The Wehrmacht, History, Myth, Reality

[Brenus]

“And did I mention yet how Poland, together with Hitler, feasted on the flesh of Czechoslovakia in 1938” Or the support of Poland for Hitler intervention in Spain? Reason why during a period of time the French feared that the German attack on Poland was just a trap to attract the French Army out of the Maginot line…

The general admiration for the Wehrmacht and the “forgiveness” of its role in the repression and in the extermination is due to the need of Germany in the European Defence against the Red.
First was the fact that even the former enemies of the III Reich Germany accepted as a truth the superiority of the German soldier in combat. I did.
Then, the problem was to exonerate the German soldiers to crimes and to use these qualities at the new Alliance benefit…
The price to paid was amnesia. Well, it did work for Austria declared the 1st victim of Hitler, forgetting the real history (and Kurt Waldheim (sp?) becoming First Secretary of the UN).
But because now the RED are not as such a danger, we are allowed to have access to others witnesses, archives, and where the Red Army was deny of any heroism the Russian Army now heiress of the Tsarist Army which defeated Napoleon is recognised for what it was…

When I was doing some research about the Colonial Troops for another subject I discovered that between 1,500 – 3,000 black Africans Prisoners Of War had been killed by the Heer.
And French NCO and Officers who protested just joined the dead.
The casualties for the Troupes Coloniales during the Battle of France are 17,000 KIA or MIA.
The total casualties of the entire French Army during the battle of France is between 90,000 – 120,000.

Ironically, the first German defeats (in front of the French Army: Hannut and Gembloux) were forgotten thanks to the speed of the French and British armies defeat.
So the myth of the invincible Werhmacht was created.
Clean and nice. Rommel shoot a French General refusing to surrender but under the protection of a white flag during negociations? He is still seen as a perfect German General.