1964: Stefan Westmann: How it felt to kill a man | The Great War Interviews | BBC Archive

Stefan Westmann, who served as a Corporal with the German 29th Infantry Division, remembers - with harrowing candour - how he killed a French Corporal while fighting for ground on the Western Front. The experience led Stefan to wonder how war can turn civilised men like him into killers. This is an extraordinary account of the life of a soldier in The Great War.
This clip is an extended cut of an interview originally recorded for the 1964 documentary, The Great War.
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[@JV44HeinzBar]

One of the best interviews of a veteran I've ever seen.. He states in a no bias way the horror of war, while also promoting genuine human compassion. I salute this veteran.

[@jamesgreen8092]

The problem with all wars is that the wrong people get killed. The real enemy is always the one back home who starts the war, never fights in it and goes on to live after after innocent people have died.

[@xokelis0015]

As is always the case in life, things aren't that simple. You have the people who start the war, and the people who're defending themselves. Are the generals, and politicians of the defenders the enemy back home who never fights? However, I do agree that those who initiate wars should have skin in the game. Emperors and Kings used to go to war by leading their men into battle, clearly risking their lives for the cause they thought worthy for bloodshed. Bush should have been right there on the front lines with the troops that invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. Obama should have been in Libya getting his hands dirty instead of droning people on a whim. Leadership having skin in the game changes how conflict is conducted or whether it is even initiated in the first place.

[@nigecheshire9854]

The banks...and who control them🤔

[@MrMoggyman]

My great grandfather, who was at Passchendaele with the 5th Battalion Territorials of The Kings Own Yorkshire Light Infantry said this, 'Leave the soldiers and civilians alone. Get the King's and the Kaiser's, put boxing gloves on them, and then put them in a ring to sort it out between themselves. Why should the common man be killed and maimed for the likes of people who should know better how to conduct themselves?' When asked whether he would do it again his answer was NO! He told me this as a young boy, 'Once I was a young man, unaccustomed to the world, and I volunteered to go on a bit of an adventure, with dreams of foreign lands and glory. But later this adventure turned out not to be an adventure at all, but a matter of life and death, and the glory was nothing more than a slaughter of good men. So here are a few wise words from your great grandfather young boy to always remember......never volunteer for anything!'

[@spbname8121]

​@@MrMoggyman Your great grandfather was correct. History vindicates him thousands of times. The problem is that the mass of humanity is often led to slaughter by the few clever wolves that surround it. The Russo-Ukrainian War, soon to become World War III, is a case in point.

[@adamoneil5317]

You're getting it ✡️

[@chrisozzy56]

My Grandfather fought in the Great War , on the side of Germany . I remember many , many years ago asking him his battle experience for a book report when I was in 6th grade . He shook his head and answered “ What a waste “ . I asked if he had personally killed anyone , and he replied “ Yes , and I think about those poor soldiers every day - that is my penance “ . He mentioned a soldier has a different mindset while in battle , and it is only after that they can grasp how inhuman humans can be . He reiterated again “ What a waste “ . I still have that book report from 1964 in a scrapbook , and it reminds me of my dear Ja Ja . .

[@jeffsmith2022]

It was a terrible burden for you Grandad to bear, I am certain...😞

[@frez777]

shows how intelligent he was to see it as a waste. As that's exactly what it was, even though it may have had to happen

[@JonnyTGood]

Make your own video.

[@SofaKingShit]

Finally a "my grandfather fought" comment that seems genuine. Mainly because it seems so tragic yet mundane. My own grandfather who was only a transport pilot but did actually get shot down turned into a hard man who radiated coiled aggression, it simply wouldn't do to ask him anything like that. Apparently he even had a fistfight with my uncle on the front lawn, my hippy aunt told me with some measure of sadness and unfortunately l think perhaps a touch of digust in her tone of voice. He was that kind of guy. RIP.

[@Kaisan-vc8fw]

A great part of being an adult is learning to live with the actions which one has taken.

[@stevensprung-wo3pk]

His command of the English language, the accent taken aside, is by far better than that of most contemporary native speakers.

[@MX-rd3fc]

I was wondering as well

[@xpat73]

He moved to England after the war and was a doctor in London.

[@JoyDivision88]

I had a neighbour who fought in the Great War and I asked him if he ever got close to the enemy or was it fighting at distance as the guy in the film says. He replied, many times we met the enemy hand to hand. He then paused for a few seconds as if remembering, and then said: It is not a nice feeling having a man wriggling on the end of your rifle. I have never forgotten that phrase. That was 50 odd years ago.

[@crazymangoz9583]

The best veteran interview I've ever seen. So perfectly put.

[@stbaz]

He had the ability to see the truth, not brainwashed into thinking dying for no good reason was patriotic.

[@damienholland8103]

@@stbaz Only a small portion of every population is like him. The rest are gullible.

