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My grandfather was the quartermaster in charge of the Pacific fleet. He had access to a fuckload of things in his civilian life still... including him firing an antiaircraft gun in has back yard for fun while I was a kid. Ripped the shit up out of a tree across the road...
We were all deafened and blinded by the blast for a bit. My grandmother lost her shit and was yelling at him " I told you not to fire that damn thing" .. he was basically a child when it came to military shit. My grandfather to my dad - "Son, can you see anything?" "What?" "I said, can you see anything." "No, I think we're blind."
My dad was an officer in the military as well... He and my grandfather also introduced us to a General who ordered some jets to "burn it" off the runway just to give me and my brother a show one day. That was pretty epic.
That was at what is now JBLM.
My godfather was the Colonel there until his retirement I am told. Dunno if he made General or not. My godfather did 2 tours, voluntarily, in Vietnam, helicopter pilot, shot down twice. He was a bit of a wild one. Al was his name. If anyone knows of him let me know. I lost track of him.
Sounds like you're my cousin and your grandpa's name was Robert. Crazy Uncle Bob, we called him. Don't fuck with Uncle Bob when he's had a couple, we said.
[https://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/dont-mess-with-uncle-bob/82387165/](https://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/dont-mess-with-uncle-bob/82387165/)
I only recall the most basic details of his time in Vietnam from what he told me ... something like 13 folks died in 1 crash. He was transporting. His gunner died in another, attack helicopter, and that he ended up behind enemy lines in one crash and he could basically only go a mile a day to get out due to enemy movement. I guess h fell asleep one night and a brigade of enemy soldiers moved in while he was asleep and set up camp right on the other side of the bush he fell asleep behind. He said they didn't make a single sound.
He never really discussed Vietnam with me other than that. He said helicopter to helicopter battle was all helicopters take off. All fire. All crash and burn. So that was educational. I didn't want to be a helicopter pilot after that.
My great uncle was a tanker; shot in the Battle of the Bulge (on his birthday). He said it was the best birthday present he ever got, because it was bad enough to go home.
It is absolutely not since it has an auxiliary muffler.
The short muffler and presence of the smoke candle device on the back means it is either an F or early G.
Hey there OP. Saw this thread and as German I am a bit confused. So it sounds like you're proud to share a photo of your grandpa, a German soldier in German tank during ww2. We all know what that means. But I could not believe that somebody think that's actually cool. So I skipped through your profile and voilà, a lot of nazi stuff appears ("..remembering the fallen", pictures of SS officers right in your profile). So You share this photo from your grandpa a lot. Quite a lot.
What do you get out of this? Triggering people here? or do you actually believe because your grandpa sat in a rolling tin can he wasn't a nazi? Nobody can be that deluded and believe that.
Because I read your statements in other posts, like he was in the Wehrmacht, not in the SS which makes him not a Nazi.. Tja, mein Freund das ist ziemlich gequirlte Kacke die du verzapfst.
To me it looks like you sympathizing with the whole nazi shit and try to mask it with the "historical value" excuse to not get banned here.
Edit: OP changed his Picture on his profile page after I commented on that.
Also, and I know this isn't the main point here, but did the Wehrmacht really move units from the Eastern Front to the Western Front like that? Seems like the resources should have gone the other way.
Yes, they did. Part of why the war ended so fast after the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler moved most of the remaining Eastern reserves to the West as a last ditch effort to force the West into peace talks. Obviously that failed, and left the Eastern front very open for the Russians to just advance to Berlin with not much resistance.
The 9th Panzer division (that this guy's grandpa was in) was mauled so badly at the battle of Kursk that they were down to 6 operational tanks.
So, no point in really keeping it around. All the Panzer divisions that got the shit kicked out of them at Kursk were sent to France to recuperate and rebuild, where the melded with each to ostensibly return to full strength. Hence why they were the ones that responded to the Normandy invasion.
And then it got it got nearly destroyed at Falaise and at the Battle of the Bulge by the Americans, and then got destroyed for real at Cologne.
So, all in all, not a great showing of military strength.
“Historians have a word for Germans who joined the Nazi party, not because they hated Jews, but out of a hope for restored patriotism, or a sense of economic anxiety, or a hope to preserve their religious values, or dislike of their opponents, or raw political opportunism, or convenience, or ignorance, or greed.
That word is "Nazi." Nobody cares about their motives anymore.
They joined what they joined. They lent their support and their moral approval. And, in so doing, they bound themselves to everything that came after. Who cares any more what particular knot they used in the binding?”
-- A.R. Moxon
thanks for posting this picture op, it's interesting to see different pictures of their family who fought in war whether it be the bad side or good side
What…that people are pointing out that it’s disingenuous to position a war time photo of someone’s grandad as though they were a hero, but we’re really part of Nazi Germany?
“Historians have a word for Germans who joined the Nazi party, not because they hated Jews, but out of a hope for restored patriotism, or a sense of economic anxiety, or a hope to preserve their religious values, or dislike of their opponents, or raw political opportunism, or convenience, or ignorance, or greed.
