User:K.e.coffman

High Moral Fiber Sub-department

• Manstein disobeys the Commissar order, despite what his own page says about it. In Eugen Müller.

• An SS-general disapproves of the Commissar order, and on moral grounds at that, in one of the main Waffen-SS apologists Felix Steiner.
• Did this general cause the Commissar order to be rescinded? Yes, indeed: "When Reichenau died, and command of the Sixth Army was taken over by General Friedrich Paulus, both the Severity Order and Hitler's Commissar Order were rescinded in his command sector", according to a former subordinate. In Severity Order, which was also decorated with a portrait of the author.

• SS-general is a staunch Nazi opponent, even with his pedigree of a president of Waffen-SS revisionist org, in Wilhelm Bittrich.
• SS general and killing squad commander "works to reduce atrocities committed" (turns out he's an "opportunist" and "enthusiastic mass murderer" after all), in Arthur Nebe.
• ...responsible for the evacuation of over 40,000 civilians – yes, this is the same general who after the war called the Western Allies the "real war criminals" (after having been convicted himself). In Ramcke Parachute Brigade.
• Assumption that a convicted war criminal (same Ramcke) would have been accepted into Bundeswehr. In Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke.
• Abwehr, "the center of anti-Hitler resistance" – who knew? In Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
• Immaterial anecdotes of modesty and concern for hungry German civilians – from an "admiring subordinate"; in Erich Marcks.
• Rundstedt apologia, quoting himself: "In Germany before the war Rundstedt had not been noted as an anti-Semite. He testified at Nuremberg: "The generals either rejected the [Nazi] Party or were indifferent. As for the methods regarding the Jewish question, they absolutely rejected them, particularly because many comrades were severely affected by the Aryan laws." In Gerd von Rundstedt.

• The Scorched earth article highlights Albert Speer's role in "defying Hitler's order to destroy Germany's infrastructure"; more representative image provided instead (see right).
• "Manstein was one of the very few high-ranking German field commanders who had the courage to confront Hitler about military strategy by putting his views into perspective, spoke objectively, and refused to be browbeaten". In Lost Victories, by self-proclaimed "Hitler's Most Brilliant General".
  • Credulity-straining prose: "According to Manstein, any low or high ranking Wehrmacht field commander who dared to openly argue or criticize Hitler right to his face resulted in an immediate dismissal and probably a court martial for insubordination or treason". Begs the question, why did Manstein retire in peace? Also in Lost Victories.
• Self-serving concern presented in Wikipedia's voice as moral indignation: a Corps commander "made a strong but futile protest" to the OKW about Commissar Order. Let's not forget that it was his units that were "shooting unarmed Russian prisoners" and, if anything, it's testament about how widespread the murders were, that the general was so concerned for his own troops:

• "Soon the Russians will get to hear about the countless corpses lying along the routes taken by our soldiers, without weapons and with hands raised, dispatched at close range by shots to the head. The result will be that the enemy will hide in the woods and fields and continue to fight--and we shall lose countless comrades.}}

— Did he resign in protest? No. Order his subordinate units to stop the practice? No. Not a single Corps commander did. In Joachim Lemelsen.

• Wikipedia channels Wehrmacht mythology, via dated 1977 and 1957 sources, which I suspect are uncritical and potentially use subject's memoirs as inspiration: "one of the generals who opposed the principles of Nazism" and "his known anti-Nazi feelings resulted in his contribution to the defence of Cassino being played down by the German authorities". This source discusses his "known antipathy to the regime" but nothing about the "opposition to the principles of Nazism". This antipathy did not prevent him from serving the regime faithfully. In Fridolin von Senger und Etterlin.
• Have not come across "High moral fiber" content in a while, but some vestiges of "clean Wehrmacht" still remain, as in: Lets blame the SS for "incorrect treatment of civilians". Also seems to suggest that the subject may have filed "non-official protests" – yes, indeed. In Fedor von Bock.
• An Estonian collaborationist police unit "clashes" with the German SS unit, who moreover only "tried" to execute the inmates, cited to a fan site. Enough apologia to go around for both sides. In Estonian Auxiliary Police.

