Construction workers in Poland have uncovered a mass grave believed to be of 1800 German civilians who disappeared during the Soviet Army’s march to Berlin.
That reminded me of a story my father told. He served in the 20th battalion in Egypt and was part of a group who took some German POWs. They were handed over to Polish troops and never seen again.
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My dad was in the 20th in Egypt and then Italy
Lucy – mine too. He didn’t every say much about his experiences but he used to go to battalion reunions and he went back to Egypt with other veterans for an anniversary commemoration (maybe 50th?).
Recriminations are the ugly side of war.
Stef – there are many ugly sides to war.
Whatever way you look at it war is ugly.
My Dad didnt say much either. He died in 1984. I got his army records from the Army and found out that he was at El Alamine (I know thats not how you spell it) and Casino. He was 20 when he went in 1942. His brother was killed in Crete 22 May 1942.
Lucy – Dad was in both those battles too. It would’ve been the 50th anniversary of El Alamein he went to in 1992. He died in 1999 and now I think of all the questions I could have asked but didn’t.
There’s nothing surprising about this story – when it came to shooting people and biffing them in mass graves, the Nazis were rank amateurs compared to the CPSU. The Jerries had a good million or so civilians they couldn’t account for after WW2.
I have the same regrets HP.