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    MAGAZINE OF GERMAN LEADER

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
    135 views52 pages

    02 - Hitler's Third Reich

    Uploaded by

    joausmaximus
    MAGAZINE OF GERMAN LEADER

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    a DB Da = z koe cot 2 Body Factory ST ROE LT Am ed DT a eS Teg bay Am Ge abe be bel de Beast’ of th MFCR Ty PR CoO (1) HITLER’S Third Reich Volume 2 Contents 1 Pen het Secret Hitler Files re Did Hitler have Syphilis? a 4 SSeS, a The Holocaust Auschwitz: The Body Factory 12 Inside the Third Reich Party Rallies kang ERE 18 se Naz Horrors sutaiotone Slave Labour a Ide heir ek Reinhard Heydrich: Blonde Beast of the SS tachi 2 Battle of the River Plate - 2 tars a acing Panzerkampfwagen Vi Tiger i ht 40 meee soa Srommroopersict these) SN a 44 pera ae me ‘Barbarossa’ to ‘Blomberg’ Publisher: Stan Morse Writers: Our thanks to Ulric Surrey KTH 2) fo from his exten DOLF HITLER was hardl you would eal « norma character. Possessed of demonic powers of persuasion, he could dominate even the str sonalities, persuading th commit evils beyond belie. Yet Hier himself lived in constant fear of ‘madness and death, and was a prey to quack doctors al his fife. But what was he afraid of ‘Was it cancer, as he claimed? Was it madnes or ioe, which was common in Hit inbred Austrian peasant family? Or was it nin bis youth, whi ap and twist the future dictators world view right up to bis final madness? The problem with finding out i Hitler wa genuinely il in adtion to bein monstrously evil mani that he did not allo doctors to examine him fully, even whe convinced that he had cancer, Hitler certainly feared he was dy He confessed this t the Gauliter of Hamburg in 19 alfa w pos Nazi revolution because ther time to wait uni ed. This morbid belief that he ‘would not be around for long may have propelled him to war in 1939 and int the than two years late Cancer preyed on Hitlers mind, driving above: Miers him to exist on ad ‘mesmere public Poronaly proved provides 2 grtaetive fo plausible inspiration for women, but he some of his mo ea extreme views, He Svantoge of the ed his beloved portunities ther succumb slowly ™ and agonisingly to in which the pain experimental (and, a Sout, ment provid ish doctor just as plausible did not have a normal sex bservers believed he was asexual: DUM ACR CR LLL gem 2! Hania scaled im neuter. Other sources, inclu @ monster, or were his crimes driven by a at Tmt tnt tr sao var et pe Cte Pe ies een contr ine sina ‘man inthe final deadly stages of syphilis? HITLER'S THIRD REICH 1 When in public Hitler habitually covered his {groin with his hands or his hat~ as above with Group of wounded veterans or below while ingpeeting a butlding project with architect Albert Speer Psychologists see this as Hitler's Uinconseious attempt to shield an area in tihieh he had been found vulnerable. The (esture was.so characteristic that @ whole ores of jokes about I dd the rounds in wartime Germany = but carefully, making sure the Gestapo was nat istening! 2 HITLER'S THIRD REICH Secret Wircer Fices himself, suggest that Hitler indulged in vile perversions that drove his young mistress Geli to kill herself. The only c twill Hitler, as a young man, did not date women, Neither did he do so as a mature man, although, once he achieved supreme power. some of the most beautiful women in G selves to him, ‘unconditionally: To resist such temptation, as Hitler did, raises several obvious questions about the Fuhrer. One theory for his lack of interest, and an idea that might account for other facets of his warped character, i that Adolf Hitler was dying of syphilis. VD in the trenches? According to Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal, there is some evidence that Hitler faced society offered then inflicted wound ~ a court-martial offence in Wartime, He escaped by claiming that he had contracted the disease while still «civilian. His shyness both of doctors and sexual activity, and his lunatic rantings in the Berlin bunker in 1945 fuel speculation that the Fiihrer had caught syphilis as a young man and had not received effective teatment ‘Syphilis isa sexually transmitted infection. The symptoms are extremely unpleasant, but they were curable even when Hitler was a young man, provided the disease osed in time. After about six weeks, sppeat, whether o They months: was di the symptoms usually not treatment has been receiv ick with a vengeance sever later, but can dissipate on their own once again, with few obvious ill-efects. But the disease is fatal, Left untreated, it des, but when it does cean lie dormant for det retum for a final time, the sue to die a nauseating death It affects the whole body, but its effects on the brain are what is sable in Hitler's behaviout. of tertiary syphilis is marked by ation of mental powers, allied is doom a rapid deg to some familiar features of Hitler's later yeats. Sufferers often become paranoid ‘Sometimes in the extreme. They frequently develop delusions of grandeur. Their sense of reality becomes ever more detached, and they Tose the thread of conversations, wandering. ent unless forcefully brou off ata tan back tothe subject. Anyone wading throug the transcripts of ‘Hitler's Table Talk recorded by the sycophantic Martin Hitler ‘was the most dreadful bore, Are these ae the is drawn to conclude tl ramblings of an ageing syphilitic? Low Life in Vienna Re | rea bearer iar pase ris Peers ree ater en er Pe en Porperrntee sented pee eet perenne) proennchereena eee] eed ery cern es eee es (gestion of latent homosexuality et rey ‘probably during a rare venture Peete orrt ee pennant pecan tet re een corer) with references to the purity of Pe ae Pere narra paeneeecre emt ee ati ‘master race by polluting the or consequences of miscegenation papers Sette eed returns again and again to the ee the Aryan maiden, spe out ee eo Panera ore rey rd cera cee) tena ears Ch ae re eer ts pea hes 2 anne Lard er ed Pee ere Picci eer ed Pope ee Most famous vietims of syphilis contracted the disease through sex with a ‘multitude of il-chosen, if not inexpensive partners, Many continued to lead promiscuous lives after they were infected But Hitler's sexual activity was so limited here remains almost no evidence of it tall. After 1933, he could have had practically any ‘woman he wanted, indulged in the most deviant sex imaginable—and he would have been able to get away with it, He had