Humanitarianism Award Showcase

Deserves its own subsection:

• "Cardinal left notes in the post-war apologist's diary praising his humanitarianism" – according to an unknown source, perhaps to himself. In Fritz Bayerlein.
• A humanitarian among Wehrmacht generals: "He was said to have been the most humane commander of fortress Crete", in Bruno Bräuer. Separately, "renowned for his gold cigarette case" is notable how?
• Wehrmacht as a humanitarian organisation. In Wehrmacht—wow.
  • Follow-on: The note specifically advises to list only "humanitarian actions". If would be funny, if it weren't so apologist. Consequently, a Wehrmacht officer is a humanitarian for not "betraying [a victim] to the Nazi authorities". Also in Wehrmacht.
• Future convicted war criminal "was hoping to be able to make a start on the rehabilitation of Germany" (sourced to himself). "Instead, he found himself placed under arrest." (read: pesky Allies interfered with his planned endeavors). In Albert Kesselring.
• This general is lovingly (but uncited-ly) called "The Humane One" "by his troops". Close enough to a "humanitarian". In Hans-Valentin Hube.
• "Due to several incidents of openly broadcasting his sinkings to alert the Allies of the plight of the crews, he became quite a celebrity, even on the Allied side. No indication that Allies knew who that was. In Herbert Schultze.
• Nomination: "... placed in a convalescent home allegedly for refusing to set fire to Smolensk in accordance with the Wehrmacht's scorched earth policy. Heinrici reportedly claimed that had Smolensk been burned to the ground he would not have been able to withdraw his troops through it." Definitely, humanitarianism. In Gotthard Heinrici
• A new recipient: the ironic article on the "Good German" contained a non-ironic category of German humanitarians. In Good German (h/t Buidhe).

False Equivalence Sub-department

• After Nazi Germany's defeat, SS members are held in a 'concentration camp'; another instance of same, but now with a war-crimes trial held 'in a concentration camp', in Jochen Peiper.
• Continuing with the same theme of post-WWII martyrdom: more subtle wording around 'concentration camp', by adding 'former', but with lots of complaining about 'unfair' treatment of Waffen-SS as a criminal organization, even though the lead of the article states that the subject was involved in the Oradour massacre. In Otto Weidinger.
• "Germany was "running low on food supplies", in Wikipedia's voice, in an article describing the Hunger Plan. Update: better lead, from:

• "...an economic management scheme implemented by Nazi Germany during World War II which prioritised the availability of food for Germans ahead of the inhabitants of the German-occupied Soviet territories", to:
• "...a scheme implemented by Nazi Germany during World War II that envisioned death by starvation of millions of Slavic and Jewish "useless eaters" following Operation Barbarossa, the 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union".

• Service in the SS is equated to a "military career". In Joachim Peiper.
• Ah, Wehrmacht was just like the U.S. army, such friendly chaps! "US equiv. Lieutenant general". In Hugo Sperrle.
• A "war correspondent" in the Wehrmacht during World War II, who knew. In Johannes-Matthias Hönscheid.
  • Note the convenient linking to neutral war correspondent, while the German term offered Kriegsberichter does have a de.wiki article (Kriegsberichter [de], a World War II section of which contains only: "Main article: Propagandakompanie [de]"
  • Original article: ...was a war correspondent and Leutnant of the Reserves with the Fallschirmjäger during World War II. He was also a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes). The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross was awarded to recognise extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership. Johannes-Matthias Hönscheid was the only war correspondent (Kriegsberichter) in the Wehrmacht to receive the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.—With obligatory totemic translation of the "Knights' Cross" and other flowery language.

• French collaborator turns into a "volunteer", who moreover is highly-decorated, and not at all has been criminally convicted. See Der Freiwillige (The Volunteer) of HIAG or Siegrunen by Richard Landwehr. In Henri Joseph Fenet.
• In the area of Holocaust studies, a right-wing advocacy group is a "Holocaust-related organisation", on par with Polish Center for Holocaust Research. In Polish League Against Defamation.

