28329 D, dated December 29, 1942 to hisfiance: . The retreat of the Nazis in that particular battle is seen by many historians as the turning point of WWII. will tell you about it. Force of the 212th Regiment. September 16. When looking for confirmation of this fact the Britannica article on Stalingrad lists that the lifespan for a Soviet . . Barbarism. It was the most powerful formation of the whole 'Heer' (German Army). . Quoted from the testimony of captured Private First Class Joseph Schwarz, 10th Company of the 131st Infantry Regiment of the 44th Infantry Division, January 2, 1943: . . Problem solved. December 21.We are waiting for the order, but for some reason or other it has been a long time coming. Cloudflare Ray ID: 7a1250ab68a49c24 I went on a Stalingrad tour in 2000 and one day we were taken out to see old dugouts and foxholes. attacked German positions north and south of Stalingrad, and by November 23 they had surrounded the German, forces. The Fiihrer knows where the Russians weak point is. They only differed in their interpretations of this resistance. We are preparing for a decisive attack. . November 19. This morning outstanding soldiers were presented with decorations. . The fighting in Stalingrad, lasting from August 1942 to February 1943, and ending with the surrender of Hitlers army, changed the course of World War II and world history. by Odessa2 21 Aug 2003, 19:09, Post . The Fuhrers orders were read inevitably soon be over. " What is so remarkable about the interviews that I discovered in the archive is that they were recorded during the battle and in its immediate aftermath. An excerpt from a letter of soldier Otto Zechtig, 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of the 227th Infantry Regiment of the 100th Light Infantry Division, no. The documentary 'Barbarossa: The Lost Diaries' will be coming soon via History Hit TV. 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. enough ammunition to last until evening; the soldiers have not eaten at all in When we got to Stalingrad, there were 140 of us, but by September 1, after two weeks of battle, only 16 remained. StomachPunch Media LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. A letter from Elsa today. . October 4. We attack on a daily basis. September 28. .. . Russian resistance in the elevator has been broken. strength of the Red Army. 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. On the morning of January 10 we read a pamphlet that . Soviet forces launched a counteroffensive against the Germans arrayed at Stalingrad in mid-November 1942. But even such Nazi ideological work paled against the systematic, communist, political conditioning that took place in the Red Army from the hour the Germans attacked in 1941. Our division has a cemetery near Stalingrad where more than 1,000 people are buried. It was largely because of its symbolic charge that the battle for Stalingrad turned into a decisive showdown between the two regimes. A new book has finally laid bare the full horrors of the Battle Of Stalingrad in the words of ordinary Russian soldiers, whose memories were suppressed by the Soviet authorities for 70 years. 'Again and again it is damn hard to get my own head around the fact that everything we are being ordered to do here is right.'. backward. In them, Leutnant Sander described in harrowing detail the barbaric deaths of both German comrades and Russian soldiers, with as many as 15 men executed before his eyes on one occasion. by Oleg Grigoryev 21 Aug 2003, 22:05, Post What was the meaning of defeat for the Germans? this was a good position from which to . Infantry Division, and his adjutant, Lieutenant Karl Gottschaldt, January 15, Why did Stalingrad become important to the Nazis and the Soviets in 1942? In his interview, Gen. Vassily Chuikov described how he shot several commanders, as their soldiers watched in line formation, for retreating from the enemy without permission. They also wanted to create an archival record for posterity. . While the German army was penetrating deeply into Russia, he believed that victory was not far away and dreamed of returning home with medals. If they could only see what Stalingrad has done to our army. Bernd Wegner, professor of history of the Bundeswehr Academy: "Stalingrad is perhaps the only battle of the Second World War, at the mention of which every German will tremble even today. beautiful Verdun, with new weapons. Can you talk about the nature of the violence? Diary of a German Soldier William Hoffman 4.50 4 ratings2 reviews 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. Daniel, commander of the German 376th Infantry Division. Fighting is going on inside the elevator. . In July 1942, the Germans resumed their advance into the U.S.S.R. begun the previous summer, seeking to conquer Stalingrad, a vital transportation center located on the Volga River. I found them in the archive of the Institute for Russian History of the Russian Academy of Sciences. what should be done? The prevailing notion in scholarship is that Stalin was politically bankrupt when the war began duped by the Germans, on the defensive, and deeply unpopular. . While the German army was penetrating deeply into Russia, he believed that victory was not far away and dreamed of returning home with medals. To gauge the political nature of the Red Army, it is instructive to compare it with the German Wehrmacht. The gruesome acts were enough to tip the highly decorated Panzer commander over the edge. . . 'We will live through the war in the east as he lived it.'