[@josephschuster7181]

Worth saving and sharing…rest in peace.

[@mikeloghry9521]

Agreed

[@mikeloghry9521]

Agreed

[@deanwright8825]

What a thoughtful and eloquent man. That description hit me like a wall, when you hear it in those terms.

[@lj21515]

@@andyfoxy3140 nice roblox vids, youll grow up one day

[@globalpropertyinvestment]

What a stupid comment - its not murder, its war. Pray you never have to experience it yourself, leave it to braver men.@@andyfoxy3140

[@venkmanny4100]

He was a med student till the war began, served all 4 years of the war, became a doctor and professor, fled from the Nazis to England in 1934, wrote 2 books, led an emergency hospital in WW2, died 1964. What a life.

[@ibtunesoriginals2629]

Stefan Wasteman amarite

[@pshehan1]

@@venkmanny4100 My mother's cousin, Geoffrey Cornis, was an Australian bomber pilot in WWII. His brother Keith had been a bomber pilot, KIA over Milne bay New Guinea. Geoffrey was shot down over Germany and sent to Stalag Luft III. He was supposed to go out in the Great Escape but being a medical student and the closest thing they had to a doctor in the camp was replaced by another man who was among the 50 executed. Geoffrey felt survivors guilt forever after. My mother said that the actor playing the 'doctor' in the film had dark hair, whereas Geoffrey was fair. After the liberation, the Americans asked for people with medical knowledge. Geoffrey was sent to a concentration camp to help. His daughter said it was the worst two and a half days of his life. She was watching an episode of Antiques Road Show and a woman said a fair haired Australian had saved her camp survivor mother's life. Must have been Geoffrey. He became a prominent cardiologist after the war, and was featured in an Australian 60 minutes story. From an article: The Continuing Inspirational Social Legacy of Dr Geoffrey J. Cornish MBBS, OAM [Medal of the Order of Australia] (1921-2005) The esteemed medical career of GC includes, but is certainly not limited to, innovations in cardiac rehabilitation and anaesthetics, as well the establishment of vital Red Cross blood banks throughout regional Australia,

[@timburr4453]

Westmann was a doctor, he would pass away at 71 the year this was released

[@theart8039]

He looked so healthy and not old by todays standards

[@timburr4453]

@@theart8039 he did. very sharp mentally as well. I believe he would publish things in medical journals(the lancet) He also wrote a book.

[@MarkSmith-js2pu]

Thank you, I wondered.

[@pshehan1]

@@theart8039 I am 70. Cause for concern.

[@savagetop10s63]

This should have more views a very important lesson here.

[@tome7016]

I asked my father about his experiences in Korea, as I was intending to write a paper for a history class I was taking in college. He wouldn't, or couldn't, answer. I learned a lot from him in that short interview. God bless our combat veterans.

[@olerenshawify]

My uncle spent time in a Japanese prisoner of war camp and he too would never talk about it to any of the family.

[@DanielGrigg-d2n]

I’ve watched this interview many times and it always touches me deeply.

[@FassinTaak]

Many times myself too sir.

[@robertsansone1680]

I heard a U.S. WWII veteran tell a similar story. It was nighttime. He heard a German crawling towards him. When the German was only a few feet away, they both stood up at the same time. He was faster. He shot the German in the chest. The muzzle flash from his rifle allowed him to see the Germans face clearly & his life being extinguished. He said, "I see his face, & kill him every night in my dreams. I suppose I'll kill him every night until the day that I die".

[@samkitty5894]

Young men have been dying for centuries fighting wars for rich old men who were staying back home enjoying life to the fullest. I lost numerous family members in WWI, WWII and the civil war in Yugoslavia during 1990-ies.

[@KennyEvansUK]

Such eloquence from a non-native speaker. A profoundly important interview and so glad it has been preserved for future generations.

[@willamestrada1121]

My God... I could see all his words in my head. I could see him fighting with his adversary. Jesus..so vivid.

[@nothinghere1996]

Heart breaking. oh dear. Poor men, both. So sad, when they could have been such good friends.