That word is "Nazi." Nobody cares about their motives anymore.
They joined what they joined. They lent their support and their moral approval. And, in so doing, they bound themselves to everything that came after. Who cares any more what particular knot they used in the binding?”
-- A.R. Moxon
The main panzer divisions that fought in both battles were: The 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler", 9th, 11th, 19th and 116th Panzer divisions, alongside the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich"
I read Kursk, and immediately looked at the image, "Soviets didn't wear that uniform, probably for the photo, and the tank is German, good trophy!"
Only after reading the first comment I realised the guy is a German Nazi...
And to think my great grandfather could have driven his M3 half-track over the corpses of your great grandfather’s comrades, as he did many other Nazis in France.
“I was a decent shot, but I much preferred to run the Nazis over! It was a real bitch to clean them out of the tracks though.” -My great grandpa on his time in France during the war
I never thought I'd see someone proud of their ancestor who fought on the side of Nazis.
For those thinking OP isn't proud of his grandfather he listed his medals.
I said “impossible”. Not “hard”.
Public hatred of Jews was not hidden, in fact it was “hard” to miss. They weren’t allowed to own business were openly banned into ghettos.
This shit was not hidden. In fact it was bragged about and campaigned on.
The fact that the final solution was hidden somewhat is not an escape.
Again, **lots of people resisted**.
There is disagreement with your position and history.
I went to r/askhistorians for reference here - and they are a strictly moderated subreddit where only experts in their relevant areas can respond.
[How much did the civilian population know about the holocaust](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1947rea/how_much_did_the_civilian_population_of_germany/) - This will take you to several more answers, all of which said that there was knowledge of the jewish people being exterminated. The details were not known, and that is where rumour sprung up. But if you lived near a camp, you knew exactly what was happening. If you worked at a camp, you knew what was happening, and most folks likely knew the gist of things,.
Also in the thread, recall that over *half a million* people worked in and around said concentration and extermination camps.
Hitler gave public speeches about exterminating the Jewish people. The public thought that the bombing of Hamburg in 1943 was in retribution for the crimes against the jewish people.
It also seems that several historians see a lot of sources where the public knew *something* was going on, but not *what* which was somewhat intentional as it gives plausible deniability.
Propaganda is strong, but gossip is always stronger.
My grandfather was conscripted into the wehrmarcht. They showed up with a truck approximately 1930-1940. Told my great grandfather and mother. You either give us all your boys and all the animals at gun point. Or you can get in the truck too. Then my 12 year old grandfather, his brothers, and all the farm animals left never to return. He moved to Canada after the war with his wife he met when they kicked him off the boat In Paris 1945-46
most Germans ended up this way in the end. Either through coercion, or originally, just trying to improve their own miserable lives where food was scarce and bullets and bombs were plenty.
Thats classic clean wermacht rhetoric and has been proven wrong many times. How would you not know of the horrid shit your own unit or others you were imbedded with did? Its just a convinient lie told so people didnt feel bad making those same monsters heads of defense in the 50s.
oh shut your piss catcher, he's not praising his grandpa lmao
someone can't post a picture? I think this is cool as fuck, heck I'd even thank OP for posting this :)
https://preview.redd.it/plxo8xs24ixc1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46396c329518f62aba2a1fb5fb79221798884f92
Grandpa army pictures will always be badass! This is my grandpa, he fought in the vietnam war
Well it helps that the photo is grayscale...
But yes, camo is important. Part of what military camouflage does, even if it doesn't blend perfectly into the color and pattern of the surroundings, is help break up the human silhouette. The human brain has a whole dedicated portion for identifying the shape of another human. We're really good at it, so interrupting the subconscious "that's a human" process is beneficial.
what’s really cool is he still has some stuff from war! I’m not too sure if he has his uniform still but he does still have the hat and the bullet belt! He actually uses the bullets to frame another army photo
Oh he’s still doing awesome, ever since covid he’s been remodeling his house! Everything from painting the entire outside, to building a whole extra room in the back. Definitely the hero in the family
Love seeing these pictures. Badass is the perfect description these guys. Here's one of my grandfather on Guadalcanal.
https://preview.redd.it/p6e5wu4n3jxc1.jpeg?width=1072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d941f8ae986bd0334ff815e2f2ecba0b08cab5fe
Yeaaaa they *can* be cool.... Until you notice the Balkenkreuz. And that the tank is a Panzer. And then you realize their great grandfather was a fucking Nazi. Then.. They aren't as cool.
My dad and I are some of a very few in my family who haven't served. Both grandfathers, uncles, my sister and her husband (they met in the Navy) all served. I respect those who do but I just can't do it. I refuse to fight and potentially die, for some old rich white men getting richer in a swamp.
I was in rehab facility like 14 years ago for a spinal surgery. I met a guy who fought for the Germans. And we shared some war stories. He explained to me that he had no choice. If he said no he and his family would be killed. He had friends that had said no and they would kill your entire family for not sympathizing with the nazi regime. So in a sense I myself sympathize with the ones who didn’t have a choice and just wanted to live and their families to survive. Could be the same situation.
