Wongus Blongus the years from 1909 to 1962 need to really be researched and covered about this time in history.There is SO much worldwide information during this time that is glossed over it is unimaginable.
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 it sucks but there is just not enough time to teach kids all of recorded history in any real detail. and not many kids care.....
Yes it is, you just have to go to college, take history classes and specifically focus on WW2. There's simply too much knowledge for one year or even several on WW2 alone.
Suprised you dont know nothing about this then, thought everyone knew this. Who you think were mostly generals and officers in west german armed forced after this?
With everything that happened from 1931(the invasion of Manchuria by Japan), until 1989/90-93(the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany, and the Freedom of Poland) when the war finally finished, there’s so many things that you could read about(and each story has at least two sides to it), that you would be lucky to be able to read about more than a few percent of the stories, about what happened............. And anyone who pretends that they know it all(especially if they try to belittle your honesty), is obviously a childish and contemptible tit, and is only worth ignoring, because even Dr Mark Felton wouldn’t make such a stupid broadly hinted at pretentious claim............. Keep on keeping on, especially when you are learning new things, because that’s a good thing, with such a wide and varied subject like the Second World War.............
@@norrinradd3549 I agree. Wel said. Some comments are idiotic. But maybe they are idiots looking for the truth. They just need time. Like a seedling! lol
I can't tell you how much I appreciate these history lesson videos! I am the son of a WW2 veteran who fought in North Africa. My father never would talk about the war much until he got older and his health started to decline. When he needed medical treatment he always used the Veterans Hospital and enjoyed talking to the other WW2 vets. It was like he was in his element there. He passed away in 1999.
he defeated the wrong enemy, that's why he was reluctant to talk about it. deep down inside he knew him and his buddies made a huge mistake. now a great civilization is lost
Though it may sound strange, this was not all that unusual. After the Japanese surrender, the British in Burma, without enough troops to maintain order, employed squads of armed Japanese troops under the command of a British NCO for security/police duties. The Japanese soldiers, whatever else they may have been, were highly disciplined, so when they received orders from their superiors to surrender and cooperate, they did exactly that. Truth really can be stranger than fiction.
That is true. My Granddad was in the Dutch colonial Army in Indonesia right after WW2 ended. This army had been hastily put together after Japan's defeat because it was feared that the Indonesians nationalists would seize power during since there was no effective government for a while. Almost immediately after the surrender, the Nationalists had started attacking the Dutch and loyal Indonesian civilian population. The ragtag army consisted of Dutch troops that had been shipped from the home country, Dutch colonial troops that had only just been liberated from Japanese POW camps, British army and navy units and surrendered Japanese units. Hundreds of Japanese troops were killed in action in 1945 and even 1946 protecting these civilians from the Indonesian nationalists. They were indeed highly disciplined and redeemed themselves by their service.
@@lucas82 Nothing to be proud of son ... Netherlands was a loser country and a rapid NAzi and Hitler worshiping country ... just goes to show the attitude of the Allies .... bringing *Repression* and *Slavery* back to the rest of the World after WW2 ...
@@Hero.Lone-Wolf The local nationalists were usually far worse to any member of the local population not part of their own group (all christians, molukkans, etc. in the new 'Indonesia' for instance were targets for the nationalists in terror campaign) or in some of the more extreme nationalist groups, they used slavery yes. The allies on the other hand did not, as they'd done away with that over a century previous for most of them, and were usually the ones to locally stop the practice when colonizing, as the locals usually kept it around for cultural reason long after the economic benefits had waned.
@@wouterkessel4852 Its their country not yours ... Dutch/French/Americans were had no problems in century of massacres and slavery to those very people that they ruled ... your are merely pointing fingers at others to justify your own behaviors ..
I had a friend who had been in the luftwaffe. After he was captured (end of war) and was a pow, it became known that he spoke pretty good English. He was then hired to help the allies root out violent roving gangs of displaced persons. They gave him a machine gun which is pretty crazy! Actually there is a book about him called "Donkey Galloping out of Hell." He had an amazing life. RIP Jack.
Your recollection goes a long way to prove the futility of war let alone the danger of extreme ideologies may it be left or right ,thank you for sharing.
this explains that bit in band of brothers where theyre manning a checkpoint after the surrender with a US soldier and the feldgendarmerie guy that survived two world wars
And thats a shame isn't it? Honestly think that if Mark's videos were required viewing, so many kids would be more interested in History. The videos are not too long, they have great footage as a visual, snf they are interesting to everyone
@@jeremy28135 Absolutely agree! Very sad that this has been buried from the sanitized historical record just because of political convenience. And yeah, Dr. Felton's videos are truly sublime, learn much from then and they're very interesting!
@@punishedvenomsnake716 No it hasn't. If you're talking about High School history, there's simply too much information for any class to cover in this level of detail.
Yet this was/is commonly known by military history buffs. Nothing was buried as some are suggesting. Text books did not cover it because they have limited space.
Not every German soilder was a Nazi. To me those who volunteered to help rebuild their country shows alot the world should look at and learn from now. Thanks for the videos, Keep up the great work
That's the great irony ,the large majority of Germans were very law abiding citizens a large amount of allied soldiers preferred them to the French etc.
The Germans never wanted war with the British and French! Their focus was on defeating Communism! But the British and French declared war on Germany (not vice-versa). So basically, what the German army was doing after the war, they could have been doing 5 years earlier! The Western Allies could have prevented millions of causalities by Allying with the Germans to destroy the Reds!
I really appreciate your work and your videos, Prof. Felton. I am german and I have served in the U.S. Army (as a 13B) for a short period of time and did 12 years in the German Bundeswehr. This particular video is just another example of your ability to cover historical topics and issues, which one never even hears of in the mainstream media, in a truly inspiring manner. Keep it up, Sir!
I would be a lot more impressed if he were not so busy censoring posts, and deleting posts that provide evidence that draws doubts against his own posts.
This video gives the impression that the German troops after unconditional surrender were treated not just fair but even friendly. Just some tenthousands were. But hunderdthousands died in western war prisoner camps. They even were not allowed to have barracks or additional food the local population brought to the Prisoner camps. They were not recognized POWs by Eisenhower and therefore not under protection of the international law. Survivors from Remagen or Bretzenheim told how the
@@rudolfkraffzick642 These camps were known as "Eisenhauer Camps". It is estimated that around 1.5 million German POW's died from starvation and exposure in these camps. This is in addition to the unknown number who were shipped to Russia as slave labor, and never seen again. This was with the agreement and complicity of the Allies, in accordance with the Yalta agreement.
Quite impressive. As a German, I previously never heard about the late 1946 surrender of last units from the Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe. Thank you for all your videos, they're always so well researched, unpolitical and historically interesting.
Outstanding history, Mark! My mother, a Dutch citizen, Recoiled at the sight of armed German troops and confronted my father (US Army Air Forces) over it. This video confirms her memories unlike any other history available. My humble thanks.
