Wonderful feeling: After 75 years, Berliner recalls end of WW2 in Europe

[snoop1130]

Wonderful feeling: After 75 years, Berliner recalls end of WW2 in Europe

 

Guenther Boehm, contemporary witness of final days of World War 2 in besieged Berlin in May 1945, holds a picture during an Interview in Berlin, Germany, May 7, 2020. REUTERS/Annegret Hilse

 

BERLIN (Reuters) - As a 15-year-old boy in the capital of Nazi Germany during the final days of the Battle of Berlin in 1945, Guenther Boehm recalls the relief when he realised German soldiers had disappeared and the sound of gunfire had stopped.

 

"Above all, this feeling that the war was over was wonderful," Boehm, now 90 years old, told Reuters Television.

 

On May 8, Germany commemorates the 75th anniversary of what is now officially called "Day of Liberation", Nazi Germany's defeat and the end of World War Two in Europe.

 

"The soldiers, our German soldiers disappeared and no more shots were fired," said Boehm, remembering the frightening noise of battle which had included the deafening sound of Red Army multiple rocket launchers and the sight of artillery.

 

"We knew it would soon be over. Another indication was that the so-called gold pheasants, the (Nazi party) elite dressed in brown disappeared," he said. "Either they changed their clothes or their homes. They did not want to be seen."

 

The end came fast, he said.

 

"Between the disappearance of the German soldiers and the appearance of the Soviet soldiers there was maybe half an hour," said Boehm.

 

He grew up in eastern Berlin but moved to the western side before the Berlin Wall, the front line of the Cold War in Europe for nearly three decades, was built in 1961.

 

Like his parents, Boehm said he never wanted to live through something as terrible as World War Two again.

 

The bloody Battle of Berlin, in which Red Army tanks, artillery and infantry fought forward street by street in April and May 1945, reduced the Nazi capital to rubble.

 

Despite relief that the fighting and destruction was over, many Germans realised their country was destroyed and feared the arrival of the Soviet Red Army.

 

"The looting and the rioting was terrible," said Boehm, adding his aunt was raped, an uncle had an eye knocked out and their remaining belongings were stolen.

 

"All that was not nice but we were so busy surviving we had no time to feel hate," he said.

 

"No one expected that we would see 75 years without war and in fact that's a gift," said Boehm.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-05-08

 

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[Pilotman]

I am so proud of what my father did in WW2.  It's not fashionable nowadays to recall the work of Bomber Command during those terrible years but the aircrew sacrifice was more than that in the Somme offence in WW1 with around 50% aircrew killed, but they kept up pressure on the Nazi Regime when there was no other way.  He was a Lancaster Flight Engineer with 103 Squadron in 1943/44  and a true hero in my eyes.  I will choose to remember him today and all those like him.   

Edited May 8, 2020 by Pilotman

[ExpatOilWorker]

6 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

I am so proud of what my father did in WW2.  It's not fashionable nowadays to recall the work of Bomber Command during those terrible years but the aircrew sacrifice was more than that in the Somme offence in WW1 with around 50% were killed, but they kept up pressure on the Nazi Regime when there was no other way.  He was a Lancaster Flight Engineer with 103 Squadron in 1943/44  and a true hero in my eyes.  I will choose to remember him today and all those like him.   

 

[hydraides]

Its truly ironic. Celebrating 75 years after we won our 'freedom'.

 

Citizens of nearly every country in the Western world have today haveso easily given up their basic freedoms to their governments, without question, without protests. 

 

Seems like no one learnt anything. 

[Pilotman]

2 minutes ago, hydraides said:

Its truly ironic. Celebrating 75 years after we won our 'freedom'.

 

Citizens of nearly every country in the Western world have today haveso easily given up their basic freedoms to their governments, without question, without protests. 

 

Seems like no one learnt anything. 

well said 

[stouricks]

20 minutes ago, Pilotman said:

I am so proud of what my father did in WW2.  It's not fashionable nowadays to recall the work of Bomber Command during those terrible years but the aircrew sacrifice was more than that in the Somme offence in WW1 with around 50% aircrew killed, but they kept up pressure on the Nazi Regime when there was no other way.  He was a Lancaster Flight Engineer with 103 Squadron in 1943/44  and a true hero in my eyes.  I will choose to remember him today and all those like him.   

