General Patton Interogates a Nazi General!!

A Story Not Too Well Known!!

This eyewitness account appears in: Blumenson, Martin.,
The Patton Papers (1974); Allen, Robert Sharon, Lucky Forward,
the History of Patton's Third Army (1947); Hanson, Victor Davis,
The Soul of Battle (1999).
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General George Patton Interrogates an SS General, 1944

Located near the German border, the city of Metz had a
population of about 100,000 in 1944 and was an important
transportation, communication and administrative center.
Metz had been overwhelmed by the German invasion of France
in 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War. It was ceded back to
the French following World War I and fell again to the Germans
during their blitzkrieg of 1940.

Patton's progress - - - August - December, 1944
The Third Army had been fighting fiercely since early September
to push the tenacious Germans out of the city, suffering casualties
that approached 50%. Finally on November 19 the American forces
were able to encircle the city and begin a systematic elimination of
the enemy occupiers

On the evening of November 20, 1944 Sergeant Leonard O'Reilly,
a former elevator operator from Brooklyn, entered a brewery near
the city that had just been abandoned by SS troopers after a
ierce defense. O'Reilly's assignment was to help clear the building
of any remaining enemy soldiers. Prowling slowly through the
darkness, O'Reilly glimpsed a figure cringing in a dusty corner.
Approaching warily, O'Reilly discovered a well-dressed German
officer who immediately declared that his high rank prevented
him from surrendering to a mere Sergeant. The Sergeant shoved
his pistol into his captive's ample belly and cocked it. This was
enough to motivate his prisoner to meekly join the other enemy
captives.

The prisoner was Major General Anton Dunckern the SS commander
of the region. Dunckern had joined the SS in 1933 and had steadily
gained promotion over the intervening years. He was a major catch
of such importance that General Patton decided to interrogate him personally.

"He is a liar!"

Although Patton could speak German fluently, he opted to interrogate
the SS officer through an interpreter because, as he noted, he would
not give his prisoner the honor of talking to him directly:

"Patton You can tell this man that naturally in my position I
can­not demean myself to question him, but I can say this, that
I have captured a great many German generals, and this is the
first one who has been wholly untrue to everything; because he
has not only been a Nazi but he is untrue to the Nazis by
surrendering. If he wants to say anything he can, and I will
say that unless he talks pretty well, I will turn him over to
the French. They know how to make people talk.

Dunckern . . . I received orders to go in the Metz sector and
defend a certain sector there, and the reason I did not perish
was that I could not reach my weapons and fight back.

Patton . . . He is a liar!

Dunkern There was no possibility to continue fighting. The door
was opened, and they put a gun on me.

Patton If he wanted to be a good Nazi, he could have died then
and there. It would have been a pleasanter death than what he
will get now.

Dunkern . . . It was useless to do anything about it under the circumstances.
(He asked permission to ask a question; it was
granted.) I was fighting against American troops and
captured by them, and therefore am to be considered a
prisoner of war of the American forces.

Patton He will be a prisoner of war of the French forces soon.
They have a lot they want to ask him.

Dunkern I consider myself a prisoner of war of the American forces,
and I have not been captured by the French forces.

Patton When I am dealing with vipers, I do not have to be
bothered by any foolish ideas any more than he has been.

Dunkern I consider myself a prisoner of war since I fought as
a soldier and should be treated as a soldier.

Patton You also acted as a policeman - a low type of police.

Dunkern I acted as an officer of the police in an honorable and
practical manner, and I have nothing to be ashamed of.

Patton This is a matter of opinion - no one who is a Nazi police­
man could act in an honorable manner.

Dunkern I can only say that during every day of my life I have
been honest, rightful, respectful, and humanitarian.

Patton If this is the case, do you have anything you want to say
by way of giving me information or by talking about the German
people that will change my opinion?

Dunkern No one will be able to stand up against me to testify
hat I did anything against the rules of humanity or human
treatment.

Patton I understand German very well, but I will not demean
myself by speaking such a language. I think before I turn the
Gen­eral over to the French, I will send him to the Army Group
who may question him or have some special investigators
question him, and they can do things I can't do.

Dunkern I am not worried about having myself investigated.
Of course, there may be some mistakes I have made, which is
only human, but I am not worried about inhuman acts charged
against me.

Patton . . . I have great respect for the German soldiers; they
are gallant men, but not for Nazis. Have the guards take him
outside and have his picture taken and then we'll see what we
will do with him. Also tell him that those bayonets on the guards'
guns are very sharp."

Sgtleo

 

What Happened to the General?????:-

References:
This eyewitness account appears in: Blumenson, Martin.,
The Patton Papers (1974); Allen, Robert Sharon, Lucky Forward,
the History of Patton's Third Army (1947); Hanson, Victor Davis,
The Soul of Battle (1999).