Co-located Obfuscation Department

• War crimes are minimized through subtle use of linking, in Otto Weidinger, or omission from the lead, even for by-all-accounts-notorious mass murderer Friedrich Jeckeln or somewhat-less-odious, but still with over 10,000 victims on his hands, in Gustav Lombard.
• Here's another example: Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke, famous for causing a furor in West Germany in 1952 when he publicly called the Western Allies "the real war criminals" (and that after having been released from prison early due to personal intervention of Chancellor Adenauer, who was incensed to the point of wanting to have Ramke prosecuted). In Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke.
• Even Himmler's notorious Bandenbekämpfung chief Erich von dem Bach-Zalewski gets off easy: he simply "did not stand trial at Nuremberg"
• Similarly, various Waffen-SS units somehow "get involved in", rather than commit, massacres (six instances in one edit). In Waffen-SS.
• In the same vein, French resistance is to blame for Waffen-SS massacres: 'His execution was to have dire consequences...'; it also turns into 'underground Communist threat' (caps in the original). In Waffen-SS, Henri Joseph Fenet.
• A perpetrator's own words can 'refute' testimony against them, as is the case with Kurt Meyer; nevermind that he's been convicted of war crimes after all
• It is unconscionable that war criminals are denied their well-deserved war pensions. In Sepp Dietrich.
• Apparently, just because a general retires, he cannot be a war criminal. In Johann Fortner.
• Apologia presented as fact; no wonder, I first spotted it because it referred to the massacre as an "incident" that the unit on the division was "involved in". In 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.
• SS Division Wiking did commit war crimes but its record is ""clear of war crimes prosecutions" – that is some serious twisting of the logic. In Felix Steiner.
• Which section name conveys more information and is more specific: "Postwar" or "Criminal conviction and execution"? In Oswald Pohl.
• Another example of the obfuscation principle: the Knight's Cross is present in the lead, but not the sinking of a passenger liner, which in turn is described as merely an "incident". In Fritz-Julius Lemp. Also present: Franz Kurowski in the bibliography.
• Four POV captions in one edit: German troops are "entering" Poland, for example. In Wehrmacht.
• A peculiar feature of many of the articles on German WWII personnel that I edited is complete omission of the words "Nazi Germany" from article copy; here's sample: diff. The 4 sentence article contains prominent mentions of "highly decorated" and "extreme battlefield bravery" but not the regime that the individual fought for. In Egbert Picker, among hundreds of other articles.
• Inmates of a concentration camp are merely sent there as forced labour. (In reality, it should be "slave labour"; I may propose a renaming of the corresponding article in a while). In World War II.
• Images on Wikimedia Commons occasionally display similar obfuscation tendencies. It's known from published records that Wehrmacht soldiers were present at the massacre, and they are clearly visible on the photo. Yet, the description was missing "...and Wehrmacht soldiers". In File:Massacre Kovno Garage 27 JUNE 1942.jpg.
• A mobile killing squad was merely "accused of conducting mass murder...". My edit summary was: "I don't think it's in dispute that Einsatzgruppe D committed these crimes". In Otto Ohlendorf.
• A pogrom without perpetrators. In Lwów pogrom (1918).

The Wehrmacht lives on

• ...inevitable that the Wehrmacht would be revived in some form.... God help us. My edit summary: "I don't think that they were planning to revive *the Wehrmacht*". In Albert Kesselring.

• Wikipedia claims "continued tradition" between the Wehrmacht and the Bundeswehr: diff, even proving a picture of the current symbol:

The tradition continues (though with an edelweiss pin of different design) among current Gebirgsjäger-qualified personnel in the Bundeswehr (common German military soldiers wear a beret rather than the Bergmütze mountain cap used by mountain, ski, and Jäger units). Mountain troops' uniform jackets also bear an edelweiss emblem ovoid sleeve patch.

In Wehrmacht mountain troops badge.

Luftwaffe Resurgent

Deserves its own subsection:

• Propensity to refer to the German Air Force of West Germany as Luftwaffe – link – with definite POV undertones. In Erich Hartmann.
• Luftwaffe lives on in Wikipedia, with extra effort taken to pipe German Air Force to Luftwaffe: diff. Also in the section heading; my edit summary was: "english wikipedia". Both in Erich Hartmann, again.

• This one does even better, without the piping: Luftwaffe of the Bundeswehr. In Ernst-Wilhelm Reinert.
• And... we are back to Luftwaffe of the Bundeswehr. Second attempt, in Erich Hartmann.

• Finally took on Erich Hartmann, after a discussion at Neutral point of view/Noticeboard: permalink and how many reverts?

• A German officer "rejoins" the [[Luftwaffe]] (link in the original) in 1955! In Wilhelm Antrup.
• This German officer "...served in the [[Luftwaffe]] from 1932 until the end of the war and again from 1957–70", defying all expectations. The edit summary was: Luftwaffe is not the German Air Force. In Hannes Trautloft. (H/t Catrìona.)