My Dad wanted to join the RAF but had a gammy leg injury from football. When he went, the RAF man asked what his job was. Engineering designer, draughtsman he replied. The RAF man said to him 'We need so many men like you here in England'. My Dad went on to design the variable pitch prop assembly for the Merlin engine on both Spitfire and lancasters. So he also contributed greatly to our victory over Mr Adolf. 

Edited May 8, 2020 by stouricks

[roo860]

https://twitter.com/DefenceHQ/status/1258692207332261888?s=09

[Susco]

1 hour ago, snoop1130 said:

 

"All that was not nice but we were so busy surviving we had no time to feel hate," he said.

 

Maybe he forget that that it was his country who started both world wars, and must have been the most hated country on this planet at that time.

 

So he want to say they, the Germans, had even the slightest reason  to hate the people that freed the world?

[Chomper Higgot]

I today spoke with my children about their grandfather and his WW2 experience.

 

A devout Christian and ‘conscientious objector’ he volunteered to serve as a stretcher bearer, was injured by shrapnel landing on D-day, but returned to the frontline less than a week later where he remained until invalided out of service after being shot attending to injured men under fire.

 

 

[Justgrazing]

6 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

The bloody Battle of Berlin, in which Red Army tanks, artillery and infantry fought forward street by street in April and May 1945, reduced the Nazi capital to rubble

Sometimes overlooked in the narrative of the final mths of WW2 is the savagery meted out by some Russian troops on the civilian population of East Prussia and Germany and why many of them tried to flee West .. Stalin's reaction to the murder , rape , thieving and mayhem being carried out by Russian troops was to brush it off with comments like " understand if the Russian soldier crosses thousands of km's of fire , fighting and death he can enjoy German women and a little trifle " and " we lecture our soldiers too much .. we should allow them the initiative " .. Some of the Allies seen these comments as condoning what was happening and said as much in private but as the days of bon homme between Allied and Russian troops after finally defeating the Nazi's began to evaporate the suspicions about each other were solidifying so statements made by the Allies about the brutality being shown to the German civilian population wouldn't go down well in Moscow polarising the standing of both further .. Eventually order began to be restored when the standing Russian forces were confined to camp and it was made a military offence to perpetrate crimes against the German population .. The ongoing consequences of some of the Soviets behaviour left lasting scars on German society such as " Russenbabies " resulting from rapes many of whom were abandoned straight after birth with some women preferring to seek backstreet terminations as the hospitals were controlled by the Russians , and many were infected with serious STD's .. And many woman fearing what would happen prevented it by taking their own lives .. For long after WW2 the Russians refused to acknowledge the extent of what their troops had done in seizing that side of Germany even after Stalin died .. though in the yrs after the Soviet Union collapsed and more records and information began to appear that they began to accept to a degree what happened but even so in the early 2000's a book " Berlin the Downfall " ( compelling but also uncomfortable to read ) which benefitted from information previously unavailable that detailed Russian troops behavior brought scathing criticism from them for trying to drag the reputation of the Red Army down and failing to consider the price the Russians paid in seizing Berlin .. 

Edited May 8, 2020 by Justgrazing
Sp

[Davo369]

25 minutes ago, Justgrazing said:

Sometimes overlooked in the narrative of the final mths of WW2 is the savagery meted out by some Russian troops on the civilian population of East Prussia and Germany and why many of them tried to flee West .. Stalin's reaction to the murder , rape , thieving and mayhem being carried out by Russian troops was to brush it off with comments like " understand if the Russian soldier crosses thousands of km's of fire , fighting and death he can enjoy German women and a little trifle " and " we lecture our soldiers too much .. we should allow them the initiative " .. Some of the Allies seen these comments as condoning what was happening and said as much in private but as the days of bon homme between Allied and Russian troops after finally defeating the Nazi's began to evaporate the suspicions about each other were solidifying so statements made by the Allies about the brutality being shown to the German civilian population wouldn't go down well in Moscow polarising the standing of both further .. Eventually order began to be restored when the standing Russian forces were confined to camp and it was made a military offence to perpetrate crimes against the German population .. The ongoing consequences of some of the Soviets behaviour left lasting scars on German society such as " Russenbabies " resulting from rapes many of whom were abandoned straight after birth with some women preferring to seek backstreet terminations as the hospitals were controlled by the Russians , and many were infected with serious STD's .. And many woman fearing what would happen prevented it by taking their own lives .. For long after WW2 the Russians refused to acknowledge the extent of what their troops had done in seizing that side of Germany even after Stalin died .. though in the yrs after the Soviet Union collapsed and more records and information began to appear that they began to accept to a degree what happened but even so in the early 2000's a book " Berlin the Downfall " ( compelling but also uncomfortable to read ) which benefitted from information previously unavailable that detailed Russian troops behavior brought scathing criticism from them for trying to drag the reputation of the Red Army down and failing to consider the price the Russians paid in seizing Berlin .. 