The coalition in the Iraq War needed to remember this part of history after invading Iraq. The Iraqi surrender was complete but disordered, so soldiers simply left their weapons in unguarded piles at depots and bases, or deserted and went home with their guns. The coalition could've kept some disarmed or lightly armed Iraqi divisions intact to guard bases, prevent looting, clear mines, repair damage, and keep order in general. It could've even formed a starting point for the post-Saddam Iraqi military. Or just remembered Vietnam and not invaded in the first place.
I heard they did have some former Iraqi army working with the US. Most of the current Iraqi army today were the same guys during the invasion. And in terms of Vietnam, we didn't "invade" the north so I don't know what you're on about with that one.
Yes. A big failure on the part of Coalition planners. They immediately disbanded the Iraqi military, and stopped all their pay. So, most just went home, with some taking weapons etc. to sell on the Black Market for food for themselves and their families.
My friend's dad was an Army Scout across France and into Germany. He crossed the Ramagen Bridge and watched Patton cross from his OP. At begging of occupation he said that his HQ employed German messengers in their war time uniforms and driving Opel Cars.
Tim McCoy wife's account. My late father in law was at Remagen too Third tank across . He witnessed Hitler throwing everything rockets,bomb, jets at the bridge even V-2s...
@@smoul4556 - WWII German and Italian POWs were brought here in N W Ohio USA and allowed to work on our farms owned by Americans of German ancestry and have good food and Italian POWs went to dances here and met American girls of Italian/Sicilian ancestry and later married them...
My grandfather was a pilot in the Luftwaffe, after the surrender the Americans offered him a to work for them as a transport pilot in the Pazifik Theater.
Needed some support because was bored but this! THIS MAKES ME HAPPY AND EXCITED JUST BECAUSE I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL MAN! everytime you post i yell with joy!
The lucky ones like my uncle were in post war Berlin with millions of young man less females that were starving. Two cigarettes and you got her for the night. Cigarettes and canned goods was like currency and the women throw themselves at the Americans.
@@willchill1956 Thats lucky? Taking advantage of wretched beaten people who are just trying to survive? I hope that I wouldnt have been tempted to behave like that.Some example we would be setting for the young people. We ruined Germany.Its nothing but the 51st state now Beautiful picturesque towns are defiled with Americana , like Maconalds and Pizza Hut.The German Cultutre has been destroyed. But we are getting payback now.
Great historical research Mark! I did a modern history degree when I was young. The first thing one of the lecturers said was forget everything you learned in high school text books. He added that you will learn to research, and then research some more. Your research is of a high calibre and much appreciated. The level of detail you have presented shows that the objective reality was much more complicated that that taught to school children. Well done.
Stay safe down there, we in California just now getting over the first round of fires and bad air! Mark Felton is a treasure of entertainment and knowledge.
I wonder how this compares to how the Soviets managed former German armed forces in their zone / Eastern Germany. I suspect it was quite different. The pragmatic approach of the western allies is a big reason why West Germany recovered so quickly as compared to East Germany.
Are you ignoring the decimation of the Soviet population during the war? Did you expect the Soviets to share their expertise & meagre rations with "the enemy"?
"Ok guys, either you can go sit in camps for a few years or you can choose to follow US commanders and help to rebuild your country after 6 years of war." I think it would've been an easy choice for most.
Being 83 I its amazing I still get shivers watching Jerry go by. they are imposing to look at it but it was all hype. All I know for friends who fought them are long since departed. A sniper took out my best friend with a round to his face right in front of me and i still wake some nights crying at his memory. Canada never lost a War and only one other country can boats that...but I'm not bragging cause I feel like I lost a lot. Good footage....makes the hair on my neck stand even to this day. I will subscribe because so few channels promote true historic events that everyone has forgotten about but your forages on much like I did in battle. Cancer has me now and I have not much time left but thank you Mark Felton for what you do...its more than you know. Peace.
Thanks for your service. My dad fought in WWI, nine battle stars, 5 medal clasps. Chateau Thierry, Belleau Wood, Soissons, Meuse Argonne, Second Argonne, Mont Blanc.....Can't remember the rest. He was sixteen when he arrived in France, 1917.
I’m sorry to inform you but Canada was most complicit with Nazism. The Ukranian SS found a welcoming home in Canada after the war even though they were war criminals. Then we had the grotesque example of the Canadian parl giving a standing ovation to a Nazi ON ThE GROunds he was a Nazi. Kneel and pray for forgiveness.
@@williswalshe4003 What's your point? I made this comment 4 years ago. I have beat cancer and could care less if you think Canada is a Nazi Sympathiser country. Its not Canada but the Liberals who admire the Nazi Party if anything. You aren't saying anything everyone knows already. I have spoken.
Huh, never thought I'd see my own village in this video! (Baambrugge, Netherlands.) 0:00 - 0:13 and 0:36 - 0:50 My dad used to own that white building at 0:36, the one on the right, it was (and still is under new ownership) a snackbar (chips shop) (Not in this time period though, in the near future). Fun fact, that building to the far right used to be a shop where u could buy rugs etc. Heared a story from my dad that there used to live nearly 8 people in that building and still have pictures of this myself. (From the 60's+)
When I was growing up on US military bases in Japan, most Japanese male civilian employees were ex soldiers. In 1974 my supervisor at my summer job was a ex IJN pilot. He was happy Japan had lost since he had been slated for kamikaze duty.
@@theultimategamer8537 Not sure. Most kamikaze pilots were conscripted out of universities, only med students were exempt. Sakuma-san, my supervisor, was such a jovial guy I can't imagine he would volunteer.
My uncle was captured at Al emayne North Africa and transferred to Canada. When the war finished he was kept on to work on farms in England Leicestershire where he met a English girl and later they married he stayed in Britain.
Also, WWII German and Italian POWs were brought here in N W Ohio USA and allowed to work on our farms owned by Americans of German ancestry and have good food and Italian POWs went to dances here and met American girls of Italian/Sicilian ancestry and later married them... stayed here...
The more of Mark's videos I watch the more I realize how little I know about WW2. For almost 20 years I read about WW2 and other conflicts almost exclusively. How could I of missed so much G2? Again it behooves me to thank you sir. Perhaps it's time I start reading again starting with Mark's books.
Great content, I recall in 1988 at RAF wildenrath we had German labour mainly working in the forest with their own accommodation and own GSO canteen which we all went to on a regular basis , massive hall loads of beer and food family orientated, a real family place. Some of these guys were 70 to 80yrs old, when working some still wore old german uniform. It struck home one day when I entered their home/acommodation on an official basis to see regimental paintings and wall art, they were still proud and they were still respected but forgotten, they were all single old guys seeing out their lives. I respectfully remember them.
I wish i could go back to school if you were a history teacher there haha. I love your vids and the quality, information and research done never ceases to amaze me.
