German Airfield Pitomnik Stalingrad

[@rl2905]

I would love to someday visit Volgagrad. I want to see the grain elevator and Pavlov's house, and just stand in the city to imagine and respect all of the lives mercilessly thrown into battle there. Thanks for posting.

[@tomservo5347]

I couldn't imagine a worse fate than struggling to make it to Pitomnik without freezing to death, seeing a glimmer of hope in the form of an airplane waiting on the runway, getting right to the plane's door and it slams shut in your face. You then find out it's the last plane out as Soviet artillery begins to fall. That place is truly spooky and has a sinister feel about it. It's creepy looking at pictures of 6th Army troops on the march to Stalingrad knowing that every youthful, confident face is marching into oblivion like the passing of the dead.

[@johnofypres]

Nicely put James. If you've read " Stalingrad" by Anthony Beevor you could weep for these kids in the 6th Army betrayed and left to die by Hitler and Goering.

[@tomservo5347]

My mother is German and she told me about my grandpa's (Opa) brother dying there in February. That would mean he went through almost the entire encirclement and starvation phase of the battle. By that time many sought death as a release from their misery which is hard to imagine. I'm currently reading Theodor Plievier's 'Stalingrad' which is an excellent read as Plievier interviewed many surviving POW's so he was able to incorporate individual experiences and integrate them into a work of fiction which in fact is very truthful. You're so right. Many of the German soldiers were conscript's not even 20 years old. It's always tragic when young lives are cut short and especially on the scale they died here, which in the end was for nothing. People and history label them 'Nazis' but many were there because they didn't have a choice. According to my mom the Nazis had such a tight grip on German society SS men would take down names of people attending Mass in her small town as 'potential enemies of the state'. These soldiers I can sympathize with as a veteran. They were ground pounders doing what was asked of them because propaganda told them they were right. Same today, same back then except the victors get to write their version of history. Sorry for the long reply, I'll check out that book. Thanks for the recommendation!

[@annekay6582]

I couldn't imagine a worse fate than struggling in a gas chamber with my children... .............................

[@radonpq99]

The last days on this airfield was hell perhaps beyond hell. As the soldiers of a proud army were vanquished here. There were hundreds of wounded soldiers lay here with hope of evacuation and they died here in freezing cold as Red Army closed on them. I read the horrific account of Pitomnic and now this eerie silence. This airfield should be visited by all the see the ultimate demise of human arrogance , hate and misguided superiority.

[@Tom-uk2ow]

Hell was inside of city like in leningrad or stalingrad and in every conctration camp all this soldiers willinglly served evil and do evil

[@tomortale2333]

above very well said the last 8 words soo true bout misguided superiority ton of that ca-ca

[@alexamerling79]

So eerie seeing it today. Over 80 years ago, wounded German soldiers would be desperately trying to escape from there.

[@MrNaKillshots]

Must be an eerie feeling, knowing what happened there, and still finding relics.

[@RBAILEY57]

One can imagine the scenes there 80 years ago, the crashed planes, the wounded soldiers awaiting a chance of evacuation, the shelling from Soviet artillery. It couldn't have been pretty.

[@Gloopular]

Looks desolate - must have been a scene of sheer misery in the dead of winter for starved and wounded soldiers waiting waiting for a plane like a lottery ticket or just waiting for the end...

[@mohabatkhanmalak1161]

It wasn't like they were stuck there for months on end. The soldiers were rotated on their tours of duty within their divisions. Also, there was much to do on an airfield at the front - the daily reconnaissance, bombing, interception, patrol sorties. Then the supply and ambulance flights, mail, dispatch flights etc.

[@connorgaydos8677]

Mohabat khan Malak really ignorant comment. In the last few weeks of January 1943 the airfield was piled high with frozen dead bodies and basically no food, medical supplies, ammo, all of the men were covered in lice and many had Typhus.

[@mohabatkhanmalak1161]

@Patrick Johnson where do you get your facts about the Eastern Front from?

[@johnofypres]

Nicely done and with respect. Thanks for posting.