Well said my friend 

[Davo369]

My 2 grandfather's in the war, one in Italy the other in Africa.... 

2 very brave men. Like many other....    God bless and total respect 

[Tug]

Pray to god that we never ever repeat it 

[blazes]

In 1962, three of us [students] travelled by train from London to Munich.  Arrived 9 pm.  Not  a restaurant open anywhere, except in the Bahnhof.

 

We wandered around the streets nearby and found a bar, lights on, but no customers.  The bar owner invited us Pommies in and gave us a glass each of Schnapps.

 

With grave bitterness, he proceeded to recount the end of the war in Munich, how the French soldiers came in with guns blazing and mowed down all Germans in sight, women and children included.

 

Later we entered the restaurant at the main station, and were greeted by a middle-aged waitress who immediately launched into a violent tirade against us!

We had almost no German, so were perplexed by what the hell she was going on about.

 

But I did know the word "französich" that she kept screaming at us. 

 

She thought we were French.....

 

 

[simon43]

My father was born and brought up in Egypt, and apparently immune to the various nasty diseases that killed many allied troops sent out to Africa. He was stationed in West Africa as a radio operator and code-breaker.

 

After the war, he was sent to the Nurenberg trials, where he coded up dispatches to be sent to Churchill.

 

My father never fired a gun during the war, but was issued with an old 'blunderbuss' while stationed in Africa.  He often told me that shooting this gun would probably cause worse injury to him than the person he was shooting at....

[remobb]

My father was one of Churchill's pirates keeping the North sea clear of mines and submarines. His ship was hit during the evacuation of Dunkirk and had to return to England without any soldiers unfortunately. He was a quiet man and never spoke much if anything about the war. Alas, I cannot ask him now I wish I could. Thank you dad.

[Burma Bill]

Interesting article from a German survivor who, it appears, may have been a very lucky 15 year old boy at the time (not conscripted):-

Hitler Youth - Wikipedia

 

By 1945, the Volkssturm was commonly drafting 12-year-old Hitler Youth members into its ranks. During the Battle of Berlin, Axmann's Hitler Youth formed a major part of the last line of German defense, and were reportedly among the fiercest fighters.

 

[sawadee1947]

18 hours ago, Pilotman said:

I am so proud of what my father did in WW2.  It's not fashionable nowadays to recall the work of Bomber Command during those terrible years but the aircrew sacrifice was more than that in the Somme offence in WW1 with around 50% aircrew killed, but they kept up pressure on the Nazi Regime when there was no other way.  He was a Lancaster Flight Engineer with 103 Squadron in 1943/44  and a true hero in my eyes.  I will choose to remember him today and all those like him.   

I hope he was not involved in the massaker of bombing thousands of civilians in Dresden. 

A shame to be proud of. 

It was maybe a necessary Job, but dirty and inhuman. 

That's the reason hardly none of the veterans is talking about those times. 

They know about the Horror, Angst, cruelty, inhumanity. !

 

[joebrown]

12 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

Sometimes overlooked in the narrative of the final mths of WW2 is the savagery meted out by some Russian troops on the civilian population of East Prussia and Germany and why many of them tried to flee West .. Stalin's reaction to the murder , rape , thieving and mayhem being carried out by Russian troops was to brush it off with comments like " understand if the Russian soldier crosses thousands of km's of fire , fighting and death he can enjoy German women and a little trifle " and " we lecture our soldiers too much .. we should allow them the initiative " .. Some of the Allies seen these comments as condoning what was happening and said as much in private but as the days of bon homme between Allied and Russian troops after finally defeating the Nazi's began to evaporate the suspicions about each other were solidifying so statements made by the Allies about the brutality being shown to the German civilian population wouldn't go down well in Moscow polarising the standing of both further .. Eventually order began to be restored when the standing Russian forces were confined to camp and it was made a military offence to perpetrate crimes against the German population .. The ongoing consequences of some of the Soviets behaviour left lasting scars on German society such as " Russenbabies " resulting from rapes many of whom were abandoned straight after birth with some women preferring to seek backstreet terminations as the hospitals were controlled by the Russians , and many were infected with serious STD's .. And many woman fearing what would happen prevented it by taking their own lives .. For long after WW2 the Russians refused to acknowledge the extent of what their troops had done in seizing that side of Germany even after Stalin died .. though in the yrs after the Soviet Union collapsed and more records and information began to appear that they began to accept to a degree what happened but even so in the early 2000's a book " Berlin the Downfall " ( compelling but also uncomfortable to read ) which benefitted from information previously unavailable that detailed Russian troops behavior brought scathing criticism from them for trying to drag the reputation of the Red Army down and failing to consider the price the Russians paid in seizing Berlin .. 