I tell people about this channel all the time. The amount of stories probably untold until now is staggering. The mainstream documentary makers don't give stories like these a second look. We'll done Mark, great work sir!
I'm reminded of the final episode of _Band of Brothers_ where Tom Hardy's character is working a road checkpoint with a Feldgendarmerie (I believe) Hauptfeldwebel.
@Pedro Kantor - They only lost because the whole freakin' world ganged up on them. Easy to say things about the World War, Part 2. It hasn't really been taught to the present generation. It has been "explained" by propaganda for over 75 years. There's still some of those men alive, but they're all mostly at rest, and so they don't have to worry about what their feckless kids are doing to the world. Fortune passes everywhere.
@@DavidSmith-ss1cg Even if they were to supposedly fight only the Soviets, they would still lose. By June 1944, the Soviets were already on their way to Berlin, D-Day just making that trip faster. So no, Germany would have lost either way.
And this here is absolutely completely new to me. I am in my 20s from Michigan. I am looking to possibly move to Germany, as I am partially German. I love understanding as much about its history and western Europe as possible from this time period. This has all interested me so much, but I’ve been that way since I was 10 to 12 or so. Thank you. This was another cool one.
If you know German, I would recommend 'Deutsche Opfer' by Franz Seidler. It covers a lot about German civilians and soldiers after the war. And as for English books, James Bacque has some good ones, like Other Losses and Crimes and Mercies.
On a related note, Michigan (and plenty of other states) had German POW camps during WW2. The prisoners were, in accordance with the Geneva Convention, given the same living standards as our own soldiers. They were used for farm labor, and were paid a small wage (in credits) that they could use for cigarettes/etc.
However, yes, I was also familiar with how they touched on this with the ending of Band of Brothers at the intersection directing traffic, doing these duties you speak of. I remember the German soldier saying, "This is the end of my second war."
You might want to visit Germany first before you decide to move there. Many of the things you’re accustomed to in America might not exist or be quite different than what you’re used to.
Kyle Donahue hey man. That I am aware of and I have been there. I was there for almost 2 weeks in multiple cities in 2017 in the summer. I’m also fluent in the virtually fluent language as well. I know what you are saying is always a good thing to consider, and that I understand. And I don’t mean just casually fluent, like people throwing around that word, but rather I mean I can understand and speak the language. I love the language and understand the culture decently, as I’ve studied it a lot and know there are always positives and negatives and some different bureaucracy, and social virtues etc.
Mark, THANK YOU so much. I have become a fan. I write this brief note: I am pensioned and cannot afford to be a patron for you. I am so sorry. I urge those that can, please support Mr. Felton's productions. Mr. Felton delivers a remarkable and sincere view of the great war. THANK YOU again, Mr Felton.
In 1945 my Dad was a Squadron Leader in the RAF out in the Far East. After the Japanese surrender the RAF used some Japanese pilots to fly transports, the joke being that they were possibly Kamikaze. Anyway, he survived every trip.
I am German. From my perspective, the british and american Armys were good / fair winners. They helped us a lot to rebuild. Of course we had to pay repairs, war crimes happened on every side. But at the end, you can get worse enemies those days. They reached out their hands, after all those killing.
"They helped us a lot to rebuild." Yeah, the Marshall plan. Initially they intended to completely destroy the German economy so that "it could never wage war again" but then they realized Europe needed Germany industry in order to be rebuilt, so the Marshall plan was conceived (with terms).
There's a scene in one of the last episodes of Band of Brothers in which one of the brothers has conversation with a member of the Feldgendarmerie while they direct traffic, assist a wounded soldier and respond to a traffic accident. The German is wearing that gorget and I remember wondering what the significance of the emblem was. Now I know
I was thinking to the very same scene in Band of Brothers... ;-) the german soldier (very relaxed...) explains his war stories to a G.I... now I know the story behind this scene. Woul be interesting to know if the screenplayers wrote the scene referring to the story explained by Mark Felton or just referring to war memeories... probably both
This is the gritty details you would wonder about but never know. Now we do! Sir. your channel Is So invaluable.. I cant Thank You enough! absolutely Fascinating
I've been fascinated by History since I can remember and love these videos. My duty station in the Army was in Furth, Germany just outside Nuremberg. Thank you for these videos!
I knew Germans were used as Allied Auxiliaries in Occupied Germany. However I had no idea some of them were also used in other countries to assist local authorities in dealing with demobilizing former German occupation forces. Comes off as a surprise for sure.
I love WW2 military history and was brought up on war stories from my dad and uncles who served during that time so I love Marks channels. I was lucky to have met many Normandy veterans as I was invited to photograph and video their get togethers and marches before the movement was disbanded and was enthralled by their stories, not of heroism but of comradeship. I am pretty well read on the subject but must say I always learn something new and different from Mark. He should be on the history channel as he is so different to the other historians that by and large are very similar to each other telling the same stories with the same film and photos over and over again.
I don't know in which camp my great-grandfather was but they released him in Schleswig-Holstein and my great-grandmother, my grandmother and thier siblings went to the city where he was released and well they stayed. My beloved grandmother died on the 19.03.2020 after nearly three years of illness. The funeral was on the 09.04.2020 it would have been her 83 birthday. Me and my grandmother... we were close. Thank you for your videos Mark.
Growing up in the sixties and seventies, I watched every war movie and documentary on World War Two, but never did any of them go into the detail that you have done. Some of this history was never mentioned, and most likely was intentionally left out on purpose, being that it has to do with the Axis powers, and I live in the U.S. Keep up the good work!
Fascinating: My father (who passed in 2019 at the age of 99) was a British Major in the post war reconstruction effort: the 'Control Commission'. He had some amazing stories of those days.
Fun fact: Kessel = Cauldron (like Kessel von Stalingrad = Stalingrad Cauldron) Ring = ring Kesselring = Cauldron ring So Kesselring is just happy not to die in a Kesselring.
Really interesting as always Mark. I particularly enjoy hearing about the immediate aftermath of the war. Often the history books stop at wars end in both theatres of war. I'd love to hear more about how the engineers were put to use after the war to rebuild and how the Allies planned (or didn't) for this.
Dude why are people paying so much money in taxes to pay for crap schools that don’t even get close to the production level of my boy Mark? Keep it up. My brain is nine times bigger thanx to you
During the planning stages for the invasion of Iraq, a proposal was put forth to have the Iraq Army Divisions contacted by Email, told to stand down, but patrol and protect oil wells and pipelines, and the US Army would pay the Iraqi troops back pay. It wasn't adopted.
The short answer is that the Iraqis aren’t Germans or for that matter Japanese. Although the Baath ideology on many streaks correspondent with the Nazi ideas their whole outlook and backwardness make it totally different.
@@kjeldhesselmann That is a cop out - if that were the case, then it was even more important to keep them employed and out of trouble under US leadership.
