Warbird Information Exchange

Robbie Roberts wrote.........


"One of the most interesting stories out of those camps was about one of the German guards who had an Alsatian(like a larger German Shepard) guard dog. He let it get all riled up, and laughed as he set it loose in one of the Russian barracks, delighting in the thought of the Ivans being bitten. From fierce barking, it went to yelping: Very shortly, the yelping stopped. The guard waited a few minutes, and slunk away as he realized his dog no longer existed as such..."

My father who was an R.A.F. P.O.W. in many different camps often made comments on how the Russian P.O.W.'s were treated.

In a story similar to the one above he told me about Russian P.O.W.'s who were being unruly in their barracks. In order to quell the disturbance German guards inserted an Alsatian into their barrracks, again after a much yelping the door was flung open and the skin of the dog was thrown outside. The body being used for food.

Could well be the same one! Although I have no doubt it happened more than once.

(Of course there is the other story, about the Belgian officer at Colditz who kept a cat for many months, he getting thinner as the cat getting fatter... Then one day the cat disappeared, but the Belgian was very accepting of the loss. The reason for his acceptance was understood when the cat's pelt was found after the Belgians were removed from Colditz: At Pat Reid put it, "Seems the smile had been on the face of the tiger!")

Robbie

Is anywhere any direct source? I ask because I start work on Thunderstreak profiles, an order for publications, and there will be my great pleasure to include any machine flown by former WW2 ace.

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What I remember from the Blonde Knight is that Hartmann might have been able to survive the 104 scandal but due to an incident from the war and a general lack of political skills he did not. During the war he was assigned to escort a recon mission. The recon pilot turned back with "mechanical" issues but Hartmann continued on and got the information anyway. That pilot joined the new Luftwaffe before Hartmann and pulled some beaureaucratic b.s. that really sank Hartmann's post war career.

As for Galland he probably was as professional and apolitical as could be and certainly more interested in the truth than propaganda. He wanted to join the new Luftwaffe but due to his high wartime rank and perceived association with the Nazi elite his interest was never acknowledged. I read too that other officers who joined early on also did what they could to prevent his joining. Probably to prevent him from outshing them. Don't forget that post war Galland left Germany for a while for Spain and I believe Argentina as did numerous more odious Nazis. Appearances counted for a lot in 1950s West Germany. I don't believe there were a lot of ex generals, no matter how young, allowed to join.

As for Rudel he was apparently an unapologetic Nazi through and through and traded on his association with the Nazi elite throughout his life.

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"I can't understand it, I cut it twice and it's still too short!" Robert F. Dupre' 1923-2010 Go With God.

After the U.S. Civil War , Confederate generals were not allowed to rejoin the U.S. military. One notable exception was General Joe Wheeler from Alabama. A general in the Confederacy he later became a U.S. Senator and was commissioned as a U.S. General for the Spanish American War . He's one of the guys that made T.R. look good in Cuba.
As for Galland, don't feel sorry for him not rejoining the post war Luftwaffe. He made a large fortune after the war and lived quite luxuriously.

Don't forget Henry Kidd Douglas, Stonewall Jackson's chief staff. He was the Adjutant General of the State of Maryland for many years after the Civil War, along with a large bevy of former Confederate officers who joined him. The Union veteran officers were gradually eased out of the post-reconstruction Maryland National Guard.

Yeah, politics is crap, but don't forget that it's the politicians who pick and swear in the generals, not the other way around. Germany was always a very political state, and getting behind the wrong elements meant the end of your career. It's a shame that the somewhat a-political Luftwaffe didn't totally flesh out its forces with the incredibly experienced, war-tested airmen who survived the war. But the price (and result) of politics is often mediocrity.

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