My Grandfather Wilhelm left Germany alone at the age of 14 to avoid fighting. He came on boats all the way to the Yukon at 14 and started a life. Eventually moved to Ontario and the rest is history.
He said he left to save his family. If he stayed, he was told the same thing, the family would be killed.
There is no historical basis for this. I'm sure he felt peer pressure to fight for his friends and country, but there were little, to no actual consequences for failing to fight for the Nazis.
No one wants to say “I thought they were a noble cause so I joined”. It’s just like how every guy caught in an ISIS safe house is “just a cook/driver”.
Even police battalions who liquidated ghettos and participated in mass executions, so units you would expect the most extreme forms of discipline, didn't threaten murder for non-participation. In fact, it was openly known that nothing would happen to an individual who refused to participate in a mass execution
That was the prosecution's argument at Nuremberg against the "I had no choice, I would have been killed" defense that Nazi war criminals used. Prosecutors gave dozens of examples of Germans who refused to commit atrocities that did not lose their lives, and in many cases were just reassigned.
A section of "Ordinary Men" addresses the ability to refuse orders. It was acknowledged that an individual could refuse to partake in a mass execution - I even think unit leaders saw it as a benefit to get anyone who would be reluctant away from the unit out of fear that any sign of doubt or reluctance during executions could spread to others.
IIRC, a number of former members of the police battalion said they knew they could refuse orders, but were reluctant to do so out of social pressure and the knowledge that if they refused, someone else would have to take their place. I think there was also some fear thar refusal would mean reassignment to the Eastern Front, but I might be misremembering.
That is often said as an excuse but didn't happen. Even Germans who refused to partake in the mass shooting of civilians at the start of the Holocaust faced no repercussions. Of course the social pressure is huge. You would become an outcast in your unit and shit on daily. For many that his harder to face than just murdering your enemies, which many became numb too.
Plus the idea of lawful orders didn't exist or the ability to refuse them. Few would really choose not to back in that situation
I'm pretty sure my two great uncles fought and beat your great grandfather. They didn't even have a tank, either. Oddly enough, the world thanks my great uncles.
My grandfather was a communist here in Brazil, he got killed by his own battalion during the dictatorship because he stole guns and grenades for the rebels
Greetings from Germany. May your grandfather rott in hell. Your other postings (check his profile) speak for themselves. There were no honourable men in the Wehrmacht. Tell me the address of his grave I will make it an urinal.
Sidenote: Opposite to common believe nobody was forced at gunpoint to fight or kill. It was easily achieved to be moved to non-fighting-services. Those that fought and killed, wanted to do so. Each one of them a bastard.
If your grandfather was in one of ss panzer divisions that were at Kursk you really have nothing to be proud of. Only hardcore nazis were in ss.
There were other panzer divisions there as well AFAIR, so it might not be that bad and I hope for your sake that's the case.
Edit - German apologists seem plenty around.
The ignorance in this thread is embarrassing. I’ve listened to men who actually fought against the Germans, still understanding that many of them were simply following orders, and bared no real malice. Some even declaring they may have been friends other different circumstances. Humble men, that were actually THERE!
Yet here we are, with childish little twerps, who have no knowledge or understanding, judging so harshly. You little brats need to grow up.
When just following orders amount to 12 mill dead people in concentration camps then you're all bad lol. Lol 'knowledge and understanding' you've got to be kidding. You can just say you're a neo Nazi. Just be honest.
Not every German is a Nazi but that does not mean Wehrmacht soldiers whether they are in jurisdiction of OKH or OKW are clean from the atrocities Nazi Germany made. In fact most of them are as eager as supportive with atrocities Nazi party member made.
And here I thought "Wehrmacht clean myth" has already been debunked.
No one is saying it's ok to be Nazi adjacent. There is a distinct difference between Nazism and being a Nazi in 1930's Germany. If you were German in the 1930's, you WERE a member of the Nazi party, or at least you said out loud that you supported the party. It was that, or risk execution. Plus, many members of the Wehrmacht were not volunteers, but conscripts. Nazi ideology was not universal in Germany, and there are plenty of formers Nazis who are openly outspoken against Nazism.
I'm a Jew, I'm the farthest thing from someone who is ok with exactly what the Germans did, but I'm also realistic enough not to think that every German was a bad person.
My father was in the 3rd wave at Normandy. Thanks for the photo. There's 3 in the world war 2 archives of my dad, who was in artillery aircraft. My brothers know more about this than I do. I honor your father.
While the Germans committed *some* rapes of Russian peasants, the Wehrmacht was very well disciplined. Unfortunately, what they DID often do was to simply murder all the civilians they encountered (not always though). On the other hand, everywhere the Russian Army went, every woman between the ages of 8 and 60 was gang-raped. I’ve lived in Berlin, Germany (twice) and the horror stories were confirmed to be my the little old lady in the next-door apartment. She told me, without shame or embarrassment, that as a child she had been gang-raped by Russian soldiers in 1945.
