On Snyders´ Encyclopedia of the Third Reich a Stalingrad putsch is mentioned where Gen Ludwig beck tried to persuade Paulus to send a message from Stalingrad saying Hitler had betrayed Germany and its nation by sacrificing the 6th Army in late Jan 1943.We know Paulus did not send this message but what if he did?

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But Paulus did go on Russian radio[after the fact] denouncing Hitler. Not positive but I read somewhere that German civilians were prohibited from listening to radios. The people had a pretty good idea about the disaster at Stalingrad even though Goebble's censorship/propaganda machine was working full-time.

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Yes, Paulus did send some messages later on ( I think ) but that´s when Goebbels could claim he was brainwashed.


Listening to foreign radios was forbidden and some people were sent to camps when found out by secret police. I think though the facts were partly given by the German radio as a catastrophe that big could not be dealt in secrecy. Göbbels was smart enough to turn it into " The total war" theme.

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I wonder how Albert Speer felt after unsuccesfully trying to get his brother out of Stalingrad? He had to have known 6th Army was doomed.

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Cannot say what the "inner circle" thought for real as Hitler himself seems to have been convinced that the Waffen-SS troops could free Stalingrad by Mid Feb-early March and usually the people around Hitler knew as much as Fuhrer let them.

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Regarding Stalingrad, does anyone know much about sabotage attempts on the trans siberian railroad? air strikes, commando demolition attempts?

I think they never got to bombing the factories etc but I have read several spies dressed up as priests etc had been sent ( by plane, parachuted down at night ) and they returned with photographs of the factories etc strategic places. I think it was in Gehlen´s book.

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The Germans used this rail for "trade" with Japan until the russians kicked them out.Afterwards,they had to use long range aircraft and subs. I'm pretty sure russian partisans harassed the rail system though. Just my opinion.

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Wonder how much hardware passed between them before spring 41 via the railway. The Italians made one trip to Italy with longrange aircraft. I saw a documentary which mentioned JU 290's going through India to reach the Japanese. was very sketchy. If anyone has data on air activity between Japan & Germany, please do share.

I think I saw that documentary on TV.Even more interesting[IMO] were the long range "converted" submarines used.Sorry I do not have any more on this. [img]graemlins/no.gif[/img]

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Marshal Paulus agreed to join the anti-nazi plot in captivity only after he was informed that his second son, lieutenant Friedrich Paulus had been killed in action at Anzio in early 1944.

After Paulus joined the plot openly, his eldest son, former lieutenant Ernst Paulus —who had been a Panzer officer and veteran of the II Battle of Khárkov, where he was severely wounded and dismissed from the Army— was arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Mrs. Helena Rosetti-Solescu, Paulus' wife was closely followed and investigated by the Gestapo and was forced to give up her surname, but she refused. I'm not sure if further police action was made.

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"War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." - Jean Dutourd, French veteran of both world wars

"A mon fils: depuis que tes yeux sont fermes les miens n’ont cessé de pleurir." - Mère française, Verdun