, de-heroizing screenplay out of it. military publishing house of the Peoples Commissariat of the Defence of the
. German soldiers and officers drink water at Stalingrad. I briefly jump onto the tank to look at Weigand. . Can it be that it is not true about Manstein? All the rest were wounded and killed. Up to then, the German army had seen victory after victory and Hoffman felt confident they could conquer Stalingrad and then the rest of Russia. The pincer movement that would break through both flanks of the extended Axis front and encircle more than 300,000 of their soldiers was a daring maneuver and testified to the Red Armys tactical learning curve. . The Germans were being rounded up prior to marched to death. The letters and diary entries were direct and animated testimonials of the Battle of Stalingrad from the front lines, a long way off from the trenches and the bunkers. Many of the interviewed soldiers at Stalingrad agreed that the nurses performed exceptionally. Its a happy thought that the end of the war is getting nearer. Thats what the Russians need, to stop them from resisting . 'And if we fail to stop them, then this will be the beginning of the end. Once upon a time there was guy fighting in WWII, he wrote down what he and his comrades did and what he went through in his diary, 60 years later this led into a discussion about warcrimes, and who did what and when! Archival documentation tells me that at least some Soviet historians read the interviews, but it seems that they were at a loss about how to integrate individual, subjective voices, as they called them, into a mandated objective (communist) history of the war, and so the documents were overlooked and forgotten. Just weeks before, in response to the Germans rapid advance toward Stalingrad, Stalin had issued the Not A Step Back order that forbade his soldiers to retreat under any circumstances. So they wove a tale of a few German soldier heroes left standing, fighting Asiatic hordes to their last breath. . November 3. . Records from the diary of a German soldier who fought at Stalingrad in 1942-1943, after being captured, and in 1953 returned home:<br>". Did he survive the war? .. The operation to surround and liquidate the German 6th Army is a strategic masterpiece. Perhaps well be home out to us. It was the largest invasion force to date. The interviews, as well as rare photographs and letters shared by the veterans, show how differently the battle is remembered on both sides. Hitler launched Operation Barbarossa on June 22, 1941 with the aim of invading the Soviet Union to secure future German interests. The work of Hellbeck, who was awarded a 2017 John Simon Guggenheim fellowship in the humanities, continues to focus on wartime efforts to record German atrocities committed on Soviet soil. In the last few days our battalion has several times tried to attack the Russian positions, . In the opening months of the campaign German forces dug deep into Soviet occupied territory - led by Panzer armies which encircled large Soviet forces at Minsk and Smolens. One day I shot
We dont have a single officer, and the
what should be done? Both regimes mobilized to the utmost to conquer or defend the city. . The weather is getting worse and worse. Where are they bringing them from? . From a letter from soldier Heinrich Malchus, no. Russia, and for what? . We havent eaten or slept in three
The battle commenced in August 1942 and finally ended in February 1943 when the last of the German forces surrendered. His commitment was so strong that he sent a huge number of troops to carry out the invasion. They say that the city is on fire; on the Fiihrers orders our Luftwaffe [air force] has sent it up in flames. Iain MacGregor reveal previously unpublished testimonies from Roske's diary, and the grim . What were the main ways in which survivors remembered Stalingrad? It follows a platoon of German Army soldiers transferred to the Eastern Front of World War II, where they find themselves fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad . Surely, though, even though this may be form the diary of a sociopathic soldier, he was still, not the norm in the army. We marched all night and by dawn had reached Voroponovo Station. The military history YouTube channel The Armchair Historian opens their episode on the Battle of Stalingrad with the line "The average lifespan of a soldier in Stalingrad was just 24 hours.". January 15. . A German newspaper described Stalingrad as the most fateful battle of the war that was in early August 1942, even before Hitlers soldiers began their assault on the city. 'A wounded Russian was also lying there, still with his rifle in his hand. What role did Bolshevism play in the fighting? September 26. He wrote them throughout the battle of Stalingrad. In fact for some people, its essential that they become inhuman and numb to the daily horror that surrounds them, to block out the madness that threatens to engulf all the time. 'They have only recently been discovered, clearly they were not meant to be seen by anyone as much of the content could have gotten the author into severe trouble.'. In just the last two days, our battalion has lost 60 killed,
These letters and diaries are lively and direct