You forgot to mention that the German army fought like gentlemen on their rampage to Stalingrad. The Russian army only meted out justified retribution for the atrocities suffered by their countrymen.  For example the Germans had a system for saving valuable bullets by rounding up whole villages , then locking them in churches and barns before setting fire to them.

[Justgrazing]

34 minutes ago, joebrown said:

You forgot to mention that the German army fought like gentlemen on their rampage to Stalingrad. The Russian army only meted out justified retribution for the atrocities suffered by their countrymen.  For example the Germans had a system for saving valuable bullets by rounding up whole villages , then locking them in churches and barns before setting fire to them.

The way some elements of the Germans behaved particularly in Russia has never been disputed and many were held to account at the end of the war at Nuremberg trials .. Those actions cannot be erased but neither can they be used as justification or retribution for some of what happened in East Prussia and Germany in those final mths .. in particular the sexual violence used against woman and children .. Two wrongs do not make a right ..

Edited May 9, 2020 by Justgrazing
Sp

[Pilotman]

56 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

I hope he was not involved in the massaker of bombing thousands of civilians in Dresden. 

A shame to be proud of. 

It was maybe a necessary Job, but dirty and inhuman. 

That's the reason hardly none of the veterans is talking about those times. 

They know about the Horror, Angst, cruelty, inhumanity. !

 

An opinion born of a massive amount of hindsight, from people who never had to live through a World War and wish to rewrite history without that experience.  What Bomber Command and the US 8th Air Force did in Europe and what the US Air Force did to Japan, including the dropping of the two Atomic Bombs, was a necessary evil and nothing to be ashamed about, both from those who participated and we who eventually befitted.  As it happened, my Father was not involved in the Dresden raid, but if he had been, he  would have done his duty if called upon to do so, just as he did over 30+ German targets. Of course war is cruel and inhumane, it always is, but that doesn't detract from the commitment and bravery of those who are called upon to fight it on behalf of society as a whole. It never ceases to amaze me how often and quickly people forget the commitment, dedication and sacrifice of all Armed Forces personnel , once the threat goes away.  That is truly something to be ashamed of. 

[ExpatOilWorker]

4 hours ago, Justgrazing said:

The way some elements of the Germans behaved particularly in Russia has never been disputed and many were held to account at the end of the war at Nuremberg trials .. Those actions cannot be erased but neither can they be used as justification or retribution for some of what happened in East Prussia and Germany in those final mths .. in particular the sexual violence used against woman and children .. Two wrongs do not make a right ..

In the British documentary "The World at War", they quote a German woman from Berlin saying: A Ivan on your tommy is better than a Tommy over your head.

 

[Baerboxer]

19 hours ago, Susco said:

 

Maybe he forget that that it was his country who started both world wars, and must have been the most hated country on this planet at that time.

 

So he want to say they, the Germans, had even the slightest reason  to hate the people that freed the world?

 

I don't think the Soviets freed anybody. They expelled Nazi forces and replaced them as tyrannical occupiers.

 

The Nazis didn't occupy the world! Japan was bust occupying Asia as Germany was Europe and North Africa.

 

 

[Baerboxer]

2 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

I hope he was not involved in the massaker of bombing thousands of civilians in Dresden. 

A shame to be proud of. 

It was maybe a necessary Job, but dirty and inhuman. 

That's the reason hardly none of the veterans is talking about those times. 

They know about the Horror, Angst, cruelty, inhumanity. !

 

 

War is not a nice business. 

 

The tendency of some modern politically correct "historians" to criticize operations is only possible because of those operations. Speculating on the realities is just that, speculating. 

