German WW2 Veteran recalls escaping from Soviet captivity

Once again, we have a unique opportunity to share with you another portion of our interview with Dr. Joachim Hess. Today, we hear the story of his daring escape from the Soviet prison camp.
Part 1: • Interview with a Germa...
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Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Marek Kamiński
Community Management: Jake McCluskey
Map animations by: Daniel Weiss
Map research by: Sietse Kenter
Edited by: Jakob Nardozza
Artwork and color grading by: Mikołaj Uchman
Sound design by: Marek Kamiński
Source literature list: bit.ly/SourcesWW2
Archive footage: Screenocean/Reuters - www.screenocea...
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[@williamhunt3158]

This is an instance where I wish that we had the technology of KZbin develop sooner. There were so many of these stories, and each individual one is precious. I have crappy tapes of my grandfather discussing his experiences in the Polish home army - the types of stories that sound too crazy to be true. Humanity, at the end of the day, is a species founded upon storytelling. The tragedy of wars is that so many of these stories are either cut short by death or remain private due to trauma. So many Polish veterans died in obscurity abroad. They were the last vestiges of a pre-war Polish society. Much like Dr. Hess is a remnant of the good parts of pre-war German society. If we had more of these stories available, our collective memory wouldn't be so siloed and lonely. Good job World War Two team, and all the best to Dr. Hess, even though my grandfather would have tried to blow up the train on which he was being transported without a second thought.

[@brazenatheist1676]

What kind of tapes? You may be able to transfer them to a different format? They might be fixable or at the least able to be cleaned up so you could post them here? We don't hear enough stories from the polish side, I'd be interested to hear them.

[@urizen7613]

@@brazenatheist1676 Yes, this! Historians will be interested.

[@williamhunt3158]

@@brazenatheist1676 Microcassette. I'll get around to digitizing them when time permits. Unfortunately I was quite young when I recorded these, so I wasn't as good about asking probing questions. Among such topics were his experiences after the war, which in many ways were more traumatic than the war itself, as he was tortured for a few years and then blacklisted from employment by the communist authorities. There's a book about an operation where his unit organized a prison break from a Gestapo prison where they freed over 150 people and home army soldiers who were being tortured. They dressed up as drunk German officers (their German wasn't that great so they figured it would be necessary to come off as so inebriated so that they couldn't speak straight) who wanted to enter the prison to beat up prisoners for fun. Unfortunately it's only in Polish and not digitized, so maybe its translation would be a good first project. lubimyczytac.pl/ksiazka/4847222/rozkaz-zdobyc-wiezienie

[@juliusz1486]

​@@williamhunt3158bravo! Greetings from Poland! Never forget the heroes from Armia Krajowa!!!

[@oldgoat142]

Men like Dr. Hess have such incredible stories to tell. What a shame that so many stories will never be told because the story tellers are no longer with us. I, for one, am so very glad and appreciative that this channel has made such an effort to document at least one soldier's life. Thank you, Spartacus, and to the entire team, for doing what you do.

[@igorGriffiths]

This is what makes this time in history so fascinating, the fading opportunity to hear from those who survived through incredible times

[@nigeh5326]

Agreed I grew up in Britain surrounded by family who had lived through WW2. 4 of my great uncles fought 1 was killed outside of Dunkirk the other 3 served in the desert, Italy and Northern Europe. I never got round to interviewing them and recording their stories and now they have all passed away 😔. It’s the same with post WW2 veterans of wars and emergencies such as Korea, Malaya, Israel, Suez, the Falklands War, N Ireland, the first Gulf War, Iraq and Afghanistan. So many stories that we need to record for the future. The Imperial War Museum, some regimental associations and historians have been, and are doing this now, but many veterans stories will be lost as time moves on.

[@ThatLad685]

As one German put it in regards to the holocaust and the atrocities committed by the regime: “nobody knew everything, but everybody knew something”

[@JLAvey]

That about sums it up. I'd like to further add that any German with sense also knew what would happen to them if they went and asked too many questions.

[@HS-su3cf]

I knew someone who was youth in Germany at the time. They told that when they started to ask questions of the adults, they were told very strictly not to speak of such things.

[@davidmcleod6032]

I don't buy the we didn't know excuse. I met and talked with enough older Germans, including one SS veteran, to buy that excuse. They knew, but I can understand the helplessness of not speaking no matter how they really felt. We are experiencing it once again.

[@tancreddehauteville764]

Yes of course. Same as in USSR - how many had detailed knowledge of Stalin's death camps in Siberia? There were rumours.............

[@TheBearInTheChair]

What do you call a place where you are worked to the brink of death​ and to it, @@nickyman5557? Also, Cannibal Island, nuff said. . .

[@andywindes4968]

My uncle was a Wehrmacht soldier who served in the 9th Army and made his escape to the west across the Elbe. He was very fortunate (as fortunate as anyone can be after serving years fighting on the Eastern Front) as when Russia started releasing POWs in the 1950s, most of the men he had known before were completely broken.

[@barrybence4555]

Thank you for allowing me to follow along in German. I understood about 80% of his story auf Deutsch and the rest from the subtitles. A parishioner of mine in Fort St. John, British Columbia was a POW in Russian until the early 1950's, but he worked on a farm where he received better treatment than many of his comrades, yet that experience of war and captivity never left him. Once he just got on a bus and travelled for a long time until he was located. Thank you again for this amazing special episode.