. Communist ideology had an enormous mobilizing power during the war; this is one of the core arguments of my book and it challenges how other scholars have understood the Soviet war effort. By the end of February, Stalingrad, the Russian 3D film which became Russias box-office holder for 2013 and grossed $66 million in its one-and-a-half run, will be shown in US theaters for a week. . After five months of unrelenting battle, the retreat of the Nazis became the turning point of World War II. November 19. The violence and the horror during the fighting for Stalingrad were ferocious. BERLIN: A guilt-ridden account of an ordinary German soldier's experiences in World War two is countering a recent trend among historians to portray Germans as victims of the war. "It is pure hell here." Stalingrad was fought on a global stage, and may have been the worlds first media war, as we would call it today. number of soldiers cemeteries is growing .. Clothing freezes on our bodies. August 27.A continuous cannonade on all sides. Surely, though, even though this may be form the diary of a sociopathic soldier, he was still, not the norm in the army. What are your main findings? Something incomprehensible is, in fact, going on. Diary entries of a German solider during the Battle of Stalingrad Discussion/Question The entries are written by William Hoffman and records the fighting and general situation around him from the 29th of July to the 26th of December 1942. the German 6th Army is a strategic masterpiece. One day I shot a magpie and cooked it. Unfortunately, I cant write everything to you. After five months of unrelenting battle, the retreat of the Nazis became the turning point of World War II. Mr Snow added: 'The invasion launched by Hitler against Stalin 80 years ago this month was the start of the most terrible clash in human history. . The retreat of the Nazis in that particular battle is seen by many historians as the turning point of WWII. by tonyh 21 Aug 2003, 18:14, Post . On the morning of January 10 we read a pamphlet that contained an ultimatum. He wrote: 'I tell my men that this is about the reshaping of Europe, the absolute defeat of Bolshevism, the enemy of the people. 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. German forces eventually made their way to the gates of Moscow but were pushed back by Soviet forces and in the end had to make a slow retreat from the early months of 1942. October 22. . There are very few men left in the companies. I just want to scream it all away. . The interviews, as well as rare photographs and letters shared by the veterans, show how differently the battle is remembered on both sides. By the spring of 1943, even Hitler. . by Whisper 21 Aug 2003, 22:23, Post Portion of a letter from Senior Lance Corporal Joseph Tzimach, no. 'You see young girls, children hanging from trees in the park. August 27.A continuous cannonade on all sides.We are slowly advancing.Less than twenty miles to go to Stalingrad.In the day-time we can see the smoke of fires, at nighttime the bright glow. Do we even know? .. The entry was written at the end of July, a month before Stalingrad. September 4.We are being sent northward along the front towards Stalingrad. . Private First Class Karl Weitzel, November 13, 1942. My book shows in great detail how Red Army soldiers were inducted into the Communist Party. Over 1.8 million became casualties. Here it is: http://imgur.com/a/22mHD 10521 V, dated December 29, 1942 toHetti Kaminskaya: . . Hitler's soldiers stormed the city in September 1942 in a bid to complete the conquest of Europe. By 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. I own many books about WW2; the personal accounts are always the best. by Lawrence Tandy 21 Aug 2003, 22:24, Post The German press simply stopped reporting about Stalingrad, including the failed attempts to break through to the trapped soldiers and to supply them by air. His fascinating 2015 book, Stalingrad: The City that Defeated the Third Reich, and the Battle that Changed World History (PublicAffairs; also available in German, Russian, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, and Chinese editions), tells the story of this battle from the Soviet side. The majority of the writings date from November His commitment was so strong that he sent a huge number of troops to carry out the invasion. The Russians have gone over to the offensive along the whole front. Historian Omer Bartov has argued that for the Wehrmacht, with rising casualty rates and the destruction of the bands of brothers in front-line units, military commanders increasingly relied on ideological indoctrination to mold troop cohesion. It was night but we saw many crosses with our helmets on top. . The economy, culture and society were fully mobilized by governments. 140 of us, but by September 1, after two weeks of battle, only 16 remained. Yesterday Russian katyushi [small rocket launchers] and then tanks halted our regiment. From a letter from Senior Lance Corporal Arno Bitz of the August 10. . Its just terrible. From time to time mines explode We .. . . Maj. Gen. Ivan Burmakov and Lt. Col. Leonid Vinokur, two of the Russian officers interviewed after 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. He believed that he needed the east in order to win the war and secure the long-term prosperity of his county. The entry was written at the end of July, a month before Stalingrad the order, but some. 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