Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
Hey everyone,
I hope you are all doing well.
Yesterday, I have uploaded this weekâs video, German Newsweek No. 729. Its âonlyâ a re-upload, but it has a way higher quality then the version previously uploaded, so go ahead and give it a watch if you havenât already.
I also want to give you a small reminder that Iâm doing a Q&A for the 2nd anniversary of this channel, which was last Sunday. I have already recorded most of the questions, but Iâm still not finished, so if you have anything you want to ask me, feel free to drop it in the comments below!
This brings us to the main point of this post, itâs another poll for next weekâs video. I havenât done a poll in quite some time, so I thought it would be nice to do one again.
The possible choices this time are five Newsweek episodes from late 1944- as you may know, this is my favorite period of the war, and therefore I kind of wanted to do one from that timeframe. You can choose between an episode from mid-October, one from early and one from late November, or two episodes from the first two weeks of December.
As usual, just vote for the one you want to see the most, and I will upload it next weekend. You can find more information about the episodes in the pinned comment.
Thatâs all for today, wishing you all a good Sunday and a great start into the new week!
174 - 22
Hey everyone,
I hope you are doing well.
Today, I have a small video recommendation for you. Panzer Productions is one of my Patreon supporters, and he recently showed me this hidden gem.
It's a 1944 Romanian newsreel about the defense against American bombers, and includes scenes of a Romanian control center, Romanian Bf-109 taking off, AA-guns firing, gun camera footage and footage of downed American planes.
The video has English subtitles, so I would definitly recommend checking it out, its worth watching.
Thats all for today, wishing you all a great start into the new week!
19 - 0
Hey everyone,
I hope you are doing well.
This is just a small reminder that I actually have playlists containing all of the stuff I have translated in chronological order. I say this because I often receive comments that indicate to me that some of you are not aware of that. In particular, I sometimes get comments where people ask me to translate a specific Newsweek episode which I have already translated.
So this is just a small reminder to go check out my playlists (if you want), especially before asking me to translate something hat I have already uploaded^^
Here is a link to my playlists, they are all in chronological order: youtube.com/@GermanWWIIArchive/playlists
Wishing you all a good start into the new week!
462 - 19
Hey everyone,
I hope you are doing well.
A few days ago, I wrote a community post about a change in the tradition decree of the Bundeswehr, the modern-day German Army. This was largely about Bundeswehr officers who also served in the Wehrmacht; the Bundeswehr changed their views about them and now explicitly allowed honoring them for their experiences as Wehrmacht officers and generals during WWII, which were considered valuable for the early days of the Bundeswehr during the cold war.
As is often the case with modern politics, things move fast, and yesterday, this new order was rescinded. Now, the old version from February 2018 is again valid, which states that former Wehrmacht soldiers who also served in the Bundeswehr can only be honored for their services in the Bundeswehr, not in the Wehrmacht.
The reason for this abrupt change was mainly diplomatic pressure from the Russian Federation. Without getting too political, I believe it is not a secret that relations between Russia and Germany are currently not the best.
The spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry of Russia, Maria Sacharowa, has publicly criticized this new tradition decree, and the Russian Embassy in Germany wrote a tweet in which they denigrated three former Wehrmacht officers who also served in the Bundeswehr.
(see picture of the tweet below; link: twitter.com/RusBotschaft/status/182365687067177415⊠)
This tweet read:
â[âŠ] Who should now be honored by the Bundeswehr soldiers? Here are three examples:
1st Brigadier General Heinz Karst, who was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class on the Eastern Front. Probably not for humanitarian reasons.
2. Colonel Erich Hartmann, who shot down several dozen Soviet planes.
3. Rear Admiral Erich Topp, NSDAP member and SS-man with experience.
For 80 years, the new, âoldâ heroes of the Bundeswehr were considered as war criminals worldwide. Now former Nazis are to be celebrated as âheroesâ in Germany again.â
Now, although this tweet contains multiple factually wrong and misleading statements, the most obvious that no one of these people was actually a war criminal, it gained enough traction for the Inspector General of the Bundeswehr, General Carsten Breuer, to rescind the new decree on August 15th, 2024, stating in a written order that: âThe additional information has cast doubt on the value commitment of the Bundeswehr's understanding of traditionâ.