[@MausTheGerman]

My grandpa was in the Wehrmacht and survived Stalingrad. He got captured by the red army and was sent to Gulag. There are so many stories. Good and bad ones. The reason he survived the gulag was that he was a very talented musician in the Wehrmacht Musikkorps. He had to play music for the gulag guards every evening and that’s why they treated him better. Due to the chaos at the front line he actually was declared to be dead. My grandma received a hand written letter of condolence from the Wehrmacht with a long story about how heroically he fought for the fatherland and how he tragically lost his life in the process. I still have the letter. It’s amazing how much effort and creativity they spent in this kind of „fake“ letters. When he came home my grandma was married with another man who had to leave the house then, as the actual husband stood in front of the door. My dad, born in 1942, saw this other husband already as his father, as he didn’t know his actual father by then. My grand pa when he left to the front was a 20 years old good looking sporty, happy, funny and healthy man. When he returned he was a human „wreck“ aged extremely and was mentally disturbed and very aggressive due to what the war and gulag experiences did to him. There was no psychological support at that time. He looked like a ghost my dad told. My dad and my grandma hadn’t had a good time with him. But they arranged to live together until he died in 2000. For sure that was never a topic in the family. Many many tragedies like this happened in the 1950s. A return to home was not always a happy ending, if you know how I mean. For me he was always a nice grandpa.

[@BichaelStevens]

wanna post the letter image link?

[@loganflores486]

Did your grandma and grandpa get remarried or did she stay with her new husband? Sorry to ask but your story is super interesting.

[@thijsminnee7549]

I love it how instead of resynchronising the interviews in English or retelling them in Engling. The interview is kept in German but with English subtitles.

[@MrBiskhof]

They are a bit off sometimes but as a German I appreciate it 🙂

[@quanbrooklynkid7776]

​@@MrBiskhof how do you know how to read in English

[@hippyjoe]

​@@quanbrooklynkid7776You know people can learn more than one language right lol

[@hippyjoe]

​@@MrBiskhofI rarely see 1:1 subtitling from German. I will see a lot of things like when they say something like "bring ihn hierher" the subtitle would be like "bring them here", which is correct-ish but its not what was said exactly.

[@mp-rock7871]

​@@MrBiskhofI think there was one instance where Dr. Hess said something like "Sie waren hocherfreut" (They were delighted) and the subtitles said something like "They were high and happy". This might be one of the best mishaps I've ever seen.😂

[@craig9802]

I haven't been this enthralled since I first watched All Quiet on the Western Front. Excellent interview, and cheers to Herr Hess. I'm happy he is still around to tell the story.

[@MPHJackson7]

I had to pause and think for a bit when he said he was only 20 years old at the time. Really puts things into perspective. Made me realize just how much endurance he had. Wow.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Quite sobering isn't it? Thank you for watching.

[@michaelmapes4119]

@@grantschiff7544 🙄

[@otfriedschellhas3581]

​@@grantschiff7544What a daft take, Schiffy. He's just telling his story, no agenda.

[@justink1985]

@@grantschiff7544 Ah yes, I'm sure in his position you'd stop the war all by yourself! What a hero you are!

[@justink1985]

@@grantschiff7544 Yes, I'm sure you are a model citizen!

[@bluewizzard8843]

Sadly on of the last interviews with veterans from ww2. Really fantastic job to bring his story.

[@veselicadragan]

Outstanding story and episode, thank you so much.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for watching!

[@rodrigotolosa590]

Thank you for these interviews. They show a side of history that is not often portrayed in media. I wish there were more interviews like this available. I don't know if the opportunity for an interview like this will come up again in the future, but I strongly advice planning the questions better and not asking several complex questions at once. Because it confuses the interviewee and it can even muddle the meaning of the answers. I would also recommend asking more pointed questions. For example, when you ask "When did you realize how deep the genocidal war had gone? And when did you realize what was going on with the Holocaust, with looting and destruction of Ukraine?", answering "after the war" can mean that he knew nothing until after the war or that he knew some things but not the "full depth" of it, or that he knew a lot but he only heard details of Ukraine after the war. With the Holocaust being a very delicate subject matter, such phrasing of questions and answers can lead to people drawing wrong readings of what is being said. It could have been better to simply ask "What did you know about the genocide during the war?" and then asking for specific details according to the answer. I suspect there were a million things you wanted to discuss and you wanted to cover it all, and hence you ended up asking several things at once and rushing a bit over some topics that people like me may not know much about, but since both you and Mr. Hess are familiar with you didn't go into detail. Again, thank you very much for all your hard work!

[@oliveryellop1333]

Wow just the best historical content on KZbin x

[@WorldWarTwo]

Much appreciated!

[@residentgeardo]

Amazing story! For my German grandfather the war ended somewhere in Czechoslovakia as well. He and his comrades were told by their units commander to try and get home. He too made the trek on foot and managed to reach his small hometown on the border between Germany and Austria. My grandmother once told that one day he just walked down the road and came home. Did not spend a single day in captivity. Lucky guy. Unfortunately during their lifetime I never asked for details and now both grandparents are long since gone.

[@mattw785]

Wow, what a story. You and your team do such a great job on this topic.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you so much!

[@WorldWarTwo]

By interviewing a Luftwaffe soldier who was raised by parents who did not support Hitler, and did everything possible to avoid combat service and has never once endorsed Hitler and has spoken out against Nazi atrocities and war? -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@NoName-cq3sr]

Funnily enough on his way to Essen he most likely went trough the city I'm living in right now. Maybe even the small town I was born in little more than half a century after his bike tour. As someone born in the 90ies it seemed to me a little bit like the war never happened. United Germany, almost no foreign military presence, oldest living relatives were small children when the war ended. Of course you can learn about it, like for example through this amazing show you guys produced the last few years. But still it's quite different to hear first hand account from someone who lived through this time. Makes everything feel less distant and much more real. Thanks to TimeGhost and thanks to Dr. Hess for doing this great interview. Schöne Grüße aus Westfalen!