[@lonw.7016]

The lamp bulb came from the direction indicator on the exterior of a vehicle. They have not changed in many years.

[@kdfulton3152]

Imagine the hell that went on there at Pitomnik Air field!? My gosh, the wind whipped so eerily on video. Was the road the initial air strip ( for the planes? I can’t make out exactly where they landed with all those bunkers around?)

[@MarkH10]

As well as this suffering. Consider. Just because the plane I am lucky to get on gets airborne, does not mean we arrive 200-300 km. west of here. We could get shot down very easily. Even arriving 300 km. west only means we are now on the run, just as Napoleon did. We just transition from brutal hopelessness, to a desperate attempt to travel 2000km. to Munchen faster than our pursuers. Nothing here was worth having in life.

[@danielgreen3715]

Crikey even after 80 yrs there's still the detritus of that awful battle just lying around on the ground! Would love to go see for myself these places sometime

[@SchleudertraumaAirsoft]

both tube´s from 7:17 are healing ointment, on the first stand in german , schutzsalbe on the second stand the active substance sulfoicbtbyolicl 10%lg, Frostheilsalbe, Wehrkreissanitätspark VIII, Löwenberg, nice vid

[@hardegen653]

Im pretty sure its from Wehrkreis XIII (13) not VIII (8), which would make more sense, since you can read the name of the city "Würzburg" pretty well in 7:24 in the line below, which lies in Wehrkreis XIII.

[@Hordalending]

Imagine all the people who died at that place, desperately trying to get out and home to distant Western Europe. Now long gone and forgotten. How sad.

[@raincoast2396]

Gone but NOT forgotten, as evidenced by these young people, eager to learn their history.

[@mrpaddy3318]

germans spit on their own soldiers call them murderer most of the world hollywood do the rest they be forgotten in a dirty way this is sad

[@Hordalending]

+Jesus. If you know history, you will agree that Hitlers men were feeble Boy Scouts compared to the Soviet Cheka and NKVD, who murdered _tens of millions_ of their own people - during peacetime. Google the drawings of Danzig Baldaev or the writings of Alexander Solzhenitsyn to understand the sheer magnitude of the mass murder of Soviet citizens.

[@volvo1354]

Thord Katyn Poland

[@harolddavis8246]

Jesus Silva nazis were a political party. not every german was a nazi.

[@hoosierdaddy2308]

Very cool. Thanks from USA.

[@bobg6638]

Fascinating and incredible history

[@sau002]

Nice video. More of the world must watch this.

[@zippymo672]

The huge craters we can see I presume is where the soviet artillery shells landed?

[@tessaleroux7725]

Very very sad. May all their souls RIP. So tragic

[@ericscottstevens]

Big thanks for posting this as my grandfather flew into here several while a member of Transportstaffel/VIII. Fliegerkorps. It provides significant answers to my information about Pitomnik. Over the years I posted about his experiences in the Luftwaffe yet received continual hateful comments about what my intentions were. It was all in terms of historical relevance about what it was like then (not promoting NSDAP ideals). So it will be a rare occurrence I will offer any further information, or answering unkind remarks or name calling directed towards me ( I will keep reporting them to YT). Deleting my old comments is next on the to do list.

[@svidentkyrponos7530]

I am interested in those narrations as well!

[@distortedattention4231]

Keep doing what your are doing, and don't let stupid small minded people stop you. We need to preserve as much as we can from this war.

[@tomortale2333]

above...u have a nice approach.. but .don't know why many are ready to jump down ur throat'' old hate? know how crazy stalin was at begining war...he sent his men in w/no rifles ann they would exchange rifle to those who had none...stalin was like from the caves'' gooofee

[@ericscottstevens]

@@tomortale2333 I guess they just want to take a stab at me and the history. But it is in the past and a grudge is either inherited or acquired. About 1.5 million airmen flew in the Luftwaffe aircraft, pretty small numbers to a lot of people who now inhabit the planet. My Grandfather flew with Stukas with StG77, StG 151, TDY ad hoc Transportstaffel/VIII. Fliegerkorps (see above), and SG 151 to finish out the war in Yugoslavia. Probably the most hated person to my Grandfather was Hermann Göring of all people. Yes, the Luftwaffe leader, who my Grandfather labeled gluttonous "idioten" and a turncoat to the aircrews who fought and died in the skies over Europe. Never mentioned Hermann's name in the house.

