Directives or not, the man certainly earned his Knights Cross, in addtion he could enjoy the fact he won it for saving lives and not taking them. Another good one Dr. Felton! Thanks!
Too bad there's a hate symbol on his award so he probably had to exchange it for a de-Nazified version later. In the 1950's alot of ex-German soldiers exchanged their awards for post-war equivalents omitting the swastikas.
@@geigertec5921 In the immediate post-war period a lot of Knights Cross holders turned it around so the backside with no swastika was visible. Those held as POWs and in uniform that is. Anything else with a swastika on it obviously had to come off.
My mother's family tried to get onto the Gustloff, but they missed it by just a few hours. After an hair raising escape they nevertheless managed to get to western Germany without further harm, but it were several close calls. My mother had to hide under my grandma's skirt several times, the soldiers obviously weren't into my already old looking grandma (she had worked hard throughout her life). My mother was just 4 years at that time. Others weren't that lucky. War is pure evil and doesn't care who falls victim, never forget that.
Stalin had released all criminals from Soviet prisons and put them in uniform. These units were of no significant military value, other than clearing minefields by marching through them. These Terror units of common criminals, rapists and murders would taint for ever the reputation of the actual Red Army combat soldiers. In essence, these were Stalin's version of the Einsatzgruppen.
@@AudieHolland Don't delude yourself. The average Red Army soldier was all into raping women. Even urged on by Officer's. Putin has also raised up an armed unit of criminals the Wagner Group. This is a very old Russian custom going back to Czarist times
It doesn't matter if you were a criminal or not before going into battle, all soldiers have the capacity to murder, rape, pillage, and plunder - often times they're ordered to do these things and then after the war, depending on of their side wins or not, they will either face the consequences by a trial or be praised as heroes and their crimes swept under the rug.
Your mother and grandmother were very lucky. According to Antony Beevor's book about the battle of Berlin, the Red Army raped virtually any female they could find, regardless of age, even to the point of death. They raped young women and old and did not make exception for women that had just given birth, nuns, the elderly, or even young children. Of those that survived the ordeal, significant numbers committed suicide afterwards. Apparently, none of the rapists were ever punished. The Soviet leadership apparently considered the rapes to be the right of the soldiers who had survived until the end of the war.
My grandmother with 3 children managed to get out of Danzig on the Ubena ship which was one of the last to leave the city in March. They then spent 3 years in a Danish refugee camp.
I am a young german man born in 2001 and my family story is somehow related to the gustloff. my grandpa (the dad of my father) his older brother and his mother (my greatgrandmother) were living in east prussia. when the front came close to germany, they had to flee to the west. they had also planned to go onboard the gustloff and reached it. they were already on the way onboard, when my grandpa suddenly got scared and ran away from the ship( he was only 6 years old). his mother and brother of course followed him and catched him. but it was too late for them to go again onto the gustloff. and of course they were lucky when they heard what had happened to the ship later. they went to west germany and build up their new home were my family still lives. my grandpa is also in his 80s and still alive. thats the reason i and the rest of my family were born.
You say feate, I say the result of high losses and shortage of personnel. Especially after tens of thousands of Kriegsmarine personnel were pushed into the Wermacht to fill soldier shortages.
@@TheJMBon it's clear he was promoted due to his minesweeper service not just to fill holes in Kriegsmarine losses. Hence why he stayed with minesweepers throughout the war and not being transferred elsewhere. Stop trying to degrade his accomplishments because he served on the wrong side.
@@Julianna.Domina never. But I do feel like... Well... We're the same as they were. times were different, things were different. But we felt the same and we enjoyed other humans the same. I feel like its in us. I can't describe the feeling. Perhaps in 200 years we won't need to not know anything every again.
Sometimes I just can't fathom some of the statistics of ww2, some of the battles would have been all out hell, the film footage doesn't show the actual combat.
@@laurencebooker3789 True, never thought of that. There are anomalies in what we see. Same with Ukraine. We're just not seeing the level of combat they claim is happening.
No joke, as it is for many Englishmen, the accent is a psychological bridge for his listeners between Mark’s credibility as a historian and the engaging quality of his content. There’s a lot of research to support this.
One of my friends who was in Luftwaffe ground forces was in a small convoy of three ships out of Liepaja which he said was in flames, when he was evacuated. One ship was sunk and he said it was horrible- farm animals, horses, people all in the freezing Baltic. He's 95 now and was just 17 when he experienced this horror- one of a number.
@@suzyqualcast6269 My friend is not German, he's Latvian and was illegally conscripted at the age of 16 into the German forces- the animals in the sea belonged to Latvian farmers. Of course, had he not been conscripted by the Germans in August 1944, he would have been conscripted into the Red Army, a few months later. At one point, Latvians conscripted into the German forces faced their younger brothers so to speak in the Red Army. The Red Army Latvians refused to engage their countrymen and they were sent to another part of the front and replaced by other Soviet units. Such is the tragedy of this particular war.
@@NickRatnieks thank you for the update. I'd like to pass on some of my best friends are Latvians, here in northern England. The best men I've ever met. I'd like to share that with their mothers as really, I've never met a British man like them. They should be proud I tell them that regularly.