[@MrT3a92]

Very interesting story! My Grandfather was in soviet captivity as well. Unfortunately i never heard his story, because he already died in 1965. He got in captivity i think in 1943 and got home in 1952. My father was born in 1953. It's incredible that i only exist because he survived siberia. My father also doesnt knows anything about that time, he said my grandfather would never talk about his time in the wehrmacht or in siberia. It must have been a horrible time...

[@megachaloub759]

Imagine how many families weren’t born because of your grandfather.

[@euphoriaggaminghd]

​@@megachaloub759imagine how many guys weren't born because of genghis Khan! Damn, we would have like, millions more people dude

[@josestirtabudi6247]

Absolutely fantastuc interview! Thank you!

[@PrinceMagnum]

This is so heartbreaking that we're losing these stories to time. Thank you...

[@AlTiri-rd7ly]

Cant do it all, we need to appreciate what we got now.

[@theonlymadmac4771]

Interesting. My father born in 1929 and lucky not to be „verheizt“ lit. burned up in the last minute, who grew up in a small Bavarian town told me he didn’t know that Auschwitz existed. But he knew that Dachau existed and that you didn’t want to end up there. And he knew in 1942 being 13 years old that Germany would lose the war and that something fundamentally evil was going on in Germany. My mother, who grew up in a big city, knew less.

[@hullutsuhna]

what people forget about Dachau is that before the war it was a labor camp for political prisoners & that people usually returned from there after serving their sentences, so it is plausible that people simply didn't believe the rumors about what Dachau turned into later, because "my next-door neighbor Helmut used to brawl with the brown shirts all the time & when he went to Dachau he came back a couple years later!" etc.

[@tavish4699]

@@hullutsuhna yes and those work camsp were a common thing in germany there was a reason why they put the death camps far far away from the public in poland

[@lynnwood7205]

Very interesting and human focused remembering. Thank You.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for watching.

[@samsmith2635]

Nothing brings a smile to my face watching the Time Ghost army and Sparty taking the time to learn from someone who was there, to hear their voice, their perspective. Especially brings me joy to see the Veteran sitting in the Chair of Infinite Wisdom

[@dtaylor10chuckufarle]

That is survival in its most raw form. I'm glad Dr. Heß escaped and is leading a good, long life.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching.

[@zeppelinboys]

wonderful interview! what a life!

[@RickJZ1973]

Thank you for this most interesting interview.

[@stoffls]

What a wild ride, but I think many Wehrmacht soldiers had similar stories, especially their escape from the Soviets. My grandfather was on the Eastern front during the whole war, he narrowly escaped from Königsberg or Danzig to Kiel, where he surrendered to the British and was released Christmas 1945.

[@SheriffsSimShack]

I didnt expect to hear the name of my hometown today. Arnsberg. Now I wonder why they journey ended there for his compainions.

[@jorgecas5678]

Perhaps they were from that city

[@HayastAnFedayi]

Bravo I commend this series of interviews! Im an American with both my grandfathers having fought in WWII, with my maternal grandfather fighting in the European theater in Patton’s 3rd Army in the 87th infantry division The Golden Acorns. Having the testimony of the German side is just as important for posterity sake as much as the allied side.

[@jamieholtsclaw2305]

My compliments to Spartacus Olson for interviewing this fellow. While I have no sympathy for the regime they served, I have a lot of sympathy for the conscripted soldiers. They were in a truly awful situation.

[@TheBearInTheChair]

​@@nickyman5557"only awful when they started losing". . . war IS hell!

[@salvatorepitea5862]

Unfortunately,,,, "JUST FOLLOWING ORDERS" whether being conscripted or not ,,kills alotta innocent people 😢

[@shooooooosh]

btw, do you guys feel the same for conscripted men in Russia that fight in Ukraine?

[@WorldWarTwo]

I cannot speak for anyone else, but sitting in the US, I personally feel bad for the grunts on the ground, and you can see it in videos of POWs or guys staring at the drone that is about to drop a bomb on them. It's goddamn horrible to see that look on their face and also to know that a lot of them had no choice or were dragged into a situation they didn't understand or perhaps didn't want to be in. I reserve my disgust for their leaders and officers and true believer zealots, not Ivan in his outdated Soviet helmet about to be ran through a meat grinder. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@TheBearInTheChair]

Nah, ​@@nickyman5557, all wars are hell. Each one just as tramatic as the last.

[@davidmicheletti6292]

Wonderful story. Ive been watching all these stories while these people are still alive.

[@WorldWarTwo]

It helps put things into perspective a little, thank you for watching.

[@samwill7259]

If only every German who thought they were too powerless to stop it knew about every other German who thought the same thing.

[@Paciat]

Then the SS would have a busy day.

[@samwill7259]

@@Paciat The SS would have been VERY outnumbered, and they couldn't even win a regular war. Let alone one where the entire country dropped them like a sack of spuds

[@WorldWarTwo]

You had a largely unarmed population with no real tradition of rebellion against strong authority, legally held small arms were in the hands of persons licensed by the Nazi regime, and the military didn't seem inclined to mutiny. For the average German, unarmed, disconnected from the truth through total media control and censorship and no real ability to create a widespread resistance movement, while also being bombed, and let's face it, also seeing the sociopolitical other persecuted instead of them, there just wasn't much opportunity or frankly inclination to have this fantasy uprising, as appealing as the thought might be. It's easy to think of rising up, harder when you start doing the risk calculus and seeing how tyrannical governments carefully isolate their citizens from the truth and carefully strip away the means or inclination to resist. (Everyone, please, no attempts to parallel modern politics or events to this statement. Thanks) -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@2kbk926]

@@WorldWarTwoThe implication seems to be that this authoritarian government came out of the ether when that’s obviously wrong-the Nazis were in power with the enthusiastic consent of a plurality of Germans at the time

[@josjos1847]

​@@WorldWarTwoagree but no with the "no tradition of uprising against strong government". Because we're talking about the German people who overthrew the kaiser government 30 years ago

[@samdumaquis2033]

Very interesting, thanks

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for watching.