Mark, I really appreciate your videos. This was extremely interesting. A peculiar matter of trust. This speaks well of both the Germans and the western allies.
I can confirm that. My father, (1920-2006), an officer of the German Air Force and interned in the Koblenz Rhine meadow camp, told me exactly that: Everyone would have marched with the Americans against the Soviets. They had had enough of one dictatorship and would have been grateful, along with the Americans, to defeat the other monster Stalin together with the Allies.
The U S actually looked into the legality of offering German POWS the opportunity to fight in the Pacific. The idea was dropped because of too numerous legal obstacles. The US was expecting massive casualties during the planned invasion of Japan in November 1945.
I read about some of the various volunteer/conscript foreign SS units that held out in Berlin up to a month after the formal surrender. Most knew their fate if they surrendered and were shipped home to Russia, France, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway etc. So they just fought to the death on their terms. Why not right?
This is why this is one of my favorite channels . It tells history very few know, at least me. Unlike others who just repeat stories and hoping to get views
Man, I really hope teachers of today utilize resources like Mark's channel. I have learned so much here and have become quite interested in WW2 from this channel. I'd would have loved history with Mark as a teacher!
Brilliant insight as ever Mark - I remember reading that some German soldiers were also forced to clear minefields after the war. A Danish movie called Land of Mine, released in 2015, follows the story and is harrowing but brilliant. The allies claimed the Germans were “disarmed forces who had surrendered unconditionally” and were not POWs and therefore not afforded the protections afforded unto them as such under the Geneva Convention. That might make for a good episode too!
Yes, an interesting and sad story. There's a naval equivalent, the German Mine Sweeping Administration, another German uniformed service under British control, later a civilian agency.
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Not even a quarter of this Second World war history is covered in textbooks. Keep up the great work Mark!
Wongus Blongus the years from 1909 to 1962 need to really be researched and covered about this time in history.There is SO much worldwide information during this time that is glossed over it is unimaginable.
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 it sucks but there is just not enough time to teach kids all of recorded history in any real detail. and not many kids care.....
As they say, history is written by the victor...
Yes it is, you just have to go to college, take history classes and specifically focus on WW2. There's simply too much knowledge for one year or even several on WW2 alone.
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 I know, I wish I was able to cram everything I know about history into one book
I have spent the last 50 years reading about WWII yet you are always coming up with stories that I have never heard about before. Thank you!
Suprised you dont know nothing about this then, thought everyone knew this. Who you think were mostly generals and officers in west german armed forced after this?
@@AndyP998 lol
@@AndyP998
It was the same in the Soviet occupation zone ..
With everything that happened from 1931(the invasion of Manchuria by Japan), until 1989/90-93(the fall of the Berlin wall and the reunification of Germany, and the Freedom of Poland) when the war finally finished, there’s so many things that you could read about(and each story has at least two sides to it), that you would be lucky to be able to read about more than a few percent of the stories, about what happened.............
And anyone who pretends that they know it all(especially if they try to belittle your honesty), is obviously a childish and contemptible tit, and is only worth ignoring, because even Dr Mark Felton wouldn’t make such a stupid broadly hinted at pretentious claim.............
Keep on keeping on, especially when you are learning new things, because that’s a good thing, with such a wide and varied subject like the Second World War.............
@@norrinradd3549 I agree. Wel said. Some comments are idiotic. But maybe they are idiots looking for the truth. They just need time. Like a seedling! lol
I can't tell you how much I appreciate these history lesson videos! I am the son of a WW2 veteran who fought in North Africa. My father never would talk about the war much until he got older and his health started to decline. When he needed medical treatment he always used the Veterans Hospital and enjoyed talking to the other WW2 vets. It was like he was in his element there. He passed away in 1999.
may god rest his soul!
he defeated the wrong enemy, that's why he was reluctant to talk about it. deep down inside he knew him and his buddies made a huge mistake. now a great civilization is lost
Though it may sound strange, this was not all that unusual. After the Japanese surrender, the British in Burma, without enough troops to maintain order, employed squads of armed Japanese troops under the command of a British NCO for security/police duties. The Japanese soldiers, whatever else they may have been, were highly disciplined, so when they received orders from their superiors to surrender and cooperate, they did exactly that. Truth really can be stranger than fiction.
Yeah, seen it on one of Marks videos a little while ago. Pretty good.
That is true. My Granddad was in the Dutch colonial Army in Indonesia right after WW2 ended. This army had been hastily put together after Japan's defeat because it was feared that the Indonesians nationalists would seize power during since there was no effective government for a while. Almost immediately after the surrender, the Nationalists had started attacking the Dutch and loyal Indonesian civilian population. The ragtag army consisted of Dutch troops that had been shipped from the home country, Dutch colonial troops that had only just been liberated from Japanese POW camps, British army and navy units and surrendered Japanese units. Hundreds of Japanese troops were killed in action in 1945 and even 1946 protecting these civilians from the Indonesian nationalists. They were indeed highly disciplined and redeemed themselves by their service.
@@lucas82 Nothing to be proud of son ... Netherlands was a loser country and a rapid NAzi and Hitler worshiping country ... just goes to show the attitude of the Allies .... bringing *Repression* and *Slavery* back to the rest of the World after WW2 ...
@@Hero.Lone-Wolf The local nationalists were usually far worse to any member of the local population not part of their own group (all christians, molukkans, etc. in the new 'Indonesia' for instance were targets for the nationalists in terror campaign) or in some of the more extreme nationalist groups, they used slavery yes. The allies on the other hand did not, as they'd done away with that over a century previous for most of them, and were usually the ones to locally stop the practice when colonizing, as the locals usually kept it around for cultural reason long after the economic benefits had waned.
@@wouterkessel4852 Its their country not yours ... Dutch/French/Americans were had no problems in century of massacres and slavery to those very people that they ruled ... your are merely pointing fingers at others to justify your own behaviors ..
I had a friend who had been in the luftwaffe. After he was captured (end of war) and was a pow, it became known that he spoke pretty good English. He was then hired to help the allies root out violent roving gangs of displaced persons. They gave him a machine gun which is pretty crazy! Actually there is a book about him called "Donkey Galloping out of Hell." He had an amazing life. RIP Jack.
That's very interesting
Your recollection goes a long way to prove the futility of war let alone the danger of extreme ideologies may it be left or right ,thank you for sharing.
That'll be next on Dr Felton wartime history lesson.😜
Белые жалеют друг друга
wait what??? you're into the battle too??with your friend????but your face looks 20 years old???
this explains that bit in band of brothers where theyre manning a checkpoint after the surrender with a US soldier and the feldgendarmerie guy that survived two world wars
@Hans Ivan i know that HBO got the series on there
Hans Ivan you can also watch on amazon prime
I did remember seeing a german feldgendamerie at the last episode of Band of Brothers
Mr. Chuco Marines would disagree who did most of the fighting in the Pacific.