[@willamestrada1121]

I thought the same thing. What a shame that we men kill each other. I hate violence,wars, and death. I wish nothing but peace and love and respect for everyone. ❤❤❤❤

[@antartis73]

Moving is an understatement of the impact Mr Westmann’s words have on me

[@bclr]

Someone linked this video in a reddit comment on a thread about the 2022 film All Quiet on the Western Front, and what a captivating click it turned out to be. I was very surprised to hear how strongly Mr Westmann spoke English, especially his use of idioms and some turn of phrases that with all the technology, resources and high quality education we have now, I would still not expect to hear from a non-native English speaker today. So few European men of his generation had such a command of English, certainly when compared to the English level one might expect of a German in our current time period. You can just tell this man was extremely well read. Really truly, as a keen language learner myself, to see a German man born in the 1800s make use of English in such a way was extraordinarily impressive to me, knowing that I would struggle to match his level with my own foreign language skills. The curiousness of this unusual fact lead me to read his wikipedia entry, and from it I can tell you that this man was truly fascinating. His early life growing up in Germany does not necessarily explain his impressive command of English, but it does certainly paint a picture of an outstandingly accomplished gentleman. Called up to join the army whilst only part way through his medical studies, Mr Westmann fought on both the Eastern and Western fronts where at the former he earned an Iron Cross for his courage in battle. Despite having not yet finished his medical training, he found himself treating soldiers as a medical officer and surgeon in the military before the war's end. Following the war, he achieved his medical certifications and became a professor at the University of Berlin, also marrying one of Germany's first female doctors. He left Germany for England in 1934 as an anti-Nazi refugee, established a medical practice in London, and led an Emergency hospital during the Second World War. By the time this interview was recorded in 1963, he had lived in England for something like 29 years but would sadly pass away in the year following. On reflection, perhaps the saddest realisation is that there were millions of young men with family back home and hopes and dreams just as large as his, yet they were never to make it back. I'm glad I stumbled upon this one great man's life story, even if it truly saddens me trying to come to grips with the knowledge that so many millions like him would never have their stories told, or at least finish their life stories in a way befitting of a life well lived. RIP to these veterans on both sides of the conflict. May we learn from history and the stories of our forefathers, and pray that we avoid such tragedies in our own lifetimes and in the future forthcoming.

[@louisreniers9887]

Thanks a lot for this information I to was wondering about the English he spoke myself as a Dutch man was in Germany during my draft as a military I met a German soldier who was in Stalingrad at WW2 and he spoke also about the horrors they suffered

[@bobkoroua]

We won't learn the lesson and turn away from war because there will always be someone that doesn't feel the same way you and I do.

[@JohnDoe-yq9rt]

Reddit is a cancer.

[@goldeagle8051]

Yet most of the millions of men in the army / population / world are idiots as you can tell from his description of how they boosted after killing without a second thought. War is truely hell for intelligent, compassionate beings with a deep desire to understand the universe as do I, and I assume, you too. Yet on the other hand I’ve always been obsessed with military history and view active combat as the summum of masculinity, as I look up to this gentleman who is a doctor like me, even tough, if I’m honest with myself, I’ld be at above average risk for PTSD because of my incessant thinking about everything.

[@stbaz]

And WWI was all for nothing.

[@regularSenseAppeal]

"The culture, we boasted so much about, was only a very thin lacquer that tipped off the very moment we came in contact with cruel things like real war" Heavy

[@danaperko2981]

We live in a moment of time today where there is so much distraction forced on our senses that we don’t even perceive the lacquer.

[@nickprince9881]

What an amazing outlook this gent had. I am so glad I have seen this. I will never forget how eloquently he put things. I do actually understand the position he was in.

[@ColinBuckley-k4v]

Hello @tome7016. Same here. Dad was a sixteen year old horse breaker when he was taken into the 127th Battalion SA. My aunt Connie told me all of Dad's war stories. He served in World War one with the Aussies and was awarded the "Medal of Honour" at eightenn years of age. He eventually came home at the end of that war designated as a "Silent Killer", no gun, no knife, no torchlight, absolutely no sound, just the black of the night and his bare hands. He then served in World War two with the Brits. His ship was chased by the German Battle ship the Turpiz. Somehow they managed to get away. He never ever spoke about any of his army life to us, his own family. That is until one evening he and I were arguing out very loud about the Viet Namm war. He suddenly turned around right up into my face and said. "When you can't get the dead body off your bayonette, to save your own life, you have to pull the trigger until you blow it off!" Always makes me feel sick to think about it. Then I feel very very sad for who ever those young men were he and his fellow troops had to kill, and their families, and yet proud of Dad and those who were dispatched to fight beside him, for our freedom. Cole.

[@sugarkane4830]

Interesting that he got the Medal of honour An American decoration when serving with the AIF. Could you tell us more pls?

[@extraterrestrialfascisti7625]

Westmann wrote a book about his experiences: "Surgeon with the Kaiser's Army" He was Jewish and when hitler came to power Westmann with his family emigrated to England.

[@jaex9617]

tku

[@hans-wernerstengle5491]

One this example from this men you can See now what stupid Ideologie Hitlers NationalSozialismus was,that a german men and human Patriot and fighter for his Land,must immigrate fromGermany to England,online because He was jewish..!?I hate Hitler and the NS in backtime in präsents[Gegenwart)and ever in future..🤔??