[@MrPanzerTanzer]

Die Fahrradgeschichte. Wahnsinn wozu man fähig ist, wenn man nach Hause kommen möchte.

[@youenjoy8468]

Thank you

[@Idontwanttosignupist]

Incredible. How wonderful!

[@jamesblackwell7752]

Wow what an amazing story. Thank you you Sparty.

[@redr1150r]

What an adventure. I loved every minute of it.

[@C_hoffmanni]

These interviews with Dr Hess have been exhilarating, thank you.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for the comment and thanks for watching.

[@jayjayson9613]

Thank you so much for doing this and sharing his story with us

[@WorldWarTwo]

Big thank you to Dr. Hess for joining us.

[@GlamorousTitanic21]

Wow. Very rarely today do we get to hear testimony from a German veteran of the war.

[@bluewizzard8843]

It's also important to realize this is the last time you will hear anything about this war from an actual veteran. These men will all be dead in a short few years.

[@bluewizzard8843]

​@Onlinerandowar is never clean. Americans and russians both committed horrific warcrimes, that's not ecclusively reserved for japan and germany.

[@finchborat]

@@bluewizzard8843 The last part is why I hope more interviews can be done with other WWII vets while we still have them. As you noted, we're not far from the day where the last of them will be gone.

[@aminzqrti7672]

What a sad story.. this is the reality of the war.. nobody wins at the end.. what left after it are only devastated souls

[@bastisonnenkind]

I have my doubts about that part of the story were they talk about the KZ and the war of annihilations in the East. Even if it was not common knowledge what exactly had happened there, so many people were witnesses that it is nearly impossible that they heard only rumors. I suspect they did't wanted to know.

[@Am_Yisrael_Chai_7]

Even if he knew everything and any detail -- Did he have the power to stop the holocaust?

[@spartacus-olsson]

There’s some truth to what you’re saying. Even more so about the Holocaust actually. ​​⁠The record shows that the knowledge of the concentration camps was pretty deep. The knowledge of the Holocaust was vague. There were lots of rumors and word of mouth reports of the mass murders, but they were largely ignored, discarded as unbelievable, or silently supported because of antisemitism.

[@bastisonnenkind]

@@Am_Yisrael_Chai_7 I did not in anyway wrote that or even implied that. But too many of that generation just "did not know' so they had a) nothing to do with it and b) could not be blamed. Or so they said. If one fears for his life not knowing may have been the logical choice. But there is a stain.

[@EarlGreyLattex]

Agreed ​@@bastisonnenkind

[@dereinepeterpan5637]

I agree with your point in general when, but you have to keep in mind that he personally was only 20 years old and served in a signal company.

[@issaziadeh7811]

We would appreciate if you could interview a USSR veteran, we know flying to Russia, Belarus, or any post Soviet country would be hard, but I’m half Russian and that grew up in the west and I really want western audiences to hear what they would have to say.

[@sahteekrem]

They will not. They could well have done it wile talking of Stalingrad, of Kursk, of Operation Mars, Operation Bagration, of the Blocade (of which they conveniently decided not to talk too much). So, they preferred not to.

[@nigeh5326]

Given the current Ukraine War it wouldn’t be a good idea. The Russians would not allow it or would only allow them to talk to ‘reliable’ veterans who would not be critical of Stalin, the old USSR and who would not admit to or even discuss Soviet atrocities on German and other East European peoples. I’m not against Russians as such but their system does not tolerate criticism of the past

[@xyema-mpa-ma-ma]

They will not. It just won't fit in their political agenda. Russians are evil, you know. Maybe they can find a Ukrainian SS veteran and ask them about the fond memories of taking part in the Holocaust though?

[@Robofussin23]

@@nigeh5326source for this claim? I pulled it out my ass. The truth is they interviewed an ex German veteran and not a soviet one.

[@megachaloub759]

@@nigeh5326you think after Germany killed over 10 million Soviet citizens, respect to Nazi citizens would been their priority? Germany is lucky it’s still exist

[@jorgecas5678]

Great story! Just like a movie

[@indianajones4321]

This is excellent

[@petermarsh8559]

Fascinating content, many thanks to Dr. Hess and to Spartacus..

[@WolfgangWhyte]

The algorithm thought I would like this channel. It was right! Subscribed! 😊

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for your support!. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@markja3249]

Great interview. Thanks for posting the interview. It is refreshing to hear Professor Hess' perspective. During the war, my father was a young boy living in Essen Schonnebeck and endured the bombing of the Ruhr Valley. He said the bombing in his area primarily targeted the nearby coal mines and Krupp Steel factory where my Opa worked. He relayed that the bombing was a daily occurrence, and that the Americans flew over by day and the British by night. At some point during 1943, bombs destroyed his school. It was then that the German government then sent the children in that and other destroyed schools to Mayrhofen, Austria so they could continue their studies. Later, they were moved to Kitzbuhl, Austria. When the war ended, he and a couple of friends made their way back to Essen by foot. At the time, he was seventeen years old and thankfully hadn't been forced into service. He had papers accepting him into a Kriegsmarine officer program once he turned 18. Apparently the Wehrmacht had to respect this naval appointment, and though they tried to coerce him into joining, they mostly left him alone after he showed no interest.The other children ranged in ages, but he did not say how the boys had been able to evade induction into service. During this journey they were stopped and taken prisoner by a French patrol in southwest Germany on suspicion of being soldiers. What little belongings they had were seized and they were held in a farmhouse, from which they fled later that night by jumping out of a second story window. This trip took approximately seven months. During this time, and most of late 1944 - 45, he did not know if any family members had weathered the bombing and survived. Letters from home stopped arriving in 1944. When he arrived home, he found my Oma and Opa alive. Shortly thereafter, his brother arrived after serving with the Luftwaffe as a AAA gunner in the Netherlands. Several years later, one of his uncles, a merchant marine who was captured by Russian naval forces, arrived home after serving in a prison camp. During my father's life (1928 - 2021) he rarely talked about his war time experiences, but he was adamantly opposed to all forms of war. He believed nothing good could ever come from it.