Again, I just wanted to inform you of that, as its directly related to my last post and I think its important that you get the full picture.
As usual, I will not offer my own opinion about this, as I try to be strictly political neutral with this channel.
Thatâs all for today, wishing you all a great day.
348 - 39
Hey everyone,
I hope you are doing well.
While I usually do not comment on political issues, mainly because this channel is strictly historical, there is a certain political development in Germany these days that has caught my eyes and is directly related to the Wehrmacht.
I thought this is interesting and wanted to share this. Iâm not offering my own opinion on this, I just wanted to make this known.
On July 12th, 2024, the German Defense Ministry issued a bulletin called
âInstruction on the publication of supplementary information to the guidelines on the understanding and upholding of tradition of the Bundeswehrâ
Behind this bureaucratic title is a change in tradition of the Bundeswehr (the current German Army) that is extremely interesting. The Bundeswehr has something called an âDecree on Traditionâ. This is a document detailing on what traditions the Bundeswehr is founded upon, and what persons of military history the Bundeswehr considers worthy of celebrating.
The current version is from February 2018, and with regards to the Wehrmacht, it states under point 3.4.1:
âThe criminal Nazi state cannot justify tradition. For the armed forces of a democratic constitutional state, the Wehrmacht is not an institution worthy of tradition. The same applies to its troops, units and organizations the military administration and the armaments sector.â
This basically means that the modern German Army does not view the Wehrmacht as worthy of being the foundation of tradition. An exception is made for very few, certain individuals who served in the Wehrmacht but also the Bundeswehr, such as Johannes Steinhoff (1913-1994) who was a fighter ace during WWII, but also Inspector of the post-war Air Force from 1966 to 1970 and chairman of the NATO Military Committee from 1971 to 1974. JG 73 was given the honorary name âSteinhoffâ to honor him in 1997.
Coming back to the document from July 12th this year, the Bundeswehr has announced a change to these traditions. Article 9 from said document states:
âIn the Bundeswehr's cultivation of tradition with reference to current events, the generation of soldiers that founded the Bundeswehr plays an important role in creating a tradition of military excellence. The approximately 40,000 former soldiers taken over from the Wehrmacht had largely proven themselves in combat and thus had war experience, which was indispensable for the development of the Bundeswehr.â
What this means is a change of policies. While the Wehrmacht as a whole is still not considered tradition worthy, individuals who served in the Wehrmacht are now considered worthy of tradition for the Bundeswehr because of the experience that they gained during WWII. The document goes on to list a few examples of officers and generals who fall under that definition. They are:
Generally:
Wolfgang Altenburg (1928-2023): Served as Hitler Youth Navy Auxiliary in 1944/45, later officer and general in the Bundeswehr (1956-1989)
Heinz Karst (1914-2002): Tank Reconnaissance officer and instructor, served from 1936 to 1945, later served as one of the first officers of the Bundeswehr from 1955 to 1970.
Friedrich Beermann (1912-1975): Served from 1934 to 1945 as artillery officer, last rank lieutenant colonel, later served from 1959 to 1969 in the Bundeswehr.
Dr. Wolfgang Schall (1916-1997): Major during WWII, served in the Bundeswehr from 1955 to 1971.
Army:
Dr. Karl Schnell (1916-2008): Battery commander during WWII, later staff officer in the 90th Panzergrenadier Division. Served from 1956 to 1977 in the Bundeswehr, later as Armament Secretary until 1980.
Hans Röttiger (1896-1960): Staff officer during WWII, serving as chief of staff of the 4th Tank Army, 4th Army, Army Group A and C, awarded the German Cross in Gold. Joined the Bundeswehr in 1956 and became first Insepctor of the Army from 1956 untill he died of cancer in 1960.
