Fact Wizard
Aediles
Posts : 71
Join date : 2021-09-10
 |  Subject: The Wehrmacht willing executioners Mon 24 Jan 2022, 12:06 | |
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By the time WW2 was declared on September 3 1939, the Wehrmacht had predominantly fallen under the spell of Nazism, having been brainwashed for the past six years. From the moment that the Wehrmacht invaded Poland on 1 September 1939, they participated in the implementation of Hitler's genocidal policies directed against Jews, Gypsies, and the Slavic population of Poland , Soviet Union, and Serbia. In addition they were responsible for death of around three million Soviet POW's, through neglect and starvation. In 1934 the military changed its oath of service, in the new version soldiers swore “unconditional obedience” to Hitler personally, rather than as originally to the German constitution. In 1935 in accordance with the new racial law, the military prohibited Jews from entering service, those already serving were dismissed. In 1938 Hitler became supreme commander of the entire German military, this helped to solidify the union between Hitler and his generals. The highest-ranking military officers were mainly aristocrats or upper-middle class, while they did not always agree with Hitler , they found common ground that enabled a reasonable partnership. As the German army grew in size, it started to become more extreme, younger soldiers and officers, prior to entry, had already become conditioned to Nazi ideals, through constant propaganda. On joining, the Wehrmacht continued to ideologically indoctrinate them, army newspapers, films, and lectures, spread racist and anti-Semitic propaganda, emphasising that Germany was fighting a defensive war against “Judeo-Bolsheviks” and “plutocratic” conspirators, so an organisation consisting of many , millions, became willing supporters of Hitler's aggressive wars and genocide. The involvement of the German army in the Holocaust and other Nazi crimes, gathered pace during the invasion of the Soviet Union, before this attack, the High Command issued three criminal orders, which rejected the established laws of war, and encouraged soldiers to commit atrocities, the first, the “Jurisdiction order” stating that soldiers would not be prosecuted for crimes in the Soviet Union, and this also would apply elsewhere in occupied Europe. Second, soldiers received the “Guidelines for the behaviour of the Troops”, which said “this war demands ruthless and aggressive action against Bolshevik agitators, snipers, saboteurs, and Jews, and a tireless elimination of any active or passive resistance”. This particularly made Jews a prime target for the German army. Finally, an order was given that all captured Soviet political commissars were to be immediately executed, 90% of German army units carried out these killings. The war in the Soviet Union was not be a conventional one, but instead a war of racial annihilation. Prior to the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, the SS and army leaders came to an agreement under which the army would supply logistical support to the Einsatzgruppen [SS paramilitary death squads], as they carried out the systematic mass murder of around 2 million Jews throughout the occupied Soviet Union, the German army was fully aware of these activities through liaison officers, and its own reports. In various parts of the Soviet Union, the German army itself actively carried out mass shootings of Jews, often under the cover of the anti-partisan war. The army served a vital role in the mass killing process, since the Einsatzgruppen were too small in number to carry out the massive number of killings required. In addition to Jews, Roma[Gypsies], the disabled, and Soviet commissars were also killed, in addition military units arriving in newly occupied regions, would be responsible for establishing ghettos and anti-Jewish regulations, such as forced labour, and the wearing of the yellow star. The German army bears major responsibility for the mass death of captured Soviet prisoners, during the first eight months of the Soviet campaign, it is estimated that 2 million Soviet POW's died, in total 3.3 million Soviet soldiers had died in German army prison camps by the end of WW2. In addition to its role in carrying out direct murder, the military made use of forced labour at all levels. Very soon after the end of the war, the myth arose that the German military had merely fought their enemies, including the Soviets in a conventional war, and was not involved in the Holocaust or other genocidal acts. Ongoing research continues to show just how willingly the military participated in the Nazi atrocities, dismantling the myth of the ”Clean Wehrmacht” |
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