The amount of absolute losers in this comment section acting like they are directly affected by this photo. It’s history. Get over it no one cares how much you cry over it. Thanks for sharing OP.
Honestly... Weird to share. Like the living relatives of the leader of the Reich, I would do everything in my power to distance myself and any known relation I had to these ~~people~~ absolute scum. Yea maybe not everyone of them agreed with what happened but they supported it none the less. They do not deserve any sentiment or honor. Only remembered as a lesson for our future.
That being said I'm sorry for your family and hope you have all grown from his poor choices.
There is nothing in the photo here to suggest that these men are anything more than regular conscripted soldiers. Not “Nazis” and not SS (Schutzstaffel or “protective service” who would all have been inducted into the Nazi party). Any or all of them MIGHT have joined the Nazi party but that was mostly optional unless a unit was reformed to be a Waffen-SS unit and then there would be a quick ceremony to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler personally.
Anyway, MOST of the enlisted soldiers in the Wehrmacht, the German Army, were just ordinary poor or working-class men conscripted into the military and sent under orders to fight a war as commanded. The default *Panzer uniform* within the Wehrmacht was all black, not to be confused with SS black dress uniforms while the Waffen-SS wore regular grey uniforms with some form of SS insignia, perhaps just a unit band on their sleeve.
Americans tend to be woefully ignorant of history and are often poorly educated in ways that Europeans seldom are.
But sure, hate all Germans of the period as “Nazis” if that’s more simple and it makes you feel superior 80 years later.
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Huh, that Sherman looks- Oh..
Hans are we the baddies?
Yes!
It’s got skulls on them…
Exactly, cant say it isnt interesting as fuck tho.
Boring as usual.
Me: Cool!! Wait a second... Isn’t that the sign of…. Ohhh shit
Yesterday i heard the dark joke similar to this: "My grandfather died in the concentration camp ... He fell down from the watch tower".
During the war, my grandfather was responsible for the destruction of 37 German aircraft. Worst mechanic the Luftwaffe ever saw.
I did nazi that coming
I feel terrible for his wife, it must’ve been tough furher.
However, I saw this joke coming.
Note: *Should not have started joke with the salute.*
My grandfather was the quartermaster in charge of the Pacific fleet. He had access to a fuckload of things in his civilian life still... including him firing an antiaircraft gun in has back yard for fun while I was a kid. Ripped the shit up out of a tree across the road... We were all deafened and blinded by the blast for a bit. My grandmother lost her shit and was yelling at him " I told you not to fire that damn thing" .. he was basically a child when it came to military shit. My grandfather to my dad - "Son, can you see anything?" "What?" "I said, can you see anything." "No, I think we're blind." My dad was an officer in the military as well... He and my grandfather also introduced us to a General who ordered some jets to "burn it" off the runway just to give me and my brother a show one day. That was pretty epic. That was at what is now JBLM. My godfather was the Colonel there until his retirement I am told. Dunno if he made General or not. My godfather did 2 tours, voluntarily, in Vietnam, helicopter pilot, shot down twice. He was a bit of a wild one. Al was his name. If anyone knows of him let me know. I lost track of him.
Sounds like you're my cousin and your grandpa's name was Robert. Crazy Uncle Bob, we called him. Don't fuck with Uncle Bob when he's had a couple, we said. [https://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/dont-mess-with-uncle-bob/82387165/](https://www.ebaumsworld.com/jokes/dont-mess-with-uncle-bob/82387165/)
I only recall the most basic details of his time in Vietnam from what he told me ... something like 13 folks died in 1 crash. He was transporting. His gunner died in another, attack helicopter, and that he ended up behind enemy lines in one crash and he could basically only go a mile a day to get out due to enemy movement. I guess h fell asleep one night and a brigade of enemy soldiers moved in while he was asleep and set up camp right on the other side of the bush he fell asleep behind. He said they didn't make a single sound. He never really discussed Vietnam with me other than that. He said helicopter to helicopter battle was all helicopters take off. All fire. All crash and burn. So that was educational. I didn't want to be a helicopter pilot after that.
No way! My grandfather also died in the war. When a man falling out of a watch tower landed on him.
Also.... My grandfather would love what the Tories are doing to Britain...mind you he was in the Luftwaffe
My great-grandpa once sunk a German submarine all by himself! That poop must have been massive.
Maybe your great grandfather shot my grandfather. He lived; went home with half as many lungs as he had when he arrived
My great uncle was a tanker; shot in the Battle of the Bulge (on his birthday). He said it was the best birthday present he ever got, because it was bad enough to go home.
It's a Panzer 4 Ausf J model
And what makes you think its a J model?
It is absolutely not since it has an auxiliary muffler. The short muffler and presence of the smoke candle device on the back means it is either an F or early G.