[@ari_a2764]

He wasnt jewish as far as i know. His wife was

[@fifthbusiness1678]

@@ari_a2764 Yes, he was Jewish. In the late 1920s he qualified as a physician and in the early 30s married Marianna Goldschmidt, one of Germany’s first woman physicians. They emigrated to England in 1934.

[@mojo_joju]

Damn, 100 years later and we still haven’t learned our lesson that war is never a good thing

[@47coffee]

Peace is just as big of a scam as war is. Both are necessary, yet also two sides of the same coin. Neither will ever be gone; pursuing one always results in the indulgence of the other. It is the human condition. There is no transcending it, and if you think humanity can transcend it, there is little difference between you and some of the instigators and supporters of the worst atrocities this planet has ever seen.

[@ashleyhoward8926]

1,000's more like.

[@jugbywellington1134]

We learnt long ago. Our leaders haven't because they are never held accountable and ignore what we want. Isn't that obvious?

[@regularSenseAppeal]

Not much else to do but defend if under attack. Hard to blame the Ukrainians for example.

[@bec5250]

yep 100%. Human beings are an entirely f****d race.

[@ingridlinbohm7682]

My great grandfather was killed in August 1914 in Belgium fighting in the Imperial German Army. He had two daughters one of which was my Grandmother who was a year old. I have another grandmother who was thirty five years old in 1914.

[@FrostisBackwaren]

Are you finnish?

[@nocturnalrecluse1216]

​@@FrostisBackwarenmore like "Are you Finnished?

[@Cooz.]

@@nocturnalrecluse1216you’d never survive

[@nocturnalrecluse1216]

@@Cooz. And I suppose that you would? 🙄

[@rhiannonparrythompson6426]

Hoffentlich werden wir jetzt immer Ruhe zwischen Grossbritanien und England haben. Geoffrey, aus Nord Irland

[@Zini561]

Captivating. We are so privileged to be able to see history right before our eyes and to listen to what people felt about their experience in war. The sad thing is that human beings never learn lessons from the past….people still continue to hate each other and fight.

[@stbaz]

No, the common man is brainwashed through patriotic propaganda to hate people they've never met. The people pulling the strings are profiting from the wars and deaths of soldiers and civilians. Think Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld. George W. Bush was just an imbecilic puppet.

[@Al-iv3mb]

Listening to this old man, now long dead speaking so humanely and eloquently about what war does reduced me to tears

[@grahamwatts8836]

The horrible truth about war everyday fellow men killing each other.

[@MrMoggyman]

Stefan Westmann said it just like many many soldiers felt it. After the war ended, many men had these very same feelings follow them to the grave. I knew many WW1 veterans. Not one of them that I knew was not affected by what they had experienced in WW1. In fact for them the war never ended. It was a continual torment for them. It had been a slaughter. A true carnage of so many good men. These men never recovered from what they had seen, felt, and experienced. It remained with them day by day to the end of their lives.

[@richardsimms251]

@MrMoggyman : You are right. The war never completely ends for this traumatized soldiers ! RS. MD, FRCS, Canada

[@MrMoggyman]

@@richardsimms251 I was around all these men when I was a young boy. They would talk and talk about the campaigns they were in, the general staff (some things good and other things down right almost obscene), of the soldiers they had known including those that returned and those that died, and of the experiences they had had. BUT these conversations were only with other veterans. Why? Because only veterans knew that what they were talking of was the truth, because they too had experienced the same. The war never left them. At home, silence. Not a single thing talked about WW1. Why? Because they would immediately be shot down, being told to shut up and that nobody was interested in hearing it. Civilians did not have any idea about the reality of trench combat, and to be quite frank did not want to know. They had been fed the propaganda about what the soldiers were doing on The Western Front......and as far as the newsreels were concerned, they were having a wail of a time. But when the newspapers started filling up with pages and pages of the dead, only then did civilians begin to understand, but not one civilian could ever understand the appalling conditions and horror these men had gone through. My great grandfather always frequented the local Veterans Club (known as the Legion) every Sunday, towing me along for pop and crisps. One man sat at a table alone drinking his beer. I had noticed this man once or twice, but what I noted most was that nobody, and I mean nobody, ever sat at his table drinking with him. When I asked other veterans, they said this is how this man likes it. He has too many bad memories and does not like to be reminded of them through conversations about the war. I walked up to this man and asked, 'Did you kill any Germans in WW1?' This was a dangerous move, as some veterans could be highly unstable, and become absolutely furious at such a question. Seems, as I was a young boy, this veteran considered the question as being innocent and not of a mind trying to rake up the horrors that he had experienced. The man immediately stopped drinking his beer, and looking straight into me seriously with blue steely eyes said, 'Young boy, do you know what it is to kill a man? To take from him his mother, his father, his grandparents, his wife, his children, all of his friends, all of his pleasures in this life, and everything he ever was or ever could become? Because, to my eternal shame, I have killed many men. Never glorify war. Never glorify death. Now go.' This man had been a machine gunner. I later learned that he had been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal (DCM), Military Medal & Bar, plus the full mutt and jeff (the 14-18 star (known as Pip) plus silver carnation pip - meaning that he was an 'Old Contemptible' having been there from day one with the BEF; the WW1 British Military Medal (known as Squeak); and the WW1 Victory Medal with bronze oak leaf clasp (known as Wilfred - the clasp indicating that this man had been mentioned in dispatches). I only saw these on Armistice Day. This man had twice nearly been barred from the club because of angry heated arguments he had entered into with what he described as 'idiots and fools' that had nearly resulted in full blown fights. However, he was tolerated and highly respected by the other veterans. This man had dragged one wounded man to a concrete pill box, saving his life, and had rescued two others in no man's land at night leading them back to safety, in both cases under enemy fire. Whether these actions resulted in his DCM and MM & Bar remained unknown. I considered, even as a small boy, that it would not be a good idea to have enquired. The veterans told me that this man had been very courageous and brave and had proven himself on more than one occasion under fire on the battlefield. For that he deserved the respect of other veterans, and the tolerance of his sometimes-nasty temper.