 

Germany started the practice of deliberately terror bombing non combatant civilian targets as a tactic in WW1. They continued in in the Spanish Civil War when supporting the fascist Franco. They terror bombed Warsaw and Rotterdam, a deliberate tactic to smash the will of the people. The tried the same with the London Blitz and bombing British cities. In such circumstances, and in such times, it's not really surprising that similar tactics would be used against them given the opportunity, is it? 

 

 

[sawadee1947]

19 minutes ago, ExpatOilWorker said:

In the British documentary "The World at War", they quote a Getman woman from Berlin saying: A Ivan on your tommy is better than a Tommy over your head.

 

And you think this remark is worth to publish? Pathetic! 

[Baerboxer]

5 hours ago, remobb said:

My father was one of Churchill's pirates keeping the North sea clear of mines and submarines. His ship was hit during the evacuation of Dunkirk and had to return to England without any soldiers unfortunately. He was a quiet man and never spoke much if anything about the war. Alas, I cannot ask him now I wish I could. Thank you dad.

 

Very few veterans seem to have spoken a lot about their experiences. My father was a Company Quartermaster Sergeant Major. I think he said little, very little, things about the war on 2 or three occasions. Very little as he served from 1940 to 1948, 8 years. One uncle was a Petty Officer in the Fleet-Air-Arm. Just the same, said very little. 

I remember when I was little, if someone's dad spoke a lot about doing this, that and the other, in the war, most other dads who served would call them some choice names. The usual expression was "hello, another prat who won the war with his penknife!"

 

It was considered good manners not to talk about such things but to just get on with life. And that great generation were very concerned with manners and behavior.

 

 

[losworld]

3 minutes ago, sawadee1947 said:

And you think this remark is worth to publish? Pathetic! 

Sounds reasonable given that millions were killed postwar in neighboring country forced migrations as well as millions of rapes including children and grandmothers.  Additionally millions of innocents were sent to the gulags where there were systematically tortured and killed.   All sides have blood on their hands. This is the reality of war.  There are no heros.

Edited May 9, 2020 by losworld

[sawadee1947]

5 minutes ago, Baerboxer said:

 

War is not a nice business. 

 

The tendency of some modern politically correct "historians" to criticize operations is only possible because of those operations. Speculating on the realities is just that, speculating. 

 

Germany started the practice of deliberately terror bombing non combatant civilian targets as a tactic in WW1. They continued in in the Spanish Civil War when supporting the fascist Franco. They terror bombed Warsaw and Rotterdam, a deliberate tactic to smash the will of the people. The tried the same with the London Blitz and bombing British cities. In such circumstances, and in such times, it's not really surprising that similar tactics would be used against them given the opportunity, is it? 

 

 

I don't agree but it's absolutely nonsense to go into details. And if you go back in history you find examples for good and bad, eg India or Kenya or Iraq. War crimes everywhere. And shameful that GIs can't be prosecuted. Are they the good? 

Important is to know about history and work together that it will never happen again. Unfortunately UK liked to take part in many idiotic wars after 1945 and just leaving a peace guarantee in Europe called EU. EU is not perfect and has to undergo some changes as times are changing. 

However it is a wall against totalitarism, dictatorship and nationalism as well as fascism. 

[pineapple01]

Be rather nice if posters ages were give, unless you played in the rubble its rather hearsay.

[puipuitom]

20 hours ago, Susco said:

 

Maybe he forget that that it was his country who started both world wars, and must have been the most hated country on this planet at that time.

So he want to say they, the Germans, had even the slightest reason  to hate the people that freed the world?

First of all: I would advise you to learn a little more about the history of Europe from 1900-August 1914

The support of the ”neutral” USA to Great Britain, inclusive smuggling of weapons and ammunition in passenger liners like the Lusitania, see https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1098904/Secret-Lusitania-Arms-challenges-Allied-claims-solely-passenger-ship.html

Then the "armistice for 20 years” instead of a peace treaty at Versailles 1919-20

Followed by what happened in the Interbellum, like: the French occupation and theft of all they could lay their hands on of the Rhineland, inclusive the coal- and iron-ore mines, the collapse (1923-24) of the German economy thanks to the hyperinflation caused by the support of the strikers in the Rhineland, the nearly overnight withdrawal of all US loans in the 30^’s, the total ignorance to all what happened in Germany after that, giving Hitler and the Nazi’s free hand to swindle everybody in Germany and around: Saarland, Austria, Sudetenland, till occupation of Czechia and making Slovakia a puppet state and step-stone to invade Poland.

Do not forget how much the Germans suffered from the Nazi regime.