I had a friend who died about 4 years ago, who had an older brother named Walter Brauer who won the Knight's Cross in the second half of 1944 while fighting the Soviets in Poland. His two gun anti-tank crew knocked out around 12 tanks in a running battle with them that lasted for hours. You can look his name up on any list of Knight's Cross winners. My friend, Gunter Brauer, was intensely proud of this and kept a photograph of Walter on his night table beside his bed until his dying day.
@@kikoredog In 1944 Gunter was forced into the Herman Goering division but Walter had a pass to visit home in Pomerania and then receive his Knight's Cross. He told Gunter "Don't volunteer for anything!" There are probably no end of older brothers who gave their youngest brother this exact same advice. It was the last time Gunter saw Walter, as Walter was killed in Poland in January, 1945 and Gunter was captured by the Soviets in Poland that same month.
@@ToddSauve Man i wish i knew about my great grandfathers history in ww2 though he fought against communism by signing himself up freely as a member of the 5th SS panzer Division(Wiking) from 1941-1945 and survived the war. But i understand why he would not talk about it when we consider the "Army" he fought in. Shame really i would love to know what he did.
I have learned so much by watching this channel. I recommend it to all my friends who have an interest in History based on fact and without prejudice. My background is in Science and I always made it a point to study History of technology for human achievement. There are certainly gray areas that are uncovered by studying war as well. Thank you in earnest Dr. Felton.
@@al3x The American Civil War begs to differ. The Confederate States' various Articles of Secession spelled out what they fighting for in plain English. It was slavery. Also they initiated hostilities raiding Federal armories. To this day way too many Americans ignore those basic facts and say the war was about taxes or something. They call it the "War of Northern Aggression" or something equally revisionist.
I totally agree, the amount of information that’s squeezed in is brilliant. The speed of narrative is in stark contrast to a lot of TH-cam channels and I greatly enjoy it.
Dr. Felton is the greatest military historian ever………anything ww2 related he is your man…….he could host his own t.v. Game show called “jeperody of WAR”
In regards to the evacuation of the Eastern Baltic Ports there's one little known story about the owner of a small shipyard in Memel (today Klaipeda, Lithuania) named Paul Willy Lindenau who had his remaining workers make the yard's drydock as seaworthy as they could, had them and their families board it and then towed it first to Gotenhafen (Gdinya) and once that port was also no longer safe they continued to Kiel - on the same route as Wilhelm Gustloff. Once they arrived, Lindenau bought a small workshop in the District of Friedrichsort, anchored his dock nearby and restarted his business almost immediately, first building and repairing industrial machines to rebuild the local industries before returning to ship building in 1952. After Lindenau's death, operations were continued by his son until he too died in 2007. Since then, the shipyard has met some rough waters and switched owners multiple times. Maybe that's also a story for Dr. Felton to look into :)
The best history channel on youtube, hands down. I'm fascinated with 1945 as still there are a lot of unresolved mysteries. Would love to see something about Project Riese one day.
My grandfather served on a minesweeper and received that minesweeper war badge as well. Never knew for what he got it for. Thanks a lot for teaching me about it. I still got that medal. 3:51
Eric Braeden is a German actor who as a small boy survived the sinking of MV Wilhelm Gustloff. Interestingly in the 90s he was cast as John Jacob Astor in James Cameron's Titanic.
Patton and Churchill were both correct in their assessment of what the Soviets would do if they got control of Eastern Europe. This Naval Officer deserved this commendation for trying to save so many from the clutches of the Red Peril.
Thank yoi for mentioning Gustloff, wreck lays down not far from my home and its treated as war grave. You should also mention a third liner (apart of Gustloff and Steuben), MV Goya - almost 6500 souls. Both Gustloff and Steuben were sunk by the same submarine, S-13 (Capt. Marinesko)
Mark: You're content never ceases to amaze me. There's always one more good story to tell. I'm surprised by the huge amount of old photos and film you present. I imagine that the Germans had a photographer and film camera operator everywhere the armed forces went.
There were lots of good and bad men caught up in the war. On all sides there were saints and sinners. It's good to hear about the saints of war and hear that they received a commendation. My great-aunt was a nurse 'Rote Kreuz Schwester' in WW2 (@Kiel) and she cared for and helped save many lives. Strange that nurses and doctors don't get awards like these.
Dr Felton, another tour d’force from you. Whilst I wish I had you as my history teacher at school (I had a great one) you are my history teacher today, for which I am eternally grateful. Keep up the research and subsequent communication please.
As an ex-British soldier who has been on active service and served in West Germany from 1972 to 1976,I would happily have had a drink with this brave man who thoroughly deserved his award and his promotions from ordinary seaman to Oberleutnant.
My grandfather was from the region and was "drafted" into the Kriegsmarine late war at the age of 16. He was stationed at Hel and got away in the last days from that area. He returned some years after the war back and many years later I was raised at the peninsula. He didnt talk alot about the events that happened there, only that many people died on the peninsula waiting for the ships to take them away.
My fathers family were from Stettin (Pomerania), and were living in Konigsberg when the war broke out. They were quite wealthy, with a shipping line that carried Goods and passengers world wide. There are some items donated by my fathers uncle at the maritime museum on Rottnest Island (Perth Australia). They essentially lost everything. No doubt their last ships were used (and lost) in the evacuations. Their homes were also lost forever, they made their way out on foot, and today their descendants live in Saarbrucken. My father was born in South West Africa (former German colony - administered by South Africa) in 1944.