[@jonathanjonathan7386]

@@MrMoggyman interesting encounter, surprised he even went to the legion at all if he wanted to avoid memories of the war

[@MrMoggyman]

@@jonathanjonathan7386 Not a case of avoiding memories of WW1. But a case in some instances of memories invoking PTSD. WW1 was etched onto the men that served. It was part of them, and it was like the war never ended for them. My great grandfather? Needed a release. Needed a place where it was ok to talk about the war to others who understood and who were there. Civilians never understood what these men endured at all and did not give a damn.

[@Adonnus100]

@@MrMoggyman After reading your story I reflect on how I always find it fascinating but incomprehensible how so many WW1 veterans said the same thing, about how terrible war and killing was, yet none or almost none of them refused to fight a war which was totally pointless and which in most cases did not involve defending your country. Why when one asks Ukrainians how they feel to shoot Russian soldiers, they say "well, they're occupiers, so I don't feel bad, they have to go home or else." It's just a curious difference.

[@DigitalDiamonds24]

Crazy to think that each death is individual and has a whole story

[@smithofsmiths1872]

Horrible yet touching. In the end the soldier kills through fear. He is put in a situation where killing is the only alternative to death. But somehow he remains a human being.

[@babtist58]

I hope this poor man found peace before he passed 🙏

[@chipcook5346]

When I decided in 2013 that 2014 was my year to study the Great War, I went looking for a resource I had witnessed at school back in the 1980s, this series. Among the first things I found on KZbin were the interviews from The Great War, not just the the series itself. I was taken by him immediately. He's seems like a version of Anton Walbrook's character from Colonel Blimp, but unbroken -- decent, honest, earnest, thoughtful. I could go on. He is the only German from that war that I have ever watched in an interview. All the others I know only through written accounts. Your predecessors were fortunate to get to interview him. What is the term, stark relief? He is stark relief to the other soldiers -- who themselves are stark relief to what we tended to get broadcasted in mid-20th Century America. It pleases me greatly that he left Germany in the 30s and died British.

[@Awakeningspirit20]

It's so sad that all (known) people who were in the Great War are gone now. I say the same about the short time of merriment and innovation before it, the Edwardian Period, which I call the 'prepubescence of mankind' (in contrast with the devastating 'puberty' and innocence-killing of the Great War), when man felt he could conquer the world and reach his best potential. We have never returned to such a time. We have never lost our cynicism, and perhaps for good reason. That was the world that these boys grew up in, hence war for them was even more shocking than it would be for us, infinitely more so. Those who lived were the first among us to lead the path out of the ashes of the past innocence and out into the outer darkness of the new, towards man's worst nightmare come to light.

[@d1427]

'Killing hurts the killer, not the killed.'

[@CP-pf6gx]

Well, it hurts both I would say.

[@d1427]

@@CP-pf6gx Well, I only hear the killer's remorse. The killed is utterly silent, isn't he?!

[@shubhnamdeo2865]

@@CP-pf6gx Yes, but the one killed would die in minutes or hours. The killer would live with that traumatic memory for the rest of his life, knowing that he committed a grave sin, but that also he had no choice.

[@CP-pf6gx]

​@@d1427 Only a way of speaking. Lets say that was a bad joke.

[@d1427]

@@shubhnamdeo2865 Just a note- killed is killed- done/gone; that means it ceases to be alive, not in minutes or hours. The wounded may hurt but the wounded is still alive while the killed is not.

[@arn_ice]

very real and human moment. Very important message for today even especially as things have turned out.

[@73reider]

One of the most devastating anti-war testimonies i have ever heard, Should be shown in schools.