total control of the media and the world's most feared secret police. Yet he contented himsel with the provincial charms of the empty hheaded Eva Braun, and even she was Kept secret from all but his closest intimates. She Left: The nearest Hitler had to 9 normal relationship with a woman was with his niece Gel, However by the time sho committed Suicide there was lito about the affal that ‘vas healthy. confided to several friends that their Jationship was seldom physical The theory that Hitler suf lative. Tenary syphilis ‘would certainly account for his rapid physical deterioration from 1943-45, his loss of ation, fear that his generals wer plotting against him and final, complete divorce from reality by the time he de into the Berlin bunker. Catch sickness from an early, fumbling sexual snded ng this ghastly encounter might have poisoned healthier minds than Hitler's, and it could give a secret reason for his sudden conversion to virulent anti-Semitism, But there is no concrete evidence, The syphilis theory must remain nations forthe just one of many possible enigma that was Adolf Hitler HITLER'S THIRD REICH 3 Tue Hococaust THE BODY FACTORY + industrial process designed to turn millions of living human beings into corpses, and to dispose of them in a way which would leave no evidence for posterity. HERE WAS A | some may have had qualms, very | into the main camp. Inthe early | hair was removed. Another team sign saying “To | few refused to take part in the days they were told to undress | loaded the bodies onto a narrow. Aisinfection’. The | most horvfying crime ever behind some bushes. Later, with eral trolley, which was man Iwas with committed, the commissioning of lar manhandled to deep burial pits, said ‘here you After going through the facilites, they undressed in There the corpses were buried in see, they are selection process on the ramp at | large room adjacent to the altemate layers with lime. After bringing the Birkenau, those who were to die | ‘showers teach use, the gas chambers were children now. They opened the | were told that they would have to | Once undeessed, the victims hosed down and whitewashed oot, threw the children in and | be deloused before being moved | were herded into the windowless 1s chambers ~ chivvied on their | POISON GAS closed the door. There was a ble outcry as a member of way by guard dogs to the The substance used to massacre SS climbed onto the root and | A UIEUOIERESSMM accompaniment ofa hail of millions was called Zyklon-B. did something. The crying went ET blows from the SS guards. The Originally manufactured as a n for about ten minutes, then through the gas ‘two original bunkers used at Auschwitz could hold about 800 and 1200 people respectively ‘opped. Prisoners opened the os, Every body was contorted Pec firm IG Farber zony. The bodies were loaded | MUCELETRUERIRILEEE | Once inside, the doors were substance had been purch on toa cart and taken to a ditch — | Joes he/ ood sealed shut, and poison gas was the Frankfurt firm of Degese next batch were already introduced, which provided the SS with more PT eC undressing. After that, I didn’t The gas chambers were than two tons a month, k at my wife for a month: SAC opened after 30 minutes and Zyklon-B is a crystalline form The testimony of SS Prive | Pee! mask-equipped teams of of Hydrocyanic acid, also known Buck, given after the war prisoners known as Sonder as Prussic acid, The erystals showed that even the SS were mandos were Sent in to begin to evaporate at 27 d jot immune to What they were remove the bodies. In the yard oi a lethal vapo Going at Auschwitz, But although gold teeth, jewellery and female | which in concentrations of 3 4 HITLER'S THIRD REICH ‘The main gate and guard house at Auschwits stil stands a2 2 ‘memorial othe milion or more Iholpless victims whose trains assed through its central passage. Known a the ‘gate of death’ to the jprisoners in the camp, ft led to @ ‘allway siding. This had beon butt {in 1948 to simplify the selaction land movement of victims from the ‘arto trucks to the gas chambers. pO ety atayatck VLNA igo Por, cana BERLIN x Lowen Tap tn VIENNA, a sie ee BUDAPEST arp Ea ea auScuwra Teese Mace reise toate! (pasese Marans Baoce Suton sepioonpyey Na Uta SALONGA eed Ceri eres Peer ieeneet Serio ern peer ctiper orn ere eR ieee oer as Pry tence dant to Berlin. According to the Pore ny Peer eater end perenne itet poner eema nts Giron pent er tes Cet ee ee ed the SS have been given the task. cei ena ace Pine enero ie Aa ete are seen eerrotey Ereerrnnecr rtt) second, because the site can be peer erer etc rece} "This was atleast sit months Peer meron aneey Perens pee eae ereter as pho Peo ee ted Taam eran) Peo ape ey ter key near eee Peels antes ey ‘and Saloniia az well ax from the Psi eee Ted Temporary gas Gas chambers and ‘Seleltion’ ramp G25 chambers and sanber | Crematoria IV and V 1 Sau heen 3 Gacy onlconan AUSCHWITZ I ‘ is nt trans (Birkenau) 4 cremation pl ase od une 7 Mas aves Sot POS 8 Man garoree 9 dite aos 10 Senge ater 1 Mee enc 12 Rano (lead atom) 183 Poor gas coe 14 Prior ge cae 2 »/s0u00 au dh i se = == Can ens by i 8 baraks and lected bared we, 250 mees I 4m (13 gh a = ANATOMY OF A GENOCIDE CAMP pars pe milton ital to | Haupuumyirer Kar Fisch | than other metbods, and Hiss | of JA Top and Sons was humans ness than 1S minutes, | thought of tying ot te recommended the technique to | contacted to til a seis of In the hot, sweaty conditions of | delousing poison already in use Adolf Eichmann, then head of much larger gas chambers and the packed gus chambers the | at Auschvitz kil rats and —| the Navi“Offieof Jewish | erematora a the nearby temperature swiftly rose beyond | other vermin, Emigration | Birkenau/Auschwitz II labour the danger point and the On September Se, around ang Four ital has ao Stugses ofthe victims nly | 600 Rasstan prisoners and 250 | EARLY DAYS competed, designated Kremas I Served to increase the eircultion | sick inmates were packed into an | The fst gas chamber was bit 1H, 1V and V and they became of the poison. underground detention cell. SS ‘at Auschwitz I, and the first Jews | operational between March and Esl temps at mass murder | men gs masks ied out | ~ Slovaks followed by Posh | June 1943 had used. variety ofletal | several canisters of Zyklo-B, | Jews fom nearby Soznowioe | Situated behind their own is, from carbon monoxide | left the room and sealed the ‘were killed in April 1942. By this | barbed wire fences, and sereened