Mr. Chuco never said I didn’t believe it. What I said said was Marines would disagree.
You won't see this in most textbooks for sure. Cheers, Dr. Felton! Always look to learn more wit this channel
And thats a shame isn't it? Honestly think that if Mark's videos were required viewing, so many kids would be more interested in History. The videos are not too long, they have great footage as a visual, snf they are interesting to everyone
@@jeremy28135
Absolutely agree! Very sad that this has been buried from the sanitized historical record just because of political convenience.
And yeah, Dr. Felton's videos are truly sublime, learn much from then and they're very interesting!
@@punishedvenomsnake716 No it hasn't. If you're talking about High School history, there's simply too much information for any class to cover in this level of detail.
Why would you need to cover this much detail though?
Yet this was/is commonly known by military history buffs. Nothing was buried as some are suggesting. Text books did not cover it because they have limited space.
Dr Felton has returned from his time machine for some more very knowledgeable history! Well done !
Not every German soilder was a Nazi. To me those who volunteered to help rebuild their country shows alot the world should look at and learn from now. Thanks for the videos, Keep up the great work
That's the great irony ,the large majority of Germans were very law abiding citizens a large amount of allied soldiers preferred them to the French etc.
The Germans never wanted war with the British and French! Their focus was on defeating Communism! But the British and French declared war on Germany (not vice-versa). So basically, what the German army was doing after the war, they could have been doing 5 years earlier! The Western Allies could have prevented millions of causalities by Allying with the Germans to destroy the Reds!
I really appreciate your work and your videos, Prof. Felton. I am german and I have served in the U.S. Army (as a 13B) for a short period of time and did 12 years in the German Bundeswehr. This particular video is just another example of your ability to cover historical topics and issues, which one never even hears of in the mainstream media, in a truly inspiring manner. Keep it up, Sir!
Mark Felton strikes again!
I would be a lot more impressed if he were not so busy censoring posts, and deleting posts that provide evidence that draws doubts against his own posts.
This video gives the impression that the German troops after unconditional surrender were treated not just fair but even friendly. Just some tenthousands were.
But hunderdthousands died in western war prisoner camps. They even were not allowed to have barracks or additional food the local population brought to the
Prisoner camps. They were not recognized POWs by Eisenhower and therefore not under protection of the international law.
Survivors from Remagen or Bretzenheim told how the
@@rudolfkraffzick642 These camps were known as "Eisenhauer Camps".
It is estimated that around 1.5 million German POW's died from starvation and exposure in these camps.
This is in addition to the unknown number who were shipped to Russia as slave labor, and never seen again.
This was with the agreement and complicity of the Allies, in accordance with the Yalta agreement.
Quite impressive. As a German, I previously never heard about the late 1946 surrender of last units from the Wehrmacht or Luftwaffe. Thank you for all your videos, they're always so well researched, unpolitical and historically interesting.
Outstanding history, Mark! My mother, a Dutch citizen, Recoiled at the sight of armed German troops and confronted my father (US Army Air Forces) over it. This video confirms her memories unlike any other history available. My humble thanks.
The coalition in the Iraq War needed to remember this part of history after invading Iraq. The Iraqi surrender was complete but disordered, so soldiers simply left their weapons in unguarded piles at depots and bases, or deserted and went home with their guns. The coalition could've kept some disarmed or lightly armed Iraqi divisions intact to guard bases, prevent looting, clear mines, repair damage, and keep order in general. It could've even formed a starting point for the post-Saddam Iraqi military.
Or just remembered Vietnam and not invaded in the first place.
US foreign policy suffered massively due to anti-Commie purges in the State Department, usually of Asian born experts who understood Vietnam well...
Spot on. Allegedly, such advice was proffered during the planning stage, but ignored by those making the decisions.
I heard they did have some former Iraqi army working with the US. Most of the current Iraqi army today were the same guys during the invasion. And in terms of Vietnam, we didn't "invade" the north so I don't know what you're on about with that one.
Yes. A big failure on the part of Coalition planners. They immediately disbanded the Iraqi military, and stopped all their pay. So, most just went home, with some taking weapons etc. to sell on the Black Market for food for themselves and their families.
You can blame L. Paul Bremer for that one. Disbanding the Iraqi army was probably the largest mistake the provisional coalition authority made.
My friend's dad was an Army Scout across France and into Germany. He crossed the Ramagen Bridge and watched Patton cross from his OP. At begging of occupation he said that his HQ employed German messengers in their war time uniforms and driving Opel Cars.
Tim McCoy wife's account.
My late father in law was at Remagen too Third tank across . He witnessed Hitler throwing everything rockets,bomb, jets at the bridge even V-2s...
Patton want German still ready to fight communist.
Patton won't a cold war
@@smoul4556 - WWII German and Italian POWs were brought here in N W Ohio USA and allowed to work on our farms owned by Americans of German ancestry and have good food and Italian POWs went to dances here and met American girls of Italian/Sicilian ancestry and later married them...
@@smoul4556 Yes, I think you are right. That's what I heard from the British side.
Consequently, store arms rather than destroy.
My grandfather was a pilot in the Luftwaffe, after the surrender the Americans offered him a to work for them as a transport pilot in the Pazifik Theater.
Very interesting. My grandfather was on a ship in the Pacific, struck by Kamakaze plane. But the ship didn't sink.
Did he accept the offer?
Ja? Das icht gude!
Tell us more about your Grandfather in the war
@@Jack51971 u are a fake german
Needed some support because was bored but this! THIS MAKES ME HAPPY AND EXCITED JUST BECAUSE I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL MAN! everytime you post i yell with joy!
Imagine how lucky you'd feel to have survived a six year world war.
The lucky ones like my uncle were in post war Berlin with millions of young man less females that were starving. Two cigarettes and you got her for the night. Cigarettes and canned goods was like currency and the women throw themselves at the Americans.
@@willchill1956 call it humain abuse today
@@willchill1956 Thats lucky? Taking advantage of wretched beaten people who are just trying to survive? I hope that I wouldnt have been tempted to behave like that.Some example we would be setting for the young people. We ruined Germany.Its nothing but the 51st state now Beautiful picturesque towns are defiled with Americana , like Maconalds and Pizza Hut.The German Cultutre has been destroyed. But we are getting payback now.
@@willchill1956 Disgusting.
Most of the ones at the end probably weren’t the ones who were at the beginning
Great historical research Mark! I did a modern history degree when I was young. The first thing one of the lecturers said was forget everything you learned in high school text books. He added that you will learn to research, and then research some more. Your research is of a high calibre and much appreciated. The level of detail you have presented shows that the objective reality was much more complicated that that taught to school children. Well done.
Im in Grand Bay Alabama riding out the hurricane. What better way than to watch Mark Felton videos. Best channel on youtube.
