Alfred Jodl in the Nuremberg Trials (1946)

Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, former Chief of the Operations Staff of the Armed Forces High Command, at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946. Jodl was arrested by British forces on 23 May 1945 along with the remnants of the Flensburg Government, he was transferred to Nuremberg and became one of the 24 major defendants tried before the International Military Tribunal (IMT) starting in November 1945, facing charges of conspiracy to commit crimes against peace, planning, initiating, and waging wars of aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. The prosecution's case against him centered heavily on his personal responsibility for issuing or transmitting directives such as the Commando Order, which mandated the summary execution of captured Allied commandos, and the Commissar Order, which called for the shooting of Soviet political commissars, alongside his central role in planning aggressive campaigns including the invasions of Poland, France, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia, as well as reprisals and scorched-earth policies in occupied territories. During the trial, Jodl mounted a vigorous defense, testifying at length about his duties, claiming he had often acted as a professional soldier merely following superior orders while sometimes attempting to moderate Hitler's more extreme demands, and asserting his personal opposition to certain violations of international law, yet the tribunal rejected these arguments, emphasizing his high-level involvement and knowledge in the criminal enterprise. On 1 October 1946, Jodl was convicted on all four counts and sentenced to death by hanging; he was executed on the morning of 16 October 1946 at Nuremberg Prison, where, showing visible nervousness as he ascended the gallows in his Wehrmacht uniform, he uttered his final words, "My greetings to you, my Germany," before his body was cremated and ashes scattered. His conviction and execution remain subjects of historical debate, particularly regarding the application of superior orders as a defense and the tribunal's judgment of military leaders for state-directed policies.

Source :
https://pixpast.wordpress.com/?query-10-page=3&cst&str=428&id_parent=7898&items=12&vd=downloaded&category=7902&flow=1

Prisoners of War: Wehrmacht Soldiers in U.S.Captivity

During the war, over 400.000 German Prisoners of War were sent to prisoner camps in the United States, mostly in rural areas. Here they were given adequate food, medical care, and humane treatment, often far better than what German soldiers experienced on the Eastern Front or what Allied POWs faced in German captivity. Many were put to work on farms and in factories, receiving small wages and some even developed friendly relationships with American guards and locals. After the war, tens of thousands were held longer to assist with reconstruction efforts in Europe. Some were sent to Britain and France for forced labor before being fully released. The "Rheinwiesenlager" (Rhine Meadow Camps) in Germany, run by U.S. and French forces, had harsh conditions, with some prisoners suffering from malnutrition and disease due to overcrowding and food shortages. By 1948, most German POWs had been released and sent back home.

Source :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlpi8K6WsEA

First Batch of German POWs from Normandy

1,096 German prisoners of War have arrived at Hardway on HM Landing Ship Tank (LST-165) at Gosport. June 1944. This is the first transport with prisoners from Normandy invasion. They will be interrogated and distributed to various camps according to their classification but first, marched to either the holding camp in the Mill lane area or onward to other camps by rail from Gosport station.

Source :
https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/ww-ii-historical-war-world-war-second-world-war-operation-overlord-overlord-invasion-german-prisoners-nazi-national-socialist-soldier-march/H44-10957047
https://www.akg-images.co.uk/archive/-2UMEBM9OJZ.html
https://www.alamy.com/ww-ii-historical-war-world-war-second-world-war-operation-overlord-image68448510.html
https://www.bridgemanimages.com/en/noartistknown/1-096-german-prisoners-of-war-have-arrived-on-hm-landing-ship-tank-lst-165-at-gosport-hampshire/photograph/asset/860850
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=813159515881924
https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/some-of-the-1-096-german-prisoners-of-war-who-have-arrived-news-photo/183097384

Luftwaffe Generals after Captured (Video)

Original color World War II footage about high ranking Germans in captivity, including: Generalleutnant Adolf Galland (00:05), General der Flieger Hans-Georg von Seidel and Generalingenieur Dipl.-Ing. Rudolf Spies (02:53), General der Flieger Karl-Heinrich Bodenschatz (04:30), Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (06:10), and Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (07:00).