A well deserved award, acts like these during the horrors of war always stir my heart. A glimmer of light in all the darkness, actions of heroism taken to save lives not take them.
Dr. Felton thanks for your videos. I was wondering if you've ever considered doing a video on the Canadian Halifax bomber? One was discovered some years ago largely intact in a Norwegian fjord after being downed. It's now restored on display in the RCAF museum Trenton Ontario. One of only two restored Halifax in the world
@𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍𝗌'𝖠𝗉𝗉 𝗆𝖾👉+𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎𝟖𝟗𝟗𝟎𝟕𝟔𝟗 Really enjoy your videos Dr. Felton! Down to earth with just the right touch of humor. For me your classic to date is still the video about the East German “Boy Scouts” training with the miniature Panzers. The march music really put it over the top! Perhaps “Joan of Arc” bares some explanation. As the Patron Saint of Soldiers, I honor her. She was with me during some tough times over Iraq flying an A-10.
My dad and his mum got out of Danzig on an old Swedish ferry loaded with furs. It could not keep up with their escorted convoy and was later overtaken by another convoy, but managed to make it safely to Kiel. His dad followed sometime later on one ofnthe last Kriegsmarine ships to make it out of Danzig.
Fantastic as always. Yet another piece of WW2 history that I did not know about even though I’ve been studying the subject for 20 years now. Another topic that I see covered very little and that I think would make a great video would be that of USS Wolverine and USS Sable, makeshift aircraft carriers on the Great Lakes during WW2.
My father badly hurt his foot and had to go into a military hospital. He was a German leutnant serving on a mine sweeper. While he was treated all his fellow soldiers died on sea, their ship colliding with mines.
Ref Red Army atrocities: I read an extract from a German woman whose home town was over-run in 1945. She said that the front-line troops that took her town behaved surprisingly well (given what she'd been told). They were no angels - they stole food as a matter of course - but did retain a measure of humanity. The real atrocities started when the front-line troops moved on, and the town fell victim to second-echelon occupying forces.
Hi from sunny Scotland, I'm a retired railway signalman and I enjoy watching your videos, I have been to Chester once some years ago, British Rail used to run excursions and mystery tours and I went on one with my brother from Glasgow to Chester, we had a nice time there and on the way back we could hear girls voices in the next compartment, it was the seventies and old compartment stock, they were flicking the light switches off and on and we could hear that they were English, shortly two teenage girls appeared at our compartment asking, is this train going to Warrington, no I said first stop is Glasgow and they had a look of panic I suggested they speak to the guard and that's what they did, the train made a special stop for them to get back to Warrington, sadly the railway stopped doing these trips.
Professor Felton your channel is one of my favorites. You bring history alive. The only thing I have to say negatively is about the title. Military awards of this caliber are not “won” they are earned. Thank You Sir for keeping history alive and the research you do to bring it to the masses. Semper Fidelis SSgt Jim Brown.
The bravery of the German soldiers fighting the red army during the evacuation has gotten little notice in the west. Some units did fight to the last man rather than surrender. The actions of these men enabled many German civilians to escape into the freedom of the nascent West Germany.
Freedom tastes a bit salty rn. Ofcourse west germany was so free and so independent from the US, while east germany was a puppet of USSR))))) Murdering 10-20 millions of soviet civilians by zonder commandos and einzatsgrupps has also gotten little notice in the west
I am so thrilled to know about this operation!! This is so underrated, they evacuated way more than what British did in Dunkirk and that too without naval or arial superiority , almost when they were on their knees.
Every video is well documented professionally. I'm fascinated by world War 2 history any thing base on military ...watching from JAMAICA 🇯🇲 well done mark👍🏿
Yes i first read that book aged 14. Read it again in my 50s. Memel was a German majority city in Lithuania. It became part of Germany in 1939. Now part of Lithuania again. Was very heavy fighting there in 1945.
You produce fantastic content Mark! your stuff is always well-researched and awesome quality! However if I were to critique one thing about your channel it would be the lack of WW1 and before-WW1 Related content. I feel like the second world war is a fenomenal subject and one could discuss it for years! but it is extremely talked about compared the first world war, which is just as interesting if not more, that's my opinion . Nonetheless fantastic video! and thanks for the knowledge mark! Keep it up mark!
Feller, and no doubt countless others deserved to be recognised. The humanitarian work was of a brilliant nature, and I suspect Warzecha knew he wouldn’t get recognised so broke convention and gave him the Iron Cross in recognition.
You should do one about the liner cap arcona from Nazi titanic. One of the most disturbing incidents during the war. More people died on that ship than the real titanic. A story that people need to hear.
That photo is powerful and shows two soldiers not only allies but brothers in arms...each looks in the eyes of the other and understands the pain the other went through to get to that meeting point.
Amazing videos I’ve watched all of them to learn more about WW2. My only critique is the video title. Medals are earned and you’re a recipient. They aren’t won you’re not a winner it’s not a competition.
Thanks for the video. I would think that the allies would allow German minesweepers to continue to operate even after the surrender. Once the war was over, getting rid of the mines would be important to rebuilding a peacetime world.