[@MegaRiffraff]

👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸

[@IngePotzuweit-rb8ui]

my uncle fought with the 6th army at Stalingrad....he came home in 1953...he said the red army had them surrounded in a pincer, and general Fieldmarshall Paulus wanted to make a tactical retreat, but Hitler wouldn't allow it....the airplanes were called Fieseler Storch...in the end, soldiers would try to hang onto the planes and they shot them off in order to take off...190,000 German soldiers were marched into POW camps, where most died

[@IngePotzuweit-rb8ui]

@ ...do you think the American POW "s that were starved, tortured and killed by the Japanese were well deserving of their fate? All soldiers fight for their countries, they have no choice....your comment only shows your ignorance...you are a little pea brained being

[@IngePotzuweit-rb8ui]

@Baz Bazdad ...interesting...I can only repeat what my uncle told the family...maybe they had both airplanes there

[@bobsmoth-iv3sp]

34 people is to many I think it carried around 20 people. Or It could carry around 2 tons of cargo.

[@bobsmoth-iv3sp]

@Baz Bazdad In the book by Antony Beevor , He said they landed some condors there and one had 70 aboard when it stalled during take off and crashed All 70 and crew died My personal belief is the pilot was desperate and trying to climb to high to fast Witnesses said the tail droped down..... I think the thing most people do not understand is that moving an entire army in real life is not as easy as making a move in a game. Especially when they were short of supplies , food and transportation even before they were surrounded. In the real world before Stalingrad the Russians tried to break out of KIev If I remember right with out Stalins permission and were slaughtered. They lost 400,000 troops there.

[@IngePotzuweit-rb8ui]

@Pretty fly for a WiFi..... LOL...so you were there ....wow...an eyewitness,,,but funny, my uncle who fought there told a different story..you're a pathetic FAKE with fake slander to besmirch the honor of the German Wehrmacht

[@tundralou]

How could Adolph done this to his soldiers-abandoned them to a terrible death. Just watched the movie Stalingrad-felt really sorry for the German soldiers.

[@millardwashington6216]

tundralou he didn’t care.

[@millardwashington6216]

benvolio mozart around Christmas he bragged that had captured it “practically “ just like North Africa he abandoned whole army’s to their faith, after all he was the fuhrer(leader) yes ?!

[@VGK4EVER]

@benvolio mozart impossible to break the encirclement with the tanks, vehicles, and artillery. Yet some soldiers and units did break out with small arms. They could have broken out right away, as there were significant amounts of German forces just West. Again, Paulus feared to disobey orders, which he later regrets.

[@MD21037]

THOSE POOR GUYS!! Try to imagine; the soldiers of the 6th Army; stuck in a hopeless situation, with no possibility of rescue; freezing, sick and starving, men in weather of -20 degree temperatures, and deep snowr; left out on the open steppe, with no shelter, whatsoever. The forgotten victims of the Nazi regime. They ought to erect a "Memorial Wall", with all the names of the men inscribed who paid the ultimate price (and then some), as the result of an easily avoidable, tradgedy; experienced a level of suffering, that is almost, beyond all human comprehension. Absolutely mindboggling!!

[@distortedattention4231]

@Baz Bazdad Mmm like the Americans in Iraq? The British in South Africa? So we should feel no remorse for the suffering of people who lived under different circumstances than us? I can promise you that you would have been one of those German men if you were born in the right time, in the right place.

[@distortedattention4231]

@Baz Bazdad So if it's the case that I missed your hidden point, you might want to rephrase your words so it actually reflects the meaning that you're trying to convey.

[@martinpatrick1746]

When radio broadcasting from Stalingrad stopped the German army was doomed and the soldiers were dying from the cold and hunger and their wounds on the battlefield of Stalingrad.

