I swear by God this sacred oath, that I will render unconditional obedience to Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer of the German Reich and people, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and will be ready as a brave soldier to risk my life at any time for this oath.

Interesting isnt it?

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Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Wow. I never knew that the German soldiers had to take an oath. How did you find this out. Any info would be great. Thanx

Jet [img]tongue.gif[/img]

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And when he gets to heaven
To Saint Peter he will tell
One more soldier reporting sir
I have served my time in hell

Yeah, it is interesting. Was that for all branches, kind of like the one we have here for inductees, or was it some kind of special graduation oath?

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Living History at http://oldreliable9_47.tripod.com

The oath was introduced by the army in 1934 essentially in repayment for the Night of the Long Knives and the gutting of the SA. It was the first sign of the army holding aliegance to Hitler rather than remaining apolitical as they had always intended. The difference between the German oath and most other nations is that this one was an oath of loyalty to Hitler personally, most others are sworn to a position or post (such as the president or the monarch).

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There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

Hi Jet--this oath was printed in the book by Stephen Thomas Previtera: "The Iron Time."

Doc--the answer is Yes. this oath was for all the branches of service.

__________________
Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

Hmm ,I've often wondered what the exact wording of a "pact with the devil" would be.
Stupid buggers

__________________
if in doubt....Panic!!!!

why

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'England confides that every man will do his duty' Nelson
'I'm a Norfolk man, and glory in being so' Nelson

Proud to be a GRUNT

why [/QB]</font>[/quote]the German High Command agree's to alter its oath, to one committing themselves to one of the most evil men of the 20th century and you ask me why

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if in doubt....Panic!!!!

and…they had to balance a dead slug on their top lip and rip their left nut off!

Then there was the leather shorts, the coat-hanger in the greatcoat, the sore ankles, the silly walk.......

No.9

[ 05. February 2003, 11:34 PM: Message edited by: No.9 ]

Redcoat,

In 1934 Hitler was not regarded as one of the most evil men in the world. At the time he appeared ruthless and cutthroat, but he was taking a totally bankrupt country and turning it around. Unemployed men were put to work in the RAD rebuilding the Reich and the country was showing signs of prosperity.

While the new oath did emasculate the Wehrmacht, there was no real reason for the men taking it to feel that they were doing something wrong. Knowledge of the KZ's was minimal as the first KZ, Dachau had only been open for about 9 months. The reasons we know Hitler to be evil by just were not known at that time.

That's why Bish asked why.

My .02

Langemann

And probably more important than what Langemann said, Hitler was re-building the German Army and giving it some pride back.

__________________
'England confides that every man will do his duty' Nelson
'I'm a Norfolk man, and glory in being so' Nelson

Proud to be a GRUNT

Cheers for the info C. Evans.

[img]smile.gif[/img] Jet

__________________
And when he gets to heaven
To Saint Peter he will tell
One more soldier reporting sir
I have served my time in hell

Thank you Jet.

__________________
Lost are only those, who abandon themselves) Hans-Ulrich Rudel.