Franz Pöschl (1917-2011): Mountain Troop officer, joined the Wehmacht in 1936, serving until 1944 in the same unit (Mountain Regiment 100). Awarded the Wounded Badge in Gold, German Cross in Gold (July 1942) and Knights Cross in February 1944. Joined the Bundeswehr in January 1960 and retired in 1978.
Heinz-Georg Lemm (1919-1994): Joined the Wehrmacht in 1936 as a cavalry officer. Became the youngest Colonel of the Wehrmacht in 1945, aged 26. Awarded the German Cross in Gold in December 1941 and the Knights Cross in April 1943, the Oak Leaves in July 1944 and the Swords in March 1945. Joined the Bundeswehr in 1958, serving until 1979. He was later honorary president of the Knights Cross holder veteranâs organization.
Dr. Ferdinand von Senger und Etterlin (1923-1987): Joined the Wehrmacht as a cavalry officer in October 1940, serving on the Eastern Front most of the time. In Autumn 1944, he became Adjutant of the Inspector of the Tank Troops. Received the German Cross in Gold in September 1944. Served in the Bundeswehr from 1956 to 1979; and then as Supreme Commander of the NATO Forces in Central Europe from 1979 to 1983.
Air Force:
Gerhard Barkhorn (1919-1983): Second most successful fighter ace in history, achieving 311 kills in WWII. Was awarded the German Cross in Gold and Knights Cross in August 1942, the Oak Leaves in 1943 and the Swords in March 1944. Joined the Bundeswehr in January 1956, serving until 1975.
Erich Hartmann (1922-1993): Most successful fighter ace in history with 352 kills. Awarded the German Cross in Gold and Knights Cross in October 1943. Later, he was also awarded the Oak Leaves (March 1944), the Swords (July 1944) and Diamonds (August 1944) to the Knights Cross. He later joined the Bundeswehr and became commander of JG 71, heavily criticized the introduction of the Starfighter jets due to technical problems, and was put on an unimportant post, resigning in 1970.
GĂŒnther Rall (1918-2009): Third most successful fighter ace in history, achieving 275 kills during the war. Awarded the German Cross in Gold, the Wounded Badge in Gold, and the Knights Cross (September 1942), the Oak Leaves (October 1942) and the Swords (September 1943). He later joined the Bundeswehr in January 1956, serving as Inspector of the Air Force from 1971 to 1974. He was removed from active service in 1975 for visiting South Africa, causing protest due to the Apartheid Regime.
Navy:
Hans-Helmut Klose (1916-2003): Joined the Navy in April 1936, serving as commander of various speedboats from October 1941 to April 1944, taking part in raids in the English Channel. Was awarded the German Cross in Gold in January 1944. Joined the post-war Navy in April 1956, his last position was Commander of the Fleet from 1974 to 1978.
Erich Topp (1914-2005): One of the most successful U-Boat commanders during WWII, sinking 32 ships with 177,919 tons, including a destroyer. This made him the 4th most successful German U-Boat commander. He joined the NSDAP in May 1933 and the SS in 1934. Served in the Bundeswehr from March 1958 to December 1969, his last position was Chief of Staff and Vice Inspector of the Navy from November 1966 onwards.
Karl Clausen (1916-2013): Joined the Navy in 1936, serving as commander of a Minesweeper and was awarded the German Cross in Gold in August 1943. Joined the post-war Navy in November 1956; his last position was Chief of Navy Forces in the North Sea from October 1972 to September 1976.
These are all the names on the list for the three branches plus general names. The list actually goes on, listing four more generals (Dr. Eberhard Daerr and Prof. Dr. Ernst Rebentisch for the Medical Corps, and Hubertus GroĂler and GĂŒnther Schneider for Signal troops), and also a number of individuals who didnât serve in the Bundeswehr, but are still considered worthy of tradition for other reasons, such as Colonel Eberhard Wildermuth (1890-1951), who served in WWI and put down anti-republic rebellions after WWI, and played an important role in preparing the setting up of the Bundeswehr in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Or Werner Hartenstein (1908-1943) who was a U-Boat commander and rescued British shipwrecked soldiers, but was attacked by American planes (Laconia incident).