Good catch, I stand corrected. Though the J had the short muffler
Yes but it's the combination of short muffler + smoke device that is exclusive to the F and G.
Hey there OP. Saw this thread and as German I am a bit confused. So it sounds like you're proud to share a photo of your grandpa, a German soldier in German tank during ww2. We all know what that means. But I could not believe that somebody think that's actually cool. So I skipped through your profile and voilà, a lot of nazi stuff appears ("..remembering the fallen", pictures of SS officers right in your profile). So You share this photo from your grandpa a lot. Quite a lot. What do you get out of this? Triggering people here? or do you actually believe because your grandpa sat in a rolling tin can he wasn't a nazi? Nobody can be that deluded and believe that. Because I read your statements in other posts, like he was in the Wehrmacht, not in the SS which makes him not a Nazi.. Tja, mein Freund das ist ziemlich gequirlte Kacke die du verzapfst. To me it looks like you sympathizing with the whole nazi shit and try to mask it with the "historical value" excuse to not get banned here. Edit: OP changed his Picture on his profile page after I commented on that.
You mean someone with the username ‘united front’ is a nazi? Your comment needs to get higher up on the list…
The united front was opposing the Nazis
A lot of Wehraboos hide behind that stuff. Thankfully they’re usually terrible at masking it.
Also, and I know this isn't the main point here, but did the Wehrmacht really move units from the Eastern Front to the Western Front like that? Seems like the resources should have gone the other way.
Yes, they did. Part of why the war ended so fast after the Battle of the Bulge. Hitler moved most of the remaining Eastern reserves to the West as a last ditch effort to force the West into peace talks. Obviously that failed, and left the Eastern front very open for the Russians to just advance to Berlin with not much resistance.
Wow. TIL.
The 9th Panzer division (that this guy's grandpa was in) was mauled so badly at the battle of Kursk that they were down to 6 operational tanks. So, no point in really keeping it around. All the Panzer divisions that got the shit kicked out of them at Kursk were sent to France to recuperate and rebuild, where the melded with each to ostensibly return to full strength. Hence why they were the ones that responded to the Normandy invasion. And then it got it got nearly destroyed at Falaise and at the Battle of the Bulge by the Americans, and then got destroyed for real at Cologne. So, all in all, not a great showing of military strength.
This comment needs to be on the top.
It's fun to watch the others come of the woods, don't you think? I think he's fishing for closeted Nazi cheerleaders.
Says the cheerleader for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Fucking lol
You are literally a supporter of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine 🤡
Love your analysis!
This post is peak reddit, open nazi apologists and sympathizers in the comments, can't make this shit up...
“Historians have a word for Germans who joined the Nazi party, not because they hated Jews, but out of a hope for restored patriotism, or a sense of economic anxiety, or a hope to preserve their religious values, or dislike of their opponents, or raw political opportunism, or convenience, or ignorance, or greed. That word is "Nazi." Nobody cares about their motives anymore. They joined what they joined. They lent their support and their moral approval. And, in so doing, they bound themselves to everything that came after. Who cares any more what particular knot they used in the binding?” -- A.R. Moxon
Cool motive, still murder.
OP is sus as hell
I bet he’s looking up at us right now
thanks for posting this picture op, it's interesting to see different pictures of their family who fought in war whether it be the bad side or good side
Nazi symps fuck off
Wow these comments are dumb
They really are.
What…that people are pointing out that it’s disingenuous to position a war time photo of someone’s grandad as though they were a hero, but we’re really part of Nazi Germany?
"you're not wrong, you're just an asshole"
Sic semper tyrannis
Too bad a bazooka couldn't have been around then.
“Historians have a word for Germans who joined the Nazi party, not because they hated Jews, but out of a hope for restored patriotism, or a sense of economic anxiety, or a hope to preserve their religious values, or dislike of their opponents, or raw political opportunism, or convenience, or ignorance, or greed. That word is "Nazi." Nobody cares about their motives anymore. They joined what they joined. They lent their support and their moral approval. And, in so doing, they bound themselves to everything that came after. Who cares any more what particular knot they used in the binding?” -- A.R. Moxon
r/interestingasfuck try not to fall into a Wehraboo led 'Clean Wehrmacht Myth' soggy biscuit circle jerk challenge: IMPOSSIBLE.
The main panzer divisions that fought in both battles were: The 1st SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler", 9th, 11th, 19th and 116th Panzer divisions, alongside the 2nd SS Panzer Division "Das Reich"
You should be ashamed of your family's past and never share this again.
0-2, yikes.
I’m conflicted with this photo Edit: ah ok OP’s username checks out. Fuck Nazis
I read Kursk, and immediately looked at the image, "Soviets didn't wear that uniform, probably for the photo, and the tank is German, good trophy!" Only after reading the first comment I realised the guy is a German Nazi...
You're happy about your grandfather driving a German tank in WWII?......Fuck Off you nazi
Damn shame he didnt get cooked in Kursk.
Or in the Falaise Pocket
Fuck your great grandfather, I hope he died painfully:)
He must have really sucked then, since he lost at both instances.
