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Three Soviet POWs, one who looks like a civilian, stand in their own grave moments before their execution by German Wehrmacht forces. Eastern Front, 1942

Three Soviet POWs, one who looks like a civilian, stand in their own grave moments before their execution by German Wehrmacht forces. Eastern Front, 1942.

Some examples from an interrogation report of *U-490*, sunk 12 June 1944:

>The captain, Oberleutnant z. S. d. R. Wilhelm Gerlach, was 39 years of age.  For many years before the war, he had served in the merchant marine and had won his master’s certificate.  At the outbreak of war, he was drafted to the U-boat arm as an enlisted man.  He served for a time under Kapitänleutnant Johann Mohr on U-124, first as quartermaster and later as executive officer.  U-490 was his first U-boat command.  His men were rather scornful of Gerlach.  They felt that he was too timid and resembled a clerk in a shoe store more than a naval officer.  He was pleasant and polite but very secure with his interrogators.  They were astonished to find that a man of his age and worldly experience had succumbed so completely to Nazi doctrine.  His mentality had become hopelessly warped and he actually stated that if he felt that he would never see his wife again, he would instruct her to have an illegitimate child every year for the glory of the Vaterland. …

>The engineer officer, Oberleutnant (Ing.) d. R, Hubert Rotter-Woletz, 27 years of age, had been a graduate engineer in civilian life.  When war broke out, he joined the navy and served for a time in mineswepers.  He was greatly respected by his men for his knowledge and ability.  They stated that he had several inventions to his credit, the patents of which bore his name.  He was completely secure with his interrogators and proved to be an ardent Nazi.  He was stubbornly convinced that Germany would win the war and actually believed that the German people were endowed with superhuman qualities.

Most of the reports don’t mention the political views of any officer in their summary, but these two have stuck in my mind for a couple years. Note that the Kriegsmarine is often considered the cleanest branch of the Nazi war machine, though in part because there hasn’t been as much scholarly study as the Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe.

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