Colin’s Comments (group member since Dec 16, 2012)

Colin’s comments from the THE WORLD WAR TWO GROUP group.

Anytime. Baron Friedrich August von der Heydte, 1st cousin to Col. Claud von Stauffenberg, was my grandfather's 3rd cousin on the German side. The family tree looks like an underground root network.

I interviewed Gerhard Klopfer, the only living participant in the Jan 20, 142 Wannsee Conference. The film Conspiracy is a must see and very accurate. Karl Wolff also provided many details of what he knew as well.

J. wrote: "Colin wrote: "I interviewed several German paratroopers and pilots who fought at Crete, and one was a relative of mine."

Fascinating! Published?"

Not yet, my publishers wanted my books of Luftwaffe interviews and biographies. See me website, go to Future Books page. You will see the guys I interviewed. www.heatonlewisbooks.com

I interviewed several German paratroopers and pilots who fought at Crete, and one was a relative of mine.

Jay is a friend, his books are solid.

Jonny wrote: "Vince wrote: "For an interesting read on the morally troubling use of Nazi technologies and scientists after WWII, check out "Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi ..."

Part of Paperclip was the training of Allied pilots to fly German jets. My friend Jorg Czypionka was a Me-262night fighter pilot, who trained Capt. Eric Brown, RN to fly the jets just after the surrender.

Vince wrote: "For an interesting read on the morally troubling use of Nazi technologies and scientists after WWII, check out "Operation Paperclip: The Secret Intelligence Program that Brought Nazi Scientists to ..."

My book, The me-262 Stormbird has details on that operation, securing Germans before they fell into Soviet hands. if not for this operation we would have never gone into space when we did, and never landed on the moon or had ballistic missles.

On the Holocaust read, some of you may like my older book Occupation and Insurgency: A Selective Examination of The Hague and Geneva Conventions on the eastern Front 1939-1945. This book examines many specific examples of mass murder, and breaks down the legality (if any) and illegality of these actions under the existing Geneva of 1929 and Hague 1907. It is full of interviews with SS and other military personnel. This was my dissertation, edited for public release a few years ago.

All Soviet soldiers (mostly conscripts) who hated Stalin were organized under the overall command of Freiwilligen Ost, and Intel Chief Maj. Gen. Reinhard Gehlen, with the Cossacks falling under the command of Maj. Gen. Lothar Pannwitz. Great story there also, which I wrote about in German Anti-Partisan Warfare in Europe, 1939-1945 almost 20 years ago.

Michal wrote: "Charles wrote: "Had some Christmas vouchers to use today, so thought I would head down to the big Waterstone's at Piccadilly to see what they had. Some good choice, and a couple I hadn't seen befor..."

I was a consultant for the film, being a former Marine sniper and historian. Simo died a few years ago, and scored 504 of his confirmed kills in 108 days during the 1939-40 Winter War. White Death was the name the Soviets gave him. Stalin placed a 100,000 ruble price on his head. See my website www.heatonlewisbooks.com and go to Honoring Scout Snipers page.

See my website www.heatonlewisbooks.com and go to the Future Books page, where I have data from my interviews with German tank crews and commanders, most of them Knight's Cross holders or higher. I was a consultant for the film Fury, and I brought Otto Carius in as an expert/

Many of the prominent Soviet and German WW II leaders cut their teeth in Spain, especially the Luftwaffe, where doctrine was revised and shaped the future Blitzkrieg mentality.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "Thiago wrote: "First shop of 2017, I grabbed a pair:


[book:The Eastern Front: Memoirs of a Waffen SS Volunteer, ..."

I knew, interviewed and was a house guest of Leon Degrelle, great interview. The short version was published in a magazine in 2009, either WW II or Military History, can't remember which one.

April 'Stacy' wrote: "Interesting article about the Doolittle Raiders: http://time.com/4596076/last-survivin..."

My wife (and co-author) are honorary raiders, I interviewed many of them, even Doolittle.

Dimitri wrote: "These will be my last WWII titles for a while. Well, the plan is to focus on centennial WWI titles in '17, at least... unless 1942+75 becomes a popular motif with publishers. So in order of battle:..."

Maj Gen Lothar Pannwitz commanded the Don Cossack volunteer regiment, anti Stalin, and fiercely loyal to him personally. They gave him his own bodygaurd and would not allow even SS officers to get near him w/o being approved and searched.

I interviewed man men from many nations who spent years in the gulags, they had their own impressions of him

Understood, I had the same experience in the 1980s with men in Africa and Asia, as well as my oldest being a young Marine in Afghanistan for two tours.

Admiral Ernest J. King was an arrogant ass, but he was effective as well as vindictive. regarding the use of napalm, the Germans first used in in Spain in 1937, although a crude form. The atomic bombs were dropped as a result of the Japanese refusing to surrender, so after Bataan and other atrocities, quid pro quo. They had their chance. I even spoke with many Japanese veterans who had no problem with the bombs being dropped. Continued attacks and fire bombings would have killed many more than the two bombs. The Lemay application of firebombing killed three times as many as the two atomic bombs combined, so in effect they saved lives.

Dimitri wrote: "Kate wrote: "Warsaw 1944: Hitler, Himmler, and the Warsaw Uprising Just finished this book which had been on my to read list since it was recommended, I believe by Dimitri a year ag..."

Journalist Rita Cosby's father Richard was one of the uniformed soldiers captured during the 1944 uprising, and I interviewed SS Col. Johannes Rudolf Muehlberg, who had just taken over command of 5th SS Panzer Division "Wiking" from Felix Steiner. He was under the command of SS Lt. Gen. von dem Bach-Zelewski. Muhlberg convinced Zelewski to violate Himmler's order and send all uniformed men to POW camps, and not with the rest to Auschwitz, Belsen, Buchenwald or other camps. Good material.

regarding the atomic bombs, I knew and spoke with the two men who dropped them, Paul Tibbets and Charles Sweeney, as well as the general who commanded them, Curtis Lemay and Dr, Zumwalt (brother of Adm Elmo) who worked on the Manhattan Project. There was no way Truman was not going to drop the bombs for two reasons; the cost of invasion, and to send a message to the Soviets; we have the bomb.