[@stbaz]

In the 1960s & 70s there was a popular phrase at the time that said, "What if they started a war and nobody came?" It's simple but very powerful. The common person can simplify nullify the powers in charge by refusing to fight on both sides.

[@Jack-ft1rb]

If you refuse to fight you are jailed.

[@stbaz]

@@Jack-ft1rb But you can still refuse

[@fryy81]

crazy how this only has 141k views. its a very powerful statement.

[@D.N..]

To bad that the world didn't learn from this man.... fascinating interview.

[@John-b8j6u]

May God bless and keep you close to his heart, Stefan. 🇬🇧

[@djtomoy]

War will come again and again, nothing has changed.

[@bjornopitz6561]

That's not true. We haven't had a war in central Europe for almost 80 years now; I don't think this was ever the case before.

[@syteanric]

War....war never changes

[@Faza961]

⁠@@bjornopitz6561 right they are only involved in propagating that war around the world (Asia, Middle East). Otherwise was the war in Bosnia not close enough to you central Europeans?

[@Tyronemacow]

Conflict is in human nature it's never gonna change 💔

[@MrRugbylane]

@@bjornopitz6561 Ukraine looks pretty central to me

[@escalera601]

Why does this not have a million views?

[@TheAl2kas]

Every person in the world must see this. Hear it. We have many things to discuss and decide in the world but we had enough of violence.

[@KpxUrz5745]

I've been around a long time, and this eloquent and honest recount of actual hand to hand combat to the death I will always remember. It says so much about warfare and the shame and pointlessness of it all. Yet, this, somehow, is the history of our species.

[@nahimwazir1616]

Well spoken.

[@carlosgomes2783]

This is the difference between those who have never been to war and glorify it, and those who have lived it. My cousin's husband once said in the presence of my uncle (a WW2 veteran): "It must be nice in a war, getting to travel all over the world." My uncle just murmured softly: "No, it's not nice, but you DO get to travel all over the world."

[@theart8039]

My Great Grandad served in both World Wars on the front line and survived. He was very lucky and was very aware of the fact

[@schlachtcreme8856]

May all of these innocent souls find the great peace! Let all the bad and evil from this world be gone the moment one leaves it!

[@michaelcline3123]

this is what everyone needs to hear. its a small start to the end of these things called wars.

[@peteg8920]

My english grandfather was killed in 1915 in that crazy war , and my german grandfather survived , and the only thing he would say about it was that it was hell. Now the warmongerers are on the war path again intent on starting another war to end all wars. Far better to take the lesser of two evils , accept reality , and start talking peace . The alternative is unthinkable.

[@Lespommesdeclifford]

Beautifully put sir

[@adamstephenson7518]

That was heavy, I hope he's at peace as well as his advisory that he dispatched those many years ago.

[@DougLawyer-zf4iz]

This is why all veterans deserve our respect and gratitude! You don’t know what they endured or experienced. I was sixteen when my grandpa died, he never was able to tell me about his WWII experiences. I had asked because of high school history class. I had no concept at the time what I was really doing to him. I just was curious and fascinated that he had actually been in combat.My grandpa didn’t or couldn’t tell me. I’m 62 now and have always regretted asking him. He did say he made a friend, a taxi cab driver from Chicago. That man was killed near by. God bless our veterans of all conflicts.

[@pabloescabar1038]

It is amazing how war veterans have such similar views and experiences. I have such similar thoughts, yet we fought at different time and places and even different sides.

[@aleatoirefrancais]

@bbcarchive, I’d love to see more of this documentary!

[@dickyboyryw]

It's bound to be on here somewhere. Or the bbc website. But extraordinary interviews.

[@kfrerix9777]

There is a link in the comments below. 😎

[@oskich]

It's part of the Great War series made by the BBC in the 1960's - 26 parts -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioitnalund5joLM

[@IncredibleC85]

These videos are actually important to me. I've never killed anyone and wondered what goes on in the psyche of a person that has. All their stories are similar I noticed💯

[@BenRichards55]

“Anything else”. Yes please, carry on.

[@GenXMafia]

Amen!

[@21dewsbury]

Nice interview. I always felt that soldiers are recruited as a very young age ... so young that they are barely out of childhood and don't really appreciate what they are doing.

[@robertwilson123]

The Great War made by the BBC in 1964 was the preeminent documentary on the Great War....and the BBC's first TV documentary. Many memorable, important and great interviews occurred in this series and Westerman is one of them. I saw the seies when it first came out in 1964 and realised what a very high standard it set....in film archives, contributors and interviews, narrators and spoken word actors and the opening music and sequence.......with two of the most famous pictures of the Great War...the dead German soldier skeleton at Beaumont Hamel and the helmeted moustached face of London Irish Rifles soldier sitting on a hidden road on the Somme.