Source :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmaH77bGS4I

Afrikakorps Generals as a POW in England

Captured German Senior Officers From the African Campaign Arrive at a Prisoner of War Camp in Britain, 10 June 1943. German senior officers are received by the Camp Commandant Major Topham and representatives of the War Office. The German officers include: General der Panzertruppe Gustav von Vaerst (Oberbefehlshaber 5. Panzerarmee), Generalleutnant Karl Bülowius (General der Pioniere, in der Stab Heeresgruppe "Afrika"), Generalleutnant Willibald Borowietz (Kommandeur 15. Panzer-Division), Generalmajor der Luftwaffe Georg Neuffer (Kommandeur 20. Flak-Division), Generalmajor Fritz Krause (Kommandeur 334. Infanterie-Division), Generalmajor der Luftwaffe Dipl.Ing. Gerhard Bassenge (Kommandant Festung Tunis), and Oberst i.G. August-Viktor von Quast (Chef des Generalstabes 5. Panzerarmee).

 
Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Captured_German_Senior_Officers_From_the_African_Campaign_Arrive_at_a_Prisoner_of_War_Camp_in_Britain,_10_June_1943_TR980.jpg

German POWs by George Stevens (Pictures and Video)

Germany in 1945: Sensationally restored footage by George Stevens (screenshots)
May 1945 / German prisoners of war

These Sensationally restored original color film recordings of the US Army show various cities and locations in Germany after the surrender in May 1945. The pictures (mostly of German prisoners of war) were taken under the command of George Stevens, a director from Hollywood.

George Cooper Stevens (December 18, 1904 - March 8, 1975) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and cinematographer. Among his most notable films are The More the Merrier (1943; Oscar nominated for Best Director), A Place in the Sun (1951; winner of six Academy Awards including Best Director), Shane (1953; Oscar nominated for Best Director), Giant (1956; Oscar for Best Director), and The Diary of Anne Frank (1959; nominated for Best Director).

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Stevens?fbclid=IwAR3m_Fm9feaDyiH-lm21DDlpFzEAxmLgJP9CRUopHBrSsybOPe9mLhHiGyw
https://www.facebook.com/groups/237076659811098/permalink/1715047795347303/?__cft__[0]=AZWoKbPGPjIRjJLyg2knLjLsVsXZ0KdkVKI3BOxzwfJ9WiqiCrW4lSv9a6O5Y1ZoqLyzHCDt-oxrCX2087zs1hP4ixn7O7Ug-JrXx3Unkkw7qL6glBbBBwFEmmxnnq9XxWDjkEtu7XWWgxvC1Si09FWr8dEKGP6w96Dv46_XCIsqCPZz4Y-8PEgJRfUqnSO9uck&__tn__=%2CO%2CP-R
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hwy8SzVmWGc

Afrikakorps POWs in Tunisia 1943

 These are two raw footages filmed by the Allies in Tunisia in 1942 and 1943.

 

Source :
Romano-Archives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCwATsoKhss&fbclid=IwAR3cFdnDp3oI2xUWjIaIcI6iSHe0MoccPZwS1b-5LAAl580CB2LRoKqzFr0

German POWs in England 1947

 

A group of German prisoners of war, classified as 'Grade C' with probable Nazi leanings, take part in a 'brains' trust' debate at a World War II POW re-education camp for 'Black Nazis' at Wimbish in Essex, England in August 1947. The black symbol in the back of their clothes is for identification. It meant that any escaped POWs could be recognised at a glance from front or back. Photo by Kemp / Popperfoto

Source :
https://www.1900s.org.uk/1940s-pows.htm?fbclid=IwAR0mqMzjQCnpW2ARxT-zdZmr4S7bbqmRrRx0U2LGVyKHjG2brqKT8CulGl8
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=427320771870086&set=gm.1661152220736861

Hermann Göring with American Press

Shortly after his capture, German Nazi politician and military commander Hermann Göring (1893 - 1946) (center left, in light colored uniform) answers questions from members of the Allied Press Corps, Augsburg, Germany, May 16, 1945. Seated next to him, with crossed arms is American Major Paul Kubala, who both interrogated Göring as well as translated for him

Source :
Courtesy of Aboubakre Boukhris at https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=4285362954869257&set=gm.1536029863249098

German Prisoners in the Last Day of the War

May 8th 1945...the war is over.

