The German Soldier smell

Iveread this a few times. Heard it partly put down to the large amount of leather used in German uniforms, dont know if its true or not?

 

Reading this whole topic I can read leather coming back pretty allot. I have got a leather jacket wich I wear everyday when I ride my bicylce from and too school. soaked a few days ago and terrible smell the day after. leather could be the answer on the other hand I quees everybody stinks after being on the line for a long time. maybe you guys got used to your and your mates smell but the smell of a german was a new one and perhaps thats why I'd smeel rather strange.

But these are just speculations.

 

Just thought I'd add, what an excellent account by Sapper yesterday. Absolutely amazing. You just don't get that in books.

 

Thanks for that Marcus.....
No lads. NOT leather. That smell would be instantly recognised by a great many folk..
Let me describe it again. A pungent heavyish scented smell. sickly scented. You have to get close to the enemy to get that smell, and it is potentially deadly, for it warns of the proximity of someone intent on killing you! Not nice!
It stuck in the memory of a nineteen year old young warrior. I can honestly smell it today, some 64 years later.

The puzzle has baffled many service men. To date without a satisfactory answer.
sapper

 

Could it have been the food they cooked? The cooking of some materials tends to give off a really strong smell, since it was war time many of the units probably had similar rations hence the smell. The "fumes" may have binded to the uniforms making them "smellable".

Many East Indians tend to have a similar stereotype

To avoid any racial confusion regarding the last sentence, although being born and raised in Canada, my heritage is Indian.

 

I would have to go along with Sapper and Ron's decriptions of that peculiar smell when Germans were about - it was very strange when it mixed with the dead both human and animals -

we often used their old camps as we advanced - one time moving into a new position in driving rain we were met by someone gesticulating madly for us to stop..which we did and as he approached... he disappeared ....he had found their latrine.... we couldn't help him as we were helpless with laughter....it was only the 2i/c

but the stench ...unforgettable !
Cheers

 

Elven - '
That is why we asked British Airways to change their routing to New Delhi via Hong Kong instead of London from Vancouver...as before we had left Canada at Newfoundland ... we could no longer use the toilets -the second suggestion was to install some toilets outside - they chose to re route !

Cheers

 

Tom: Ha! So thats why the flight path is so different today, was it changed during WWII or after? I had always thought it was changed after the 1985 bombing. Not too sure what the outside is a reference for.

I wasn't really talking about "refuse" but I guess that could also be a factor, I was more referring tot he smell the food would have given off while being cooked. Of course in many areas space wouldn't have been a luxury hence the uniforms smelling like what ever was being cooked for a while.

 

Eleven
The routing was changed after 1985 - the "outside" reference came about when I queried the low price of a journey to the U.K. - I was advised that the meals had been cut and the free wine etc - and "Oh yes - the toilets are outside" !

Cheers

 

Ahh a joke, I get it!

 

I like the bit about detergent washing clothes. There was no detergent and its an odd idea that you got a chance to wash your clothes. You would be very lucky if you ever got a chance to take them off.
Sapper

Sapper,

My father and some of his friends must have been very lucky as they managed to take a swim and bath in an Italian river (No idea where) and they thought it was absolutely great until later, when walking further around the bend upstream, they saw lots of dead animals bloated with time, and stinking something shocking.
Needless to say they changed their mind sharpish about the water being ok!!!
I told him, being that you were in the Recce corps why did you not take a look first. That went down like a lead balloon.

Regards

Tom

 

Adam,
I think it is down to Murphy's Law!

Regards

Tom

 

Hallo all

I know how silly this'll sound, but was there a
German Army issue 'cologne'? I cant imagine
such a thing being issued to combat troops,
but then agian, with the German Army, it
seems you never know!

The descriptions are sounding more like '1477' brand


Kind regards all

 

To any of the vets:

Have you visited Germany after the war? If so do you still notice such a smell?

 

I told him, being that you were in the Recce corps why did you not take a look first. That went down like a lead balloon.




Absolute Classic!

 

To any of the vets:

Have you visited Germany after the war? If so do you still notice such a smell?



Mehar

Be aware that when a veteran describes an un-forgettable smell he is talking about his memories of the time, i.e. in an un-named field in a desperately forbidding landscape surrounded by remnants of a hastily evacuated German camp-site.

If you are seriously suggesting that should the same veteran visit, for example, a hotel in Berlin today he would notice the same smell .......forget about it ..... the smell was only indicative of the time and place and I, for one, will never forget it or the smell of death that pervaded the battlegrounds of Sicily and Italy.

I am also hardly like to pay a visit to Berlin anyway......................

Ron

 

From my Fathers observations, the first he was especially talking about NW Europe, the 2nd was from in the Desert.

"We didn't have to look for jerry we could smell him, if you could not smell him, you could smell his tobacco and his coffee............"

"It had been a strange eight months; we had learnt to do our laundry by washing it in petrol, as petrol was more in abundance than water. Our clothing being bleached almost white and, dry in a matter of seconds. There were occasions when we drank ........."

 

Ron:

That's not exactly what I was suggesting, I was going with my previous theory regarding food. Sorry, I guess I should have elaborated my question more.