The British occupiers took over some of the German minesweepers along with the crew and thus founded the "German Mine Sweeping Association" (GMSA). By 1948, these boats cleared the entire Baltic Sea and North Sea from mines. My father was initially supposed to be there, but was sent by the British to the British waterway police in Kiel because a diesel engineer was needed there.
Admiral Doernitz , staff & personnel did what they could, in the most dire circumstances during Operation Hannibal. A fascinating part of history, not much recognized. Thank you Dr. Felton .
Its interesting how with the British in control of northern Germany and Denmark from may-june 45 they seemed to let the German naval command exist and carry on this evacuation operation.
It is amazing to me how we are constantly taught that the sinking of the Lusitania was so awful, yet you never hear a peep about ~5,000 civilians killed in a ship in 1945.
Hi love your channel and look forward to your videos . I have a question hopefully you or someone else may be able to help me with. I have in my collection a Iron Cross from 1939, it's the type that pins to your tunic . My Uncle brought it back from WW2. I believe he got it somewhere on the Battle field I believe. I have always wondered who owned it. Is there anyway to find out who the medal actually belonged to? Just wondering if there are any online resources or if anyone knew of a way of finding out this info? Thanks you.
Directives or not, the man certainly earned his Knights Cross, in addtion he could enjoy the fact he won it for saving lives and not taking them.
Another good one Dr. Felton! Thanks!
Too bad there's a hate symbol on his award so he probably had to exchange it for a de-Nazified version later. In the 1950's alot of ex-German soldiers exchanged their awards for post-war equivalents omitting the swastikas.
@@geigertec5921 In the immediate post-war period a lot of Knights Cross holders turned it around so the backside with no swastika was visible. Those held as POWs and in uniform that is. Anything else with a swastika on it obviously had to come off.
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 also, the swastika was removed from badges and medals. Ground off, so that barely a shadow remained
I imagine Donitz knewed about the act
@@wayneantoniazzi2706 Thats because it was illegal to show it. They remade them without swastikas. I doubt they would have done it voluntarily.
My mother's family tried to get onto the Gustloff, but they missed it by just a few hours. After an hair raising escape they nevertheless managed to get to western Germany without further harm, but it were several close calls. My mother had to hide under my grandma's skirt several times, the soldiers obviously weren't into my already old looking grandma (she had worked hard throughout her life). My mother was just 4 years at that time. Others weren't that lucky.
War is pure evil and doesn't care who falls victim, never forget that.
Stalin had released all criminals from Soviet prisons and put them in uniform.
These units were of no significant military value, other than clearing minefields by marching through them.
These Terror units of common criminals, rapists and murders would taint for ever the reputation of the actual Red Army combat soldiers.
In essence, these were Stalin's version of the Einsatzgruppen.
@@AudieHolland
Don't delude yourself. The average Red Army soldier was all into raping women. Even urged on by Officer's. Putin has also raised up an armed unit of criminals the Wagner Group. This is a very old Russian custom going back to Czarist times
It doesn't matter if you were a criminal or not before going into battle, all soldiers have the capacity to murder, rape, pillage, and plunder - often times they're ordered to do these things and then after the war, depending on of their side wins or not, they will either face the consequences by a trial or be praised as heroes and their crimes swept under the rug.
Your mother and grandmother were very lucky. According to Antony Beevor's book about the battle of Berlin, the Red Army raped virtually any female they could find, regardless of age, even to the point of death. They raped young women and old and did not make exception for women that had just given birth, nuns, the elderly, or even young children. Of those that survived the ordeal, significant numbers committed suicide afterwards. Apparently, none of the rapists were ever punished. The Soviet leadership apparently considered the rapes to be the right of the soldiers who had survived until the end of the war.
@AudieHolland Today they are known as Wagner Group. Слава Україні
My grandmother with 3 children managed to get out of Danzig on the Ubena ship which was one of the last to leave the city in March. They then spent 3 years in a Danish refugee camp.
ALS DEUTSCHER SCHREIBT MAN DEUTSCH !!! ..........und geht aufrecht.
Did she know the father's?
@andy - Crawl back into your cave and learn to respect people before you come out again.
Thank for this rarely reported piece of history.
God bless their survival
I am a young german man born in 2001 and my family story is somehow related to the gustloff. my grandpa (the dad of my father) his older brother and his mother (my greatgrandmother) were living in east prussia. when the front came close to germany, they had to flee to the west. they had also planned to go onboard the gustloff and reached it. they were already on the way onboard, when my grandpa suddenly got scared and ran away from the ship( he was only 6 years old). his mother and brother of course followed him and catched him. but it was too late for them to go again onto the gustloff. and of course they were lucky when they heard what had happened to the ship later. they went to west germany and build up their new home were my family still lives. my grandpa is also in his 80s and still alive. thats the reason i and the rest of my family were born.
crazy how one small thing like a child running off saved and led to many future lives
Thank you for sharing
Gruß an Opa
How did they escape to the west? Another ship?
Das IST wunderbar!
He went up from seaman to captain. That's quite a feat!
The 'advantage' of being part of the Kriegsmarine, where losses were incredible high.
You say feate, I say the result of high losses and shortage of personnel. Especially after tens of thousands of Kriegsmarine personnel were pushed into the Wermacht to fill soldier shortages.