The main reason why I consider this interesting is that this is an official decree that acknowledges the military achievement of Wehrmacht officers and generals during WWII, and the Bundeswehr now officially considers military deeds achieved by Wehrmacht soldiers during WWII of being âtradition worthyâ.
Now, this change doesn't have any immediate effect, and it's not like the Bundeswehr will now errect shrines for these men. But it means that Bundeswehr generals and officers can now officially cite these men as examples for soldiers, and can praise their contribution to German military history. It also means that, theoretically, new barracks and units can be named after these men.
The entire document can be found online, but only in German:
upgr.bv-opfer-ns-militaerjustiz.de/uploads/DateienâŠ
Again, I normally refrain from comments on political developments, but this is a rare exception. I also explicitly neither endorse nor condemn this; I simply wanted to spread this information.
Thats all, I hope you are all doing well and I'm wishing you a great day!
297 - 26
Hey everyone,
I hope you are doing well.
I have to make a small correction regarding my latest video, "Footage from German Air Force Bomber Training School".
I wrote that this one was from a German Newsweek from April 16th, 1941. I made a mistake there, it is actually from January 16th, 1941. A Patreon supporter has made me aware of that, and I have corrected the date in the title.
I want to apologize for initially giving the wrong date.
That is all for today. I hope you are having a nice weekend!
244 - 3
Hey everyone,
I hope you're doing well.
I have received a lot of positive messages after my recent videos, and I have also received a lot of support through Patreon. I want to extend my thanks to all of you for your support, especially for my Patreon subscribers. It really means a lot to me and I hope I can continue doing this channel for some time to come.
Thank you all for your support.
Have a great Sunday!
275 - 7
Twelve minutes of German propaganda footage about the airborne landings on Crete have just been released on Patreon!
If you want to see German planes approaching Crete while Wagnerâs âRide of the Valkyriesâ is playing, and footage of them dropping over Crete; fighting British and Greek troops with the support of mountain troops, this is the ideal reason to get out your Reich Bank issue credit card and support the channel with a few bucks!
Subscribing on Patreon will also give you access to all the previously released videos, including a 23-minute-long training film for tank crews on how to fight enemy AT-troops. Of course, everything is provided with subtitles and extensive remarks.
So, if you want to support the channel, head over to Patreon and subscribe, it will greatly help me keep this channel running!
Thank you all very much for your support here on YouTube and on Patreon.
www.patreon.com/germanwwiiarchive
453 - 13
Hey everyone,
I hope you're doing well and had a great start into the new week.
I have uploaded this weekâs video, footage from the state funeral of Japanese Admiral Yamamoto, on Friday. I know that not a lot of people are interested in Japan stuff, but I think itâs interesting to take a look at it, so I would highly recommend you to check it out, if you havenât already!
For next weeks video, I wanted to upload another Descheg Monthly Newsreel. I uploaded one of these a few months back, No. 26 from April 1944, and it did quite well with 130k views, so I prepared a few more episodes.
For this week, you can pick between three issues, one from November 1943, and two from 1944; January and February. They are all in Full HD, meaning they have been digitalized to 1080p, and are therefore in very good quality.
As usual, you can find more details about the contents of each episode in the pinned comment. Vote for the one you want to see the most, and the winner will get released this weekend.
Thatâs all for today, wishing you all a successful week!
114 - 13
Me every weekend:
691 - 25
On this channel, you can watch/listen various German audio and video recordings and footage from World War II.
From propaganda speeches to radio broadcasts to interviews with famous soldiers to the weekly Newsreels, all with English subtitles.
It goes without saying that this channel is pure historical and that I strongly reject any Nazism or Racism.
Please be aware that most of the content on this channel is Nazi Propaganda from WWII, and should be viewed from an historical perspective. I distance myself from any views expressed in my videos, I only upload them for historical reasons.
Please note that every comment will be checked before its being posted, and pro-Nazi or anti-semitic comments will be deleted. Additionally, any comment refering to current events, politicans or media outlets, especially those comparing Nazis to current, exisiting persons or entities, will be deleted.