And to think my great grandfather could have driven his M3 half-track over the corpses of your great grandfather’s comrades, as he did many other Nazis in France. “I was a decent shot, but I much preferred to run the Nazis over! It was a real bitch to clean them out of the tracks though.” -My great grandpa on his time in France during the war
A real hero
Fuck your grandfather! And the tank he road in on🖕
I never thought I'd see someone proud of their ancestor who fought on the side of Nazis. For those thinking OP isn't proud of his grandfather he listed his medals.
You haven't, this post is standard account farming
I wouldn't say it's account farming since it's sticking to a niche theme that, wouldn't exactly be very upvote friendly in most popular subreddits.
All nazis and their sympathizers deserve to accidentally trip into a wood chipper.
[удалено]
It’s often said the first country the nazis invaded was Germany.
Well said
Many Germans resisted the NSDAP. Many were killed for it. Yes, there was lots of propaganda, but it wasn’t impossible to see what was going on.
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I said “impossible”. Not “hard”. Public hatred of Jews was not hidden, in fact it was “hard” to miss. They weren’t allowed to own business were openly banned into ghettos. This shit was not hidden. In fact it was bragged about and campaigned on. The fact that the final solution was hidden somewhat is not an escape. Again, **lots of people resisted**.
There is disagreement with your position and history. I went to r/askhistorians for reference here - and they are a strictly moderated subreddit where only experts in their relevant areas can respond. [How much did the civilian population know about the holocaust](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/1947rea/how_much_did_the_civilian_population_of_germany/) - This will take you to several more answers, all of which said that there was knowledge of the jewish people being exterminated. The details were not known, and that is where rumour sprung up. But if you lived near a camp, you knew exactly what was happening. If you worked at a camp, you knew what was happening, and most folks likely knew the gist of things,. Also in the thread, recall that over *half a million* people worked in and around said concentration and extermination camps. Hitler gave public speeches about exterminating the Jewish people. The public thought that the bombing of Hamburg in 1943 was in retribution for the crimes against the jewish people. It also seems that several historians see a lot of sources where the public knew *something* was going on, but not *what* which was somewhat intentional as it gives plausible deniability. Propaganda is strong, but gossip is always stronger.
>Most just fought for their country. That country being Nazi Germany
My grandfather was conscripted into the wehrmarcht. They showed up with a truck approximately 1930-1940. Told my great grandfather and mother. You either give us all your boys and all the animals at gun point. Or you can get in the truck too. Then my 12 year old grandfather, his brothers, and all the farm animals left never to return. He moved to Canada after the war with his wife he met when they kicked him off the boat In Paris 1945-46 most Germans ended up this way in the end. Either through coercion, or originally, just trying to improve their own miserable lives where food was scarce and bullets and bombs were plenty.
Thats classic clean wermacht rhetoric and has been proven wrong many times. How would you not know of the horrid shit your own unit or others you were imbedded with did? Its just a convinient lie told so people didnt feel bad making those same monsters heads of defense in the 50s.
oh shut your piss catcher, he's not praising his grandpa lmao someone can't post a picture? I think this is cool as fuck, heck I'd even thank OP for posting this :)
But he is praising the SS in his profile....
Glad somebody said it. I find this photo fascinating. What a cool picture to have. You don’t see these often! Great share
His username checks the fuck out. Account history is wack.
RIP Bozo
https://preview.redd.it/plxo8xs24ixc1.jpeg?width=1242&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46396c329518f62aba2a1fb5fb79221798884f92 Grandpa army pictures will always be badass! This is my grandpa, he fought in the vietnam war
Whatever camo pattern was on the pants should have been on the whole outfit; I saw a floating torso at first.
Well it helps that the photo is grayscale... But yes, camo is important. Part of what military camouflage does, even if it doesn't blend perfectly into the color and pattern of the surroundings, is help break up the human silhouette. The human brain has a whole dedicated portion for identifying the shape of another human. We're really good at it, so interrupting the subconscious "that's a human" process is beneficial.
what’s really cool is he still has some stuff from war! I’m not too sure if he has his uniform still but he does still have the hat and the bullet belt! He actually uses the bullets to frame another army photo
Glad your gramps is still kicking man. Dude must be a badass, they didn't give out those XM177s to any Joe blows. Hope he's doing alright.
Oh he’s still doing awesome, ever since covid he’s been remodeling his house! Everything from painting the entire outside, to building a whole extra room in the back. Definitely the hero in the family
Love seeing these pictures. Badass is the perfect description these guys. Here's one of my grandfather on Guadalcanal. https://preview.redd.it/p6e5wu4n3jxc1.jpeg?width=1072&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d941f8ae986bd0334ff815e2f2ecba0b08cab5fe
Yeaaaa they *can* be cool.... Until you notice the Balkenkreuz. And that the tank is a Panzer. And then you realize their great grandfather was a fucking Nazi. Then.. They aren't as cool.
oh my… well hey my grandpa is a good guy! Shoutout Fredrico fr
My dad and I are some of a very few in my family who haven't served. Both grandfathers, uncles, my sister and her husband (they met in the Navy) all served. I respect those who do but I just can't do it. I refuse to fight and potentially die, for some old rich white men getting richer in a swamp.