I knew a navy captain who wanted seamen.
@@TheJMBon it's clear he was promoted due to his minesweeper service not just to fill holes in Kriegsmarine losses. Hence why he stayed with minesweepers throughout the war and not being transferred elsewhere. Stop trying to degrade his accomplishments because he served on the wrong side.
Most likely he had a university degree, was than drafted and qualified for the marine academy.
It's crazy just how much happened during WW2. Any given day of the years of war produced a year of stories.
And we'll never know everything that happened, either
@@Julianna.Domina never. But I do feel like... Well... We're the same as they were. times were different, things were different. But we felt the same and we enjoyed other humans the same. I feel like its in us. I can't describe the feeling. Perhaps in 200 years we won't need to not know anything every again.
Indeed....
Sometimes I just can't fathom some of the statistics of ww2, some of the battles would have been all out hell, the film footage doesn't show the actual combat.
@@laurencebooker3789 True, never thought of that. There are anomalies in what we see. Same with Ukraine. We're just not seeing the level of combat they claim is happening.
You always produce the most fascinating content, and you present it in such a way that it is both academic and entertaining.
HUH
@@5kyEye D! K!
*DONKEY KONG*
D! K!
*DONKEY KONG IS HERE*
HUHH
No joke, as it is for many Englishmen, the accent is a psychological bridge for his listeners between Mark’s credibility as a historian and the engaging quality of his content. There’s a lot of research to support this.
You some up perfectly what we all think and feel about Mark's work.
One of my friends who was in Luftwaffe ground forces was in a small convoy of three ships out of Liepaja which he said was in flames, when he was evacuated. One ship was sunk and he said it was horrible- farm animals, horses, people all in the freezing Baltic. He's 95 now and was just 17 when he experienced this horror- one of a number.
Reap what one sows, no disrespect intended.
@@suzyqualcast6269 your average person has no choice in the matter of the government
@@suzyqualcast6269 My friend is not German, he's Latvian and was illegally conscripted at the age of 16 into the German forces- the animals in the sea belonged to Latvian farmers. Of course, had he not been conscripted by the Germans in August 1944, he would have been conscripted into the Red Army, a few months later. At one point, Latvians conscripted into the German forces faced their younger brothers so to speak in the Red Army. The Red Army Latvians refused to engage their countrymen and they were sent to another part of the front and replaced by other Soviet units. Such is the tragedy of this particular war.
@@NickRatnieks thank you for the update. I'd like to pass on some of my best friends are Latvians, here in northern England. The best men I've ever met. I'd like to share that with their mothers as really, I've never met a British man like them. They should be proud I tell them that regularly.
@@suzyqualcast6269 and you just got burnnnnned. Mic drop @nickraneiks 😂
I had a friend who died about 4 years ago, who had an older brother named Walter Brauer who won the Knight's Cross in the second half of 1944 while fighting the Soviets in Poland. His two gun anti-tank crew knocked out around 12 tanks in a running battle with them that lasted for hours. You can look his name up on any list of Knight's Cross winners. My friend, Gunter Brauer, was intensely proud of this and kept a photograph of Walter on his night table beside his bed until his dying day.
neat
@@kikoredog In 1944 Gunter was forced into the Herman Goering division but Walter had a pass to visit home in Pomerania and then receive his Knight's Cross. He told Gunter "Don't volunteer for anything!" There are probably no end of older brothers who gave their youngest brother this exact same advice. It was the last time Gunter saw Walter, as Walter was killed in Poland in January, 1945 and Gunter was captured by the Soviets in Poland that same month.
@@ToddSauve Man i wish i knew about my great grandfathers history in ww2 though he fought against communism by signing himself up freely as a member of the 5th SS panzer Division(Wiking) from 1941-1945 and survived the war.
But i understand why he would not talk about it when we consider the "Army" he fought in. Shame really i would love to know what he did.
If he was in Wiking, he was hard. Be proud.
Warrior brave man
My grandfather as a member of Heeresgruppe Nord was on one of the last ships leaving from the Kurland-Pocket and arrieved safely Denmark.
I have learned so much by watching this channel. I recommend it to all my friends who have an interest in History based on fact and without prejudice. My background is in Science and I always made it a point to study History of technology for human achievement. There are certainly gray areas that are uncovered by studying war as well. Thank you in earnest Dr. Felton.
Many gray areas indeed....History is written by Victors....
@@al3x
The American Civil War begs to differ. The Confederate States' various Articles of Secession spelled out what they fighting for in plain English. It was slavery. Also they initiated hostilities raiding Federal armories. To this day way too many Americans ignore those basic facts and say the war was about taxes or something. They call it the "War of Northern Aggression" or something equally revisionist.
Me too. Great WWII history
I totally agree, the amount of information that’s squeezed in is brilliant. The speed of narrative is in stark contrast to a lot of TH-cam channels and I greatly enjoy it.