Source :
Courtesy of Markus Hawranke at https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=642184269841443&set=gm.1464638437054908&type=3&theater&ifg=1

General Dietrich von Choltitz Surrender

General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz (left) surrender to Général de brigade Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque (Commander 2e Division Blindée), 25 August 1944. On 7 August previously he was appointed as Kommandierenden General und Wehrmachtbefehlshaber von Groß-Paris (Military Governor of Paris). At a meeting in Germany the following day, Hitler instructed him to be prepared to leave no Parisian religious building or historical monument standing. After Choltitz's arrival in Paris on 9 August, Hitler confirmed the order by cable: "The city must not fall into the enemy's hand except lying in complete rubble." A week later Hitler, in a rage, screamed, "Brennt Paris?" (Is Paris burning?). On 15 August 1944, the Paris police went on strike, followed on 19 August by a general insurrection led by the French Communist Party. The German garrison under Choltitz fought back but was far too small to quell the uprising. He brokered a ceasefire with the insurgents on 20 August, but many Resistance groups did not accept it, and a series of skirmishes continued on the next day. On 25 August, Choltitz surrendered the German garrison of 17,000 men to the Free French, leaving the city largely intact. Because Hitler's directive was not carried out, Choltitz has been described by some as the "Saviour of Paris". General von Choltitz later claimed in his memoir of 1951 that he defied Hitler's order to destroy Paris because he loved the city and had decided that Hitler was by then insane. It is known that the Swedish consul-general in Paris, Raoul Nordling, and the president of the municipal council, Pierre Taittinger, held several meetings with Choltitz, during which he negotiated the release of political prisoners. The all-night confrontation between Nordling and Choltitz on the eve of the surrender, as depicted in the 1965 book and 1966 film, Is Paris Burning?, and again in the 2014 film Diplomacy — in which Nordling persuades Choltitz to spare the city in return for a pledge to protect his family — was reported as factual in some newspaper stories, but lacks a definitive historical basis.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_von_Choltitz
https://wtop.com/europe/2019/05/rare-color-footage-brings-d-day-memories-alive-75-years-on/

German Prisoners from Normandy

Some of the 1,096 German prisoners of war who have arrived on HM Landing Ship Tank (LST-165) at Gosport, Hampshire, June 1944. This is the first transport with prisoners from the Allied invasion of Normandy. They will be interrogated and distributed to various camps according to their classification. Man with the blanket under arm is wearing the ribbon of Medaille "Winterschlacht im Osten 1941/42" (Ostmedaille) in his uniform. Probably counting himself as a lucky survivor of the war. The picture was taken by Reinhard Schultz

Source :
https://www.denverpost.com/2014/06/05/d-day-color-photos-normandy-wwii/
https://www.gettyimages.in/detail/news-photo/some-of-the-1-096-german-prisoners-of-war-who-have-arrived-news-photo/183097382
http://www.warrelics.eu/forum/history-research-third-reich-ww2/you-war-over-period-photos-german-pows-686919-5/

Otto Skorzeny being Interrogated after Surrender

SS-Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny being interrogated by U.S. officers on May 1945. Skorzeny was interned for two years before being tried as a war criminal at the Dachau trials in 1947 for allegedly violating the laws of war during the Battle of the Bulge. He and nine officers of the Panzerbrigade 150 were tried before a U.S. Military Tribunal in Dachau on 18 August 1947. They faced charges of improper use of U.S. military insignia, theft of U.S. uniforms, and theft of Red Cross parcels from U.S. POWs. The trial lasted over three weeks. The charge of stealing Red Cross parcels was dropped for lack of evidence. Skorzeny admitted to ordering his men to wear U.S. uniforms; but his defence argued that, as long as enemy uniforms were discarded before combat started, such a tactic was a legitimate ruse de guerre. On the final day of the trial, 9 September, F. F. E. Yeo-Thomas, a former British SOE agent, testified that he and his operatives wore German uniforms behind enemy lines; the Tribunal acquitted the ten defendants. The Tribunal drew a distinction between using enemy uniforms during combat and for other purposes including deception and were unable to prove that Skorzeny had given any orders to actually fight in U.S. uniforms.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Skorzeny
http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com/search/?q=skorzeny&type=forums_topic

U-Boat Ace Victor Oehrn During Prisoners Exchange

This picture was made by Hugo Jaeger and showing U-boat ace Victor Oehrn in 19 October 1943 during prisoners exchange. The Geneva Convention makes provision for the repatriation of all Prisoners of War, even during hostilities. During 1939-1945 it was only possible for the British and Germans to reach agreement over the seriously ill and disabled. For the majority of the 40,000 British servicemen who were taken prisoner in 1939 and 1940, the war was to be a very long and dispiriting experience. Negotiations, conducted through the Red Cross, over the repatriation of seriously wounded men, had begun in late 1940. They did not progress very far because there were far fewer German men in this category than British. It was only after substantial numbers of Germans were taken prisoner in the Desert campaign of 1942 that the talks resumed. The actual exchange of prisoners did not take place until October 1943.

