Following on from the BBC programme on Dunkirk and having read some of the other threads on this subject, could anyone provide directions to the site. I believe it isn't actually in Wormhoudt, I have found a reference to a place called Esquelbecq. I'm about to venture on to the www but thought I'd try here first. Ali
Hi Ali, Try http://www.ph012b2086.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk...y/wormhoudt.htm http://mackillers.8m.com/wormhoudt.html http://www.silentcities.co.uk/cemeteryw/Wo...ery,%20Nord.htm Ryan
Hi Ryan, Thanks for the links, found the first two myself whilst surfing but Silent cities escaped me. What I'm trying to find is any guidance on driving to the site, directions, parking etc. I would be particularly interested in hearing from anyone who has recently visited the site. Ali
You can always try http://www.theaa.co.uk website for routes and you may be interested to know that chapter 3 in the pen & sword book 'Dunkirk' in the channel ports series of battleground europe is all on this... ISBN 0850527015 £9.95 I forgot I had this on my shelf!!! Its probably best getting a copy yourself anyway but here is a map of what you are after. Ryan
Ryan, Thank you for the map and addition info and thank the lords above for the battleground series of books. Without them there would be even more clueless people like me wandering about. Ali
I found the site very easily from the directions in the Battleground Europe 'Dunkirk' book in 2000. It is possible to walk from the centre of Escquelbeq on a similar route to that taken by the prisoners, passing the 'official' memorial which is actually some distance from the actual massacre site. A reconstruction of the fatal barn has just been built on the original location. The dramatization of the massacre (which I watched again on the BBC4 repeat of the series) is pretty accurate, but of course told from the point of view of Alf Toombs. The death of Captain Lynn Allen is described differently by other witnesses, notably Bert Evans. You might like to visit the graves of some of the men, including the two heroic NCOs who attempted to smother the grenades, at Esquelbeq Cemetery. On a lighter note Escquelbeq features its own local brewery.
I forgot to recommend the most detailed account of the massacre based on numerous eyewitness accounts: 'Massacre On the Road To Dunkirk' by Revd. Leslie Aitken.
Hi, Thanks for all the information provided, especially Ryan for the map. The visit was on the homeward leg of a Somme visit over this weekend, when we visited the site on Monday the area was deserted. As many of you may already know there is a memorial on the road/track from Esquelbecq and a barn has been reconstructed to mark the site of the massacre. Unfortunatetly the Union Flag flying beside the barn is looking a bit ragged, does anyone know who would be responsible for the upkeep of this? I have hopefully attached a photo showing the area, apologies for the poor camera work, I will get better. One note is that the site in general is looking well cared for and some new planting appears to be going on, a raised mount has been built roughly between the two ponds, about 70m NE of the barn. As it has steps leading to a flatten summit (approx 5m) it could be a viewing platform but I'm not sure. In the barn is a number of memorials, there appears to be some connection with Llanduno, does anyone know the reason for this? Regards Ali.
Thanks for posting the photos Ali, I shall make a point in visiting when we hopefully get to the dunes later this year. Ryan
I was lucky enough earlier this year to visit Wormhoudt where my Great Uncle is buried. He was in the Worcestershire Yeomanry and is laid to rest in the small village cemetary on the edge of the north of the village. He was my gran's youngest and favourite brother and she told me a lot about him and I promised as a boy that one day I would visit his grave and pay my respects. This I did. I am going again next March. This time with a small amount of soil from the site of his home in Kidderminster. The issue of blame is one I wondered if anyone else had an opinion on? Sepp Dietrich was apparently trying to get back to his hq at the time of the massacre and was not in control of his troops, therefore who was and especially who was the German officer who gave the order to execute the men?
Originally posted by Nige GSX1400 UK@Dec 22 2004, 03:24 AM The issue of blame is one I wondered if anyone else had an opinion on? With no shadow of a doubt.....Wilhelm Mohnke. Dave.
Thanx. Any idea where he's buried, Herr Wilhelm Mohnke? Was it him or Pieper who moved to France after release from prison and was murdered in a fire there in the 70s? I have a feeling it was Pieper as I think he was involved with the Oradour massacre. Personally I hope everyone involved from the SS at Wormhout was captured on the Eastern Front by women SMERSH operatives and suffered in the extreme. As for justice after the War the Cold War ensured there was little as we and the Soviets allowed Nazis to live if they collaborated. Should have hung em all.
