Tapping Hitler's Generals

BRUHN: They’ve probably given them money and an estate, and tied their hands in that way.[301] Or else the people have got annoyed and said: ‘That’s nothing to do with me; leave me in peace!’

FELBERT: You see it in the case of BLASKOWITZ. They simply got rid of him.[302]

BRUHN: Did he actually bring a thing like that up? With whom?

FELBERT: He brought it up in the OKW, I believe. As a result the man was simply sacked; he went immediately.

BRUHN: Then we who are regular officers must advocate that men be shot who are themselves wearing our uniform.

FELBERT: Naturally you must.

BRUHN: We must even disassociate ourselves from our own superiors, who are also regular officers.

FELBERT: Yes, because they knew. They knew about it without any doubt.

BRUHN: Well, give me a motive.

FELBERT: What do those people call a motive?

BRUHN: To get promotion? That makes it even worse. To get a decoration? That makes it worse still. They were so well off that they lacked for nothing–they were even better off than that.

FELBERT: Those people all miscalculated. They all said to themselves: ‘The war is nearly over anyway.’

BRUHN: Yes, but surely I can’t miscalculate on questions of honour?

FELBERT: Oh, those people have no honour.

BRUHN: But they must have. We’ve always preached it; after all we were ‘Bataillon’ and ‘Regimentskommandeure.’

FELBERT: We have no honour either. We have ambition, filthy ambition, filthiest ambition, but nothing more.

BRUHN: Do you believe then, that, not with individuals but with the mass of people, their ambition is so great that even if they are regular officers–I’m speaking only of those and not of the SS–they shrink from no measures whatever, just to serve their ambition?

FELBERT: I don’t know what was behind it all. Of course, it’s also possible that pressure was brought to bear on them.

BRUHN: But there was always the possibility of simulating illness and saying: ‘I can’t do it any more.’ Do you really think they soberly said to themselves: ‘Might is Right’ and ‘we’ll win the war and then no one will worry about that.’ But in that case those people can have no conscience at all.

FELBERT: They haven’t.

Document 124

CSDIC (UK), GRGG 260

Report on information obtained from Senior Officers (PW) on 14–15 Feb. 45 [TNA, WO 208/4177]

WAHLE: Once, in 1941, we liquidated a Russian Commissar[303] who had been captured on his way back to the East in the company of another Russian. He had quickly managed to throw away his map and all kinds of things. He appeared as a handsome, immaculately dressed officer who first of all feigned innocence, saying he’d lost his way when looking for supply vehicles and stating he was an officer. I had seen the map and noticed it had indications of how they intended by-passing us; during the night also something had occurred: some cavalry had broken through in the rear. Whilst my adjutant and I were examining his maps and papers he continued his tale in an extremely self-assured manner. Suddenly… passed me a slip of paper and whispered: ‘Here is a Commissar’s identity card.’ The man broke down on the spot; he knew his fate was sealed. We packed up the things and sent him back to the ‘Division’, where he was then put to death… It happened at the time the Russians were dropping those pamphlets containing that CLAUSEWITZ quotation which had been got up very well, and which said: ‘It is impossible either to hold or to conquer RUSSIA’, in November 1941.

ELFELDT: In what area did it happen?

WAHLE: It occurred near PRTEMOVSK;[304] do you know the place, it’s near BACHMUT. The town used to be called BACHMUT and lies between ROSTOV and KHARKOV.

Document 125

CSDIC (UK), GRGG 264

Report on information obtained from Senior Officers (PW) on 24–6 Feb. 45 [TNA, WO 208/4177]

KITTEL: I forbade that at DVINSK and the immediate result was that it stopped at once. I didn’t have any say in the matter at STALINO, that’s to say the tragedy had already taken place, and it had also already taken place at ROSTOV; the people had already been killed there, but it was put down to my account. I shall certainly be named as a war criminal. 18,000 Jews were killed at ROSTOV. Of course I had nothing to do with the whole affair! But it is down on my account because I was the only known ‘General’ there.[305]

EBERBACH: Who is really responsible for the affair? There’s no doubt at all that the FÜHRER knew all about this massacre of the Jews.