Victor Otto Oehrn (21 October 1907 - 26 December 1997, last rank Fregattenkapitän) is a U-boat commander during World War II. He commanded the U-boats U-14 and U-37, sinking twenty-four ships on four patrols (81 days at sea), for a total of 104,785 tons of Allied shipping, to stand 28th on the list of highest scoring U-Boat aces of World War II.

Oehrn joined the Reichsmarine in 1927. He spent his first years mostly on the light cruisers Königsberg and Karlsruhe, but then was one of the first officers to transfer to the newly commissioned U-boat force in July 1935. After a short program of U-boat training, he became commander of U-14 in January 1936, taking the boat into Spanish waters during the Civil War in July/September 1936. After a year in officer training units he finished as one of the few U-boat officers in the German Marine-Akademie in summer 1939. In August 1939 he became an Asto (Admiralstabsoffizier, Admiral staff officer) on the staff of Dönitz (BdU org).

Following the torpedo malfunctions crisis during and after the invasion of Norway, Kptlt. Oehrn was sent on patrol with U-37 to restore the U-boat men's trust in their torpedoes. This patrol became a great success when he sank ten ships with a total of 41,207 tons and torpedoed and damaged another of 9,494 tons. His second patrol (seven ships with a total of 28,439 tons) and third patrol (six ships with a total of 28,210 tons) were also successful, and he was awarded the Knights Cross in October 1940 during the third patrol.

For the next year Victor Oehrn served as 1st Asto on the staff of Dönitz (BdU org). In November 1941 he took over command of the Mediterranean U-boats, and in February 1942 became 1st Asto on the Mediterranean U-boat staff.

During a mission in North Africa in July 1942, Victor Oehrn was captured after being severely wounded, and ended up in the British General Hospital 19 at Alexandria, Egypt. Later he was sent to POW Camp 306 near the Bitter Lakes on the Suez Canal. He was released in an exchange of prisoners in October 1943 and returned to Germany via Port Said, Barcelona and Marseilles in November 1943.

For the remainder of the war he served in staff positions.

Source :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Oehrn
http://www.historicalwarmilitariaforum.com/topic/6937-ritterkreuztr%C3%A4ger-photos-in-color-thread/page-2
http://uboat.net/men/oehrn.htm
http://ww2today.com/19th-october-1943-disabled-pows-repatriated-in-prisoner-exchange

German Prisoners in U.S. Custody

German POWs recently captured, and in the custody of American military police (MP). At least one soldier (second from right) is wearing an M44 uniform. In the United States, at the end of World War II, there were 175 Branch Camps serving 511 Area Camps containing over 425,000 prisoners of war (mostly German). The camps were located all over the US but were mostly in the South because of the higher expense of heating the barracks in other areas. Eventually, every state (with the exceptions of Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, North Dakota, and Vermont) had POW camps. Some of the camps had to be designated "segregation camps" and used to separate the Nazi "true believers" from the rest of the prisoners, whom they terrorized and even killed for being friendly with their American captors.

Source :
http://ayay.co.uk/background/historical/german_world_war_2_colour/German-war-prisoners-in-US-custody/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_World_War_II_prisoner-of-war_camps_in_the_United_States
http://stukasoverstalingrad.blogspot.co.id/2013/07/recently-captured.html

Albert Kesselring and Maxwell Taylor at Berchtesgaden

The day after his official surrender, German Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (center, Oberbefehlshaber Heeresgruppe Süd) poses with American Major General Maxwell D. Taylor (right, Commander of 101st Airborne Division) and Brigadier General Gerald J. Higgins (left, Assistant Commander 101st Airborne Division) at Berchtesgaden, Germany, May 10, 1945. Kesselring surrendered to an American major at Saalfelden, near Salzburg, in Austria on 9 May 1945. He was taken to see Major General Taylor, who treated him courteously, allowing him to keep his weapons and field marshal's baton, and to visit the Eastern Front headquarters of Heeresgruppe Mitte and Süd at Zeltweg and Graz unescorted! Taylor then arranged for Kesselring and his staff to move into a hotel at Berchtesgaden. Photographs of Taylor and Kesselring drinking tea together created a stir in the United States. Kesselring met with Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers, commander of the Sixth United States Army Group, and gave interviews to Allied newspaper reporters

Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Kesselring
http://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-day-after-his-official-surrender-german-field-marshal-news-photo/106893436

German POWs Arrived in Germany for Repatriation

German prisoners (mainly ex-Afrikakorps personnel) arrived in Germany for repatriation after POW exchange agreement with the British, 1943. The Geneva Convention makes provision for the repatriation of all Prisoners of War, even during hostilities. During 1939-1945 it was only possible for the British and Germans to reach agreement over the seriously ill and disabled. For the majority of the 40,000 British servicemen who were taken prisoner in 1939 and 1940, the war was to be a very long and dispiriting experience. Negotiations, conducted through the Red Cross, over the repatriation of seriously wounded men, had begun in late 1940. They did not progress very far because there were far fewer German men in this category than British. It was only after substantial numbers of Germans were taken prisoner in the Desert campaign of 1942 that the talks resumed. The actual exchange of prisoners did not take place until October 1943

Source:
www.life.time.com

German POWs Arrived in Germany for Repatriation

German prisoners (mainly ex-Afrikakorps personnel) arrived in Germany for repatriation after POW exchange agreement with the British, 1943. The Geneva Convention makes provision for the repatriation of all Prisoners of War, even during hostilities. During 1939-1945 it was only possible for the British and Germans to reach agreement over the seriously ill and disabled. For the majority of the 40,000 British servicemen who were taken prisoner in 1939 and 1940, the war was to be a very long and dispiriting experience. Negotiations, conducted through the Red Cross, over the repatriation of seriously wounded men, had begun in late 1940. They did not progress very far because there were far fewer German men in this category than British. It was only after substantial numbers of Germans were taken prisoner in the Desert campaign of 1942 that the talks resumed. The actual exchange of prisoners did not take place until October 1943

Source:
www.life.time.com

German POWs Arrived in Germany for Repatriation

German prisoners (mainly ex-Afrikakorps personnel) arrived in Germany for repatriation after POW exchange agreement with the British, 1943. The Geneva Convention makes provision for the repatriation of all Prisoners of War, even during hostilities. During 1939-1945 it was only possible for the British and Germans to reach agreement over the seriously ill and disabled. For the majority of the 40,000 British servicemen who were taken prisoner in 1939 and 1940, the war was to be a very long and dispiriting experience. Negotiations, conducted through the Red Cross, over the repatriation of seriously wounded men, had begun in late 1940. They did not progress very far because there were far fewer German men in this category than British. It was only after substantial numbers of Germans were taken prisoner in the Desert campaign of 1942 that the talks resumed. The actual exchange of prisoners did not take place until October 1943

Source:
www.life.time.com

Afrikakorps POWs at El Guettar Valley

 German POWs receive water ration in an Allied-controlled prison camp at El Guettar Valley, Tunisia, 1943. in mid-February 1943 the Axis forces launched a strong counter-attack against the US II Corps in south-western Tunisia. The 1st Armored Division's counter-moves ended in a complete disaster, the division losing two of its tank battalions in two days, with over 2,500 American soldiers being taken prisoner on February 16 and 17. After 22 days of tough fighting at El Guettar the US Army were regenerated after its unfortunate setback. Now under George S Patton's energetic command, the self-confidence and offensive spirit of the 1st Armored and 1st Infantry Divisions returned and the 9th Infantry Division had gone from being a green, inexperienced outfit to a combat-experienced and able fighting unit. The Battle of El Guettar was fought between elements of the Heeresgruppe Afrika under Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim - along with Italian forces under General Giovanni Messe - and U.S. II Corps under Lieutenant General George S. Patton in south-central Tunisia. It was the first battle in which U.S. forces were able to defeat the experienced German tank units, but the followup to the battle was inconclusive. The picture was made by LIFE photographer Eliot Elisofon 

Source:
http://www.afterthebattle.com/store/index.php?id_product=149&controller=product
http://life.time.com/?N=0&Nty=1&p=0&cmd=tags&srchCat=LIFE&s=eliot+elisofon