enerated by truck exhausts (© | doors. Concentrations were quite time, the ‘Final Solution’ was | from the rest ofthe camps by a shooting. In September 1941, | low, and the basement had not | under way, and it was clear that | Gringirtel or ‘green girdle” of Auschwitz was a labour camp for | been heated to the required 27 the small gas chamber and trees and bushes, each of the Soviet prisoners of war under the | degrees, so several prisoners crematorium at Auschwitz 1 | facilities had three interlinked ‘command of Rudolf Héss, The | were still alive the next day Krema did not have the | parts, The first two parts of standard method of disposing of | However, it was clear that capacity to killin large enough | Kremas Il and II] were prisoners was shooting, but S| Zyklon-B was far more lethal | numbers. Accordingly, the firm | underground sind covered in tur 6 HITLER'S THIRD REICH COUEEE ETE Auschwitz Il ‘One of the reasons for the setting up of Auschwitz Il not far from ‘the original camps was to provide the 10,000 ‘AUSCHWITZ I Auschwitz development zone ‘As the Auschwitz complex grew, so the Germans began 40 expel the local population from an area of more than 400 km? around the camp, Within this development Zone the SS set up a number of sub-eamps to provide ‘complex worked for SS industries. ‘on 8S farms, worked in SS cemé brickworks, and produced ‘equipment in the SS armaments factories. Smaller in umber, but more important to the war effort were the prisoners who worked for outside firms. The majority of {these worked in the chemical industry, producing the ‘synthetic rubber and fuel so vital to the German war ‘Hfort, but large numbers were also worked to death in ‘mines, steelworks and private armaments factories. Workers necessary for the ‘massive IG Farben synthetic rubber plant. Because it was primarily a labour camp, Auschwitz IM also served as the administrative headquarters of the network of subeamps Scattered all over the region. Above: The original single ‘Grematorium at Auschisitz could ‘not cope with even the normal eat ate ata concentration, camp. As a result many of those those murdered at Auschwitz in 1947 and early 1942 wore buried in mass graves. hough to save costs in Kremas IV and V they were placed at ground level. The 390 m2 dressing room’ had wooden benches along the wall and was lined with numbered coat hooks. Windowless, it connected with the gas chamber via a 5 m passage. ‘The plastered and whitewashed gas chamber was 30 m long, 7 m wide and 2.4 m high, with concrete posts supporting the reinforced conerete ceiling. The edges of the door — 1.92 m high and 1m wide - were covered in felt as was the door frame. A peephole in the door was made of two layers of 8.mmi thick glass, sealed by rubber gaskets, Both chambers were mechanically ventilated ‘The Zyklon-B was introduced via four pillar-ike columns, 70- fem square. In Krema Il they 8 HITLER'S THIRD REICH Twe Hococaust = Bolow: The allies had aerial photos of Birkenau = usualy faken during ratds on the Chemical factories st nearby ‘Auschwitz Il. However they Could not confirm the rumours ‘about mass murder which had been circulating since 1943. were spaced evenly down the centre line of the chamber, while in Krema Ill they were mounted in pairs either side ofthe axis of the room. ‘The outer layer of the column was a wire mesh, with a second inner mesh column, Inside was removable tin-covered core with conical top. Pellets were dropped into the core, spreading | out evenly on the cone and collecting at the bottom. Normally the heat of hundreds of bodies would have been enough to start the crystal vapourisation, though in cold weather iron braziers filled with red-hot coke ‘were brought into the chamber. Athis trial after the war, Héss described the process, SPYING ON DEATH It could be seen from the door peephole that those closest to the induetion columns died almost immediately — about a third dying that way. The rest staggered about and screamed and struggled for ait. The screaming did not last lon, however. It soon changed to the death rattle, and within minutes everybody lay stl” ‘The main reason for the new inure bya Pga7 Those closest to the CT Ty TT en eer S| ee Pd oT) air | facilities was the difficulty of disposing of the bodies. At first, they were buried in vast trenches Buton 17 July 1942, Reichsfidurer SS Heinrich Himmler made an inspection visit, following the entire process from selection through gassing to the disposal of the bodies Clearly he had some doubts about leaving evidence in the shape of mass graves, for shortly afterwards orders arrived to exhume all of the buried bodies, bum them and scatter the ashes. The crematoria then in place ccould not handle the huge ‘quantity of corpses. Accordingly, CREMATORIA Se ne en camp mortuary. It was an improvised site, and could not deal with the flow of bodies which arose out of the program of mass murder. ‘The next gas chambers were also improvisations, but this time were located at the newly completed camp at Birkenau. The provisional ‘gas chambers were converted farmhouses located in the woods to Papen ten een eT ete anor) peer ener epee Mena Provisional Gas Chamber 2 was the ‘Red House’ which was used as @ killing site from June 1942 until the autumn of 1944 Pon eC se eas praeret mieteee ecenre eee pee March and June 1943. A sixth crematorium was planned; this would have been a huge ring-shaped structure capable of incinerating ieee eee Seed Pesce Te Par Ld ‘between 800 and 1100 people. Only used as a gas chamber for a brief Pei en npn erry Below: The furnace room at Kroma I Each ofthe furnaces could Ereren ee eL ‘ata time and it was not Peete mateo ee) they were bumed on huge timber pyres, 2,000 ata time. These pyres evolved into cremation pits, 30 metres long, 7 metres ‘wide and 3 metres deep. Layers of bodies were altemated with layers of timber, and doused with inflammable liquid. Special cavities were dug to collect body fat, which was then used to stoke the fire. More than 100,000 corpses had been burned inthis way by the end of November 1942, However, eve cremation pits were not enough to cope with the incredible flow of human remains being generated by genocide. To deal withthe problem, the SS contracted the firm of Topf and Sons to build the furnaces atthe new crematoria, These were coke-fired, using three crucibles, or mules, to take corpses. A forced draft system provided the air for combustion, and also extracted the combustion