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DanChamberlain
Senior MemberNear St. LouisPosts: 3,395 Senior Member
Former German Nazis and Their Secret Army
DanChamberlain
Senior MemberNear St. LouisPosts: 3,395 Senior Member
http://www.iht.com/2014/05/14/nazi-veterans-created-illegal-army/
Der Spiegel recently published an article about the discovery of a secret German army that formed when Germany fell and was occupied by the 4 primary allied nations. It's a pretty long article and alludes to the existence of an unofficial group of former German officers who formed this secret army. I believe I met one of them.
In 1986 I was in a room that had once been a secret room in a home in a little burg of Mappershain (sp) located a little west of Bad Schwalbach in the Taunus mountains. The occasion was, my German girlfriend at the time, decided to share a secret with me, since I'd accidentally discovered a "very dangerous" place in the woods near their home.
While walking her dog, affectionately named "Einstein," because it was so terrifically stupid, I discovered a vertical cave, a natural hole that resembled a mine shaft, that had no security fence around it. When I dropped rocks in it, I didn't hear them hit anything.
I told Barbel about it and she made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone about it. Of course, I sort of kept the secret for a while, but like you, I'm sure most people find the whole story of a secret German army sort of fantasy like. The problem is, until the late 60s to early 70s, it was true.
Barbel was a generous girl who offered me a lot of interesting WWII memorabilia, some of which I recently sold, some Nazi marked dishes from a military dining hall. I actually told her, with some regret, that I could not accept her father's Luger or his Iron Cross (but only because I had no idea how I'd get the Luger home).
Anyway, I digress. When I told her about the hole in the ground, she told me that was where the "weapons" had been dumped when she was little girl. One night, the men of the village came and opened the wall and removed hundreds of guns and the ammunition for them. By morning, there was a regular door in place of the secret panel, and the room had become a bedroom. She didn't know what happened that caused such a panic, but the men appeared very scared and it happened literally overnight. Her father never spoke of it and wouldn't answer questions about it.
I knew a couple of her older uncles - one of whom had served as an officer as had her father, and he told me after the war, fearing Soviet invasion, an "unofficial" but very structured 'national militia' was formed - at first without the American occupiers knowing, but later, with their knowledge and in some cases, monetary and military support.
Military weapons were stashed in secret places around the country, to be used in the event the Soviets attempted invasion. Modeled a little like our revolutionary forefathers. In addition to the weapons, were piles of uniforms that had been worn by the men of the villages (hopefully they still fit.)
In the course of a single night, the little village of Mappershain demilitarized, for a reason no one has yet been able to explain to me and I'm no longer in a position to ask - and of course, those old Nazis still living are the kind of guys to take some secrets to their graves.
So, not only do I believe the Der Spiegel article, I believe I met some of its members.
Also, the US was complicit in secreting some Nazi scientists and perhaps some military officers out of Germany and to the U.S. for work here. I met one such man in Rottenburg Ob der Tauber. He was taken out of a holding facility and shipped to the US where he worked for 10 years in California. After that, he was moved to South America (I forget some of the place names) where he lived until 1985, when he was allowed to return to Germany (all forgotten or all forgiven), to live out the rest of his years. His wife was very distraught at his telling me this, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and said not to worry since he'd officially died in the war.
The truth is, the truth might seem fantasy, but consider the times. These were a people who could kill 6 million Jews and probably twice that many Russians and not blink an eye. If you have any doubt they were efficient enough to carry out a secret army, you haven't lived among them.
Der Spiegel recently published an article about the discovery of a secret German army that formed when Germany fell and was occupied by the 4 primary allied nations. It's a pretty long article and alludes to the existence of an unofficial group of former German officers who formed this secret army. I believe I met one of them.
In 1986 I was in a room that had once been a secret room in a home in a little burg of Mappershain (sp) located a little west of Bad Schwalbach in the Taunus mountains. The occasion was, my German girlfriend at the time, decided to share a secret with me, since I'd accidentally discovered a "very dangerous" place in the woods near their home.
While walking her dog, affectionately named "Einstein," because it was so terrifically stupid, I discovered a vertical cave, a natural hole that resembled a mine shaft, that had no security fence around it. When I dropped rocks in it, I didn't hear them hit anything.
I told Barbel about it and she made me promise I wouldn't tell anyone about it. Of course, I sort of kept the secret for a while, but like you, I'm sure most people find the whole story of a secret German army sort of fantasy like. The problem is, until the late 60s to early 70s, it was true.
