Grave of the ‘Unknown German soldier executed by his own for refusing to set fire to a church’ in Ostaszewo, Poland (recently restored)

https://i.redd.it/g6xra2g8fwqf1.jpeg

by woronicz

10 comments

  1. Reminds me a story of first day of russian invasion. One russian officer and his subordinate tried to stop other russian soldiers who shot civilian cars in Kharkiv. He saved one girl and her mom. Was killed in that fight. His subordinate fortunately got in captivity. Hope he wasnt exchanged and is fine now

  2. In other word: r/Atheims mods got him.

    Rip, hero

  4. You have to wonder how many took a choice like that. Saying ‘No’ to do something they believed was wrong, while full well knowing the consequences of their choice.

    It must be difficult to not choose self-preservation in such a situation.

  5. It has to be noted that this was 1945. By that time, the german army had a mandate to shoot any insubordinate soldier. Earlier in the war, officers generally didn’t take action like that. They would make someone else set the church on fire instead. As the war went on, the wehrmacht became more and more repressive towards its own soldiers and especially to civilans. Early in the war, people weren’t forced to commit illegal and immoral acts. They made volunteers do it instead.

    At least, that’s what my great grandfather wrote in his letters during the war and what my other grandfather would talk about decades later.

    This is important to point out so people don’t use cases like these to push the “clean wehrmacht” myth by saying that the soldiers didn’t engage in war crimes.

  6. There’s a story about a German soldier, Josef Schulz,
    who refused to shoot partisans in Yugoslavia in 1941, who was then executed together with them.

    There’s even a street named after him, even though the story was never 100% verified

  9. Of all the things to die for, he had to throw his life away for a fucking church. Rip.

Comments are closed.