[@minimax9452]

The british did not learn a lot...

[@TheRunereaper]

I know somebody very close who killed somebody who was threatening him with a knife. He said that he felt a sense of exaltation that it was him left standing when it was over. He said that afterwards he felt a sense of shame that that was his reaction but if he was ever in that position again, he would do exactly the same thing.

[@PeterJVogel]

Powerful testimony. I hope someday men will evolve to a level that they will no longer resort to violence to solve the world's problems.

[@MrPJS001]

I saw a similar interview with on of the "band of brothers" where the man said, " I didn't know my enemy they were there to do a job just like I was, we might have both liked fishing, we might have been the best of friends had we met somewhere else. " that was very telling to me that this man said it so similarly.

[@ltipst2962]

This is the best one

[@OlafProt]

The actual reality, of fighting for those people in government. Those people who don’t have to have this on their conscience. Whatever they tell you. There’s no honour or bravery, just horror.

[@GitSumGaming]

Problem is so many people don’t have problems and survive them and then learn from them to prevent such things

[@Mohammad-qh8gw]

This shows people of the world are good natured and want to be friends and how futile wars are. I wish one day everyone, including politicians, know that wars do not solve any problems and people love peace everywhere throughout the world.

[@Chris-ut6eq]

This video is a great public service. All young men considering joining any military should watch this.

[@sinner175]

Great video. I recommend "War is a Racket" by MG Smedly Butler. He knew war, and was awarded the Medal of Honor twice.

[@voicevoice2053]

War is sick and evil. To take a life regardless of the situation is wrong.

[@DrumToTheBassWoop]

With the rise of semi-automated drones able to conduct war remotely, the ability to care becomes less.

[@kfrerix9777]

Technology is not the problem if you don't FEEL something when you kill.

[@markstrickland8736]

Powerful.

[@loriboufford6342]

Astonishing

[@emersontomasini9495]

Can you put automatic subititles translation for portuguese, my friends from BBC and the gorgeous United Kingdom?? A big hug from Brazil. 😊

[@wingrider1004]

How is it a few dozen men behind desks can send tens of millions to their cruel deaths...it's insanity.

[@leonardothefabulous3490]

I was living in Brooklyn, NY while attending school in Manhattan in the 80's-there were many Russians in the neighborhood. One night going to my job I was passing the parking lot across the street and heard, then saw two Russian men arguing. As I watched, one pulled out a sword (I hadn't seen before) and instantly thrusted it into the other man's eye-and deep into the back of his skull. The man dropped to the ground. The assailant ran off and the girlfriend began screaming. She saw me and begged for me to help. I ran over and stood beside her watching black blood pour from his eye and over his mouth-his slow-soft breath creating blood bubbles as he drifted away. There was nothing I could do-other than call the police. I still see those bubbles rising and softly bursting and can her the girl's broken English calls for me to call the cops...Death ain't fun to see and this man not only saw it, he caused it. That's a tough one.

[@Melior_Traiano]

Something has to be extremely wrong with you when you decide to murder someone with a sword in the 1980s. Would you say that the US overall has become a safer country since the 1980s, though?

[@Melior_Traiano]

And I hope this incident didn't leave you traumatised.

[@leonardodalongisland]

@@Melior_Traiano Does anyone really know if they've been "traumatized" and if so, to what degree? Seeing someone killed isn't something that ever leaves you-even if it's "just" in your subconscious. I simply don't know...But thanks for your concern.

[@noschoolingaid3728]

We can never cal ourselves an advanced species, greater than other animals, until we start figuring out how to solve our problems without violence

[@carlhicksjr8401]

That is a humble, thoughtful and above all honest man. In a quick wikipedia search, Dr. Stefan Westmann was already serving his conscript obligation in the Imperial German Army when War was declared in August 1914. Thereafter he served in the Freiburg I.R. 113 [5. Baden] of the Prussian Army and fought the entirety of World War 1 on both fronts. For his service, he was awarded the Iron Cross 2nd Class [note: it was very rare that an enlisted man was awarded the Iron Cross 1st Class in the Imperial German Army] and promoted to NCO. After the Armistice, he served in Germany's post-War army, the Reichswehr, for an additional two years before he was demobilized. He then married and went to university and became a doctor, an OB/GYN. His wife, Mariana Goldschmidt, was one of the first female doctors in Germany. He taught for several years at the University of Berlin. In 1934, he emigrated to England and opened a practice in London. At the outbreak of War Two, he registered as a refugee from Nazi Germany and eventually served as a physician in the British Royal Medical Corps, commanding an emergency hospital an Lanarkshire [Southern Scotland]. For these services, he was made Honorary Colonel. This interview took place for the BBC TV documentary, The First World War. In addition, he was also interviewed by the USC Shoah Foundation documenting the Holocaust. Shortly after both these interviews, Dr. Westmann passed away at the age of 71, leaving behind extensive writings.

