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

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

I loved Downfall, as I knew 7 of the bunker survivors, interviewed them, and also interviewed dozens of Germans who knew Hitler during the war. Very realistic and accurate yet somewhat incomplete. They should have gone into more detail on the Herman Fegelein and Hanna Reisch/Ritter von Greim part of that story, as well as Hans Baur.

Das Boot was the best sea film, I watched it with Reinhard Hardegen.

I have had that series since the 1980s, great set.

May be working on a Buchenwald project soon, I will provide the German perspective. See The Buchenwald Story page on my website.

I am from and much of my family is in Greenville

Fury was based upon a real event, and I was actually a paid consultant (one of my jobs) for the film as a researcher, putting the people involved in contact with the late Otto Carius, who was a friend, and the last surviving Tiger commander with the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross.

If anyone reads just a couple of my books, they will see what the German military men had to say about it themselves, including SS Lt. Gen Karl Wolff, Hitler's left hand man (Heydrich was the right)

I remember those days well

As the creator of, and senior Holocaust professor at AMU for 6 years, as well as my research and interviews with SS officers, I find the denialists an amusing if not disturbing collective.

Miniseries choices are good, but I would add "Holocaust" from 1977 with Meryl Streep, James Woods, Fritz Weaver, Timothy Bottoms, Tovah Feldshuh, et al

read my book Four War Boer, Pieter Krueler was 14 in the 2nd Boer War, and fought in WW I in Africa, Spanish Civil War, trained South African commandos in WW II, mercenary in the Congo Crisis.

Many of my German pilot buddies flew against the bombers during these Black Thursday raids against Schweinfurt/Regensburg, incredible stories.

Many of the German tankers I interviewed served on both the Eastern and Western Fronts, and a few in N. Africa, and they all said that the war against the Soviets was the toughest all around, physically and psychologically.

Operation Bodenplatte was Jan. 1, 1945

Mike wrote: "Jerome wrote: "An October release:

by Bob Drury
Description:
From the authors of the New York Times bestselling The Heart of..."
Look at the History Channel series Dogfights online, they covered this event.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "One more release due out in June from Yale University Press that is bound to interest a number of our group members:

[book..."

I know Gen Shepherd very well, good man and great historian, I actually evaluated his PhD dissertation for him.

Very simple, Hitler had been gassed in 1918 for the second time, and he never wanted his soldiers exposed to it, knowing the Western Allies would not use it and would adhere to the Geneva Convention (Geneva III) which bans poison gas..

This was true, and not just 2 P-47s, but also several captured P-51s and a few Spits. During Operation Bodenplatte they flew in advance to radio back any enemy air actvity prior to the German fighters striking the airfields in Belgium, France and Luxembourg.

Welcome aboard

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "If your still interested in the subject here is another great book that covers the raid against Hamburg:

[book:Inferno: The Fiery ..."

I interviewed a few of the German night fighter pilots (Wolf Falck, Hans-Joachim Jabs, Peter Spoden, Hajo Herrmann,, etc) and RAF Bomber Command guys (such as Bill Reid, VC) about this particular mission, very interesting stories. This was also the start of Hajo Herrmann's creation of the "Wilde Sau" (Wild Boar) night fighter unit, using Me-109 and Fw-190 day fighters with search lights, working as sight hunters alongside the radar guided night fighters.