No. 72:
Observations of letters belonging to German soldiers, surrounded in the Stalingrad
cauldron. 10 Jan. 1943 - to the Don Front Soviet
(transl. by first lieutenant of guards, Sergei Ovchinnikov)
Near Kalach, a German "Heinkel 111" was shot down on 3 Jan. 1943 - returning
from the surrounded and destroyed German 6th Army. On board the aircraft were not only
wounded soldiers, but also letters of soldiers to be sent home.
So far, a small number of letters has been checked-130. An overwhelming majority of them
were dated 31 Dec. 1942.
The fact that many of the letters were written before the new year lowers their overall
value. In other words, in reflecting the reality of the situation and the attitudes of the
soldiers.
Many of the letters simply consist of wishes for the new year - 1943. Fervent hopes in the
betterment of their lives, remembrances of past holidays in pre-war times.
Several letters contain very clear indications that the soldiers are forbidden to write
of their true situations.
For example, in Corporal Friedrich Kirchner's letter it states: "Cannot write of my
real situation."
The letter of soldier Erwin Krieger consists of a New Year's drawing on a whole piece of
paper-wishing happiness for the year 1943, below it in French: "Already the 20th day
of encirclement". There is no doubt that the German soldier used the French language
to escape censoring.
In contrast, many letters do reflect the reality of the situation and attitudes of the
encircled German soldiers.
"...I shall tell you - it is horrible to be in such a trap. This is already the 40th
day, and we notice nothing but despair. They tell us: "Hold on, hold on" so that
we can leave the ring as victors. And this is all with the norm of 200g of bread and horse
soup. The food is stale-and there is almost no salt. I can say that without our
determination, the will to live and the thought of fighting for Germany - we would have
been finished by now. My nerves are quite ruined, the body loses the capability to resist.
What else troubles us - fleas. You cannot escape them. The bunkers are dark and outside in
the open it is 20-30 below". Fritz Yak, APO No. 18869 D, 31.12.42
"... This is already the 6th week that we are in the ring. From day to day we hope
for help, so far nothing. ...For Christmas, a fellow soldier from Spandau gave me 2 loaves
of bread for 6 men, all for 2 cigarettes and kind words. To us this bread seemed like a
Christmas treat. Usually we get 1 loaf to 8 men - 175g per day. That is so little! At one
time they were giving us 850g". Arno Kirste, APO No. 14649 S, 26.12.42
"...My fleas are living well - plenty to eat. This is seen in their numbers, so many
that you are afraid they will chew through your neck. If you sweep your hand across your
neck, you will pick up several of them". Fritz Schumann, APO No. 04994 V,
31.12.42
"... From 22 November we are surrounded. You, dear relatives, cannot imagine how they
feed us. Every day several spoons of water with two-three pieces of horse. Until we are
liberated, the situation with the food only gets worse. The Kitchen has not a gram of
flour, not anything at all. We eat horses. The horses die-as there is no food for
them". Johann Stellner, APO No. 18869 A, 31.12.42
"...I hope this does not last much longer-my best nerves will be lost completely...
In the bunker, by candlelight, we sang a Christmas song. We men, had tears on our faces.
It is better to not remember, as it may happen again with me". Karl Geissler, APO No.
4634 F, 29.12.42
"...I think that now no German soldier goes to Germany for vacation... hold son
closer to your heart; tell him, from time to time, of his father". Fritz Haupt, APO
No. 42005, 31.12.42
"...If we could at least recieve more food, it would be possible to hold
out".
Fritz Mentzl, APO No. 046634 K, 31.12.42
"...Waiting from day to day for salvation with this kind of food is not very
easy". Genrich Jann, APO No. 04634 K. 30.12.42
"...We meet the new year with the motto: "thank god there is nothing else
worse than this"...a piece of bread of 500g was a joyous occasion...".
Aloiz Denger, APO No. 18869 V, 31.12.42
"...From 22 November we wait in vain for salvation... the wounded are taken out on
planes. Christmas was very sad... We recieve 1 loaf of bread to 6-8 men also soup-mostly
water". Franz Lewke, APO No. 08392 A, 31.12.42
"
"Dear brother! How did you celebrate Christmas? Well, I hope? I can honestly tell you
that this year's Christmas was extremely sad. Hunger is torturing me. Dear brother, when
everything is alright and they free us from here, I ask you to carry out the job that I
wrote about to mother. Let mother send me 3 parcels of about 100g of cookies or dried
bread every day...If you can't send that much, then send me a few pieces of bread...almost
all of the other guys get mail like this". Wilhelm Korn, APO No. 32383, 1.1.43
"...What kills us - hunger. Imagine, we recieve half a canteen of soup and 200 grams
of bread". Helmut Mari, APO No. 12532 G, 31.12.42
"...We know nothing of when and how the war will end. We have been in this vise for 6
weeks. Yesterdays OKW message was in fact pleasant. Several encircled enemy divisions were
destroyed near the Don". Unter-Offizier Hans Graf, APO No. 18869 B, 30.12.42
"...Our greatest wish-to get out of this mousetrap. Truthfully, help is intensifying
- but still many fall out of line...We listen intently to the OKW's communiques... For New
Years we have little of anything but some coffee beans... We don't get any letters here -
food and ammunition is vital,..". Ernst Wendt, APO No. 18869 V, 31.12.42
"...Hard times do we live in these past weeks. You wait while clenching your teeth.
The winter isn't as harsh, we are well clothed. But we are positioned in a place worse
than anything on Earth...". Unter-Offizier V. Tesser, APO No. 17275, 31.12.42
"...We are still in this sack. We are bombed day and night. We have losses - dead and
wounded. I am lucky so far". Wilhelm Luze, APO No. 05280 S, 26.12.42
"...Who would have thought, that after this battle-rich spring and summer - that so
much agony awaited us? It's getting worse with the food...". Genrich Gomon, APO No.
42005, 1.1.43
"...I already know the world very well. This is the valley of despair. Only god can
bring us happiness". Kurt Scharwat, APO No. 42005, 31.12.42
"...I've heard that they will get us out of here. When and where - unknown".
Hans Waltz, APO No. 41000, 1.1.43