Were in Panama City Beach Fl. getting tons of rain.... Internet play all day!!! LoL Our low lying beach/swamp roads are all starting to flood
@@extremerc9533 Yet your internet remains. That's some tough infrastructure.
Stay safe down there, we in California just now getting over the first round of fires and bad air! Mark Felton is a treasure of entertainment and knowledge.
Good luck dude.
Stay safe. Keep watch on the flooding levels.
I never understood the German MP being in the famous "Points" scene in Band of Brothers. Now I know! Thanks Dr. Felton!
France, France was the best!
I wonder how this compares to how the Soviets managed former German armed forces in their zone / Eastern Germany. I suspect it was quite different. The pragmatic approach of the western allies is a big reason why West Germany recovered so quickly as compared to East Germany.
The Soviets marched all German POWs it had back to Russia to use as slave labor. Most of them died there.
East Germany started its recovery in 1992
Are you ignoring the decimation of the Soviet population during the war? Did you expect the Soviets to share their expertise & meagre rations with "the enemy"?
@@insideoutsideupsidedown2218 Got that right comrade...jejejeje...
East Germoney hasn't recovered until today.
Dr. Felton, you cover so much fascinating but largely unrecognized ground. Thank you!
Let me introduce you to my "real" history teacher
Never stop learning! Mark is really good.
Behave, read 'other losses'. He didn't mention it, shows how good your teacher is.
Complete whitewash, don't mention Fred leuchter round here.
@@luke8329 wat
Your history teacher forgot to tell you about disarmed enemy forces.
So sad.
@@binnebesling4860 /
"Ok guys, either you can go sit in camps for a few years or you can choose to follow US commanders and help to rebuild your country after 6 years of war."
I think it would've been an easy choice for most.
It was an easy choice and PATTON was smart enough to see the wisdom!
"And earn some money doing it".
I’m sure they were just grateful the Russians didn’t capture them
Felton has talked those used to clear mines...not such an easy job...
"....and we'll pay and feed you."
Being 83 I its amazing I still get shivers watching Jerry go by. they are imposing to look at it but it was all hype. All I know for friends who fought them are long since departed. A sniper took out my best friend with a round to his face right in front of me and i still wake some nights crying at his memory. Canada never lost a War and only one other country can boats that...but I'm not bragging cause I feel like I lost a lot. Good footage....makes the hair on my neck stand even to this day. I will subscribe because so few channels promote true historic events that everyone has forgotten about but your forages on much like I did in battle. Cancer has me now and I have not much time left but thank you Mark Felton for what you do...its more than you know. Peace.
Thanks for your service. My dad fought in WWI, nine battle stars, 5 medal clasps. Chateau Thierry, Belleau Wood, Soissons, Meuse Argonne, Second Argonne, Mont Blanc.....Can't remember the rest. He was sixteen when he arrived in France, 1917.
''We defeated the wrong enemy'' -George S. Patton
I’m sorry to inform you but Canada was most complicit with Nazism. The Ukranian SS found a welcoming home in Canada after the war even though they were war criminals. Then we had the grotesque example of the Canadian parl giving a standing ovation to a Nazi ON ThE GROunds he was a Nazi. Kneel and pray for forgiveness.
@@williswalshe4003 What's your point? I made this comment 4 years ago. I have beat cancer and could care less if you think Canada is a Nazi Sympathiser country. Its not Canada but the Liberals who admire the Nazi Party if anything. You aren't saying anything everyone knows already. I have spoken.
@@williswalshe4003 you arent "informing" me or anyone else genius.
It’s only Tuesday and you’ve made my week already thank you Sir
It's Wednesday morning here! NSW Oz.
Can’t get enough of WWII stories! Thanks, Mark.
Huh, never thought I'd see my own village in this video! (Baambrugge, Netherlands.) 0:00 - 0:13 and 0:36 - 0:50 My dad used to own that white building at 0:36, the one on the right, it was (and still is under new ownership) a snackbar (chips shop) (Not in this time period though, in the near future). Fun fact, that building to the far right used to be a shop where u could buy rugs etc. Heared a story from my dad that there used to live nearly 8 people in that building and still have pictures of this myself. (From the 60's+)
very interesting!!!
Very cool.
When I was growing up on US military bases in Japan, most Japanese male civilian employees were ex soldiers. In 1974 my supervisor at my summer job was a ex IJN pilot. He was happy Japan had lost since he had been slated for kamikaze duty.
Damn do you know if he was culturally pressured into it or was to forced to
I grew up on Itizuki A.B., Japan.
@@theultimategamer8537 I want to know that too
@@garypulliam3740 Pretty small base. My nephew used to teach motorcycle safety there; before he became a blackhawk mechanic and then pilot.
@@theultimategamer8537 Not sure. Most kamikaze pilots were conscripted out of universities, only med students were exempt. Sakuma-san, my supervisor, was such a jovial guy I can't imagine he would volunteer.
Thank you, Mark!!! I have studied WW2 history for decades and never knew this existed! My hat is off to you sir!!!
Thanks for blessing me with another one of your videos Dr Felton
My uncle was captured at Al emayne North Africa and transferred to Canada. When the war finished he was kept on to work on farms in England Leicestershire where he met a English girl and later they married he stayed in Britain.
Nice country around that part of the world. Simpler to leave your old life behind and start afresh.
Also, WWII German and Italian POWs were brought here in N W Ohio USA and allowed to work on our farms owned by Americans of German ancestry and have good food and Italian POWs went to dances here and met American girls of Italian/Sicilian ancestry and later married them... stayed here...
The more of Mark's videos I watch the more I realize how little I know about WW2.
For almost 20 years I read about WW2 and other conflicts almost exclusively. How could I of missed so much G2?
Again it behooves me to thank you sir. Perhaps it's time I start reading again starting with Mark's books.
Excellent documentary on history we don't teach in schools. Fascinating and absorbing stuff. You are an excellent teacher.
Oh this will be a really interesting one. Appreciate the uploads
Mark Felton Is such a great motivation for me on my youtube journey,I am glad I was motivated by this man
Great content, I recall in 1988 at RAF wildenrath we had German labour mainly working in the forest with their own accommodation and own GSO canteen which we all went to on a regular basis , massive hall loads of beer and food family orientated, a real family place. Some of these guys were 70 to 80yrs old, when working some still wore old german uniform. It struck home one day when I entered their home/acommodation on an official basis to see regimental paintings and wall art, they were still proud and they were still respected but forgotten, they were all single old guys seeing out their lives. I respectfully remember them.
Гордись Иуда и человечества и у знай точно что фашисты творили в России
Mark Felton is an absolute treasure...... what a complete icon ! ! !
Again stuff I didn't know, Photographs, and film footage, I'd never seen. Well researched and presented as always. Thank you Dr. Felton.
I haven't even watched yet and I know that I will learn something new!
I know how you feel. I smash the like button before I even watch it.