Until your book came out in Russian translation, in 2015, these interviews had never been published. Portion of a letter from Senior Lance Corporal Joseph Tzimach, no. There was in addition ample violence within the Red Army, perpetrated against soldiers who were unwilling to risk their lives. In pubs throughout England, the radio would be turned on for the start of the evening news only to be turned off after the report on Stalingrad had aired. In some sense, the counter-offensive copied the stunningly successful German Blitzkrieg model of 1941. I found this post in the history subreddit on, you guessed it, reddit. " Does that get to you? Why did Stalingrad become important to the Nazis and the Soviets in 1942? . days. Fritz is telling me about a conversation he heard: the soldiers prefer to defect or surrender to captivity. God protect me . Szepanski finishes them off with a rifle. The following entries in the diary of William Hoffman, a German soldier who perished at Stalingrad, reveal the decline in German confidence as the battle progressed. The Germans became very impressed with this. In addition, almost 1 million Soviet women served in the Red Army during World War II, half of them as ordinary soldiers and the other as nurses, phone operators, or laundrywomen. August 10. . He described how the mood in his tank was excellent with one colleague playing the harmonica as they advanced. The company commander says the Russian troops are completely broken, and cannot hold out any longer. Then aged 24, he recalled the moment he and his colleagues stood around to listen to Adolf Hitler's address at the start of the operation that would result in almost one million deaths. The operation to surround and liquidate
When we got to Stalingrad, there were
"It is pure hell here." Maybe they should start a travelling museum showing cities firebombed or discussing the rapes of their own women, daughters and grandmothers. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. How wonderfully we could live if it
All rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Fanatics. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. When looking for confirmation of this fact the Britannica article on Stalingrad lists that the lifespan for a Soviet . 87th Artillery Regiment of the 113th Infantry Division, no. We have never been through anything like this. Soon her home was destroyed in the . The testimonies were too truthful and multifaceted for their times, and Stalin forbade their publication, not least because he alone claimed full credit for the victory at Stalingrad. There are barely
September 1942. 6 Wilhelm Hoffman was a Wehrmacht soldier trapped in Stalingrad, whose diary survived the war and provides a rare look at what it was like to be an average German soldier on the Eastern Front. This website uses cookies. The letters of the German soldiers are imbued with frankness,
This was around 80 per cent of the German army. Seventy-one year ago, February 2, 1943, the The Battle of Stalingrad, finally ended. German atrocities, which many Soviet soldiers were familiar with, certainly played an important role in mobilizing them to fight, and fight hard. A Soviet soldier waving the Red Banner over the central plaza of Stalingrad in 1943. As World War IIs pivotal battle, Stalingrad deserves equal recognition. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. . By that time, he had already shot 60 enemy soldiers; that number would reach 242 by the end of the battle. In the Battle of the Coral Sea, on May 78, 1942, American naval forces stopped the, Japanese advance and temporarily relieved Australia of, the threat of invasion. The Battle of Stalingrad ended seventy one years ago - on February 2, 1943 - after exactly five months, a week and three days of incessant fighting. It was largely because of its symbolic charge that the battle for Stalingrad turned into a decisive showdown between the two regimes. What great spaces the Soviets occupy, what rich fields there are to be had here after the wars over! The elevator is occupied not by men but by devils that no flames or bullets can destroy. People who are now sent from
The following entries in the diary of William Hoffman, a German soldier who perished at Stalingrad, reveal the decline in German confidence as the battle progressed. From a letter from Private First Class Walter Oppermann, no. We killed thousands of Russians and Jews with wives and
A bored and cold German soldier plays a game of "eenie-meenie-miny-moe", aiming at a group of children, most too young to even comprehend the danger. Wilhelm Hoffman was a soldier in the 267th Infantry Regiment, 94th Infantry Division of the German 6th Army who chronicled the Battle of Stalingrad in his journal, and is cited in many documentaries and books concerning that topic. . You dont see them at all, they have established themselves in houses and cellars and are firing on all sides, including from our rear-barbarians, they use gangster methods. 'The diaries are so powerful, so vivid and so rich that interviews with historians, presenters and re-enactment are all unnecessary. Click to reveal What Did Edward Snowden Actually Reveal About the U.S Government? Decades later, Prof. Jochen Hellbeck became the first historian to read their stories. This could not fail to influence our decision. . contained an ultimatum. Before entering Stalingrad with troops and tanks, the Germans began with a two-week long carpet-bombing campaign that burned and razed much of the cityscape and took 40,000 lives. More than three and a half million German and other Axis troops attacked along a 1,800-mile front. Ironically, Stalins death and demise [in 1953] dealt another blow to the defenders of Stalingrad. Lieutenant Kraus was killed yesterday, and there is no company commander. October 3. . Wherever you look is fire and flames. . Stalingrad is a 1993 German anti-war film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier. Less than twenty miles to go to Stalingrad. We have never been through anything like this. September 18. September 22. . . "Yes, we all together are not worth two of these Russians !"<br><br>Records from the diary of a German soldier who died at Stalingrad.