[@richardcarnathan5902]

Baz Bazdad :

[@bamther5718]

With over 2 million combined soldier deaths I would think the skeletons would stand up like movie Poltergeist and tell us their story. I saw the other day leaders who caused the most deaths 1) Mao 2) Stalin 3) Hitler...sad state of affairs

[@alammutiara8888]

The proximity of all those debris left alone tells a horrible past

[@Texscripter]

This is fascinating - thank you for recording it. So, can anyone just dig around there? There's no permit needed? I find it very interesting that the area is saturated with artifacts that haven't been touched in 75+ years. I would also love to take one of these tours, someday.

[@pahwraith]

Probably because there's unexploded bombs and shells under the ground too. You'll blow yourself up if you're not careful.

[@loneexplorama7914]

Are these lands not farms? Is it just empty unused land?

[@slimchancetoo]

Video taken ina different season, early spring I think, I was there in summer -- very much greener. Easy to pick up souvenirs, bits of kit, spent ammunition,crockery shards ----- you name it. I picked up spent ammunition and a comb (aluminium) as well as a can of Schucreme (boot polish) Very interesting place to visit.

[@Dive-Bar-Casanova]

I want to visit Stalingrad.

[@StalingradOnLine]

Welcome to Stalingrad www.StalingradTours.com

[@JOEBURNES2006]

its now volgagrad

[@gekko007]

wie friedlich & ruhig alles sein kann.....wenn der mensch mal nicht dumheiten begeht🌱🙏

[@scpstudio1811]

23rd of January 1943 was when the last plane left pitomnik airfield

[@lemmdus2119]

I have some relics from there.

[@sauladaircervantesalvarez9370]

Imprecionante saludos !!✌

[@greasyflight6609]

I met a German Luftwaffe Transport Pilot years ago who flew in out out of Pitomnik during the battle...somehow he survived the war.

[@princekumar-nc2ve]

Pls share your experiences. What did he said?

[@greasyflight6609]

@@princekumar-nc2ve He said he was lucky

[@princekumar-nc2ve]

@@greasyflight6609 what the pitomnik airport looked like in those times ?

[@arm2644]

7:50 a call from Führer

[@robbiecotner3666]

“Permission to break out granted, sorry for delay”

[@radonpq99]

My heart breaks looking at this video, in the last days of the Battle hundred of thousands of soldiers were trapped here wounded , hungry cold and clinging to life with emaciated bodies and broken spirit still longing for home and some did come out but most perished. I would love to visit this place to my tribute.

[@jmc2903]

radonpq99 Do you ever wonder or have sympathetic thoughts about the thousands of Russian civilians who died as a result of the German invasion ?

[@distortedattention4231]

More Communist sympathisers. Is this airfield a place of Russian suffering, or German? Retards.

[@sotis1756]

@@jmc2903 Let the man Grieve the germans loss of life if he wants too..

[@sitting_nut]

they deserved what they got. they had no business but evil to be there.

[@lulurosenkrantz3720]

How far is Pitomnik from Stalingrad ?

[@kaukasus1434]

The distance between Pitomnik and (Volgograd) Stalingrad approximately 15 kilometers.

[@Capitals301-austin]

Awesome video i grew up in maryland around the civil war battlefields its am amazing feeling of sorrow and energy you cam feel when stepping on a battlefield as if fighting is still going on with exerted energy and spirits of souls that are trapped found part of a sawed off leg sticking out of the creek bank in gettysburg and alerted park officials also be careful of what you touch i found a live artillery shell in the river of monocacy popped out the seal and tons of powder came out and it lit up as if it was new

[@twinturbo8304]

Wtf?

[@Capitals301-austin]

dave davo go to a battle sight and see if you can feel the change in energy some souls will stay and not move on to the after life you can find balls of light in pictures and human remains pop up after heavy rain

[@bobsmoth-iv3sp]

Farmers in France are still getting blown up by UXBs from WW I

[@MarkXplora]

Thaks! from Chile! My respects to the russian people

[@chrisnnh]

“But, I don’t have a metal detector.” “Dude, you don’t need a metal detector. I know a place....”