Barbel was a generous girl who offered me a lot of interesting WWII memorabilia, some of which I recently sold, some Nazi marked dishes from a military dining hall. I actually told her, with some regret, that I could not accept her father's Luger or his Iron Cross (but only because I had no idea how I'd get the Luger home).
Anyway, I digress. When I told her about the hole in the ground, she told me that was where the "weapons" had been dumped when she was little girl. One night, the men of the village came and opened the wall and removed hundreds of guns and the ammunition for them. By morning, there was a regular door in place of the secret panel, and the room had become a bedroom. She didn't know what happened that caused such a panic, but the men appeared very scared and it happened literally overnight. Her father never spoke of it and wouldn't answer questions about it.
I knew a couple of her older uncles - one of whom had served as an officer as had her father, and he told me after the war, fearing Soviet invasion, an "unofficial" but very structured 'national militia' was formed - at first without the American occupiers knowing, but later, with their knowledge and in some cases, monetary and military support.
Military weapons were stashed in secret places around the country, to be used in the event the Soviets attempted invasion. Modeled a little like our revolutionary forefathers. In addition to the weapons, were piles of uniforms that had been worn by the men of the villages (hopefully they still fit.)
In the course of a single night, the little village of Mappershain demilitarized, for a reason no one has yet been able to explain to me and I'm no longer in a position to ask - and of course, those old Nazis still living are the kind of guys to take some secrets to their graves.
So, not only do I believe the Der Spiegel article, I believe I met some of its members.
Also, the US was complicit in secreting some Nazi scientists and perhaps some military officers out of Germany and to the U.S. for work here. I met one such man in Rottenburg Ob der Tauber. He was taken out of a holding facility and shipped to the US where he worked for 10 years in California. After that, he was moved to South America (I forget some of the place names) where he lived until 1985, when he was allowed to return to Germany (all forgotten or all forgiven), to live out the rest of his years. His wife was very distraught at his telling me this, but he simply shrugged his shoulders and said not to worry since he'd officially died in the war.
The truth is, the truth might seem fantasy, but consider the times. These were a people who could kill 6 million Jews and probably twice that many Russians and not blink an eye. If you have any doubt they were efficient enough to carry out a secret army, you haven't lived among them.
It's a source of great pride for me, that when my name is googled, one finds book titles and not mug shots. Daniel C. Chamberlain
Replies
I talked to a few folks who stumbled upon or went to see places with their German friends that had interesting things stored inside, like Luftwaffe planes/parts and one swearing he saw an open truck in an underground tunnel/cavern with skeletons of soldiers still sitting in it with their uniforms rotting away that had apparently been asphyxiated somehow or something.
Me, I never had such luck and the places/bunkers I went to, even one near the Eagles Nest had long been picked through/looted and flooded/blown/blocked off at the entrances. As late as the 90s they (a construction crew) found a weapons cache in an old ruin basement full of helmets/bayonets/rifles/P08-Lugers/ammo and whatnot, but the German who told me said the stupid supervisor called the police and all he could get was a helmet or something.
The NAZI lore/legend/reality lives on and who really knows what all was hidden. That new movie Monuments Men might be interesting. I know after going through down in the Salz (Salt) Mines near Salzburg Austria near the German border, there was plenty of room to have hidden stuff and they did. Also, in the "Fairytale Castle" Neuschwanstein they hid stuff. I've been there a few times, it's huge with plenty of hidden/blocked off rooms/basements/cellers............your imagination can run wild just thinking what all went on there.
http://www.castles.org/castles/Europe/Central_Europe/Germany/germany7.htm
I had a chance to buy a dress (?) Iron Cross with a white porcelain something like a badge hanging from it with a red Swastika fer 80 Marks (about 40 bucks at the time) in a little shop on a side road in Rothenburg once, but didn't. It would have been cool I guess and maybe I could have sold it later here for much more $$$, but I despise everything NAZI related and didn't buy it.
I spent 12 years of my 20 in Germany from the 70s until the mid 90s. Lots of intrigue, that's fer sure.
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
To me all this is very believable. You know it had to happen. I don't doubt anything you say here Dan. The only thing that really pisses on my grits is that the US Military actually helped some of these scumbags. Some of our upper echelon officers fell into their BS. It's thought, not rumored, that a U.S. Officer at Nuremburg helped Faty, Goering, cheat the gallows. No telling how many others were helped. Some were probably helped to get to South America, as you said here Dan. Remember, it wasn't the U.S. who was pursuing Nazi war criminals, it was the prominent Jews who had survived and later on the Israelis. Yes, many Americans wanted to help catch these scum of the earth, but not all.
