Berlin 1945 documentary

JoeArthur

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Worth a look if you can get it:


Most memorable quotes for me were:

From an SS officer "shoot ten Russians and another 20 appear"

From a Russain soldier "We had seen East Prussia with its cultivated farmland, two story houses with elctricity and gas - what did the Germans want in Russia?"
 

Michael Dorosh

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From a Russain soldier "We had seen East Prussia with its cultivated farmland, two story houses with elctricity and gas - what did the Germans want in Russia?"
Very interesting quote, and eye-opening. Add indoor plumbing as well. James O'Donnell's book THE BUNKER talks about Russian troops arriving in Berlin and not knowing what the flush toilets were for - best guess was that the Germans had invented a potato washing machine.
 

Old Noob

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The Russian troops were also noted to carefully unscrew light bulbs and stow them away for taking home.
Never mind that the collective only had electricity for the Party representative's dacha!
 

Eagle4ty

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Very interesting quote, and eye-opening. Add indoor plumbing as well. James O'Donnell's book THE BUNKER talks about Russian troops arriving in Berlin and not knowing what the flush toilets were for - best guess was that the Germans had invented a potato washing machine.
Had a similar experience in Iraq where some of the IA (Iraqi Army) rural guys had never seen/used a Prot-A-Potty before. As they normally stand/squat to do their thing, they would simply climb up on the seat stand/squat & do their thing in our Port-A-Potty provided for my assistance team at their compound; their aim wasn't always the best! One night as I had duty in the TOC I had to go. Needless to say I experienced quite a shock as I sat to do my thing in the dark. I'm here to tell ya, war is hell!:unsure::eek:💩
 

von Marwitz

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James O'Donnell's book THE BUNKER talks about Russian troops arriving in Berlin and not knowing what the flush toilets were for
There is some truth to that. In the house of my stepmother's parents, they used the cellar to defecate and the pages of the library's books for toilet paper. This was not in Berlin but in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (one of the German states).

von Marwitz
 
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Michael Dorosh

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There is some truth to that. In the house of my stepmothers parents, they used the cellar to defecate and the pages of the library's books for toilet paper. This was not in Berlin but in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (one of the German states).

von Marwitz
Stan Scislowski wrote of his experiences in Italy with the Perth Regiment, he wrote of German soldiers treating an Italian farmhouse in the same way. Old magazines were used for lavatory paper and they apparently just dumped wherever there was floor space. Seemed surprising to me, I'd have thought Germans were more fastidious, but the Germans also had some disdain for their former allies and viewed them as "dirty."
 

Michael Dorosh

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Had a similar experience in Iraq where some of the IA (Iraqi Army) rural guys had never seen/used a Prot-A-Potty before. As they normally stand/squat to do their thing, they would simply climb up on the seat stand/squat & do their thing in our Port-A-Potty provided for my assistance team at their compound; their aim wasn't always the best! One night as I had duty in the TOC I had to go. Needless to say I experienced quite a shock as I sat to do my thing in the dark. I'm here to tell ya, war is hell!:unsure::eek:💩
I last "did my thing" in the field in a port-a-john in which the temperature was -32C - it wasn't war, but it wasn't magnificent either.
 

M.Koch

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I once jumped into a foxhole which the pre-owner has justed as toillet. Lucky me i only soiled my boots but still...💩🤮
Of course it was THE running gag of the excercise:rolleyes:
 
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