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#304
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ishallsmiteyou (07/15/2013) [-] In my great grandfather's diary (He was a Nazi official 1938-1945), I found a passage dated the 25th of September, 1944, saying "So many dead. Bodies everywhere, some so mangled that that you can't tell if they're British or German. There were just so many Brits... They just kept coming, no matter how much flak we threw at them. I've seen the Brits fight all over the world, but these people, the "Red Devils", were something else. So many of them coming down on parachutes in an air armada so thick it eclipsed the sun. And they're all dead... The only ones left alive are the ones that didn't jump. Oh god, the stench, that Godawful stench. So many rotting bodies, and too much fighting to even dispose of them. The horrors I have seen today alone are far greater than those I have witnessed in the last 6 years of my fighting; never before have I witnessed such a massacre. Please, God, make it stop... Make it stop..."
The rest of the entry was just "Make it stop..." over and over and over. He ended up going nearly insane after Operation Market Garden, but he was recuperated by the time of the last stand for Berlin, which he took some part in leading.
TL; DR: My grandfather not only saw the reality of war first hand, he helped create it, and never really got over what he had done.
The rest of the entry was just "Make it stop..." over and over and over. He ended up going nearly insane after Operation Market Garden, but he was recuperated by the time of the last stand for Berlin, which he took some part in leading.
TL; DR: My grandfather not only saw the reality of war first hand, he helped create it, and never really got over what he had done.
#352 to #304
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anonymous (07/15/2013) [-]
Respect to you and your Grandfather, he fought in the most bloodiest war the world has ever seen. My Grandfather just passed on Friday, he was a WWII veteran who fought for the Red Army during that time. At that time, he didnt understand why he had to fight but before passing on his death bed hours before his departing...he told me everything. He told me about his brutal training, the friends he made and lost, including the battles he fought in...my Grandfather even fought during the Siege of Stalingrad. He too went insane for a little pit before healing. After the war he came to the US and married an American, my Grandmother, and eventually my generation showed up. Even though the Russians and Germans were enemies, I think both of our Grandfathers would have been good friends and learned from their mistakes. Thank you for letting me share this Mr. Ishallsmiteyou.
#365 to #353
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anonymous (07/15/2013) [-]
Thank you sir, he would have appreciated that but at his age and what he went through, I think he would have said " **** off" in Russian. He never really meant it, it was just from the things he saw that made him think of another meaning of hell. During our conversation of Stalingrad, I asked him how many Nazis(He never said Germans because he knew all of them were not involved) he killed... he said he stopped counting after he had to swim through the trenches and mortar holes that were filled with blood...Years before he passed away, he even took me to the city that use to be Stalingrad and showed me where he fought, where he lost a friend, and the spots he took position in. Most of the buildings are gone now and he said the best place to be a sniper, (I didn't believe it at first until he showed me his rifle he used all the way through the war...its really worn down, I want to try and restore it), was in a building but at the same time it was the worst.
#375 to #374
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trevanman (07/16/2013) [-]
whoah...wait.
I bought two books last year in Stralsund (northeast Germany)
one of them is a copy of "Streit und Friede" from 1843 and written in old german. (gothic) it's really hard to read.
the other is a copy of Beowulf from 1918 and written in either Icelandic or old nordic. (I'm gonna go with Icelandic)
You'll be fine as long as you're careful with it. Don't eat anything when you work with it and wash your hands before you touch it. That way you should be fine.
Nobody really likes to brag about such a family's past. But hey; my great-grandfathers fought in the war as well. Just not as Nazi officials. The father of my granddad on my dad's side had been in on most of the action, I believe. I think he had been in the army from the invasion of Norway until his capture by the Soviets and was lieutenant or something. (he became mayor of the town he settled down in. and more or less built his own house. the house is still in the family)
The other; my grandmother's father on my father's side (yeah, pretty much my german side) was a corporal and had to defend against the Soviets until he got captured by them. Probably because he got hit by some shrapnel from a Soviet grenade. Some of those shrapnel pieces got out, others remained in his leg. The man never fully recovered from it.
I don't know what exactly happened, because it's awkward to ask and my family doesn't want to speak of it.
Anything interesting from WWI next?
I bought two books last year in Stralsund (northeast Germany)
one of them is a copy of "Streit und Friede" from 1843 and written in old german. (gothic) it's really hard to read.
the other is a copy of Beowulf from 1918 and written in either Icelandic or old nordic. (I'm gonna go with Icelandic)
You'll be fine as long as you're careful with it. Don't eat anything when you work with it and wash your hands before you touch it. That way you should be fine.
Nobody really likes to brag about such a family's past. But hey; my great-grandfathers fought in the war as well. Just not as Nazi officials. The father of my granddad on my dad's side had been in on most of the action, I believe. I think he had been in the army from the invasion of Norway until his capture by the Soviets and was lieutenant or something. (he became mayor of the town he settled down in. and more or less built his own house. the house is still in the family)
The other; my grandmother's father on my father's side (yeah, pretty much my german side) was a corporal and had to defend against the Soviets until he got captured by them. Probably because he got hit by some shrapnel from a Soviet grenade. Some of those shrapnel pieces got out, others remained in his leg. The man never fully recovered from it.
I don't know what exactly happened, because it's awkward to ask and my family doesn't want to speak of it.
Anything interesting from WWI next?