How To Cite This Article:
"General George Patton Interrogates a SS General, 1944," Eye
Witness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2008).
---------------------------------------------------------------
P.S. Many of the "Afrika" generals ended up in this POW camp:-
CAMP CLINTON POW CAMP, MISSISSIPPPI:-
Here's a POW roster for the generals and general staff officers
housed at the camp as of 28 January 1946 (name, POW number
in parentheses, date captured):

TAKE NOTICE OF NUMBER 14 IN PARTICULAR
1. Generaloberst Hans-Jürgen von Arnim (18813) 1 May 1943
2. General der Panzertruppe Ludwig Crüwell (20772) 29 May 1942
3. General der Infanterie Ferdinand Neuling (4WG-14922) 18 August 1944
4. General der Fallschirmtruppe Hermann Bernhard Ramcke (Luftwaffe) (18878) 19 September 1944
5. General der Infanterie Erwin Vierow (18870) 1 September 1944
6. Generalleutnant Curt Badinski (18862) 20 August 1944
7. General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz (18859) 25 August 1944
8. Generalleutnant Erwin Menny (18863) 21 August 1944
9. Generalleutnant Erwin Rauch (31G-21300) 18 September 1944
10. Generalleutnant Paul Seyffardt (31G-21302) 8 August 1944
11. Generalleutnant Karl Spang (18857) 9 July 1944
12. Generalmajor Hubertus von Aulock (31G-206396) 9 July 1944
13. Generalmajor Detlef Bock von Wülfingen (31G-21307) 8 September 1944

14. SS-Brigadeführer und Generalmajor der Polizei Anton Dunckern (A946685) 20 November 1944

15. Generalmajor Knut Eberding (18882) 2 November 1944
16. Generalmajor Heinrich-Hermann von Hülsen (18822) 12 May 1943
17. Generalmajor Carl Köchy (Luftwaffe) (18821) 13 May 1943
18. Generalmajor Fritz Krause (18811) 9 May 1943
19. Generalmajor Hans von der Mosel (31G-21306) 18 September 1944
20. Generalmajor August-Viktor von Quast (18802) 9 May 1943
21. Generalmajor Otto Richter (4WG-14927) 29 August 1944
22. Generalmajor Robert Sattler (18847) 27 June 1944
23. Generalmajor Ernst Schnarrenberger (31G-4394) 11 May 1943
24. Generalmajor Hans-Georg Schramm (18869) 26 August 1944
25. Generalmajor Christoph Graf zu Stolberg-Stolberg (18871) 26 August 1944
26. Generalmajor Wilhelm Ullersperger (18884) 23 November 1944
27. Oberst Horst Egersdorff (37128) 8 May 1943
28. Oberst Alfred Koester (7WG-16085) 23 July 1943
29. Major Anton Sinkel (7WG-37282) 12 May 1943
30. Hauptmann Albert Giesecke (Luftwaffe) (8WG-12933) 11 May 1943
31. Hauptmann Friedrich Carl Krech-Kohnert (8WG-19141) 12 May 1943
32. Hauptmann Dr. Bernhard Ruwisch (31G-16457) 16 September 1944
33. Oberleutnant Erdmann von Glasow (18804) 12 May 1943
34. Oberleutnant Heinz Grosskopf (31G-16461) 16 September 1944
35. Oberleutnant Rolf Lehmeier (18803) 9 May 1943
36. Leutnant Helmut Fenkel (4WG-19829) 6 November 1943
37. Leutnant Gerhard Runge (8WG-30337) 20 May 1943Attachments

Sgtleo

 

Thanks Leo! Anyone recognise no.7?

 

General der Infanterie Dietrich von Choltitz

Corect my 84 year old memory if I'm wrong but wasn't he the
one that disobeyed Hitler's Orders to burn Paris or to at least
destroy whatever he could before the Allies took it???

Sgtleo

 

You would be correct Mr. Leo.


Yours,

Bill

 

IntIron(Bill if I may??):-

Thanks for your input. Good to know that at least that
part of this old body still functions properly(LOL)!!!

Sgtleo

 

Right you are Sir Can you kindly remind us where you were at the time of the Liberation of Paris, Aug. '44? Somewhere in the south of France, right?

 

Za Rodinu:-

As I recall I was with an Intel Group in the Town of Rambouillet
which is South West of Paris and we had left the night before
from the City of Chartres. Rambouillet is about half way between
Paris and Chartres.

Reaching away back again (remember that was 64 years ago)
I think it was about 40 miles+/- away from the outskirts of Paris.

There was much concern about the FFI taking Paris first and setting
up their own government that is why Gen. LeClerc was detached to
lead the French troops into Paris. I believe it was the 4th ID as a
backup JIC.