products through tall chimney ‘Close to the gas chambers in Below: The door to the gas chamber was made from [ayers of wood sandwiching an impermeable ‘membrane, and ts edges were lined with layers of felt’ small poophote'n the door was the only means (of seeing into the gas chamber, 10 HITLER'S THIRD REICH Twe Hococaust eR aD BT See eee ened So ee ee Se Ay walk, with a slide that took them right into the Cee ee SE Se eT See Oy PRR ee eB ESC eT i ee Dd Be ey See ee Soe eee Lee Do UR en save gas they used only one part. Kremas I and II were the elevators which connected to the furnace rooms on the ground floor, It took about 4 hours to ‘empty the gas chambers, the corpses being delivered to the furnaces either on small trolleys or on special ‘corpse stretchers Which were often greased with soap to allow the remains to be slid on and off more easily Krema It had five furnaces, ‘each with three retorts that were used to push the bodies into the furnaces. Typically, three to four bodies were bummed at a time. Earlier experiments had determined that the system which used the least amount of fuel was to cremate a well nourished adult ‘with a malnourished adult and a child atthe same time: once the bodies ignited they would bum without any further addition of coke. Topf had estimated that it ‘would take about half an hour to dispose of a corpse, but the SS found that by forcing the performance of the furnaces they could burn three ata time in Below: The firm of Degesch sold the SS more than 20 tons of Zykdon-B in 1943 and 1948 most SBles going through their agents Toseh/Stabinow. ‘As an anatomist Ih lot of experience with camp inmat after the 1947 De CuCl Insie THE TuiRD Rec NEOFTHE key | ashe rams against Jews, and atracted 20000 spectators | Troopers anda the images ofthe | Marxist blshevits,pcifsts, | and pany member. The SA” | Ausvliogshale Exhibion Nuremberg Ralies | the Treaty of Veales, the | (Snermabietiang or assault” | Hall Hier gave to same speech isofmasced ranks | Weimar Republic, France and | detachmen) was on call fora | four nes to auencer of 2000, of Storm Troopers, | Soviet Rusa Inodest parade Bf known on SSmenand Nazi | Thisimage wascreaed in| its foundation in 1921 asthe" | HITLER BANNED Pay officals famed by lage prt by Leni Ricensal's | party's “Gymnasts and Spors | For his pan the 1923 Beer Hal hundreds of red, white and black | powefal im Trimph des | Divison’ the SA wan te Nest | Pusch ile served nine non swastika banners the whole | Wilens The Toumph ofthe | peramiitary wing, tended to. | ofa ve year sentence in assembly echcng tothe roar of | Will) which recoded te 1934 | provide he movement wth an | Landsberg am Lech pon, Party thousands of voices shouting | rly. However. does ot reflect | efensive soe ighing force, | membentip vas ecalyredued Sieg Hel" the mode ore At the urging of Jus ther the Pusch and feria The ober sbiding image sof | anual Nax pany uh Streicher the second aly, in| release Hier was bamed fro Adol Her sweating fae "The ralis were known as | August 1923, was held a polite! activity in most major tlseningin the stage ihing, | Portage or Party Days. The | Nuremberg. This nce two | Eide ao te eat aly Weimar Holding his listeners spelbound | ft was hl in Munich in 1923 | hour pace by 80000 Stor | as no held ntl July 1926 Below: Adolf Hitler addresses Ist after the Nazis came power the pro Heinrich Himmler. The cent, The theme All the major The incredible spectaculars which took place at Nuremberg have gone down in history as ee . the definitive pre-war face of tetas Pa took lave n lunch in” the Third Reich. ‘anuary 1823, 11 months before tho Nazi attempt to seize power. Highlight of the parade by the param 14 HITLER'S THIRD REICH Insipe THE Tarp Reicn armband, Sturm abteilung Hitler is our Isolation, party membership was ‘again gro id the annual arty days jecoming more Sind more spectacular consecration of the banners Touched with the blood of martyrs: the Blutfahne KEY FEATURE ofall Party Rallies was the | Feldzeichen or banners of newly-formed SA jppearance of the Blutfahne, or Blood Tr Banner. Probebly the most revered symbol in mitary colours in Christian a . | acted tke» high-priest. Holding the Blood hand and the new stendard as agie of one sacred 2 | transmitted to the other. By holding the two flags in contact for a few seconds, the | Blutfahne made a mystic’ connection f ‘che new Nazi units and the fighters communists, and would remain in his position | and martyrs ofthe early days of the ‘3 standard bearer id remain one of the most “Above: The first four party Feldzeichen or jensively recorded on battlofield standords are paraded on in film, ‘Munich’ Morsfold In 1328. Left: Hitler consecrates ym with Blutfahne. tilts disappearance at the end ofthe Takob Grimminger: Below: The four original Standards were the frst Leni Riefenstahl deployed 30 ‘cameramen and had special trackways and elevators built to produce dramatic shots of the rally. The film which emerged is probably the most powerful piece of propaganda ever created, It tured Hitler into a nerian hero, ariv aircraft through tower Riefenstahl's memorable images included massive torchlight processions, the unfurling of 21,000 flags and the sight of 50,000 men of the Reichsarbietsdienst standing with their shovels glittering in the sun, “Triumph of the Will received a National State Prize, the gold medal of the Venice Film Festival and a Grand Prix of the French government at the Paris Film Festival ANTISEMITIC LAWS Hitler took the opportunity of the 1935 rally to present the Nuremberg Laws on race and Above: From 1934 the eich Labour Sorvice played an important ro ‘at Nuremborg: this f= ‘army of Labour’ on parade at the 1935 ray Fight: Members of the ‘Motorised SA pose through the ancient Streets of Nuremberg, ‘After the 1986 raly this ganization became the citizenship. Directed primarily KK (National the Jews, they made clear t ‘oztaistische Katee or Nac rest of the worl the te ‘motor corps) character ofthe new German ee ‘government, For the frst time outnumbered bythe SA the armed forces paraded tanks, the black shirted 5S was armoured cars and aircraft eee oe Tn 1936 ina rally withthe Intential in National ‘Socialist Germany. theme ‘Honour and Freedom there were more mili parades. A year later in a ranting speech Hitler told his audience thatthe Third Reich would “last fora thousand years “The final and greatest Nuremberg rally was held from September 5 to 12, 1938, Each day was