[@bonnie43uk]

sobering words from an ordinary man forced to fight in a war that he had nothing to do with. The madness of war, we never seem to learn the lessons of history.

[@MrEjidorie]

Wars have left deep scars on soldiers` heart which would linger in their whole life. On individual level, there are no victors but losers in wars.

[@1337fraggzb00N]

War is just lots of people slaughtering each other in unimaginable ways, because some other people, who would never do that, told them, that it's ok to do so. If politicians were forced to fight each other personally, there would not be wars anymore.

[@sssssssssggggggg]

My grandfather told me his story many years ago. He did not want to go to war and changed his job from Clark to miner to avoid the call-up. Towards the end, he was called up anyway and fought in the Battle of Amiens. He told me he probably killed over 20 German soldiers as they were running away up a hill. His entire company were firing at them but he knew which ones he had hit as they fell. Afterward, they advanced up the same hill and saw the horror of their actions. Young men dead and dying everywhere. He never fired a shot again.

[@joprocter4573]

War is horrendous war. Kill or be killed

[@josephrelph5235]

I have the DVD set of this series, made in 1966, Daily Mail 26 dvd set, sensational series

[@BjørjaBear]

It's always the people who never experienced war who clamour for a new one.....

[@Westyrulz]

Stephan Kurt Westmann (23 July 1893 - 7 October 1964)

[@dickyboyryw]

He should NOT feel guilty. He had to fight and kill to stay alive. Way it was in the 14-18 War. Same with our lads in England. 2 of my great uncles died. One in 1916. During the Somme Offensive. Governments are too blame. Not the guys.

[@estebanmiguel6019]

It affects you more as you get older and have grandkids. That other man will never get to enjoy those truly blessed things that come with age. War is a terrible storm which destroys everything in its path, both the fallen and the victor.

[@DemetriusSorvo]

I still don't understand why we don't just make the politicians fight it out?

[@triorubino-michakoeppen9105]

look to Ukraine. they defend their country.

[@ednammansfield8553]

​​@@triorubino-michakoeppen9105they love their country and will fight for their freedom from this Russian invasion. I wonder if the UK would fight for their freedom today if attacked just as our grandparents and great grandparents did in WW2? They were the great generation.

[@Raughwe]

I think some of the vets have the best anti-war rationale. This is a very cool cat. It's like he says, that kid would have been his friend. He never forgave himself. It's actually about the power of non-violence.

[@Pongant]

Love his perfect english, and this heavy german accent. Almost sounds like an english dialect, so perfect is his vocabulary and grammar

[@johnwright291]

The recently passed away last of the Nuremberg prosecutors Benjamin Ferencz has a very interesting opinion about what war does to ordinary people. You can find him on KZbin.

[@ComedyJakob]

German soldiers in WW1 grew up in one of the, if not the, most advanced, civilized countries on planet Earth. From that background they were thrust into hell. German soldiers in WW2 grew up in hell, lived through hell, and many died in hell. The First World War is the ultimate human tragedy. I do not think that Wilhelmine Germans would have believed Nazi Germany could have ever existed before they went through the Great War.

[@eddiebirch2067]

I remember visiting my mothers uncle who had an eye missing from the great war and being curious about what h e went through during this war . Every town and village in England has a monument for those who died in this war . It was a tragedy for Europe and achieved nothing .

[@match499]

We have still not learnt, have we.

[@mariastophouseholdtips9548]

Bless all of you

[@Martin-qd9ok]

A Gentleman ✨♥️ A Human Being ✨ 🙏

[@barbarossa1234]

This is unspeakably sad.

[@ArizonaAirspace]

He’s right. Civilization is a very thin layer of pretense that is fragile.

[@triorubino-michakoeppen9105]

eindringlich beschrieben. aber auch er hatte keine Wahl. schlimm!

[@kaylamarie8309]

Poor man carried that guilt to his grave. Hopefully, he and his French adversary met in the afterlife and love each other as friends. Young men fight old men's wars. It's a crime.

[@jonathanradcliffe6389]

You should all read his entry on Wikipedia - far more to his life than this snippet from the BBC

[@richardsimms251]

I understand that in World War 1, the civilian losses were much smaller than in World War 2 due to much less war crimes. Am I right ? RS. Canada

[@carlsanderson6841]

The bombing campaigns of the Second World War cost an awful lot of civilian lives. The London Blitz, Dresden, Berlin, Tokyo, Hamburg, and, of course, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

[@robwalsh9843]

Combat deaths were nightmarish, though. Entire family lines were wiped out in that conflict.

[@Melior_Traiano]

@@robwalsh9843 Yes, in Britanny there are entire villages that were abandoned, because pretty much all their men had died in WWI. They are now overgrown ghost towns.