Dr. Felton is the greatest military historian ever………anything ww2 related he is your man…….he could host his own t.v. Game show called “jeperody of WAR”
In regards to the evacuation of the Eastern Baltic Ports there's one little known story about the owner of a small shipyard in Memel (today Klaipeda, Lithuania) named Paul Willy Lindenau who had his remaining workers make the yard's drydock as seaworthy as they could, had them and their families board it and then towed it first to Gotenhafen (Gdinya) and once that port was also no longer safe they continued to Kiel - on the same route as Wilhelm Gustloff. Once they arrived, Lindenau bought a small workshop in the District of Friedrichsort, anchored his dock nearby and restarted his business almost immediately, first building and repairing industrial machines to rebuild the local industries before returning to ship building in 1952.
After Lindenau's death, operations were continued by his son until he too died in 2007. Since then, the shipyard has met some rough waters and switched owners multiple times.
Maybe that's also a story for Dr. Felton to look into :)
Fascinating story! Even after all these decades there is still something new to learn about those times.
You can never know it all. We try to but I bet like me you forget a film after a year or three.
Sounds like a well-deserved award.
The best history channel on youtube, hands down. I'm fascinated with 1945 as still there are a lot of unresolved mysteries. Would love to see something about Project Riese one day.
Always look forward to anything from Dr. Mark Felton.
My grandfather served on a minesweeper and received that minesweeper war badge as well. Never knew for what he got it for. Thanks a lot for teaching me about it. I still got that medal. 3:51
Maybe good for impressing girls?
does he still have it probably quite valuable/
Eric Braeden is a German actor who as a small boy survived the sinking of MV Wilhelm Gustloff. Interestingly in the 90s he was cast as John Jacob Astor in James Cameron's Titanic.
He also played the German Army officer pursuing The Rat Patrol.
Patton and Churchill were both correct in their assessment of what the Soviets would do if they got control of Eastern Europe. This Naval Officer deserved this commendation for trying to save so many from the clutches of the Red Peril.
Very interesting. I personally didnt know that the german navy was able to operate after the german surrender in 1945. Thanks for the information.
Same with the army. They stayed in positions of police, local government function and military security for 2 years after the surrender.
@@steveconkey7362 Some units yes, Dr. Felton did a video on that subject.
I think they were the last branch to still have successes too. They were still sinking allied transports that last week of the war too.
Was the SS also operating?
Thank yoi for mentioning Gustloff, wreck lays down not far from my home and its treated as war grave. You should also mention a third liner (apart of Gustloff and Steuben), MV Goya - almost 6500 souls.
Both Gustloff and Steuben were sunk by the same submarine, S-13 (Capt. Marinesko)
Mark: You're content never ceases to amaze me. There's always one more good story to tell. I'm surprised by the huge amount of old photos and film you present. I imagine that the Germans had a photographer and film camera operator everywhere the armed forces went.
They really did..
@@Jreb1865 Duh, so did the Americans, British and Japanese.
@@AudieHolland f.. u..
@@Jreb1865 What, you never heard of George Stevens and his Hollywood irregulars?
@@AudieHollandf u
For a tainted military, if there is a man like this in it, there is hope. Thank you Mark for telling us these unknown people, good and evil
There were lots of good and bad men caught up in the war. On all sides there were saints and sinners.
It's good to hear about the saints of war and hear that they received a commendation. My great-aunt was a nurse 'Rote Kreuz Schwester' in WW2 (@Kiel) and she cared for and helped save many lives. Strange that nurses and doctors don't get awards like these.
Dr Felton, another tour d’force from you. Whilst I wish I had you as my history teacher at school (I had a great one) you are my history teacher today, for which I am eternally grateful. Keep up the research and subsequent communication please.
As an ex-British soldier who has been on active service and served in West Germany from 1972 to 1976,I would happily have had a drink with this brave man who thoroughly deserved his award and his promotions from ordinary seaman to Oberleutnant.
My grandfather was from the region and was "drafted" into the Kriegsmarine late war at the age of 16. He was stationed at Hel and got away in the last days from that area. He returned some years after the war back and many years later I was raised at the peninsula. He didnt talk alot about the events that happened there, only that many people died on the peninsula waiting for the ships to take them away.
Dude earned his cross, legit in my book.
Another excellent informative video. Thanks Dr. Felton for highlighting this often overlooked part of WW2.
My fathers family were from Stettin (Pomerania), and were living in Konigsberg when the war broke out. They were quite wealthy, with a shipping line that carried Goods and passengers world wide. There are some items donated by my fathers uncle at the maritime museum on Rottnest Island (Perth Australia).
They essentially lost everything. No doubt their last ships were used (and lost) in the evacuations. Their homes were also lost forever, they made their way out on foot, and today their descendants live in Saarbrucken. My father was born in South West Africa (former German colony - administered by South Africa) in 1944.
Thanks!
Love what you do Dr. Felton. Thanks for the interesting content!
A well deserved award, acts like these during the horrors of war always stir my heart. A glimmer of light in all the darkness, actions of heroism taken to save lives not take them.
As always a nice timely break to watch a Mark Felton world war11 video if the Knights cross
Thank you for sharing these lesser-known stories of the war, you are without peer!
Dr. Felton thanks for your videos. I was wondering if you've ever considered doing a video on the Canadian Halifax bomber? One was discovered some years ago largely intact in a Norwegian fjord after being downed. It's now restored on display in the RCAF museum Trenton Ontario. One of only two restored Halifax in the world
Does anyone else watching absolutely love the intro music? It never gets old to me.