dedicated to a separate theme: Welcome, Congress of Labour, Fellowship, Politics, Youth, Storm Troopers, and finally the Armed Forces. The rally incorporated accumulated experience of past years with parades, banners, reviews, speeches, torchlight processions and fireworks. Over all the ‘ne million people attended and hundreds of reporters from throughout the world covered an event which seemed like a triumph, but was in reality the requiem for the Reich 16 HITLER'S THIRD REICH HITLER'S THIRD REICH 17 “Foreign workers are to be exploited to the highest possible extent at the lowest conceivable degree of expenditure.” Directive from Fritz Sauckel Plenipotentian-General for the mobilisation of labour iter called it Nazi governor-general, Below: A work-gang of prisoners Above: German soldiers round up Teufelswerk ~ devil's | demanded one million Polish ‘fom the concentration camp at ‘Ukrainian women on the streets . crema pt Dachau labour on a project fo" of Kiev. Most will work on the work. Itwas the | workers including 750, pan eee | memantine ruthless plundering | agricultural Iaboures, half of ‘of easter Europe, | them women, exploitation so The seizures began on a small thorough that the | scale, detaining audiences in population itself was treated as | cinemas, or arriving outside a just another resource to be seized | church to arrest all able-bodied and used, people leaving the service. Soon, ‘The Nazis tured the clock | however, convoys of army trucks back two thousand years, entered villages at daw, roundin, bing people at random. las in the hemte workon the and in. POLiSh resistance German factories or in the mines. |The Poles struck back as best Germany faced a mounting | they could, assassinating the head shortage of military personnel, | of the labour office in Warsaw, ‘and any measure that released | but nothing could stop the able-bodied men tothe armed | deportation of 4 million people forces made strategic sense. Yet_| between 1939 and 1941. The in typical Nazi fashion, brutality | majority were put to work on proved to be inefficient. The German farms, pareelled out in slave labourers seized and ‘ones and twos to family holdings ed to the Reich were | where their treatment varied from treated so cruelly that they died by the thousand, More had to be ‘obtained, and large numbers of The invasion of Russia offered SSS and army units were used to | the Nazis an apparently capture them — with decreasing | inexhaustible supply of slave success as German terror labour. The majority of the ‘methods depopulated Polish and | estimated seven million slaves Russian villages. Soon, they were | seized by the Germans during the ‘only capturing those too young | war came from Russia and the oF 0 old to flee ‘Ukraine. Yet the most obvious Poland was the frst victim, | source of slave workers ~ the regarded as no more than a hordes of Soviet prisoners taken labour pool, Hans Frank, the inthe first year of the war — was 18 HITLER'S THIRD REICH cover three milion pris ners of war were taken by the Germans during the first seven months of fighting on ‘the Russian front. The majority fof them were fit young men, But the German army high command decreed that these Soldiers had forfeited all rights land were not to be treated ‘hormal prisoners-of-war Herded into camps that were ‘often no more than barbed ‘wire enclosures in the open, they were left to face the Russian winter in conditions of ‘unimaginable horror. Ther ‘was no food, shelter or medical id. Epidemics of typhus and dysentery followed. Stories of ‘cannibalism were so common- place that Hermann Goring joked, “now they've eaten a ed until it was too late to difference, respondent Alexander most of the war in ind was wit the Red ptured arly 1943, After 18 jerman occupation, polation had shrunk by two s. Although perhaps a third 1 people had fled in 1941, Werth established that nearly (00,000 young men and women iad been deported to Germany as forced labourers. Thirty thousand were spared the life of slavery all the Je members were shot within weeks ind communist party ofthe German take-over, Every ostarbeiter had his or her own story, but when Alexander Werth interviewed a number of Ukrainian survivors, he discovered a grim consistency vunning through their ged from their night, or seized experiences. Dr jomes during th n their places of work, the young, women he spoke to were taken by wain in cattle trucks to ntry, which really is going By February 1942 more than half the prisoners were dead, land most of the survivors were in such poor health that they were unable to work. To put Ing those on the Bataan death march and the notorious Burma railway ~ was about 40 per cont. The death rate of Russians held by the Germans, ‘was over 60 per cent. Once it ‘was decided to put the surviv Ing inmates of the prison. camps to work, they were Shipped to German factories, holdin barracks and worked to death Fight: Forced labourers build ant tank defences on the French frontir as farming family heads Into the fields. Most of the poople Used in such work were reeruted in occupied countries. They were [promised good pay and Conditions = promises which were never kept barrack-type buildings on factory sites in Germany They worked nine hour shifts for which they were paid the token stim of 1.2 marks a week although factory managers would make their own ‘deductions’ so few of them saw more than a pfennig or two, They were fed pitifully inadequate rations: ewo spoonfuls of boiled turnip with a slice of bread for breakfast and a couple of baked potatoes and ctsatz coffee (made from roasted acorns) in the evening. Many Bight: Roltcal is taken at Sachsenhausen camp noar Berlin before the work day begins in the local armaments factories. The hhundreds of thousands of Prisoners nthe amp system (wore the largest pool of cheap labour avatlable fo the Nazis. ft: Newly shor women ued agaist Germany, such ferwontat Biko The niney wasn onset Auachute complex was mere frticoming. Another gn crcl ieee! abear cates, rested to the sme Seperate Rowan tarmich tthe yen hs el ey Rey dined ae of ? ee 1 ay cone Se tr wertng aye Release from forced labour id noted the misery. could tabs aic ty eight wets to vel from Germany back to village inthe Ukraine Penns, alone and regarded asa racial inferior tobe mistreated at vil it was a Toney and dangerous journey for these women, And when they dd get ome, twas usualy toa Sepoplated village under the savage rule of Nazi collaborators