@@robertdeen8741 me, too - for sure (and I'm a Patreon supporter as well)
Indeed, I'm always impressed with Mark's work. BTW..at 8:06, the German soldier second from the left....why, it's Nicholas Cage!
I wish i could go back to school if you were a history teacher there haha. I love your vids and the quality, information and research done never ceases to amaze me.
That old saying "you learn something new every day " is certainly true with mark felton :)
I tell people about this channel all the time. The amount of stories probably untold until now is staggering. The mainstream documentary makers don't give stories like these a second look. We'll done Mark, great work sir!
I'm reminded of the final episode of _Band of Brothers_ where Tom Hardy's character is working a road checkpoint with a Feldgendarmerie (I believe) Hauptfeldwebel.
The Germans were only sore losers, the first time around.
@Pedro Kantor - They only lost because the whole freakin' world ganged up on them. Easy to say things about the World War, Part 2. It hasn't really been taught to the present generation. It has been "explained" by propaganda for over 75 years. There's still some of those men alive, but they're all mostly at rest, and so they don't have to worry about what their feckless kids are doing to the world. Fortune passes everywhere.
@@DavidSmith-ss1cg Even if they were to supposedly fight only the Soviets, they would still lose. By June 1944, the Soviets were already on their way to Berlin, D-Day just making that trip faster. So no, Germany would have lost either way.
@@donpadua6191 the Communists were crapping themselves until America gave them lend lease.
Look at today and it's seems karma is a...
@Pedro Kantor Perfect description of what happened , with no siding or what so ever!
Two thumbs up to your channel. Very interesting morsels of information that give a more complete picture of WW2-related stuff.
And this here is absolutely completely new to me. I am in my 20s from Michigan. I am looking to possibly move to Germany, as I am partially German. I love understanding as much about its history and western Europe as possible from this time period. This has all interested me so much, but I’ve been that way since I was 10 to 12 or so. Thank you. This was another cool one.
If you know German, I would recommend 'Deutsche Opfer' by Franz Seidler. It covers a lot about German civilians and soldiers after the war. And as for English books, James Bacque has some good ones, like Other Losses and Crimes and Mercies.
On a related note, Michigan (and plenty of other states) had German POW camps during WW2. The prisoners were, in accordance with the Geneva Convention, given the same living standards as our own soldiers. They were used for farm labor, and were paid a small wage (in credits) that they could use for cigarettes/etc.
However, yes, I was also familiar with how they touched on this with the ending of Band of Brothers at the intersection directing traffic, doing these duties you speak of. I remember the German soldier saying, "This is the end of my second war."
You might want to visit Germany first before you decide to move there. Many of the things you’re accustomed to in America might not exist or be quite different than what you’re used to.
Kyle Donahue hey man. That I am aware of and I have been there. I was there for almost 2 weeks in multiple cities in 2017 in the summer. I’m also fluent in the virtually fluent language as well. I know what you are saying is always a good thing to consider, and that I understand. And I don’t mean just casually fluent, like people throwing around that word, but rather I mean I can understand and speak the language. I love the language and understand the culture decently, as I’ve studied it a lot and know there are always positives and negatives and some different bureaucracy, and social virtues etc.
Mark, THANK YOU so much. I have become a fan. I write this brief note: I am pensioned and cannot afford to be a patron for you. I am so sorry. I urge those that can, please support Mr. Felton's productions. Mr. Felton delivers a remarkable and sincere view of the great war. THANK YOU again, Mr Felton.
Thank you for your kind words and for subscribing.
In 1945 my Dad was a Squadron Leader in the RAF out in the Far East. After the Japanese surrender the RAF used some Japanese pilots to fly transports, the joke being that they were possibly Kamikaze. Anyway, he survived every trip.
I am German. From my perspective, the british and american Armys were good / fair winners.
They helped us a lot to rebuild. Of course we had to pay repairs, war crimes happened on every side. But at the end, you can get worse enemies those days.
They reached out their hands, after all those killing.
"They helped us a lot to rebuild." Yeah, the Marshall plan. Initially they intended to completely destroy the German economy so that "it could never wage war again" but then they realized Europe needed Germany industry in order to be rebuilt, so the Marshall plan was conceived (with terms).
Loving the post-ww2 videos
I always watch these videos with absolute fascination, thanks Dr Felton!
@Renzo Verhoeve same
I can’t get enough of this stuff. I can’t believe anyone would hit the 👎🏼 after learning something. This stuff is priceless.
A great interesting video Mr.Mark.Have a good one.
There's a scene in one of the last episodes of Band of Brothers in which one of the brothers has conversation with a member of the Feldgendarmerie while they direct traffic, assist a wounded soldier and respond to a traffic accident. The German is wearing that gorget and I remember wondering what the significance of the emblem was. Now I know
The British had a similar ornament from 18th century.
Private Webster. Episode 10.
I was thinking to the very same scene in Band of Brothers... ;-) the german soldier (very relaxed...) explains his war stories to a G.I... now I know the story behind this scene. Woul be interesting to know if the screenplayers wrote the scene referring to the story explained by Mark Felton or just referring to war memeories... probably both
I also found that very interesting and thought about it when he explained it. Just superb work by Mark.
I loved his line, "Russia is not desirable...."
This is the gritty details you would wonder about but never know.
Now we do!
Sir. your channel Is So invaluable.. I cant Thank You enough!
absolutely Fascinating
This and Forgotten Weapons are probably my favorite TH-cam channels. Love your content!
I also like Forgotten Weapons.
Welp, you just got Forgotten Weapons a new subscriber.
Herr Felton never ceases to amaze me.
Great information! Thanks Mark Felton!
I've been fascinated by History since I can remember and love these videos. My duty station in the Army was in Furth, Germany just outside Nuremberg. Thank you for these videos!
No high school history book in the entirety of the Netherlands covers these kind of topics.
No high school history book, youre making it sound like we dont have history books and archives :D
@@Robin4 Om eerlijk te zijn, bij het plaatsen van het bericht was ik niet volledig nuchter. Maar het is gecorrigeerd, dank.
Also no history school book in Germany, but come on... You can´t cover every single detail in history class.
I knew Germans were used as Allied Auxiliaries in Occupied Germany. However I had no idea some of them were also used in other countries to assist local authorities in dealing with demobilizing former German occupation forces. Comes off as a surprise for sure.
Thank you Doctor Felton. Once again, there is more down on the "south forty" in terms of history. Thank you!
Fascinating, I thank you for your documentary and presentation. Wonderful channel
Really good work Mark!
I love WW2 military history and was brought up on war stories from my dad and uncles who served during that time so I love Marks channels. I was lucky to have met many Normandy veterans as I was invited to photograph and video their get togethers and marches before the movement was disbanded and was enthralled by their stories, not of heroism but of comradeship. I am pretty well read on the subject but must say I always learn something new and different from Mark. He should be on the history channel as he is so different to the other historians that by and large are very similar to each other telling the same stories with the same film and photos over and over again.
