Showing posts with label German Jagdpanzer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label German Jagdpanzer. Show all posts

Saturday, May 28, 2016

Hitler Inspecting the Hetzer

Adolf Hitler (third from right, Führer und oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht) inspecting one of the first twenty Jagdpanzer 38 (Sd.Kfz.138/2) "Hetzer" (Baiter or Troublemaker) during official presentation for the 55th Führer's birthday at Arys (Orzysz) in East Prussia, 20 April 1944. After the demonstration they were sent directly back to the factory since they were not yet completely serviceable. The name "Hetzer" was at the time not commonly used for this vehicle. It was the designation for a related prototype, the E-10. The Škoda factory for a very short period confused the two names in its documentation and the very first unit equipped with the vehicle thus for a few weeks applied the incorrect name until matters were clarified. However, there exists a briefing paper from Heinz Guderian to Hitler claiming that an unofficial name, Hetzer, had spontaneously been coined by the troops. Post-war historians basing themselves on this statement made the name popular in their works, though the vehicle was never named as such in official documents!


Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hetzer
http://fhsw.wikia.com/wiki/Jagdpanzer_38%28t%29_%22Hetzer%22

Hitler Watching the Parade of Hetzer

Arys (Orzysz) in East Prussia, 20 April 1944: Adolf Hitler and his entourage watching the parade of the first twenty Jagdpanzer 38 (Sd.Kfz.138/2) "Hetzer" (Baiter or Troublemaker) on an autobahn as a part of a somber 55th birthday celebration for the Führer. After the demonstration they were sent directly back to the factory since they were not yet completely serviceable. From left to right: Generaloberst Kurt Zeitzler (Chef des Generalstabes des Heeres), Reichsleiter Martin Bormann (Stabsleiter im Amt des Stellvertreters des Führers), Generalfeldmarschall Wilhelm Keitel (Chef des Oberkommando der Wehrmacht), Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe), Hauptdienstleiter Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Otto Saur (Staatssekretär im Reichsministerium für Rüstung und Kriegsproduktion), unidentified panzer officer, and Adolf Hitler (Führer und oberster Befehlshaber der Wehrmacht). The man holding the film camera is Walter Frentz (21 August 1907 - 6 July 2004), one of Hitler's personal cameraman. from 1939 to 1945, he was closely associated with photographing and filming activities of higher echelons of leaders of Nazi Germany, including Hitler.


Source :
Book "Jagdpanzer 38 'Hetzer' 1944-45" by Hilary L. Doyle and Tom Jentz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_Frentz
https://www.ullsteinbild.de/ullstein-webshop/workbench.html?queryWord=walter+frentz&newTitle=ullstein+bild+|+Search%3A+walter+frentz&qwAction=searchQueryWord&viewMode=tile