The occupying forces were the main enpleyes ao ecalns Iabourers often found deanelves working ws clemer in German, offices snd billets. There they By te loa! prisons whieh she put under the bed ofthe odious Reichs Commissar of Belonsia Above: Auschwitz inmates were Below: Auschwitz It was built at | Above: Prisoners are used to build Sorte bi te actie forthee thecal town of Manoonte a" ‘arehouses near he orginal Sten destruction Horners flames om Betoou t Rahwtsenng. Pergo , | lel Kab ‘tur the conrete rot onto the’ ext primarily to prove” ‘used to store some ofthe food 7 Berintompleted underground labour forthe hige SFarben produced on the huge slave rconeriracgo = ev ertercaen — etcrienenttedre'n, Mnnocents killed rato soon here ‘shuts compan A 1945 directive ended the repatriation of pregnant female developed deficiency diseases | workers, and they were made to like scurvy, their gums bleeding | give birth in special ‘children’s and teeth coming loose. They | homes’ ~ in reality death camps tried to teat such problems with | for babies. The mothers had to Wild garlic growing round the | retum to work within two weeks; camps, but the fastidious the babies were left to the tender Germans complained about the | mercies of Nazi officals, who smell and puta stop to it seem to have confined their ‘Some of the women had sex | labours to maintaining written with French of Belgian workers | records, evidence that got them jn an adjacent factory barracks, | hanged in 1946. Infant mortality since the Germans repatriated "| in these vile institutions was over pregnant girl, but most were so | 80 percent ‘malnourished they ceased to ‘The hunt for slaves, ‘menstruate, One young woman | handicapped the German war ‘was sent back home after she | effort. The mass deportations deliberately put her band ina | from Russia and the Ukraine in flax-cutting machine which 1942 transformed the Soviet severed her fingers. As the war | partisan movement from a handful of dedicated patriots to a rassive force able to Left: increasingly 2s the war and | Gorm ieee Lot: eroneingty oe te jerman armies. When the Seco tected a bie Germans abducted men and ‘manpower, German companies women of working ase, children Bogan to se forced iabour ton | Women of working Ae, child oevgep, Thee crtoners are under fifteen were simply let to Irlpg to bald geo engines at» their own devices, Form ‘BMW factory in Bavaria 20 HITLER'S THIRD REICH any unwilling workers helped to build Hitler's secret weapons. Reichs Armaments minister Albert Speer met Himmler and Hiter at the Wolt's Lair’ HO in August 1943 to agree a radical plan for the dispersal of Key industries to under. ground sites; existing factories were being bombed to oblivion By Allied ai caves in the Harz mountains we by slave labourers, drawn at first from Buchenwald concentration camp and then from 2 new camp built next to the tunnel complex itself Here w 3d parts {or the jet fighters, and, above all, the V1 tnd V2 ballistic missles on which Hitler Binned so much faith ‘Speer visited the facility, code-named Dora’ in December 1942, “It was the worst place | had ever seen,” he later admitted, Stunned st the reality of what he h helped to create inside the giant caverns the slaves were worked to death with inhuman callousness by the SS. There was, jentilation, no proper food, of the guards’ day was to 24 prisoner into the bar nt that served a8 lavatories ind people were shoved at bay he caverns: fewer than half vive, yet the technicians and Sipvsers who presided over all this were 0 safe jobs in the USA after 3° complex does not figure y the memoirs of the German ts hured by NASA to kick-start the im. Albert Speer served a sr jo term for his Involvement. Fritz fl wae hanged sit meant a | Allocation, ‘Above: Buchenwald ‘extensively used in the ‘armaments industry. Including the tinderground V- Weapons factories at Nordhausen Fight: Saves but ‘seeret weapons ike the Flesoler F103. ying bomb, more ‘commonly known as the V1 and an ‘ancestor ofthe ‘modern cruise miasile, he oversaw the n abandoned deportation of up to three million Dider children grew up | people from eastern Europe over SESE LEAS Westem workers Hans Frank (o sustain d counterproductive some 250.0 volunteers future of his personal and he tried to stop the process. occupation, a the first wet I labour pool created the Nazi war effort, 000 people were ‘mainly recruited in seks of German 1 fooled by After a furious exchange with promises of wages and good Hitler and Himmler, Frank was | working conditions acked. With their usual bureaueratic Fritz Sauckel, Gauleiter of diligence, the Vichy French was placed in charge | authorities f the Nazi slave labour system to work in March 1942. Gi tentiary for Labour labourers c recruited young men Germany. North the title African and Indochinese caught in France in 1940 were handed over to the “Todt Organisation, Marshal Petain's youth movement, the Chantiers de Jeunesse was eventually put to work on the Atlante Wall fortifications. But by the time Sauckel insisted on more active French participation, the writing was on the wall In February 194 he decreed that French males between 16 and 60 and females between 18 and 45 were liable to be conscripted for compulsory labour, but the D-Day landings ‘operation and a plan to evacuate all French males able to work was never implemented. Those French and Belgians who did find themselves working in Germany were usually treated more humanely than the Russian ‘sub-humans’, but this is not saying much, Long hours, low pay (25-35 marks per week) and the increasingly deadly Allied ‘bombing attacks did lite for productivity, The Messerschmitt, Me-163 rocket fighter in the Air and Space Museum, Washi DC was assembled ~ and sabotaged — by French forced labourers . Had a pilot ever tried to take off, a wedge of steel placed behind the fuel tank ‘would have ruptured it and sent him to a fiery death. Scratched on the bare metal isthe legend, "L am not happy in my worl’ HITLER'S THIRD REICH 21 Pater ENN ee ety en eat Reinhard Tristan een Poe ns the worst ofthe worst. His eet err eer so known as the ‘Blonde Beast Pema ete Pen e) that rose to leadership in Adolf Hitler's Third Reich, Tall and eee eee Peer tars well, was a champion fencer and skier, a fearless pilot and a gifted Seen ea re eee Ne ‘only major flaw was ahi bleating voice. But this was on the surface: undemeath, he was ere Cire Peer ieee Peat nea) corer Bom on 7 March 1904 in CoS