German accounts from Normandy

Discussion in 'Axis Units' started by Spitfires of the Sea, Jan 31, 2022.

  1. Spitfires of the Sea

    Spitfires of the Sea Stephen Fisher

    Hi all,

    I think most of us know that German accounts from the Normandy campaign are much thinner on the ground than Allied. Quite a few senior commanders accounts exist, but there is a real dearth of infantryman accounts, especially from D-Day. I know of a few accounts from the front line – the odd quote in a book, or some small publications (Steiner's War or Strongpoint WN 62) – but the most well known accounts are from the discredited D-Day Through German Eyes.

    Can anyone recommend a good collection or source of German infantry accounts from D-Day (in any language), or does anyone know where PoW interrogation reports can be found in archives?

    Or, can anyone can cast more light on the short accounts contained in books like Two Sides of the Beach by Edmund Blandford – those of men like Fritz Buchte, Heinrich Siebel, Peter Wolf Agnussen, Hans Ludwig Weiner, Hans Ulrich Hanter, Hans Georg Futtler, Hans Georg Petersen, Lt Franz Grabmann etc...

    Cheers,
    Steve
     
  2. idler

    idler GeneralList

    Haven't read it, but Paul Carell's Invasion - They're Coming might fit the bill?
     
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  3. CL1

    CL1 116th LAA and 92nd (Loyals) LAA,Royal Artillery

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  4. Gary Tankard

    Gary Tankard Well-Known Member

    My knowledge is limited to the Italian campaign but from the PoW side I have found several hundred PoW interrogation reports by the PWB in the archives. These deal with high level morale/attitude evaluation of the PoWs by asking sets of questions about morale at home, opinion of the Luftwaffe, opinion of officers, food, if they know any jokes (about the Nazi leadership) etc , etc.

    I did have a quick look in the NWE equivalent (WO 219, WO 205) and there are some that might be promising (i.e. WO 219/332) but it is difficult to tell if they are policy documents or the actual interrogation reports.

    At the lower level you will also find tactical level interrogation reports in many Brigade level WDs. These tend to more weighted towards the local military situation.

    Another good source of German accounts is (unsurprisingly) German published books. Most of these never make it into English translations but by nosing around ebay.de and specialist German book sellers you can pick up some good titles. However, for most of the memoirs Normandy will be just a small part - it is hit and miss. I'd also say there are far more SS ones than you'd expect (or maybe not...)

    Just a very quick scan on ebay.de

    Vom Pionier-Bataillon in der Normandie zum Panzerjagdkommando + Signatur! | eBay
    Normandie - Die Invasion am 6. Juni 1944 überlebt. Begegnungen und Erinnerungen | eBay
     
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  5. ltdan

    ltdan Nietenzähler

    German diary records of the lower batches are rare: With Overlord and Bagration the great dying began in the Wehrmacht, those who got into captivity mostly lost their records.
    And after '45 it was not very popular to go public with one's experiences.
    Those who did .... well, silence is gold would have been desirable with many.
    This leaves predominantly only memory protocols, which naturally remain inaccurate.

    On the following page are relatively detailed (and therefore rare) records of a soldier :
    Werner Harms, Kriegstagebuch 1944 - Zum Geleit
     
  6. alberk

    alberk Well-Known Member

    A wonderful source for personal diaries and recollections is:
    Das Deutsche Tagebucharchiv in Emmendingen near Freiburg:
    Über uns | Deutsches Tagebucharchiv
    I worked with them and found amazing material...
     
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  7. Andreas

    Andreas Working on two books

    I'd be careful with that, given Schmidt's history of head of propaganda in the foreign ministry.

    All the best

    Andreas
     
  8. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Old Hickory Recon

    D-Day Through German Eyes is available on Youtube.

    Hein Severloh wrote WN62- A German Soldier's Memories of the Defense of Omaha Beach, Normandy, June 6 1944.
     
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  9. Spitfires of the Sea

    Spitfires of the Sea Stephen Fisher

    Thanks Idler. I'm wary of Carrel myself – some of the basic facts about Overlord in it are waaaay off and, although I'm less knowledgeable about this, he is apparently a questionable character – a former Nazi propagandist and SS officer.
     
  10. Spitfires of the Sea

    Spitfires of the Sea Stephen Fisher

    Yes, that's a good book. I have the preceding volume dealing just with D-Day. They're useful, although the contributions are from quite high up in the chain of command.

    That list is handy, thanks – although I recognise a few dodgy publications in it!
     
  11. Spitfires of the Sea

    Spitfires of the Sea Stephen Fisher

    Thanks Gary. I've received some recommendations for WO 208. I can vouch that WO 208/65XX are policy, but there seems to be some gold dust amongst WO 208/36XX from what I'm seeing. I'll hunt more thoroughly through brigade war diaries in future as well - I guess there's a good chance they might nmot show up for a month or more after they were taken as well.

    Hadn't thought of trying to search for books. My German is non-existent, but I'll give it a go!
     

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