This is the stuff you don’t read in history class. Fascinating stuff.
Posted 12 seconds ago and 50 likes and 9 comments!
Ez
Joke's on you, it's probably early access for supporters.
And now two hours later it's 3,9K likes
British rearmed Japanese troops in Vietnam, too.
@@Stribog1337 or lot's of people who like the video in advance. :)
Amazing history report Dr. Felton. There is so much detail in your reports, thank you.
Your most captivating documentary so far - and that’s saying something!
Fascinating. A proper film documentary should be made about this service the various Wermacht /Luftwaffe services provided.
Excellent Mark!
Soldiers are just people when they lower their flags that oppose each others.
Mankinds history is very long and very brutal. War & crime didn´t start with WW2, it started thousands of years ago. War never changes.
Not that simple... WWII was basically Catholic countries vs Protestant countries in Europe... and against Shinto in Asia...
I don't know in which camp my great-grandfather was but they released him in Schleswig-Holstein and my great-grandmother, my grandmother and thier siblings went to the city where he was released and well they stayed.
My beloved grandmother died on the 19.03.2020 after nearly three years of illness. The funeral was on the 09.04.2020 it would have been her 83 birthday.
Me and my grandmother... we were close.
Thank you for your videos Mark.
A really magnificient video explaining a not so well known part of the History. Thank you very much for posting, mr. Felton
Always a good day when we get an episode. Very insightful
Interesting as ever. Thanks Mark.
Growing up in the sixties and seventies, I watched every war movie and documentary on World War Two, but never did any of them go into the detail that you have done. Some of this history was never mentioned, and most likely was intentionally left out on purpose, being that it has to do with the Axis powers, and I live in the U.S. Keep up the good work!
I would march into battle if this intro music was playing
Fascinating history lesson. Thanks for posting this.
Thank you Sir Mark Felton..for such a detailed information .
Bout to go sleep till i seen this pop up
Fascinating: My father (who passed in 2019 at the age of 99) was a British Major in the post war reconstruction effort: the 'Control Commission'. He had some amazing stories of those days.
What all did he do? What were some of the stories?
'Smiling Albert' Kesselring, as his troops called him, still looks cheerful in captivity.
He was probably thrilled to have survived the war and not been captured by the Russians.
Most of those guys looked very happy to have been POW''s or otherwise under the control of the western allies.
Fun fact:
Kessel = Cauldron (like Kessel von Stalingrad = Stalingrad Cauldron)
Ring = ring
Kesselring = Cauldron ring
So Kesselring is just happy not to die in a Kesselring.
Kesselring was a tough nut to crack as well. Italy was supposed to be the quick way up into the belly of Germany.
As usual, another excellent essay on something which is ignored or glossed over. Thank you.
Superb content as usual Mark. You're a treasure to us history buffs. Thanks!
made my day mark! just what I needed after a hard day at work, sit down with a coffee and a new video 👌💯 keep up the great work
Really interesting as always Mark. I particularly enjoy hearing about the immediate aftermath of the war. Often the history books stop at wars end in both theatres of war. I'd love to hear more about how the engineers were put to use after the war to rebuild and how the Allies planned (or didn't) for this.
Dude why are people paying so much money in taxes to pay for crap schools that don’t even get close to the production level of my boy Mark? Keep it up. My brain is nine times bigger thanx to you
This has always fascinated me. Thank you for another superb video, Dr. Felton!
May you live a long life & continue to educate the masses.
This is incredible stuff.
I can’t help but wonder why the Americans don’t do the same after they conquered Iraq. Things would have been much better
Stupidity, hubris, ulterior motives... Take your pick -- one, two, or all of the above...
Was it Hegel who said, "The only thing History teaches us is that no one learns anything from History?"
During the planning stages for the invasion of Iraq, a proposal was put forth to have the Iraq Army Divisions contacted by Email, told to stand down, but patrol and protect oil wells and pipelines, and the US Army would pay the Iraqi troops back pay. It wasn't adopted.
The short answer is that the Iraqis aren’t Germans or for that matter Japanese. Although the Baath ideology on many streaks correspondent with the Nazi ideas their whole outlook and backwardness make it totally different.
@@kjeldhesselmann That is a cop out - if that were the case, then it was even more important to keep them employed and out of trouble under US leadership.
Mark, I really appreciate your videos. This was extremely interesting. A peculiar matter of trust. This speaks well of both the Germans and the western allies.
Great episode.
In my best Arte Johnson voice, "Verrrrrrrry interesting".
Yet another topic I knew nothing about beforehand. Thanks a lot, Mark, for the education!
Thank you mr Felton, very instructive.
Had the Americans been forced to fight the Soviets, most of the German POWs would have volunteered to help.
I can confirm that. My father, (1920-2006), an officer of the German Air Force and interned in the Koblenz Rhine meadow camp, told me exactly that: Everyone would have marched with the Americans against the Soviets. They had had enough of one dictatorship and would have been grateful, along with the Americans, to defeat the other monster Stalin together with the Allies.
The U S actually looked into the legality of offering German POWS the opportunity to fight in the Pacific. The idea was dropped because of too numerous legal obstacles. The US was expecting massive casualties during the planned invasion of Japan in November 1945.
@@mike89128 I don't know that they would have been willing to fight the Japanese. They had no quarrel with them.
To be honest, we should have allied with the nazis against communism in the first place. The real menace was Stalin.
@@goldenoatie soo then what about the concentration camps and the german conquest of poland,france,netherlands,denmarcks,sweden and norway?
It'd be very interesting to hear about those who did not stand down, even after their nations surrender.
I read about some of the various volunteer/conscript foreign SS units that held out in Berlin up to a month after the formal surrender. Most knew their fate if they surrendered and were shipped home to Russia, France, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway etc. So they just fought to the death on their terms. Why not right?
Last time I was this early the Maginot line was still considered a state of the art defence system.
Here the guns would halt the hun....provided the hun came this way!
Wot! It's not?!?
This is why this is one of my favorite channels . It tells history very few know, at least me. Unlike others who just repeat stories and hoping to get views
Man, I really hope teachers of today utilize resources like Mark's channel. I have learned so much here and have become quite interested in WW2 from this channel. I'd would have loved history with Mark as a teacher!
Brilliant insight as ever Mark - I remember reading that some German soldiers were also forced to clear minefields after the war. A Danish movie called Land of Mine, released in 2015, follows the story and is harrowing but brilliant.
The allies claimed the Germans were “disarmed forces who had surrendered unconditionally” and were not POWs and therefore not afforded the protections afforded unto them as such under the Geneva Convention.
That might make for a good episode too!
Yes, an interesting and sad story. There's a naval equivalent, the German Mine Sweeping Administration, another German uniformed service under British control, later a civilian agency.