Dr. Felton, others have said it, but it is so very true. YOU ARE the “History Channel!”
@𝖶𝗁𝖺𝗍𝗌'𝖠𝗉𝗉 𝗆𝖾👉+𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎𝟖𝟗𝟗𝟎𝟕𝟔𝟗 Really enjoy your videos Dr. Felton! Down to earth with just the right touch of humor. For me your classic to date is still the video about the East German “Boy Scouts” training with the miniature Panzers. The march music really put it over the top!
Perhaps “Joan of Arc” bares some explanation. As the Patron Saint of Soldiers, I honor her. She was with me during some tough times over Iraq flying an A-10.
My dad and his mum got out of Danzig on an old Swedish ferry loaded with furs. It could not keep up with their escorted convoy and was later overtaken by another convoy, but managed to make it safely to Kiel. His dad followed sometime later on one ofnthe last Kriegsmarine ships to make it out of Danzig.
Such a fascinating story, and one I had not been aware of. He certainly deserved the award.
Mark
I hope someday you can put together a 2 Hr special.
Just love all your episodes and appreciate the effort and detail you put into them..
Thanks
Fantastic as always. Yet another piece of WW2 history that I did not know about even though I’ve been studying the subject for 20 years now. Another topic that I see covered very little and that I think would make a great video would be that of USS Wolverine and USS Sable, makeshift aircraft carriers on the Great Lakes during WW2.
Thank you Dr. Felton for telling us about a piece of history that many don't know of
I’m so happy that you also show that kind of story’s from the German side.
Yet again, you shed light on a lesser known aspect of the conflict.... Thank-you!
My father badly hurt his foot and had to go into a military hospital. He was a German leutnant serving on a mine sweeper. While he was treated all his fellow soldiers died on sea, their ship colliding with mines.
Professor Felton, you are the premier historian of the net, and beyond.
Thank you 😊.
Ref Red Army atrocities: I read an extract from a German woman whose home town was over-run in 1945. She said that the front-line troops that took her town behaved surprisingly well (given what she'd been told). They were no angels - they stole food as a matter of course - but did retain a measure of humanity.
The real atrocities started when the front-line troops moved on, and the town fell victim to second-echelon occupying forces.
NKVD- Officers, with noses as big as the megaphones they carried.
@@frankcoala5890 Also many mongols and other Asiatic soldiers committed the rapes.
@@RavusNox-z5i After being "spiritually instructed" by Ilja Ehrenburg✡.
Maybe NKVD?
@@frankcoala5890 highly based
Hi from sunny Scotland, I'm a retired railway signalman and I enjoy watching your videos, I have been to Chester once some years ago, British Rail used to run excursions and mystery tours and I went on one with my brother from Glasgow to Chester, we had a nice time there and on the way back we could hear girls voices in the next compartment, it was the seventies and old compartment stock, they were flicking the light switches off and on and we could hear that they were English, shortly two teenage girls appeared at our compartment asking, is this train going to Warrington, no I said first stop is Glasgow and they had a look of panic I suggested they speak to the guard and that's what they did, the train made a special stop for them to get back to Warrington, sadly the railway stopped doing these trips.
Another true story the history books should include. Thank you Dr. Felton. 😎
Professor Felton your channel is one of my favorites. You bring history alive. The only thing I have to say negatively is about the title. Military awards of this caliber are not “won” they are earned. Thank You Sir for keeping history alive and the research you do to bring it to the masses. Semper Fidelis SSgt Jim Brown.
Superb little golden nugget about a man who did earn his cross for the right reasons ,saving lives
Another tremendously informative segment , thank you Dr. Felton
The bravery of the German soldiers fighting the red army during the evacuation has gotten little notice in the west. Some units did fight to the last man rather than surrender. The actions of these men enabled many German civilians to escape into the freedom of the nascent West Germany.
Freedom tastes a bit salty rn. Ofcourse west germany was so free and so independent from the US, while east germany was a puppet of USSR)))))
Murdering 10-20 millions of soviet civilians by zonder commandos and einzatsgrupps has also gotten little notice in the west
It has gotten little notice because the media is held by commies.
@@RavusNox-z5i still held by commies? Do you mean by leftists or only by communists? Can you name media sources held by communists?
They fought fortheir own asses.
both sides are criminals
This was a super interesting one Dr. Felton. I love these stories from WW11 that you dig up.
This song is iconic with war and war hero’s for me like what a tune it literally couldn’t be a better song that you use Marc thanks for the video
What is this music called?
Very interesting and entertaining..best of the best as always. Ty Mark Felton
Mark. I clicked again. Thank you.
Absolutely fascinating, Dr. Felton. Thank you.
WELL DONE Dr FELTON THIS A NICE ONE GREAT JOB .
Your research and attention to detail is top notch!
The evacuation of Dunkirk came to mind before it was mentioned however validated my understanding.
Another excellent example of research and caring about what you do. Well done.
I am so thrilled to know about this operation!! This is so underrated, they evacuated way more than what British did in Dunkirk and that too without naval or arial superiority , almost when they were on their knees.
Thank you Doctor Felton, another great story!
Every video is well documented professionally. I'm fascinated by world War 2 history any thing base on military ...watching from
JAMAICA 🇯🇲 well done mark👍🏿
Give me a heart Mr Mark Felton, love your channel 😁
Dr Felton you make my day better with your content . Thank you .