Sgtleo

 

Thanks Leo. French policies at the time sure were murky

(still are!)

 

Capsule Version of Events:-

The 19th of August the FFI under the leadership of
"Colonel Rol" real name Henri Tanguy had ordered his
people "Aux Barricades"(some 400 0f them) and started
to attack the Krauts.

Gen. de Gaulle ordered Gen. leclerc CO of the French 2nd
Armored to detach himself from Gen. Bradley's 12th Army
Group and to advance on his own into Paris.

Ike realized a Blood Bath might be the result so he said "I
guess we'll have to go in".

He sent the 4th ID into the race on 22 August to follow
the French unofficial spearhead.

On 24 August 3 tanks from leclerc's div. broke through and
reached the town hall surrounded by ecstatic Parisians!!

Sgtleo .

 

Just adding some data on Choltitz;



Militarverwaltungs- Bezirk Gross Paris
01.08.40 - 01.05.43 Gen lt Ernst Schaumburg
01.05.43 - 07.08.44 Gen lt Hans Fhr von Boineburg Lengsfeld
08.08.44 - 24.08.44 Gen der Inf Dietrich von Choltitz
which was organised in 2 Feldkommandantur

The “Fuhrer” Adolf Hitler ordered Major General Dietrich von Choltitz to take over as Governer of Paris.
Choltitz had a fearsome reputation as a ruthless destroyer of cities and was renowned as a commander who obeyed orders to the letter regardless of cost to lives or property.
Adolf Hitler knew that Paris would fall to the allies because he lacked the remaining military strength to hold it. Choltitz had been purposely chosen as the weapon Hitler wanted in Paris to carry out his diabolical plan to leave Paris in rubble.
General Charles de Gaulle argued his case with passion and appealed to General Eisenhower to liberate Paris, but Eisenhower was not convinced and de Gaulle’s pleas were denied.
Major General Jacques Leclerc, commander of the French 2nd armored division prepared his forces to attack Paris. The French intended to take Paris back with or without support and permission from their American allies.
But before things got out of control, unprecedented events caused General Dwight D. Eisenhower to relent and agree to the liberation of Paris.
First, a delegation from Paris arrived with word that Paris was going to be leveled to the ground if not liberated, but the most remarkable thing about this delegation was that they had been allowed to leave Paris unmolested with the permission of Paris’s occupying commander Choltitz.
Upon realizing that the liberation of Paris was eminent, Adolf Hitler ordered Choltitz to carry out his order to burn Paris to the ground and leave nothing behind but scorched earth and smoldering bodies.
Without intervention, one of the most beautiful and cultured cities in the world would indeed be lost forever, so Eisenhower gave the go-ahead for General Jacques Leclerc and the U.S. 4th Infantry to attack.
General Charles de Gaulle was furious to liberate Paris for the obvious reasons, but also political consideration prevailed as well. The city was in an uproar with the Germans contending with two factions in the city rebelling.
One faction, the Gaullist’s were fiercely loyal to de Gaulle and already considered him the exiled leader of France. The other rebelling faction was the communists who were led by a man named Roger Villon who was determined to be the leader of France.
Major General Dietrich von Choltitz was distraught over his last meeting with Adolf Hitler and was convinced the he was being given orders by a raving madman, and he made a remarkable decision that went against everything he knew.
Choltitz, in direct disobedience to the “Fuhrer” refused to destroy Paris and saw absolutely no military benefit to it and he didn’t want to be remembered as the destroyer of Paris.
He ordered his outnumbered and over-matched troops to defend Paris but under no circumstances to sack the city.
On the morning of August 25th 1944, French General Jacques Leclerc closely followed by the U.S. 4th Infantry battled the German defenders and successfully liberated Paris after four years of occupation.
General Dietrich von Choltitz’s forces had been overcome and he was taken prisoner and officially surrendered the city to General Leclerc.


Best book on this is probably "Is Paris Burning?" there also a film of the same name.



blurb Best-selling authors and renowned journalists Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre spent three years researching this stirring book. They drew on French Resistance radio messages, German military records, and secret correspondence between de Gaulle, Churchill, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower. They tracked down and interviewed countless people: soldiers, civilians, Allied generals, and even the Nazi commandant who helped Paris fight for her life. And they re-created the drama, the fervor, and the triumph that heralded one of the most dramatic events of our time.

 

I wonder if Patton took the Nazi General and his buddies aside and gave them a good collective slap like moe from the 3 stooges? Now THAT would have made some interesting wartime footage.

 

And what a film it is! Have you seen it?

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/__se2lpZXh00/SJm1oRRYlCI/AAAAAAAAAqA/lnnIx_JhOkY/s320/paris.jpg

Oops! No, not this one!

http://theoscarsite.com/screening_room/357.html

Ahhhh, that's better!