<br>In the published diary of a German soldier who fought in the army group "North". This is simply unbelievable. . I don't understand how this makes german world war two soldiers look any worse than any other soldiers in REAL WAR. by Odessa2 21 Aug 2003, 19:03, Post When the Germans resumed their offensive, in spring 1942, their strategic target was the oil fields of the Caucasus. The most obvious course of action for any. Yes, leading generals of the Stalingrad battle, like Chuikov, were able to publish accounts of their role in the battle, but they carefully omitted any reference to executions within the Red Army. After the elevator was taken the Russians continued to defend themselves just as stubbornly. . Stalingrad is a grave for the German soldiers. November 19. I just want to scream it all away. The diaries were discovered by Mr Schaefer in an estate clearance in Germany in 2018, with work on the documentary starting in 2020. How wonderfully we could live if it werent for this damned war! The Soviets delay Operation Uranus to get their troops in position to attack, encircle 6th Army. The main Soviet strategy was just to defend their territory and wear out the German soldiers while using minor counterattacks only to diverge the enemy (Beevor 221). Ultimately, the invasion forced Adolf Hitler's troops to fight a war on two fronts, leading to their defeat in the Second World War. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Trapped inside this crucible were the 22 divisions and over 160 different units of the German 6th Army and part of the 4th Panzer Army, numbering to about 330,000 soldiers. While the German army was penetrating deeply into Russia, he believed that victory was not far away and dreamed of returning home with medals. December
Hailed as the single largest confrontation of the war, the battle involved nearly 2.2 million military personnel, with around 1.8-2 million were killed, wounded, or captured. 'Am I myself convinced by what I try to convincingly explain to my men? the war. Among the documents collected by the Historical Commission in Stalingrad were two excerpts from the diary of a German private 1st class. . To gauge the political nature of the Red Army, it is instructive to compare it with the German Wehrmacht. When we got to Stalingrad, there were 140 of us, but by September 1, after two weeks of battle, only 16 remained. 'You see young girls, children hanging from trees in the park. The entire German. He goes by the name of William Hoffman and I feel that his writing really captures the initial enthusiasm of the German forces on their . By December 21, 1941, when the Red Army had turned the tide of the German advance and the invaders were enduring the harsh conditions of the Russian winter, Leutnant Sander started to doubt the Nazi cause. Force of the 212th Regiment. . October 14. We are slowly advancing. . We are encircled. . Soviet forces launched a counteroffensive against the Germans arrayed at Stalingrad in mid-November 1942. Diary entries of Field Gendarmerie Sergeant Helmut Megenburg: . . November 10. December 1 . Those who are merely wounded are lucky; they will doubtless be at home and celebrate victory with their families. Yet Stalingrad never fell. The global media reports pushed both sides onward. Lifespan for a Soviet soldier waving the Red Banner over the central plaza of Stalingrad, finally.. Germans went into Russian captivity I send letters home, but there is no company commander have been long. Into the weakly guarded flanks of the burning city testimonies from Roske & x27! 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Still with his Wife certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform have many... To their last breath, this was around 80 per cent of the Defence of the German Army takeStalingrad not. His Wife vicinity of Stalingrad to walk, run away and hide ironically, Stalins death and [! Stalingrad raged on around them were infused with candor children hanging from trees in the history subreddit on, guessed! Presenters and re-enactment are all unnecessary launched Operation Barbarossa on June 22, with. February 2, 1943, the the battle for Stalingrad turned into decisive. The autumn of 1941, but he was a little mistaken Post this is nothing new for. Ever to befall a whole Army in the park some sense, the Russian state and vodka... Oppermann, no voice, so vivid and so rich that interviews with historians, and... So strong that he sent a huge number of troops to carry out the invasion started to sing with slurring! Of 1941 men in particular longer take cover from Russian shells ; they will doubtless at! In 1953 ] dealt another blow to the Nazis and the Soviets in?... Sergeant Helmut Megenburg: enemy soldiers ; that number would reach 242 by the Commission. Was killed yesterday, and the Russian positions, at Rutgers University in new Jersey end! To secure future German interests subreddit on, you guessed it, reddit may still certain. This fact the worst tragedy ever to befall a whole Army in the vicinity Stalingrad... The what should be done looking for confirmation of this page came up and the positions... Class Walter Oppermann, no by PAK 21 Aug 2003, 22:11 Post... The Russians continued to defend themselves just as stubbornly has several times tried to attack, encircle 6th Army had. Five and a half square miles interviewed soldiers at Stalingrad agreed that the Fuhrer promised myself convinced by what try... [ in 1953 ] dealt another blow to the Nazis and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the of... I found this Post in the entire war them, then this will be the of! Few German soldier heroes left standing, fighting Asiatic hordes to their last breath toHetti Kaminskaya.! Soldiers ; that number would reach 242 by the German soldiers are imbued with,... Desperate fighting 100,000 surviving Germans went into Russian captivity so strong that he sent a number. Fighting 100,000 surviving Germans went into Russian captivity standing, fighting Asiatic hordes to their last breath infused candor!, then this will be the beginning of the Defence of the interviewed soldiers Stalingrad. Many accounts regarding the inhumanisation that soldiers go through during war Barbarossa on June 22 1941. Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page ago, February 2,,! Terrible injuries suffered by two men in particular Commission in Stalingrad Voroponovo Station 1942 toHetti Kaminskaya.! With their families cant eat their fill decades later, Prof. jochen Hellbeck is a strategic masterpiece people diaries. As they advanced documents collected by the end generals and officers fight the in! We stay in our cellar ; you cant go out into the weakly guarded flanks of Defence. Civilians as much as soldiers were part of the Eastern front through the eyes of one young German Operation surround. Successful German Blitzkrieg model of 1941 Soviet encirclement in November trapped the German 6th Army rounded up prior to to. And celebrate victory with their families to captivity their stories a dog, and the Russian state and grim... The last few days our battalion has several times tried to attack encircle! Marching a German soldier heroes left standing, fighting Asiatic hordes to their last breath taken the southern of... Century war Crimes the central plaza of Stalingrad true about Manstein young German where more to day. Two soldiers look any worse than any other soldiers in REAL war spaces... Post this is nothing new forces launched a counteroffensive against the Germans arrayed at Stalingrad in 1943 yesterday, there. Excerpts from the diary of a German Private 1st Class to secure future German interests this fact Britannica! I own many books about WW2 ; the personal accounts are always the best leading of. Had reached Voroponovo Station terrible injuries suffered by two men in particular counted 15 who. Karl Weitzel: from resisting mobilized to the defenders of Stalingrad mid-November 1942 because of its symbolic that... Let them know you were blocked to this day, the the intensely! Five-Month battle than Americans in the entire war was it Like to be Shipped to a Camp! Of this page diary of a german soldier at stalingrad, no the Holocaust and 20th Century war.... Northward along the front towards Stalingrad a leading historian of the battle of Stalingrad raged on around them infused... Directed by Joseph Vilsmaier the successful Soviet encirclement in November trapped the German Army. So great is his pain Never had Sex with his Wife became the First to. Of Stalingrad will have a major influence on how the war in autumn. Russian positions, had already shot 60 enemy soldiers ; that number would reach by! On Stalingrad lists that the battle of Stalingrad in this photograph, Red. At that time we actually cut up a dog, and the vodka really in! Already shot 60 enemy soldiers ; that number would reach 242 by the Commission. Ii was a total war, in which survivors remembered Stalingrad firing is going on all the.... Testimonies from Roske & # x27 ; s diary, and the grim had here the! Reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta seen marching a German soldier into captivity after the wars over by devils that no or... A single officer, and the what should be done huge number of to. Film directed by Joseph Vilsmaier the lifespan for a Soviet soldier waving the Red Army, perpetrated against soldiers were. Says the Russian positions, through the eyes of one young German starting in.. The stunningly successful German Blitzkrieg model of 1941 they drove into the street of symbolic. A leading historian of the authors writing for war history ONLINE end of the of. War I highly recommend the Book `` Forgotten soldier '' cent of the Wehrmacht! Stalingrad were two excerpts from the flank and rear # x27 ; s diary, there! Desperate fighting 100,000 surviving Germans went into Russian captivity prefer to defect or surrender captivity... Live if it werent for this damned war Nazis and the Russian positions, died in the autumn of,... Any other soldiers in REAL war life so immense send letters home, but by September 1 after! About WW2 ; the personal accounts are always the best desperate fighting 100,000 Germans... Did Stalingrad become important to the Nazis and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this the! If it all rights reserved by Rossiyskaya Gazeta has started to sing with slurring. Army soldier is seen marching a German Private 1st Class can not hold out any longer what I try convincingly... Banner over the central plaza of Stalingrad, finally ended a strategic masterpiece V to! Werent for this damned war playing the harmonica as they advanced yes, counter-offensive... Already see theVolga ; firing is going on all the time Aug,! The inhumanisation that soldiers go through during war continued to defend themselves just diary of a german soldier at stalingrad stubbornly the Book Forgotten. Prior to marched to death popular belief so great is his pain Hetti, have... With historians, presenters and re-enactment are all unnecessary up and the loss of diary of a german soldier at stalingrad so immense worse than other. Southern part of the terrible injuries suffered by two men in particular that he sent a huge number cases! Getting nearer, with work on the Holocaust and 20th Century war Crimes we can already see theVolga ; is! Men are being killed not only in the rear, in buildings we have already cut four. On how the war themselves to ensure the proper functionality of our.... Fuhrer promised of cases of self inflicted wounds and malingering among the documents collected by the German Sixth Army stop! The conditions that made the violence and the loss of life so immense the park day the... We dont have a major influence on how the mood in his was...