[@annehersey9895]

Great interview and I appreciate your questions and his insights HOWEVER, his answer of’you just close your eyes and act like it’s not happened’ 😂 sums up the German people of the 30’s and 40’s to a T! They heard rumor after rumor and at some point people realize it must not just be a rumor. And if he was on the Eastern Front, what did he think the Einsatsgruppen was doing? He’s still minimizing the Holocaust because he talked about the ‘thousands’ of Jews killed when it was over 6 million and millions of Poles, Ukrainians and Belarusians that were NOT Jews! I keep saying He when he is just one of millions of Germans who denied they knew. In many interviews I can count on one hand the Germans who said ‘Yes, I knew’. And because of the Communist threat nations-Germany in particular never had to come to terms with that knowledge until Germany started opening the closets and these peoples Grandchildren started having family reckonings. Now Germany is Very open about what it did and it’s admirable. I just wish Japan would do the same thing but that centuries long Asian pride about‘saving face’ I’m afraid is still strong.

[@WorldWarTwo]

The "Eastern Front" he was on was well inside Germany in the closing days of the war. He was a Luftwaffe radio operator until the Luftwaffe ceased to matter and was pressed in as last ditch infantry in the closing days of the war. He's also aware of the true death toll of the Holocaust, and Spartacus pointed out elsewhere that a 99 year old man can be forgiven for fumbling some things. I'll also quote Spartacus here from something he said. "He didn’t say that. Listen to the whole statement and my follow up questions. He confirms the word of mouth knowledge, but points out that there was no official information, no public knowledge, only private knowledge. This fits exactly with the documentation and sources. The Germans knew, because word got out, not because they were informed (obviously)." Dr Hess was raised in an anti Hitler home and was 20 when the war ended. That means he lived the most formative years of his life entirely under the Nazi propaganda machine, and as he stated only knew of rumors and quietly whispered things. Hope this clarifies things. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@annehersey9895]

@@WorldWarTwo Being Luftwaffe is of course much different and he may have never even heard of the Einsatsgruppen as unfortunately they did such a good job while he was in school. I loved his tale about getting away from the Russians and avoiding the US checkpoints. Discussing how awkward his makeshift bike was had me hurting myself having ridden less than perfect bikes in my youth. Thoroughly enjoyed both interviews with Dr. Hess and cheers to Sparty for getting his interview recorded. What a great memory and strong voice.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Dr Hess spent his entire service far away from Russia. France and Germany if I recall correctly at almost 2am, and was only in for the closing acts of the war. I thought it was hilarious how he avoided the checkpoints and it didn't surprise me that the officer who signed his denazification papers thought so too. What a hard choice to ride a cobbled together bike or to just walk must have been. I probably would have made the same choice, trading distance for difficulty sitting down. I'll flag Spartacus so he'll be sure to see your kind words. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@frankbarnwell____]

Not to distract. Love this interview. Drachinifel also has a talk with a 99yo US Navy sailor. 3 generations since then. Their war . Is it ours? Still.

[@danweyant4909]

What a story.

[@williamkellogg4671]

Thank you for the video! But the subtitles are hard to read because objects in the background kind of obscure the subtitles. Can you make the subtitle bar pure black?

[@Kidd_Cabbage18]

This was truly amazing! In the US, of course we learn about WWII, it was a big moment in the history of humanity. We’re taught how terrible the Nazis were. But we’re never taught about the average German who is pushed into the fight, not knowing the full extent of what’s going on or why it’s happening. I think these stories are so important. It makes you think a good number of German troops were just thrown into something way bigger than themselves, all they wanted to do was survive. And then to learn the true horrors of what your country has done in your own backyard, especially if they didn’t know the magnitude of the holocaust. It’s wild

[@riddleof]

Spartacus, given your previous episodes of how much the German people knew what was actually going on re. Concentration / Extermination Camps , that this chap would have been so surprised to have found about after the war is a bit hard to believe.

[@doctor_alfa]

The camps weren't the only things either. For example Einsatzgruppen

[@WorldWarTwo]

That is not exactly what was said, he said that there was no official public information only private knowledge and through word of mouth was it known.

[@angeloluna529]

the issue is that the internet and smartphones didnt exist at the time, the only kind of news ordinary people would be getting is radio, word of mouth and the newspaper. the camps werent doing some fun summer camp event where germans can visit and gawk at the suffering of those imprisoned in the camps. the camps were made farther away from urban areas and enough security to prevent prison escapes and outsiders entering the camps. i would like to see an alternative history path of how the germans would really react once the rumors of the purpose of these camps were revealed.

[@dominikzelina5761]

@@WorldWarTwo actually it was only after he got the question regarding "the rumours", i.e. what the most Germans knew about the KZs by hearsay (there was really no German who didnt know about them since it was part of the terror apparatus of the Reich to keep the population in line), that he at least admitted that he had heard "the rumours". His answer was in reality very much in line with the narrative created in the post war BRD, which basically said it was only the nazi elite which was to be blamem and the "ordinary German citizen" (or Wehrmacht soldier for that matter) was just being lied to. This has been long since proven to be plainly false, even by a court in some instances. All due respect to the veterans and the whole generation and thanks for the effort in bringing them to youtube. There however always must be a critical commentary if youre to make serious at attempts oral history in the future. Maybe you could do a video about the individual and collective coping mechanisms in the postwar Germanies (both BRD and DDR). Like your channel and wish you the best!

