Tapping Hitler's Generals

Then, around WERTHEIM, the civilians were literally hostile to the German soldiers and yet had the greatest sympathy for the fellows, as, of course, they had no more reinforcements and supplies or rations. All those who were giving the orders–they know all that–what was dashing around was no more than a rabble. There were no vehicles and there was no artillery; there was absolutely nothing left there, so the civilians feel the greatest pity for those troops. On the other hand, they were outspokenly hostile, saying: ‘You idiots, what’s keeping you here? As long as you stay here the place will be attacked. If you start pooping off your silly popguns our town will be shot to pieces. You will be out anyway within a couple of hours or a day. Our town is still standing now, but then it will be destroyed. Give up this stupid idea and go away!’ They actually tried to defend WERTHEIM with, I believe, two ‘Kompanien’. They delayed things for twenty-four hours, with the result that the Americans heavily shelled the, till then, completely undamaged town and caused a tremendous amount of destruction.

Then our engineers blew up two bridges over the TAUBER and one over the MAIN, but in such a stupid way that the houses over a wide area left and right of them collapsed, the hospital–no windows left, roof gone and everything else imaginable. But in the bridge itself they blew a hole measuring only 4 m! Then the Americans arrived, threw a few planks over it and two hours later their tanks were driving across.

HEIM: That bridge business is a perfect symbol for the whole German nation: self-destruction!

PFUHLSTEIN: Of course it had to be a large hospital, full to the brim with wounded and sick from the town! The town was smashed through the demolitions of our own engineers; on account of our stupid popguns the little half-timbered town was subjected to twenty-four hours’ artillery fire. Then they withdrew and the Americans arrived and two hours later the tanks were rolling across.

HEIM: Why aren’t the Americans advancing more quickly?

PFUHLSTEIN: Because they still continue to overestimate us. They don’t realise what miserable remnants they are. They just don’t believe how miserably off the men are and how low is their fighting value.

HEIM: What did you do during the fighting for WERTHEIM?

PFUHLSTEIN: Watched it through my field-glasses. I sent my own and other children down into the cellar.

Document 75

CSDIC (UK), GRGG 289

Report on information obtained from Senior Officers (PW) on 27–8 Apr. 45 [TNA, WO 208/4177]

HEIM: May I ask one question which interests us all very much? I would like to refer back to a remark you made earlier on: ‘We thought, it’s a good thing, if the fellows desert, for then we are rid of the swine.’ At that time we, here, considered it would be more to the point if everyone were to desert. We even went so far as to say that a commander who didn’t do so was was either a fool or a scoundrel, afraid either of being shot or of the SS. Now we are interested to know whether such thoughts were entirely impossible to German commanders?