[@HeinrichErnst1]

Ищу следы моего деда, который находится среди пропавших без вести в Сталинграде. Его последнее письмо датировано 12 января 1943 г. Его подразделение было ротой мастерской 113-й пехотной дивизии. Последняя известная позиция была немного севернее Розошки. Я предлагаю награду за каждую подсказку, раскрывающую что-то о нем. Контакт по частной почте - пожалуйста, введите здесь свой адрес под моим комментарием.

[@j.zwickel8921]

Ruhet in Frieden!

[@turkishmauser1174]

I think last german airplane took off from this airport just before surrender of the german 6th army

[@bobsmoth-iv3sp]

A few weeks earlier . Then they had 2 smaller fields that were also over run by USSR victors. See you Tube ......Stalingrad Part 1 of 3 Audiobook FULL by Atony Bevoor ....or get the book

[@karlpolsterer7687]

Jan.23 last flight out

[@harvestblades]

Anyone interested in this needs to listen to Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast "Ghosts of the Ostfront".

[@waltglow6396]

The little corporal just left all those soldiers to die ,plus the Russian people who died!

[@Heino60Hz]

It was hell on earth for the germans i think, when the soviets closing in.

[@axlyoung1218]

Should have a Medal Detector

[@Useaname]

To detect all those valuable medals

[@AparatorulPoporului]

Many ppl died there! Many!

[@robertstonebreaker8394]

They should preserve that area as a ugly reminder of what wars can do!! once those artifacts are gone they are gone forever .

[@bluefox4426]

God job : )

[@davebadge41]

The PROBLEM with a education and common sence, alot of PEOPLE HAVE NEITHER, NOT ALL GEMAN SOLDERS WERE NOT NAZIES

[@roflmao9999]

you mean "were nazies"? they should have deserted ( I know it's not easy to accept what I am saying)

[@Mrtweet81]

Not all Germans was not nazis? So all germans was nazis is what you are saying?

[@geoffreydevore9503]

Only a dumbass would belueve all German soldiers were Nazi's.

[@peterpilek6596]

Hi Guys. And I very please, next time please, show for us, how big it was and is in fact this field airport from 1942 when he used the German Wermacht!!! Please tell us evening all about this FIELD AIRPORT, (negative or positive). I like history from WW2 MOSKVA, STALINGRAD, KURSK, LENIGRAD, etcetera, etcetera. And one question: For way you are fear-(AFRAID) speaking Russian Language??? I will understand you quite well, only you just can't speak very quickly, Russian Language. Good luck František from Slovakia.

[@blixtkrig]

can any one come and digg there?

[@MrStep70]

blixtkrig Yes. It‘s open to go. No one cares. But it‘s not easy to find. No signs, nothing. But if you there, it‘s amazing. You can find all kind of shit there. You see all bunkers and shelters.

[@jerodx100]

blixtkrig looks like there has been digging.

[@Fejespeter771]

részeg

[@tundralou]

Concientious metal detectors fill in their holes-these guys need some training

[@jeffreyb8770]

Napoleon lost his entire army to the Russian winter in 1804. History repeated itself in '41, '42, '43. By 1944 the Germans were expelled from Soviet territory.

[@sergiogonzalez736]

It's been 70 years and these German items are still sitting on the top soil??? Impossible. Someone had to have dug them up and just thrown the items away.

[@JOEBURNES2006]

no there are still fuel cans just siting in fields--------------it is against Russian law to take anything away--------or it was their law----------in the 1980's you could kick soil and a scull would roll out.

[@lablackzed]

Wouldn't go there at night a lot of lost soul's for sure .

[@ramirovera7376]

The glorious 6th Armee...the remnants...

[@jimb6781]

This is nothing to compare to the death of mankind depicted in The Book of Revelations.

[@rickoliver808]

Go ritler yes

[@GunnyKeith]

This is what is left when you try to invade mother russia.

[@smitha775]

Get a metal detector 😅

[@robertomunra6987]

Jerman

[@jscustoms5916]

First!