[@rowan655]

Excellent thank you!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for watching!

[@Citiesinmotionplayer]

25:52 captions correction: "nutze beigefügten _Boten_", not "Boden", so "courier" instead of "soil"

[@csonracsonra9962]

0:36 I live in a place that has paneling that is printed to look like wood and of course I'm in America if I have that I love how overseas, they have real wood doors and walls.. SOLID

[@sns4748]

Wow just found this other part of the interview

[@alanadams9793]

Thank you for posting the original interview. The German carries the nuance which is always lost in the translation and voice over.

[@ylalak1826]

If you appreciated the Spartagus Olsson interview in German I recommend the KZbin channel HORIZONT where he is interviewed - in German.

[@John3.36]

Dude was certainly a survivor.

[@melrakan]

Interesting interview. I think that the mindset of the people at the time that Dr. Hess described - "closing your eyes", only talking about rumours maybe to your closed ones in your own homes and not anywhere else - it reminds me of Russia and what is common there. People don't really dare to talk much, they only dare to voice critical opinions at the dinner table, basically, to their closed ones. Authoritarian regimes have such an effect, an intentionally crafted effect, on their peoples. It should be remembered that even the Nazis had a whole generation's worth of time to brainwash Germans from a young age, from a position of governmental power.

[@natheriver8910]

Very interesting 👏 👏

[@SPQR2755]

What a sharp old guy!

[@andrewk4818]

I'm not sold that he could have done nothing. The unspoken rest of that sentence is, " without suffering myself. "

[@deshaun9473]

Hi Timeghost!! We recently commentated D Day. D day, as we narrated in this channel, was the decisive turning point in the Allies victory against Nazi Germany. But I think D day is important historically for another reason, which I think few people realise. The Allied invasion and liberation of Western Europe not only ended the Axis occupation, but preserved Western Europe and kept it out of the Soviet orbit. It ensured that at least part of Europe would remain with the West and on a path to greater democracy and freedom. At the Potsdam Conference (spoiler), when Stalin was asked if he was proud of the Red Army's success against Hitler, said "Tsar Alexander reached Paris." This might seem innocuous, but one shudders to think of what would have happened if the Red Army had actually reached Paris. To all those who took part in D Day, we say: Thank you!! With regards to the interview, and the responses to it in the comments, the veteran here says that he personally did not know the full extent of the Shoah until after the war. I take him at his word that he did not know. But at the end of the day, what he says is irrelevant. WE know, from this channel, that the Werhmact, and the German people in general, knew of and supported the Holocaust, and Germany's systematic atrocities on the Eastern Front. At the end of the day, this is the only thing that matters, not what any one individual says he or she knew or didn't know. That said, good interview, i wish good health to him, and thank you for being with us at Timeghost. Keep up the good work!! ❤

[@dreeze7314]

Of course the term concentration camp was well known in World War 2, they were invented by the British during the second boer war and used with equally terrific results on the civilian population of the boer republics.

[@spartacus-olsson]

1. “concentration camps” have existed for at least as long as we have records of tribal conflicts. 2. The term was used for the Boer War, but was coined before that for camps in Cuba during the Spanish American war. 3. No camp system in history compares in scale of atrocity to the Nazi system. Watch this: Liberation of the Nazi Camps - War Against Humanity 131 kzbin.info/www/bejne/r6DPonarh5x_l7c

[@tancreddehauteville764]

Fascinating interview! Well done Spartacus. These guys are popping off and not many of them are left.

[@robinwhitebeam4386]

Wonderful film , thank you.

[@danielwillens5876]

Ausgeseichnete Anekdote!

[@spacemanspud7073]

It always blows me away that there were civil war vets alive during the first world war and into the 1930s. Now we are reaching the end of our ww2 vets, and maybe future generations will be suprised that I had a holocaust survior speak at my high school.

[@MIKE_THE_BRUMMIE]

I'm just in the middle of reading a book 'Blood Red Snow' all about a soldier on the eastern front and the retreat after Stalingrad. The aftermath of the war on the people of eastern Europe and Germany shouldn't be forgotten. We were supposed to learn that you can't punish a whole people based on a subsection, instead if anything it's got worse.

[@balrog262]

As a Pole, I am aware.

[@Splattle101]

Great story, and I'm glad for him that he got through. His claim he only heard rumours about the atrocities is difficult for me. For example, in his work following the letters of Germans during the war, Nicholas Stargardt found many instances of Germans referencing the Holocaust. These included acknowledgement that the property they bought at auction was from Jewish families, or the view that the American bombing was revenge for "what we did to the Jews". There's also the really gross stuff, like the people processing photographs taken by German soldiers indulging in 'war tourism'. In short, there's a lot of historiography showing the Holocaust wasn't a secret.

[@WorldWarTwo]

There is also a lot of variables that depended on where you lived and how politically active you were. Dr Hess knew something was up, but he didn't know the full extent. A German living near a camp likely knew much more. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@BobDeCaprio]

i wonder what he thought about Kristallnacht

[@WorldWarTwo]

He would have barely been a teenager then, so it's hard to say. -TimeGhost Ambassador

If you are interested I can set an interview with my grandfather 100yo he was on the Italian side of the war

[@curtwuollet2912]

Didn't know Sparticus was conversant in German.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Yep, he's lived in Germany for a long time!

[@csonracsonra9962]

Firstly I'd like to say that that mustache Is Unique For a better Term Almost as unique as a toothbrush stache😂

[@kingerikthegreatest.ofall.7860]

Mein Vaters Cousin war deutscher Soldat im zweiten Weltkrieg, und ehr würde von Granatsprinter geblendet.

[@TypeJack]

That is one giant red comfortable chair

[@jimbrown7082]

This was a great story! Thank you.