If I'm not mistaken, Guy Sajer in his book, "The Forgotten Soldier", speaks of an operation like this from a city he called Memel.
Yes i first read that book aged 14. Read it again in my 50s. Memel was a German majority city in Lithuania. It became part of Germany in 1939. Now part of Lithuania again. Was very heavy fighting there in 1945.
I very much enjoyed reading "Forgotten Solider".
Memel ist called Klaipėda today. It is the most important port of Lithuania now.
Reading it now and just finished that chapter horrific part of the book
I read that book when I got out of the army. Back in the 90s I heard it was required reading for the cadets at West Point.
As always, brilliant and insightful. Well done Sir.
You produce fantastic content Mark! your stuff is always well-researched and awesome quality! However if I were to critique one thing about your channel it would be the lack of WW1 and before-WW1 Related content. I feel like the second world war is a fenomenal subject and one could discuss it for years! but it is extremely talked about compared the first world war, which is just as interesting if not more, that's my opinion . Nonetheless fantastic video! and thanks for the knowledge mark! Keep it up mark!
Excellent video ! As ever a superb insight into some little known , interesting history . Thank Mark
Feller, and no doubt countless others deserved to be recognised. The humanitarian work was of a brilliant nature, and I suspect Warzecha knew he wouldn’t get recognised so broke convention and gave him the Iron Cross in recognition.
The History Channel would drag this out for an hour, advert, recap on what was just shown followed by another ad break. 😂
Great channel. 👍
Fark Melton back at it again with a banger
Indeed! Outstanding video, always! Thank you Dr Felton!
One day Mark Felton will just make a video saying "well ive literally covered every single event of ww2, thanks for watching"
Great story Mark! Thank you for your research and high quality ups!
You should do one about the liner cap arcona from Nazi titanic. One of the most disturbing incidents during the war. More people died on that ship than the real titanic. A story that people need to hear.
That photo is powerful and shows two soldiers not only allies but brothers in arms...each looks in the eyes of the other and understands the pain the other went through to get to that meeting point.
Another brilliant story !
Great episode…..thank you Mr F.
Thanks Mr felton for another excellent video!
Amazing videos I’ve watched all of them to learn more about WW2. My only critique is the video title. Medals are earned and you’re a recipient. They aren’t won you’re not a winner it’s not a competition.
I have to pick words for video titles that are catchy to appeal to the widest audience. I am perfectly aware of the linguistic distinction.
Awarded rather than won should have been the title!
@@MarkFeltonProductions absolutely understood. keep up the amazing work
Thank you so much for this fascinating and inspiring video
This is what a true hero looks like. True knowledge is knowing not when to take a life, but when to spare one.
Thank you for always giving my old brain something to think about.
Excellent channel.
Bit of an off-topic question, but what is the music you use for your intro Mark?
It's public domain, you hear it a lot on other video services. TH-cam has a whole area for free music to use on videos.
redemption's last chance by elijah robert
Cheers for the replies folks 👍👍
again.Mark.. a most beautiful researched and completely fascinating true story..
Thanks for the video.
I would think that the allies would allow German minesweepers to continue to operate even after the surrender. Once the war was over, getting rid of the mines would be important to rebuilding a peacetime world.
They did. Some where forced some were volunteers.
The British occupiers took over some of the German minesweepers along with the crew and thus founded the "German Mine Sweeping Association" (GMSA). By 1948, these boats cleared the entire Baltic Sea and North Sea from mines. My father was initially supposed to be there, but was sent by the British to the British waterway police in Kiel because a diesel engineer was needed there.
Admiral Doernitz , staff & personnel did what they could, in the most dire circumstances during Operation Hannibal. A fascinating part of history, not much recognized. Thank you Dr. Felton .
Its interesting how with the British in control of northern Germany and Denmark from may-june 45 they seemed to let the German naval command exist and carry on this evacuation operation.
It is amazing to me how we are constantly taught that the sinking of the Lusitania was so awful, yet you never hear a peep about ~5,000 civilians killed in a ship in 1945.
9 thou went down on WG.
Another great episode, thank you for sharing it.
The amazing stories of duty and gallantry that have nothing to do with blowing things up.
Awesome channel and stories with lots of great information...
Hi love your channel and look forward to your videos . I have a question hopefully you or someone else may be able to help me with. I have in my collection a Iron Cross from 1939, it's the type that pins to your tunic . My Uncle brought it back from WW2. I believe he got it somewhere on the Battle field I believe. I have always wondered who owned it. Is there anyway to find out who the medal actually belonged to? Just wondering if there are any online resources or if anyone knew of a way of finding out this info? Thanks you.
They are not individually marked - all you will be able to find out is the maker.
@@MarkFeltonProductions Thank you.
Thanks for posting Dr Felton 👌
My wife says I must have watched anything that happened in WW2 at least twice.
Almost 3,000 views in 12 minutes. Nuts. Great work!
I guess the Germans did have their own Dunkirk although theirs included German civilians. Excellent work yet again by Dr. Felton!
Just as THE Dunkirk involved British civilians...
@@suzyqualcast6269 for the rescue yes, not the evacuation.