German Newsweek No. 693- 17 Dec. 1943 [Full HD] (Re-capture of Zhytomyr, U-Boat Combat Patrol)

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Remarks:

00:54 The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem is a religious title, given to a Muslim cleric who is in control of Jerusalem’s holy places for Islam, including the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount. From May 1921 to 1948 that role was held by Mohammad Amin al-Husseini (1897-1974), who fled Jerusalem in 1937 after the British had an arrest warrant for him due to his role in the 1936 Arab revolt. During WWII, he cooperated with Italy and Germany, mainly because the Axis were at war with Britain, and al-Husseini sought support for an independent Arabic state in Israel, he visited Germany and met Nazi officials like Hitler and Himmler several times.

01:01 These soldiers belong to the 13th Mountaineer Division of the Waffen-SS “Handschar”. Handschar is the name of a traditional Arabic dagger, which was also the unit symbol. It was formed in March 1943, and made up of mainly of Muslim Bosniak volunteers (although some were forced to enlist). It was initially sent to Southern France, but due to conflicts with other German forces, sent to the Balkans, were it fought against partisans and became infamous for murdering thousands of innocent Serbian civilians. Due to the success of the Yugoslav partisans, the division began to crumble, and conflicts with the Croation authorities, who executed Muslim civilians to prevent them from joining the Partisans, led to a further downfall, and the division was officially dissolved in December 1944.

01:25 Bread is considered sacred in the Muslim world, as it is considered a blessing from Allah, therefore the Mufti pays respect to it here.

03:09 Soviet partisans would often attack German trains, tracks and bridges, and had a considerable effect doing so. Unlike claimed here, they managed to noticeably interrupt German supplies to the East, especially after June 1943, when the Partisans concentrated their efforts on destroying German rail lines.

03:44 The Day of the German Railroad Worker was a commemorative day to celebrate the German Railroads wartime effort. Introduced in 1943 by Hitler, it was to be celebrated on December 7th, a date chosen because on December 7th, 1835, the first German railroad was opened to the public in Bavaria.

04:06 Albert Ganzenmüller (1905-1996) was a German engineer and civil servant of the German Reichsbahn, and an early Nazi supporter. He joined a right wing-militia while still in school in 1922 and took part in the failed Nazi coup in 1923. He joined the Reichsbahn in 1928, and, being an early Nazi supporter, quickly rose through the ranks after the Nazis took power, becoming responsible for technical and electrical equipment of the Reichsbahn. Ganzenmüller was considered an extremely competent engineer who did a great job in re-starting railway networks in France and the Soviet Union during the occupation. He became State Secretary of the Reichsbahn in May 1942, and stayed in that position until the end of the war. In this position, he was involved in the deportation of Jews during the Holocaust. He was tried for war crimes long after the war, in 1969, but due to a heart infarct in 1973, the trial was stopped.

04:24 The War Merrit Cross was a decoration of Nazi Germany during WWII. It was intended for soldiers and civilians who contributed to the war effort outside of direct combat. It was often awarded to soldiers and officers who served in units behind the frontlines, civilians, factory workers and managers, bureaucrats, railway workers etc. The War Merrit Cross was awarded in two classes and as a Knights Cross, with or without swords. The Knights Cross of the War Merrit Cross with swords, which is awarded here, is thus the highest grade, and was only awarded 90 times.

04:25 Remigius Hellenthal was a Reichsbahn official. Not much is known about him, but pictures show him with several high-ranking awards; he was awarded the War Merrit Cross 2nd Class on June 27th, 1942, 1st class on January 30th,1943 and as mentioned here, the Knights Cross of the War Merrit Cross with swords on December 7th. He was also awarded the Eastern Medal in 1942, indicating that he served on the Eastern Front.

04:30 Prof. Dr. Fritz Grimm (1893-1967) was a German Reichsbahn official. He served in WWI, became an engineer and joined the Bavarian Interior Ministry in 1921, serving from 1922 to 1929 at the Ludwigshafen Railway District, and in various other leading railway positions. From July 1942 onwards, he was chief of the Railway District Minsk, thus responsible for German supply trains to the Eastern Front. He continued serving with German State Railway after WWII and retired in April 1960.

04:38 August Kindervater was a locomotive operator during WWII. There is very little known about him, but the fact that unlike most other officials mentioned here was just a normal train operator, indicates that he actually did some special deed to be awarded this high-ranking award, which was usually mostly awarded to higher ranking officers.