[@PeturKarlsson]

When I was in uni in Denmark and Marburg in the ´80s, I had an neighbor from Germany. She had moved from Berlin in 1942. She explained to me that everyone knew about the camps and atrocities . She said that the camps started for real in ´33-´34. And all the tales came from people working in the camps that came on holiday in Berlin. She also told me that after the war the whole population was in denial and did not acknowledge any Nazi connection even the worst of them. This man is still in denial. And as for POW´s the Germans killed 60-80 % of Soviet soldiers while The Soviets killed about 30 % of the German POW´s . I hope you keep your standards up to what you have been doing ,lately the have slipped into modern drivel.

[@jaimeb.8449]

It feels really comforting to know that those German veterans who have made alive till our days can financially express their thoughts and get the attention they deserve. Not saying allied veterans deserve less, but axis veterans are also part of the story. Obviously those who made atrocities have to pay, but most of them, common human beings, deserve same respect as any other countries veterans do.

[@Buce-ku9vx]

Thanks for sharing these. Well done sir

[@phmoffett]

My dad, an officer in 30th INF DIV, Normandy, said his outfit treated German prisoners well - as the Americans would want the same treatment in return. He said most German PW's were just ordinary folks pressed into service.

[@typxxilps]

check the records of the US army and how many germans did not arrive at the beach and vanished, Check the british books and accounts about the missing and investigations. No american has been accused or convicted. And if you start digging go further and check the american forces and rape through normandy and france. You can find all those born 9 month later cause in france and other european countries the catholic church protected these women and send them away in a foreign region to give birth and offer those new born for adoption. THe americans had not even recognised that they were raping french , allied women. The 2nd worst army was the US army just behind the soviet army cause the records are there. 8 rapes means 1 pregnant women and there has been a lot of research going on cause this was topic in post war europe that was hard to deal with for these women. Just check british and french books from historians like Anthony Beavor cause he is mentioning situation and records of POW taken that became missing. And again: check the records of german units fighting the allies in normandy and compare the amount of missing just by the percentage and who they had fought when they went missing. American Army has by far, which means multiple times, higher amounts of german soldiers missing. Strange, if you compare those figures of units who had fought the canadians and british, only the americans have this issue of huge amount of missing germans. And simply remember saving private ryan which has touched that topic for the very first time. But who cares cause we sit here and simply wait till the americans are getting a bloody nose fighting the russians cause they have never fought the russians before and we know that the americans will loose big times cause the american society can not deal and handle the truth like meat wave attacks even though the US army had done a lot of research about those units that had fought the russians and their records. Russians were not stupid in 1917 nor the soviets in 1942 to 1944 when our grandpa had fought them twice and went 2 times to Rostov Don. Russians do not care about losses, while americans will struggle big times from the casualties as seen in Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan which ended all in terrible defeats by retreat. Do not forget: Somalia is the country which had forced the big US army to retreat at the moment of first resistance when the tribes fought back. Of cause most americans will reject that the USA had invaded Somalia - but that is the reality and the low education where Somalia is and what the US forces had caused in the past: Well, to teach an american a lesson about history you have no chance . YOu have to use Hollywood - simple as that: Black hawk down 3 words to teach an american a history lesson. Sad but true. So believe the great story of the holy US forces , but do not visit Normandy cause there are still survivors, newborn in 1945 as a result of US soldiers raping women after fighting the germans.

[@sashimanu]

14:00 what is a beaded tire?

[@samdumaquis2033]

Good question

[@spartacus-olsson]

A beaded tire is the kind that you find on your car or motorcycle. Instead of a tire hose that holds the air like on a modern bicycle, on a car or motorcycle the air is held in the tire by the flange of the wheel. This flange is called the bead, and functions like a seal when the rubber of the tire is pressed against it by the air pressure inside. Formerly most bicycles also had beaded tires. In German they are called sausage tires (Wurstreifen). Balloon bikes still have beaded tires.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Ah, I should point out that beaded tires on bicycles have a steel wire around their rims, which is what enabled Jochen to jimmy rig a sort of airtight tire out of several segments of tire. Stringing overlapping segments of tire on a single steel wire ring will create a somewhat airtight “plaid” tire. I didn’t ask him, but I imagine he spent a lot of time pumping to refill those tires…

[@alexamerling79]

Glad to hear from the German side. He obviously knew what to expect if he fell into Soviet captivity. Great stuff Sparty!

[@kevinobrien2311]

"Trickle Truth," Spartacus. A;though you treated Dr. Hess with great tact and respect, he undoubtedly knew -- and perhaps witnessed or even participated in -- many atrocities even in his short time in the Wehrmacht.

[@bluewizzard8843]

Many americans committed atrocities. It's a a part of war and you know exactly nothing about Mr hess actions during ww2. It's so sad that some people feel entitled to Claim to know things they clearly have zero knowledge about.

[@kidmohair8151]

Dr Hess pretty much says, "I was just one person. what could one person do?" (edit) never forget. never again.

[@salty4496]

Comment for support and the algorithm

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you Salty!

[@waltertaljaard1488]

There were some amazing men on both sides in this war. It was however tragic that good German men fought to the very end for such a monstrous regime. Simply because it was their country and their leaders, to whom they had sworn a holy oath of loyalty.

[@tancreddehauteville764]

Monstrous in retrospect, but for many Germans it was a regime that had provided full employment and restored some national pride after the defeat of WW1. Until 1945 very few were aware of the worst aspects of the regime.

[@Roamor1]

Thank you.