One eerie et ea his early 20s he joined the jerman Navy and was well regarded by his superiors — eee ene rey Pores) oss eet Secret downfall for dishonourable Peete seduced and abandoned the daughter of » prominent Sec en Pee Reportedly he told the Ct ren er erent ena eee Court established by Grand cen reer ee ere ina pores PCs arty and via his wife's contacts eet ee Himmler, the head of the Schutzstafel (SS) which was Hitler's personal bodyguard Pane Heydrich BLONDE BEAST OF THE SS einhard Heydrich was already the most sinister and feared man in Germany when he created the Nazi plan’ for the elimination of Europe's eleven million Jews. peel, Peerkeemryetey perpen ee Esmee er Ren ermnetiar or Cnn rere cient pear renen entry bsnibersbcier ry Eoepetereenion ety wo were teeny fal heat to pes ieeees ees feats eee ager Se Conia geareenee patie armen [aerate papier rey Pennant reas 5 i eriieercncerr tsr rn ope a tore eee ete PSone ny security foree in the Reich into ‘ane monolithic body, which was ecg ter eae ee ec per eer nee Pere ee Preece nn who knew al Cert tasks was the destruction of the Polish nation, His SS Special Action Groups or Einsatzgruppen nee Perret teers ‘They sought out politicians, + Pecan eg Pree sary Sem eae shot. With one notable deme mould an enemy of the state, classi- Jews, of on Copies fying them as anything from ‘assassins’ right down to Cone ad ‘grumblers! conten The Sicherheitspolizei took Peet ee rights, and in 1941 eer) Pieris By this tim rete ‘the right to place profession al criminals ~ anyone guilty Einsatzgruppen were ence venus err ements by the tens of thousands in the wake Preeti cere eee) Se et enn Secs ee ere Reece] See en See ere eg ars ny pee ‘An investigation in 1932 See mney Pee nent cs Nee et Cr nen of at least three crimes, no ‘matter how minor ~ under preventive detention, which in the Third Reich meant being sent to a concentration ‘camp without trial To these were added anti: social elements ~ homosexu als, beggars, tramps, gypsies, traific offenders, chopaths, lunati ‘were all subject to detention, ‘Some claimed that Heydrich’s all-embracing files held incriminating informa: tion on every person in Germany — including Heinrich Himmler and other leading Nazis, which might explain Why no serious attempt was ever made to dispose of Heydrich by using his possi ble Jewish descent. Above: Heyatich sits fn the dais at a party function with his ‘master Himmler and ‘SS rivet Kurt Daluege, the head of the uniformed police Lett: Heydhich plays the family man for the camera, though In reality he was 8 highly sexed Pee Ores) tame ah be one fo | his mother’s gravestone, and he brought several slander sits | sting that Hitler and Himmler were aware that though he was efficient tic and ruthless, Heydrich suffered from a deep self loathing - Himmler speculated that it was because of his fear of his Jewish ancestry. His political masters knew that it was the one ‘major hold they had over their ffighteningly effective subordinate Clearly Heydrich was not happy man. One colleague remembered a drunken evening in which the security chief saw his own reflection in large wall ‘mirror. Instantancously, in a cold rage, he pulled his pistol and fired two shots atthe reflection saying “I've got you now, you scum!” But no self-doubt at [ER'S THIRD REICH, Left: 5 ans" fuhror being ight bythe interfered with his cold commitment to the destruction of European Jewry ~ a policy he followed not out of hatred but more from cynical opportunism, However, he did have a pathological detestation of the (Christian church and like Hitler he looked forward tothe day (after the war had been won) ‘when the Gestapo could deal ‘with the priests and pastors — the black crows” — once and forall ‘On 28 September 1941 Heydrich was appointed Reichsprotektor for Bohemia and Moravia, covering most of what is now the modem Czech Republic. His first moves were to increase rations for workers in heavy industry, especially the massive Skoda armaments concer. Simultaneously he fordered the SS to hunt down anyone who showed the slightest, resistance to Nazi rule, sometimes deporting their victims to concentration camps porayed in feel of Obergruppen- Feito leydrch also Wears combat awards, sports proticieney badges and ‘Nazi party emblems Fight: Heyarich tales the Salute at Prague's Hradeeny Castle, ‘appointed Reichs. protektor for Bohemia and Moravia, Hleydrih brutal but efficont rule ver what now the Czech Republic came foan end when he was targeted by ‘government in eae in Condon, ‘after ‘Croch but often having them executed These ‘carrot and stick’ tacties seemed 0 work — overt opposition declined and Czech \weapons production, so vital 19 the German war effort, increased. ‘This success seriously worried the Czech g inexile in London, and in December 1941 it was decided that Heydrich ‘must die, Two SOE-tained Free Czech sergeants, Jan Kulbis and Josef Gabeik, were parachuted into Czechoslovakia and made contact with the resistance Heydrich was most vulnerable to attack on his journey from his homie at Panenske Brezany to his office in the Fradcany Castle, ‘which he took in an open-topped Mercedes with only his driver, $8-Oberscharfihrer Klein as @ bodyguard, At9.30 am on 27 May 1942, the two men attacked as Heydrich’s ear slowed to negotiate a sharp bend. Gabeik’s Sten gun failed to fire, but a grenade damaged the car and wounded Heydrich. The wo assassins made their escape, chased by their target who leaped ‘out of the car firing his pistol before falling wounded. Wreckage from the car as well as horsehair and leather from the upholstery had penetrated Heydrich’s body, and over the next week he succumbed t0 blood poisoning, eventually dying on 4 June The wave of terror which descended on Czechoslovakia certainly had the effect of negating all that Heydrich had done. More than 10,000 people were arrested, and over 1,300 were killed or executed in reprisal ~ including Kubis and Gabeik. The crowning horror was the massacre of the entire ‘male population ofthe village of Lidice. Women and children were deported, and the village was razed to the ground. Heydrich’s ‘Final Solution’ head of the security sorvices Heydrich was Tera ager er etna War aka es Coreen ae Poetic ime eee TO athe eee already being carried out by the Einsatzgruppen, and took it to new heights of horror with the establishment Rrioeomirie agent tere Chelmno, Belzee, Sobibor, Treblinka, Majdanek, and the biggest of them all at