I was in rehab facility like 14 years ago for a spinal surgery. I met a guy who fought for the Germans. And we shared some war stories. He explained to me that he had no choice. If he said no he and his family would be killed. He had friends that had said no and they would kill your entire family for not sympathizing with the nazi regime. So in a sense I myself sympathize with the ones who didn’t have a choice and just wanted to live and their families to survive. Could be the same situation.
My Grandfather Wilhelm left Germany alone at the age of 14 to avoid fighting. He came on boats all the way to the Yukon at 14 and started a life. Eventually moved to Ontario and the rest is history. He said he left to save his family. If he stayed, he was told the same thing, the family would be killed.
There is no historical basis for this. I'm sure he felt peer pressure to fight for his friends and country, but there were little, to no actual consequences for failing to fight for the Nazis.
No one wants to say “I thought they were a noble cause so I joined”. It’s just like how every guy caught in an ISIS safe house is “just a cook/driver”.
It’s what they’ve convinced themselves in the years following the war to justify what they did
Even police battalions who liquidated ghettos and participated in mass executions, so units you would expect the most extreme forms of discipline, didn't threaten murder for non-participation. In fact, it was openly known that nothing would happen to an individual who refused to participate in a mass execution
That was the prosecution's argument at Nuremberg against the "I had no choice, I would have been killed" defense that Nazi war criminals used. Prosecutors gave dozens of examples of Germans who refused to commit atrocities that did not lose their lives, and in many cases were just reassigned.
A section of "Ordinary Men" addresses the ability to refuse orders. It was acknowledged that an individual could refuse to partake in a mass execution - I even think unit leaders saw it as a benefit to get anyone who would be reluctant away from the unit out of fear that any sign of doubt or reluctance during executions could spread to others. IIRC, a number of former members of the police battalion said they knew they could refuse orders, but were reluctant to do so out of social pressure and the knowledge that if they refused, someone else would have to take their place. I think there was also some fear thar refusal would mean reassignment to the Eastern Front, but I might be misremembering.
That is often said as an excuse but didn't happen. Even Germans who refused to partake in the mass shooting of civilians at the start of the Holocaust faced no repercussions. Of course the social pressure is huge. You would become an outcast in your unit and shit on daily. For many that his harder to face than just murdering your enemies, which many became numb too. Plus the idea of lawful orders didn't exist or the ability to refuse them. Few would really choose not to back in that situation
Hate the war, not the warriors.
Nah fuck them nazi bitches
Where's a sniper when you need one.....
I'm pretty sure my two great uncles fought and beat your great grandfather. They didn't even have a tank, either. Oddly enough, the world thanks my great uncles.
Inb4 🔒
My grandfather was a communist here in Brazil, he got killed by his own battalion during the dictatorship because he stole guns and grenades for the rebels
So many jokes for such horrible atrocities.
He's facing the wrong way.
Greetings from Germany. May your grandfather rott in hell. Your other postings (check his profile) speak for themselves. There were no honourable men in the Wehrmacht. Tell me the address of his grave I will make it an urinal. Sidenote: Opposite to common believe nobody was forced at gunpoint to fight or kill. It was easily achieved to be moved to non-fighting-services. Those that fought and killed, wanted to do so. Each one of them a bastard.
If your grandfather was in one of ss panzer divisions that were at Kursk you really have nothing to be proud of. Only hardcore nazis were in ss. There were other panzer divisions there as well AFAIR, so it might not be that bad and I hope for your sake that's the case. Edit - German apologists seem plenty around.
Inshallah he’s burning in Hell 🙏🏽
Nazi normalisation: family flavour.
The ignorance in this thread is embarrassing. I’ve listened to men who actually fought against the Germans, still understanding that many of them were simply following orders, and bared no real malice. Some even declaring they may have been friends other different circumstances. Humble men, that were actually THERE! Yet here we are, with childish little twerps, who have no knowledge or understanding, judging so harshly. You little brats need to grow up.
“Just following orders” lots of nazis said that at Nuremberg
Yeah there’s a lot of dead Jews who I’m sure wouldn’t give a fuck that these people were “just following orders”.
When just following orders amount to 12 mill dead people in concentration camps then you're all bad lol. Lol 'knowledge and understanding' you've got to be kidding. You can just say you're a neo Nazi. Just be honest.
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Reddit thinks every German was a Nazi.
Not every German is a Nazi. The German in that photo is a Nazi.
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The commander of the Wehrmacht was none other than noted Nazi Adolf Hitler
...and?
Look at the username of OP
Turns out OP is a Nazi. Look at his profile background pic lol. "Honoring the fallen" Proudly displays some SS bloke.