[@kantemirovskaya1lightninga30]

WONDERFUL story Sparty... wow. goose bumps seriously. My grand-father in law (Hungarian) was a pilot when the Germans took the Hungarian aircraft so he became infantry-within a week he was captured by the Russians and he also escaped-a very long journey home and built another life... I used to love traveling to S/Central Hungary and speaking with him for hours about his experiences and documenting them before he passed away. He used to let me drive his Trabi which at the time was a thing since my wife and I could only go to the east with a couple of "state dept." handlers and the Russian escorts we picked up at the border lol. I still remember the first time we arrived at his local watering hole with him having an "American" driver... I think they were pissed I could drive it well lol It was a different time for sure. His stories still amaze, me the nimble small old man that escaped on a train! He would always hand me a shot of szilvapálinka when the story was fix'in to get dicey... language skills are key to understanding history as is a high tolerance for strong snapps. 🙂

[@nigeh5326]

When the veteran said they were told the Americans were in the West and the Soviets in the east I’m wondering why no mention was made of the British and Canadians further north on the western side? Yes it was preferable for most Germans to head towards the Americans but I wonder what the Germans opinion was of the British and Canadians in comparison with the Soviets and Americans? Prior to WW2 I thought many Germans had a fairly good opinion of British and Empire/Commonwealth nations. That we were seen as similar to the Germans in language culture etc and had a sense of fair play. Or had the Germans a worry that we Brits would mistreat them after they bombed us threatened to invade in 1940?

[@andywindes4968]

No, I think that Germans were more than willing to surrender to the British. I think the main thing was that the Americans were opposite the sectors where the greatest numbers of German soldiers were concentrated. That was just a matter of happenstance. Also, from what I have gathered, although anything beat Soviet captivity, Wehrmacht soldiers weren't particularly anxious to surrender to French units.

[@nathbaker]

Wait so how did he get to Essen after escaping the Soviet camp? And why did he have to avoid the American checkpoints?

[@WorldWarTwo]

He traveled towards US lines after escaping the Soviets as he detailed. He dodged US checkpoints to avoid being detained as a POW. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@RS-xo7rd]

Thank you both for that amazing story.

[@gilwhitmore9682]

With the fevered pitch of ethnic hate BEFORE the war started, I find it a little difficult to believe that very many did not know what was happening. With hundreds of camps spread across multiple countries the odds of passing near one was very real.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Actually… he didn’t say that. Listen to the whole statement and my follow up questions. He confirms the word of mouth knowledge, but points out that there was no official information, no public knowledge, only private knowledge. This fits exactly with the documentation and sources. The Germans knew, because word got out, not because they were informed (obviously).

[@thanos_6.0]

@@spartacus-olsson We also have to remember that this was the 1940's and the internet didn't exist back then, through which information could spread like wildfire in just minutes. The only way back then to reach the masses was via Radio or newspaper, both were controlled by the state. So the only way rumours about the Holocaust could be spread was oraly or via letters.

[@noobster4779]

A few things. First he spend most of the war in school, not on the frontline. As was made clear i nthe least interview he only joined the warlate. Then he worked as as a radio guy for the airforce. Meaning he is propably sitting at an airbase in the rear all day and he did spend most of his time in the west, not the east. He only was trasnferred to the east whe nthe war was already close to being over. So the chance of him actualyl seeing an execution based on racism, etc. which mainly happened in 1941 is rather rare. He propably saw a lot of germans getting hanged for "desertion" and the utter chaos of everyone moving around at the end of WW2, after al lthere were also millions of former foreign workers running around, displaced people everywhere. Also as he said himself usually when this kind of topic comes up its easier to close your eyes and just do your work. He propably had some comrades talk about what they saw in the east, but most likely only when they were compleatly drunk or something. Its not exactly a thing for the breakfast table. And I dont want to be pointing fingers, but ethnic hatred doesnt mean genocide. The USA was full of ethnic hate in all parts of society at the time, most nazi laws were inspired by the USA. Doesnt mean the USA ran death camps though. You can be fairly racist and still dont believe in mass murder or think your side was doing that. Also the odds of crossing a camp were tiny. They usually, until the end of the war, were in rather secluded places in the countryside. And most of the smaller camps were work camps for slave labour, even if you saw one in 1944 you would barely know the difference compared to a a POW camp. And as he said they were told thouse were prison camps. The people that lifed in a village with acamp would certainly know about what was going on but people passing through hardly. And if your gouvernmeant tells you they build these camps to keep dangerous criminals of the streets or potential enemies of the country you dont question it a lot. I mean, how many americans who had vastly better access to free media questioned the internmeant camps for japanease-americans during the war solely based on racist fears of "japanease traitors", in compleat violation of their rights as american citizens? Its not that hard to convince people that "building camps to keep "dangerous people" away from the streets" is a good thing. Just look at the current USAs political talk in regards to refugees or mexicans.

[@sns4748]

The SS even regularly murdered the prisoners that were forced to burn the dead bodies to get rid of witnesses. Look up Sonderkommando. The people arriving in the camps didn’t expect to be murdered. That’s why the chambers were disguised as showers. Victims were unsuspecting

[@MR525MAG]

Wish I had been able to read what was being said. I think this would have been very interesting

[@iDeathMaximuMII]

Turn on subtitles brother

[@TheBearInTheChair]

​There are subtitles, ​@@iDeathMaximuMII, it is just they are smallest i have ever see, maybe it is because it is because I'm on my phone and not in landscape but they should have made them a bit bigger and not hugging the bottom of the screen.

[@JesseOaks-ef9xn]

I actually worked with a man that had been in the Hitler Youth. He never told me his whole story but he wound up in the middle of the United States. He was living in Quincy, Illinois.

[@stevebarrett9357]

You said it Spartacus. That was a fantastic story. Thank you and the WW2 team for bringing this story forward.

[@angusmacdonald7187]

I can see by your coat, my friend, your from the other side//There's one thing I gotta know, can you tell me, please//Who won? (seems appropriate lyrics for this)