04:42 Walter Nowotny (1920-1944) was a German fighter ace of WWII. Born in Austria, he joined the Nazi Party in 1938 and for his compulsory service he joined the German Air Force in October 1939, completing his flight training in August 1940. He joined JG 54 in December 1940, and achieved his first two kills, two Soviet I-153 fighters, on July 19th, 1941. He was shot down during this engagement and spend three days in a small boat in the Gulf of Riga before being washed ashore. He continued flying on the Eastern Front, achieving 10 kills by the end of 1941, 61 by the end of 1942, and 256 until November 1943, becoming the first pilot ever to reach 250 kills in October 1943. He was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves, Swords and Diamonds as the eight recipients in October 1943. In 1944, he spends much of his time as squadron commander of JG 101 and flight school instructor. In September 1944, he was made commander of a special unit named “Commando Nowotny”, which was flying the new Me-262 fighter jet. He died after having shot down a B-24 Liberator bomber and a P-51 Mustang when his jet caught on fire and crashing into a field on November 8th, 1944.

04:47 Maximilian Lamertz was President of the Railway District Essen, but there is little information available online.

04:51 Ernst Bierschenk (1894-1956) was a German locomotive operator. He fought in WWI, and was awarded the Wounded Badge in Black and the Iron Cross 2nd class. In 1919, he joined the German railway, and was transferred to the Eastern Front in 1942. In Autumn 1943, his supply train was attacked by Soviet Partisans with MG and Grenades, and he was able, together with his stoker, to repel the attack, his locomotive received 37 hits. For that, he was awarded the Knights Cross of the War Merrit Cross with swords.

04:57 Erich Goudefroy (1880-1960) was a German Railway official. He studied law and joined the Prussian Railway in 1908. In WWI, he served as a Major of the railway troops, and continued his service as railway official after WWI. He joined the NSDAP in December 1931, and became President of the Railway District Hamburg in September 1935, a position he held until the end of the war.

05:48 This is an excerpt of the speech given by Goebbels on that day, you can find the full speech here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9jSs4JrhMY

07:13 These soldiers belong to the 20th Mountain Army, which was stationed in Finland for most of the time of the war against the Soviet Union.

08:43 This sign reads: “Present from the Führer to soldiers on leave- Distribution Station Memel”

08:44 The “Führerpaket” (package from the Führer) was given to every soldier who came back to Germany on leave between 1942 and 1944. It consisted of food, usually meat, ham, butter, cheese, sugar, coffee and chocolate. After 1944, soldiers were given just additional rationing cards for food rations. Many of the food items in these packets were stolen/looted from Ukrainian civilians.

09:11 Stollen is traditional German Christmas bread; a fruit bread of nuts, spices and dried fruit.

09:28 Komissbrot is a dark bread made from rye and wheat flour, and is the type of bread given to German troops since the 16th century, as it has a long shelf life.

11:18 Emil Lang (1909-1944) was a German flying ace during WWII. He was a famous track and field athlete before the war, and a civilian pilot flying for Lufthansa. He joined the German Air Force as a reservist in January 1938, and was put on active duty in late August 1939. He initially served as a transport pilot, and started fighter training in 1942, finishing it in January 1943 at age 34, unusually old for a new fighter pilot. However, he proved himself very capable, achieving 123 kills in 1943; he was awarded the Knights Cross on November 22nd, 1943. In April 1944, he became group commander of the 9th Group of JG 54 in France, and was awarded the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves by Hitler personally on May 5th, 1944. In June 1944, he achieved 15 more kills against British and American planes, but was killed during a mission on September 3rd.

11:38 This is a Wespe SPG. The Wespe was built on the chassis of the outdated Panzer II, and fitted with a 10,5cm light field howitzer 18. 683 of these vehicles were built from February to June 1944, and an additional 158 ammunition carriers without guns. The vehicle was officially called “leFH 18/2 auf Fahrgestell PzKpfw II (Sf)” or “Sd. Kfz. 124”, the nickname Wespe (Wasp) was forbidden in late February 1944 by direct orders from Hitler, as he thought this nickname was unsuitable for a combat vehicle. The Wespe was first used on a large scale during the Battle of Kursk, and it proved to be a reliable vehicle, and was used until the end of the war.

Great to see those brave German submariners ruthlessly murdering helpless merchant seamen with gunfire. What heroes they were!

I find it interesting that during this time of the heralded Nazi salute, there are officers in this newsreel that still present themselves with the conventional hand salute.

Interesting to see the name of Reich Minister of Transportation, Dr. Dorpmüller in this newsreel. Little was written/spoken in history about that person.
In light of serving the Nazi regime, some historical sources says he was neither a Nazi sympathizer or activist, whereupon the Allies, shortly after victory in Europe, wanted Dorpmüller to be a part of the reconstruction of the German railway system in peacetime.
But his assistance was brief, as he died of cancer in July 1945.