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If I may I'd like to relate a story of a WWII German veteran who moved to Canada after the war. He worked as a carpenter with an all european crew building houses in Vancouver, B.C. It was an interesting mix in the crew, the boss was Norwegian, the plumber Swedish, the electrician Danish and Hans Belm, a German was a framer. I worked a summer time job with them and was surprised at how well the former enemies got along, granted it had been 25 years since the war ended. While working with Hans I noticed he had limited use of his left arm and several scars on it so I asked him how he had come by them.
This is his story as related to me, a bit of a read but well worth the time:
Hans was a member of the German 6th Army and during a close assault he used his left arm as a rest on top of some rubble to get a shot off at some charging Russians with his rifle. He ended up getting his arm stitched by several rounds from a PPSh-41 which shattered his humerus, radius, and ulna bones in his arm. He was one of the lucky ones as he was one of the last few to get transported out of Stalingrad before the Germans were encircled. Hans ended up in a military hospital near Berlin to begin a long recuperation from his wounds which required several surgeries to repair all the damage to his left arm. Hans was still in the recuperation and physical therapy ward as the end of the war approached, He hoped he had seen the end of fighting and death until one day some military police showed up and ordered all the walking wounded out into the street. The MP's had already rounded up a bunch of civilians who were each given a Panzerfaust. The civilians were paired two to each soldier and transported out of the city and dropped off at various locations on one of the roads leading into the area. Hans' orders were to stop any Allied troops and/or armor with his two civilians and their panzerfausts. Hans and the two civilians hunkered down behind a hedge and awaited the enemy. They were ordered not to leave their position and since German military police were known to summarily execute 'deserters' they stayed put despite having very little food or water but they didn't have to wait long as the next morning they were awakened by the rumble of approaching vehicles. Hans turned to his two civilian compatriots to tell them to get ready only to find they had dropped their weapons and disappeared during the night. Hans made a decision right then and there. He knew the war was lost, he wasn't a Nazi fanatic so he was going to surrender at his first opportunity but he was afraid if he simply stood up from behind the hedge he'd be swiss cheese in a second from some soldier with an itchy trigger finger. He laid there pondering how to survive surrendering when several soldiers pulled off the road to make themselves some lunch. Now Hans had nothing to eat since the day before and he was so hungry that his stomach started growling as he could smell the food being heated. He told me his stomach was growling so loud that the soldiers on the other side of the hedge couldn't help but hear it! So rather than being discovered by some soldier answering nature's call on his side of the hedge he decided to slowly stand up with his arms in the air and surrender, which he did. Not a single soldier noticed him as they were all intent on chowing down hard and getting some rations down range before they were ordered to saddle up. Imagine the scenario, a poor lone German soldier standing there unarmed while a platoon of heavily armed G.I.s were within a few feet of his position. Hans didn't know what to do! How was he going to survive his surrender? He knew he had to get their attention but without startling them lest they overreact and end his life. So Hans cleared his throat (ahem) hoping to get their attention. Nope, no dice. (AHEM!) he goes and this time it works as someone finally raises his face out of his chow, sees Hans and yells "KRAUT!". Suddenly dozens of rifles are pointing at him and he knows he's a goner but thankfully no one shoots.
Hans' war is over. He's sent to a P.O.W. camp somewhere in France where he spends what's left of the war playing soccer. I don't remember if he ever told me how he ended up in Canada but I was glad to have made his acquaintance and to be trusted with his story.
This is his story as related to me, a bit of a read but well worth the time:
Hans was a member of the German 6th Army and during a close assault he used his left arm as a rest on top of some rubble to get a shot off at some charging Russians with his rifle. He ended up getting his arm stitched by several rounds from a PPSh-41 which shattered his humerus, radius, and ulna bones in his arm. He was one of the lucky ones as he was one of the last few to get transported out of Stalingrad before the Germans were encircled. Hans ended up in a military hospital near Berlin to begin a long recuperation from his wounds which required several surgeries to repair all the damage to his left arm. Hans was still in the recuperation and physical therapy ward as the end of the war approached, He hoped he had seen the end of fighting and death until one day some military police showed up and ordered all the walking wounded out into the street. The MP's had already rounded up a bunch of civilians who were each given a Panzerfaust. The civilians were paired two to each soldier and transported out of the city and dropped off at various locations on one of the roads leading into the area. Hans' orders were to stop any Allied troops and/or armor with his two civilians and their panzerfausts. Hans and the two civilians hunkered down behind a hedge and awaited the enemy. They were ordered not to leave their position and since German military police were known to summarily execute 'deserters' they stayed put despite having very little food or water but they didn't have to wait long as the next morning they were awakened by the rumble of approaching vehicles. Hans turned to his two civilian compatriots to tell them to get ready only to find they had dropped their weapons and disappeared during the night. Hans made a decision right then and there. He knew the war was lost, he wasn't a Nazi fanatic so he was going to surrender at his first opportunity but he was afraid if he simply stood up from behind the hedge he'd be swiss cheese in a second from some soldier with an itchy trigger finger. He laid there pondering how to survive surrendering when several soldiers pulled off the road to make themselves some lunch. Now Hans had nothing to eat since the day before and he was so hungry that his stomach started growling as he could smell the food being heated. He told me his stomach was growling so loud that the soldiers on the other side of the hedge couldn't help but hear it! So rather than being discovered by some soldier answering nature's call on his side of the hedge he decided to slowly stand up with his arms in the air and surrender, which he did. Not a single soldier noticed him as they were all intent on chowing down hard and getting some rations down range before they were ordered to saddle up. Imagine the scenario, a poor lone German soldier standing there unarmed while a platoon of heavily armed G.I.s were within a few feet of his position. Hans didn't know what to do! How was he going to survive his surrender? He knew he had to get their attention but without startling them lest they overreact and end his life. So Hans cleared his throat (ahem) hoping to get their attention. Nope, no dice. (AHEM!) he goes and this time it works as someone finally raises his face out of his chow, sees Hans and yells "KRAUT!". Suddenly dozens of rifles are pointing at him and he knows he's a goner but thankfully no one shoots.
Hans' war is over. He's sent to a P.O.W. camp somewhere in France where he spends what's left of the war playing soccer. I don't remember if he ever told me how he ended up in Canada but I was glad to have made his acquaintance and to be trusted with his story.
