Anybody watched "Generation War" or "Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter"?

Hi everyone,

Just joined WWII forum today. Nice to meet all of you. Today, I just watched a German TV show in Netflix. It's called "Generation War" or "Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter".
It changed my impression to German solider during the World War II. I always thinking Army & SS they fought together for Hitler. However, after I watched this TV show.
I feel solider from Army seems like more human and follow the "normal" way to fight the war. For t he SS, guess they are the "elite" force direct from Hilter, so they can
do whatever they want. Please correct me if I am wrong? Any thought of this?

Take care everyone.

Regards,

RY0917

 

I managed to catch the last episode on BBCi, but missed the other two. Hope it gets repeated soon.

 

Mmmm.. Shall I??

The German Army was complicit in war crimes and the holocaust in the East with the SS. I liked UMUV but it's entertainment and just that. It's probably as far as mainstream German (or even Western) TV can go at the moment and it has some interesting bits but like all film it stretches the laws of coincicence to the limit. There were millions of Germans on the Eastern front stretched from the Arctic to the Black sea and of the 5 main characters 4 get to interact in the same part?! It does seem to be trying to make the German people and Army into victims and I'm not having that.

Panzerfausts before Kursk, NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!

 

Problematic doing a miniseries that depicts the social reality of that day in a country that has anti hate laws. It could be understood as apologism of the national socialist agenda and you could go to jail. When "Holocaust" was originally broadcast in Germany I remember there was a lot of debate and discussion. I was in high school and heard about it all the way over in Canada. In Germany it was a hot button topic.

 

I like to warn against the use of a movie/TV serie to have a judgement about something that happened in WWII : a movie/TV serie is fiction,propaganda,diversion .

In 1941,some 4 million WM soldiers and a few thousand men of the Einsatzgruppen were present in the East,and in 1941,1 million Jews were murdered in the East :the obvious conclusion is that the WM was involved in the murder of the Jews .

About the WSS : of the 150 German divisions in the East in 1941,there were some 5 WSS divisions,later,their number increased,but it was always lower than 10 .After Charkov III (march 1943),the enthusiasm of the German youth to join the WSS was over,and Hitler's elite had to use conscripts(as was doing the WM).It is also not so that the WSS could do what it wanted : the WSS units were a part of the army,and as such had to obey the orders of their superiors,which always were army generals .

 

About the WSS : of the 150 German divisions in the East in 1941,there were some 5 WSS divisions,later,their number increased,but it was always lower than 10 .After Charkov III (march 1943),the enthusiasm of the German youth to join the WSS was over,and Hitler's elite had to use conscripts(as was doing the WM).It is also not so that the WSS could do what it wanted : the WSS units were a part of the army,and as such had to obey the orders of their superiors,which always were army generals .


Not sure about this comment. Depends how you define Ostfront but off the top of my head.

At various times there must have been more than 10 Waffen SS Divisions in the East. Of the top of my head 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29 (RONA not Italia), 30(both), 31, 32, 33(both), 35, 36, 37, 38 never served in the West so at least 10 would have been on the Eastern Front at the same time, add to that 6th spent most of the war in the Arctic and 1, 2, 9, and 10 all had good stints in the East and even 12 was at the end. Then add in 1st and 2nd Motorised brigades and the Cavalry I would say most of the time after 43 when the SS really expanded that most of them were on the Eastern front.

 

Thanks PTIMMS & everyone. By the way, are you veteran from WWII? How come you know all the details? Have a nice day : )

 

In june 1941,the WSS had 4 divisions and 2 strong brigades :all in the East :

Brigades : LSS and Nord

Divisions : TT,DR and Wiking,Polizei was only later committed.

In june 1942,there were 8 "divisions" :in the east :TT,Polizei,Wiking and Nord .In France DR and LSS (upgrading to division status),Florian Geyer in Poland,Prinz Eugen in the Balkans


Number of "divisions" in june 1943::13 .In the east :LSS,DR,TT,Wiking,Nord,Florian Geyer .The others: Prinz eugen : Balkans,Nordland : Poland;Hohenstaufen and Frundsberg : France (for training),Polzei : CZ /Poland ..+ 2 in the Balkans :Croatia nr 1 and Ukrainia nr 1 (had forgotten those 2)

 

For june 1944:

East : TT,Wiking,Nord,Nordland,Ukrainia I,Lettonia I and II,Estonia I

West ::LSS,,DR,Götz von Berlichingen and HJ and at the end of june :Hohenstaufen and Frundsberg

Elsewhere (Balkans + Italy):H.Wessel,Polizei,Fl.Geyer,P.Eugen,M.Theresia, Handschar and Albania nr I.

 

Thankfully no, and I think I have shown many times here I certainly don't know all the details.

 

As I said depends on your definition of the Eastern Front but in Jan 44 all the ones you list are there plus LSS, DR. In Feb DR goes West but 9th and 10th head east for the Tarnpol offensives. We could argue the relative merits of who was where at which point ad nauseum but I am prepared to accept your point some of the time but will go with more SS fought the Soviets than the Western Allies.