I only wish we could have captured Hitler alive and buried him up to his neck in the sand and poured syrup on his head and let the fire ants have there way with him, after of course castrating him. I dream about ways to torture scum like him. But at least we are fairly certain that he did do himself in right before the war ended. At least he probably didn't get to escape to SA and live out his worthless life in comfort.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Never-mind what his rockets did to Britain and the thousands of slave laborers who died building his rockets and launch pads (and dying from Allied bomb raids), all was forgiven because he helped us with developing our rocket/missile programs and eventually get to the moon! He probably should have been put on trial as a war criminal and did some time or just hung. We actually only hung a few and most given lengthy sentences got them commuted with the exception of a handful.
Now the Russians executed thousands and wanted us to execute most NAZIS from party officials, NCOs and all the officers! Of course, they kept a few prizes back to help them too.
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
Another aspect of post-war Germany was that many elite troops (SS mostly) went underground and set up a guerrilla war against the Allied occupation, living in the deep forests and causing havoc. They termed themselves the "Werewolf" brigades.
It took years to root them out. And, as you tell, many were likely still covert and hanging around.
On the History Channel several years ago they had a program on the British who did their own retribution on those Germans who executed British POWs. A good program.
I hate Nazis. Both back then and now.
Same here. It's well known that when the Americans and Brits overran death camps, they either gave guns to the survivors or did the job themselves, essentially gunning down all the guards. And good riddance.
Klaus' father was a colonel in the 3rd SS, Totenkopt. The most vicious of the vicious. He was administratively in command of the concentration camps when the Final Solution went into operation. When the War ended, the roman catholic church smuggled Klaus' family out of Germany. They were captured by Allied counterintelligence en route Argentina, and were returned to Germany where Klaus' father, Fritz, was tried at Nuremburg and sentenced to a long prison term. The mother and 3 children, Klaus and his sister and brother, were brought to the States and re-established in Savannah, Georgia. All of these children, and the grandchildren, too, have made outstanding Americans....doctors, educators, etc. Germany's loss, and our gain in my thinking.
There is no "Black and White" in the world order. We're all various shades of gray. My thoughts anyway, after living almost a full lifetime.
Chief, I really got no big problem with guys like Von Braun. He was a scientist following orders. He was a brilliant scientist and did contribute to our space program more than just about anyone. Besides, like you said the Soviets got other German Scientists. I think we did right using people like Von Braun. By Nazis I'm talking about Hitler's hinchmen, not his scientists. All the hinchmen did was murder people. They should have all been executed.. I put Von Braun in the same class as Einstein who was instrumental in the Atomic Bombs development.The Key Nazi officials like Goering, Hess, and Goebles were the ones that helped Hitler murder millions of people. Von Braun and the scientists only help kill a few thousand with the V-1s and V-2s. They could have done much worse in any other capacity than a scientist.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
-- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, German writer and politician
I agree BAMAAK. The German Scientists may or may not have been Nazis. I know they were guilty by association, but I don't think they were necessarily guilty at heart.
Son that's somebody with nothing to do with his time but keep me in trouble with mom.
Interesting post, Dan. :up:
He may not of have been beating the drum for them, but he surely benefited from his association with them and even was arrested for being a Communist sympathizer and later released to continue work on Hitler's 'Vengeance Weapons', anything for science.
Did his contributions after working for us outweigh his war crimes supporting the madman? Don't forget his was doing everything he could to help Germany win the war and would have continued if they hadn't lost the war.
A lot of them like Rommel who were just professionals (according to them) didn't turn against Hitler until they started losing the war because of his insane orders.
Would we have been foolish not to take advantage of his/others skills and capitalize and build on what he already developed? The Russians sure did with anyone or thing of value they captured (Maybe the British/French too?). I dunno, I just can't hold him in high esteem other than for the knowledge he gave us. Around here his name is synonymous with our space program. He is long dead, anyway.
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun?o=2801&qsrc=999&ad=doubleDown&an=apn&ap=ask.com
Words of wisdom from Big Chief: Flush twice, it's a long way to the Mess Hall
I'd rather have my sister work in a whorehouse than own another Taurus!
"Nothing is safe from stupid." - Zee