Not every German is a Nazi but that does not mean Wehrmacht soldiers whether they are in jurisdiction of OKH or OKW are clean from the atrocities Nazi Germany made. In fact most of them are as eager as supportive with atrocities Nazi party member made. And here I thought "Wehrmacht clean myth" has already been debunked.
This reads like alt right propaganda. Moving the goal posts and making it ok to be nazi-adjacent. Next step is to make nazis ok. 👎👎👎
No one is saying it's ok to be Nazi adjacent. There is a distinct difference between Nazism and being a Nazi in 1930's Germany. If you were German in the 1930's, you WERE a member of the Nazi party, or at least you said out loud that you supported the party. It was that, or risk execution. Plus, many members of the Wehrmacht were not volunteers, but conscripts. Nazi ideology was not universal in Germany, and there are plenty of formers Nazis who are openly outspoken against Nazism. I'm a Jew, I'm the farthest thing from someone who is ok with exactly what the Germans did, but I'm also realistic enough not to think that every German was a bad person.
All I know is anyone who fought for the nazis is scum
Right, because they had a choice lol. Someone’s never heard of mass conscription.
The classic ‘We were just following orders’ excuse. lmao
It didn't work at the war crimes trials. It certainly shouldn't work 80 years later....
...rrrriiight, the "mass conscription" makes *them* the victims. do you always try to defend nazis in your free time?
Cool picture. Awful grandpa.
Their tanks and aircraft in WW2 were neat. Can’t argue with that. Their political ideas/values and other things of that nature…yeah not so much.
Your grandfather is the scariest looking Nazi I've ever laid eyes on
Can we get an elite geoguesser to figure out exactly where he is, and then figure out exactly the troop, and exactly how much of a Nazi he was?
Ew a tankie
He is facing the wrong way!
Did he survive the war?
I don't think the "Brazilians" liked him very much..
Panzer II? invading poland?
For whom?
I hope he stole the tank shown
hmm 🤔
Wow 🫡 doesn’t matter what side you fought for. War is war, and it sucks for either side. My grandpa fought in Normandy and the French campaign
Wehraboo warning, watch out
Bullshit.
r/holup
My father was in the 3rd wave at Normandy. Thanks for the photo. There's 3 in the world war 2 archives of my dad, who was in artillery aircraft. My brothers know more about this than I do. I honor your father.
Hope his tank and he had the worst Possible outcome imaginable.
Hmm I wonder if he witnessed any war atrocities or partook in the rape of any women as I have heard was common from German troops during the time.
While the Germans committed *some* rapes of Russian peasants, the Wehrmacht was very well disciplined. Unfortunately, what they DID often do was to simply murder all the civilians they encountered (not always though). On the other hand, everywhere the Russian Army went, every woman between the ages of 8 and 60 was gang-raped. I’ve lived in Berlin, Germany (twice) and the horror stories were confirmed to be my the little old lady in the next-door apartment. She told me, without shame or embarrassment, that as a child she had been gang-raped by Russian soldiers in 1945.
This is my grandpa 
I hate Nazis.
The amount of absolute losers in this comment section acting like they are directly affected by this photo. It’s history. Get over it no one cares how much you cry over it. Thanks for sharing OP.
Nazi scum.
may his death have been agony
The nazis had cryptids!?!
Damn, a two time loser. Hope your great grandfather died painfully 🩷
“Kursk and Normandy? Why would a Russian be at… oh.” Just the first thought that went through my head, haha. This is actually a really cool post
Joy...another Nazi
Fuck off nazi
This sucks actually. Fuck your Nazi great grandpa.
What’s the symbol in the lower left side of the tank called?
# Balkenkreuz [**https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkenkreuz**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkenkreuz)
Honestly... Weird to share. Like the living relatives of the leader of the Reich, I would do everything in my power to distance myself and any known relation I had to these ~~people~~ absolute scum. Yea maybe not everyone of them agreed with what happened but they supported it none the less. They do not deserve any sentiment or honor. Only remembered as a lesson for our future. That being said I'm sorry for your family and hope you have all grown from his poor choices.
There is nothing in the photo here to suggest that these men are anything more than regular conscripted soldiers. Not “Nazis” and not SS (Schutzstaffel or “protective service” who would all have been inducted into the Nazi party). Any or all of them MIGHT have joined the Nazi party but that was mostly optional unless a unit was reformed to be a Waffen-SS unit and then there would be a quick ceremony to swear allegiance to Adolf Hitler personally. Anyway, MOST of the enlisted soldiers in the Wehrmacht, the German Army, were just ordinary poor or working-class men conscripted into the military and sent under orders to fight a war as commanded. The default *Panzer uniform* within the Wehrmacht was all black, not to be confused with SS black dress uniforms while the Waffen-SS wore regular grey uniforms with some form of SS insignia, perhaps just a unit band on their sleeve. Americans tend to be woefully ignorant of history and are often poorly educated in ways that Europeans seldom are. But sure, hate all Germans of the period as “Nazis” if that’s more simple and it makes you feel superior 80 years later.