Auschwitz-Birkenau. These camps had only one purpose, which was the genocidal murder of as many as five million Jews, gypsies, homosexuals, Communists, and others considered undesirable or sub-human by the rulers of the Reich, ‘Curiously, Heydrich seemed not to have a violent Rae ry Paar kee ane eer ay ike Julius Streicher. It was as if he had determined Po ore a een ee een quickest route to power in the skewed world that was Nazi Germany. And above all it was that quest for personal power which drove the ‘Hangman. ey eared rear Prorat orcs Pipe ‘Above: The ideological research department of Dare re ere a ee Pca panera eam a Tn Ana ce ee en the Jews, and a whole pseudo-science for ree ea ne ete {he Einsatzgruppen. These wore ee are ts ee tt ee Perrier rer Solution Although ssassinated before the death camps Lose mateo Pec ra emer ere Aer La et MORE Pra ee reat pees ee ane 1942 they murdered more than ane Bate ee sec ir ce Na se semen Pe Po MenILTY) eres Germany's surface fleets could not hope to match the Royal Navy, but her heavy surface raiders were a major threat to Britain’s seaborne trade. N FRIDAY September 1939, the ff Adm Graf Spee joined het support vessel Alimark in the mid Atlantic, south-west of the Canaries. The Graf Spee had sailed from Wilhelmshaven a fortnight earlier, transiting the North Sea undetected by the British and passing into the North Atlantic between Iceland and the and sailed a few days eroes. Her sister ship late, passing through the Denmark strait to rendezvous with her supply ship Greenland. Shortly after midday in Sunday 3 September, the German telegraphists picked up in uncoded British radio transmission, It was “TOTAL GERMANY’ the pre-arranged znal that war had begun, Half Tater, SKL naval staff) ordered the hostilities with Britain. Thus the outbreak of war found wo powerful German warships within a few hours’ st f he main shipping lanes used by Britain's merchant navy. Captain Paul WenneKer took the Deutschland south, to search the UK-West Indies routes. It was too late the British ceased t0 use pre-war route on 8 September 26 HITLER'S THIRD REICH and Wenneker found only a single ship that he sank on 5 October, taking the crew aboard the Deutschland, British cruisers Berwick and York were ondered to search for the raider, but at this how many raiders they were dealing with, Wenneker capt the City of Flint three days at and a prize crew sailed her to Norway by way of Murmansk The Dewschland lurked off Newfoundland for the rest of the stage the British we ‘month, but heavy we: problems with her SKL ordering Wenneker home. He slipped through British patrols round Iceland in a severe storm, reaching Kiel in mid- November. In aver two months at the Deutschland had only “ys ? ‘managed to sink two merchant ships and capture a third Graf Spee, commanded by 45 year-old Captain Hans LLangsdorff, was enjoying far ater success, On the outbreak of hostilities he made for Brazil, since Britain imported large {quantities of food from South Ametica. Graf Spee's Arado At 1961 e found the first Viet, «5,000 ton tramp steamer, the Clement. It strafed the vessel and the erew took to their boats, Langsdorffg them the course to s Brazil when the pan: closed with the abandoned ship Embarrassingly, it took two torpedoes, 50 mm secondary armament and five 280 mm shells to sink 5 rounds from the the Clement. Lan telegraphists reported thatthe merchantman had got off raider report before the Arado attacked, so he decided to disguise his ship, He had already broadcast using the cal-sign of sister ship Admiral Scheer. Now he ordered the distinctive ower t painted to look lke the tripod masts of many Allied warships, ‘nd a dummy’ *B" turret was built ‘abaft the forward 28 cm turret Graf Spee ran up the French tricolour, and continued on her ‘The pocket batleship sank nother four merchantmen before rounding the Cape of Good Hope at the end of November. Inthe Mozambique Channel the Graf Spee sarik the SS Africa She Returning tothe south Atlantic sddorf sank the 10,000 ton liner Dorie Star on the Cape-St Helena route British seamen are pulled from their lifeboat ae their ship erupts In flames. Langsdort of the Graf Spee was an ole-ashioned safor tho did his best to save the crows of his targets ff knew he had stired up a homet’s nest. The British and French navies had ht battleships and battlecruiser, six aircraft carriers and some 20 cruisers searching the Atlantic for the elusive raiders. By 8 December Graf Spee haul sunk nine merchant ships and, to Langsdorfts credit, not a single life had been lost. Throughout his sorte, he was infailingly chivalrous to his He made for the River Plate where SKL reported « shipping, but also warned of the presence of British cruisers, Langsdorff exercised his crew daily, in clear anticipation of a battle. The Arado hia broker down irretrievably and was abandoned, so he was relying solely on the ship's lookouts, At dawn on 13 December, in calm seas with a clear sk, visibility was about 20 nautical miles, Just before 6 am, the Jookouts reported mast heads on the horizon. Langsdorff gave the ‘order to clear for action. The leading ship was soon identified as the heavy cruiser Exeter, aster of her were two light cruisers, Ajax and Achilles, the latter flying the brow pendant ‘of Commodore Henry Harwood. Massive battle ensigns broke out on each British eruiser’s masts as they tumed to en: “The light cruisers had about an eight knot speed advantage, so Graf Spee hhad to fight, Except at dangerously close ran Graf Spee's armour would protect her from the 6-in (152 mm) guns of the fi cruisers But Exeter was armed with six 8-in (203 mm) guns, and the heavy cruiser was the German warship's most dangerous opponent AL0617, with th estimated at 18000 m Spee opened fire on Exeter with her 28-cm main guns. The British split up to divide the German fire, with Exeter turing sharply to engage Graf Spec's starboard side, The attacked from the port flank, and Ajax launched her Fairey Seafox Although known as.a ‘pocket battleship, the Grat Spee was in realty 4 powerfully-armed heavy erulsor with a very long range. The three ships ofthis class wore designed primarily for commerce raiding in distant waters Left A British steamer Is sunk by the secondary, uns of a Mippor’ class Gruiser The ‘Hippers’ were fraditional heawy cruisers ‘with 20.3-cm (8Inch} main ‘armament Below: Scheer and Litzow ‘steam in line ahead. Their ‘2B

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