Originally posted by Nige GSX1400 UK@Dec 28 2004, 07:02 PM Thanx. Any idea where he's buried, Herr Wilhelm Mohnke? Was it him or Pieper who moved to France after release from prison and was murdered in a fire there in the 70s? I have a feeling it was Pieper as I think he was involved with the Oradour massacre. Personally I hope everyone involved from the SS at Wormhout was captured on the Eastern Front by women SMERSH operatives and suffered in the extreme. As for justice after the War the Cold War ensured there was little as we and the Soviets allowed Nazis to live if they collaborated. Should have hung em all. [post=30310]Quoted post[/post] Peiper was the guy who moved to France and was killed by resistance veterans in 1976. He did the Malmedy Massacre. Mohnke wound up commanding the defenses of the Zitadelle in Berlin -- the Reichstag, Reichchancellery, and so on, in the final days of the battle. He reported to Hitler when he could only hold for a day, so Der Fuhrer knew it was time to break out the his-and-hers Lugers for Die Goetterdaemerrung. Mohnke was captured by the Soviets and interrogated, but didn't use the pistol clip in his jockstrap to write his own finis, and survived captivity. He spilled a chunk of his guts to Joseph O'Donnell in "The Bunker" in 1976, which is a good book, and there's more about him in Joachimsthaler's "Last Days in the Bunker." The back of that book has short biographies of the key participants, and a shot of Mohnke. I'm pretty sure he's dead now. Nearly everybody who was in the bunker is gone now. He was a general in the LSSAH, which was the elite guard, based in Berlin, mostly assigned to guard Der Fuhrer. But they fought all over the European map, and left a trail of destruction in their wake, both military and civilian.
SS Brigadefurhrer Wilhelm Mohnke who commanded the Furehrerbunker within his role as the commandant of the Chancellery was a diehard Nazi who was loyal to Hitler to the end.He was, however very fortunate to escape British gallows by being captured by the Russians. It transpired that he was captured after leaving the Furehrerbunker on 1 May 1945.The Russians denied all knowledge of his whereabouts although he was traced to a POW camp at Strausberg.This was at a time when Stalin was anxious to have full knowledge of the secrets of the Furehrerbunker.It was always Stalin's belief that Hitler had escaped from the Furehrerbunker and was alive. Consequently anyone captured and of Hitler's circle were incarcerated in Soviet prisons and continually interrogated. They were forgotten until Stalin died in March 1953 and were finally released into West Germany in October 1955. In September 1945,Hugh Trevor Roper,the historian then serving in British military intelligence was instructed to make a full investigation of the mystery of Hitler's end.He concluded that Mohnke amongst others had all "stated their determination to commit suicide,which they well have done,although a Russian communique reported the capture of Rattenhuber" (one of the others ) On his release in 1955, Mohnke settled in West Germany and in the early 1990s was proved to be living in retirement at Barsbuttel,near Hamburg.The MP, Jeff Rooker brought the case to Parliament on behalf of the Warwickshire Regiment survivors living in the Birmingham area.Alas his efforts to bring Mohnke to justice for his crime came to nought.Mohnke was filmed taking a stroll in the vicinity of his house during the investigation.He proved to be "untouchable" and died at Barsbuttel on 6 August 2001. Mohnke was also said to be involved with Kurt Meyer in the murder of Canadian POWs in Normandy.There is no doubt had the Russians turned him over to the British he would have been brought to full account for the Wormhout massacre.
Thanks for the information on Mohnke. The interesting thing about him and the other "Mountain People" was that Stalin, in his infinite paranoia, held them separate and captive for years. He even had them re-enact the last hours in the Fuhrerbunker, on site, in 1946. They were constantly interrogated. SMERSH and the NKVD presented Stalin with piles of evidence that Hitler had blown himself away in the bunker, but the Vozhd insisted that Hitler had made the great escape. The more evidence the secret police brought in, the more paranoid Stalin got about the whole question. I almost feel sorry for those Nazi captives, who were telling the truth and never believed. I actually know what that's like. There's a thread on The History Channel forum, about how I have been accused for the past year of being some moron over there who spends his life harassing others. I told these folks over and over again that I was not him, and they didn't believe me. On Christmas Day, I finally got them to believe me. It only took a year. Off-topic, I know, but the synchronicity of Mohnke's captivity and this incident would make Jung proud. Mohnke should have stood war crimes trial. Too many big shots commit all kinds of atrocities and sadism, and get away with it.
I will be going to france thids year and will be going to wormhoult. iam fihding it hard to find its exact locasion
Hi Joe90 and welcome to the forum Check out this thread on this forum. There is a location map on post #4 http://www.ww2talk.com/index.php?showtopic=147