"Expand lead with material from the article"

Deserves its own area, as this is quite a common occurrence that the lead would focus on minor details and omit what the subject is notable for:

• War crimes and execution are not mentioned in the lead, as per usual. In Alexander Löhr.
• Another war criminal with no mention of the crime in the lead. That's probably the only thing the subject is notable for. In Kurt Mälzer.
• In another example, the description of the award as bestowed for "extreme battlefield bravery or successful military leadership" is more important than a war-crimes conviction, in Eberhard von Mackensen.
• A presumed war criminal is merely a highly decorated soldier, according to the lead; in Johannes Blaskowitz.
• White washing of the Wehrmacht generals, as per usual: "expand lead with material from the article" is a typical edit summary in such cases. In Carl-Heinrich von Stülpnagel.
• In the same vein, the lead omits: "Responsible for numerous war crimes in the occupied territories, he was arrested by the Allies after the war and committed suicide while awaiting trial". In Walter Schimana.
• Brief but pertinent: "and a convicted war criminal". In Otto Abetz.
• A Holocaust perpetrator is presented as a "prominent dentist" and a mere functionary. In Otto-Heinrich Drechsler.
• The lead in the article on one of the high-ranking SS functionaries (aka "an officer of the Schutzstaffel (SS) who held the rank of SS-Obergruppenführer") is fascinated by the fact that the subject "holds the distinction of being the last peace time promotion to that rank before the outbreak of World War II in 1939". All the while not mentioning the subject's position as a Higher SS and Police Leader and the fact that "he was responsible for the liquidation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp". In Ernst-Heinrich Schmauser.
• "Many actions resulting"] in war crimes. Let's cut to the chase and call them "war crimes". "Military commander" goes without saying. In Curt von Gottberg.
• A jurist is described as "pre-eminent", plus two instances of "Third Reich" in three sentences. In Roland Freisler.
• A suitable change for a commander of one of the notorious security divisions of the Wehrmacht: "commanded the 221st Security Division, responsible for numerous war crimes and crimes against humanity", as that's what the subject is notable for, not the award. In Johann Pflugbeil.
• Even Nazi Germany's police chief gets a lead that spends time to explain that the subject's ranks were "equivalent to colonel-general, or four-star General" (with wiki-links), instead of mentioning the Lidice massacre, for example. In Kurt Daluege.
• What the what? The lead informs us that the subject's "familiar name was "Bubi" (Little Boy)", while not discussing his SS career. Bizarre. In Ludolf von Alvensleben.
• No mention of legal proceedings in the lead, for a general who [euphemistically] "oversaw the German retreat from Greece and most of Yugoslavia". In Maximilian von Weichs‎.
• This is one of the more depressing ones to add here. For this notorious mass murderer, the article's lead only has to say that he was a "German SS-Standartenführer (Colonel)" (with translation): diff. Nothing about the Babi Yar massacre of the subject's conviction in the Einsatzgruppen Trial. In Paul Blobel.
• A humorous one, with edit summary: "Schepke tonnage" is what he's best remembered for. In Joachim Schepke.
• A reverse example, where the lead needed to be streamlined to make it more comprehensible. Holocaust perpetrators have the strangest leads, i.e. "...was a German member of the [[Nazi Party|Nazi]] police and military organization known as the [[Schutzstaffel]], or, more commonly, by its German initials, SS. He held the rank of [[Obersturmbannführer]]..." (SS was a ''paramilitary'' organisation, not military) etc. In Werner Braune.
• Amazingly, the lead does not mention the most important aspect of the subject's career; namely, that he was the Reich Minister for the Occupied Eastern Territories: diff. In Alfred Rosenberg.

Outstanding Achievements in Euphemismia

• Nazi bomber pilots never "bombed" anything; instead, they:

• "...executed attack missions against airfields, vehicles, trains, tanks, field artillery positions and antiaircraft artillery, and infantry attacks against the Soviets". The cities and civilians are never mentioned; plus the pejorative "Soviets". In Josef Kociok.
• "...took part in attacks on London". More from the same diff: "unit also attacked Coventry" & "attacked the same targets". In Kampfgeschwader 76
• "...served on the Channel Front, flying missions against England". In Kampfgeschwader 100.
• "...engaged British shipping". More from the same diff: "unit (...) reported attacks over Bristol"; "...continued to operate over Britain"; "...participated in attacks on Portsmouth". Also: ... "unit flew missions over Marseille". All in Kampfgeschwader 51.

• Another bomber pilot who actually never bombed anything, let alone civilian targets:

• ...flew numerous missions against British ports and industrial centers at London, Coventry and Portsmouth". From the same diff: "...attacked airfields, railway stations as well as tank and troop concentrations in the Proskurov and Lvov areas". As editor Roches put it: "The German bomber pilot only ever hit military targets while the Allied "terrorists" only ever hit churches, hospitals and orphanages" (diff). This proof of this (aka the truth) lives on in Wikipedia. In Siegfried Barth.

• Directly from the Ministry of Propaganda, 1943 edition: A bomber wing "took part in reprisal raids against British targets..." (not "bombed"). In Kampfgeschwader 6.

• From the same article: "operations over Britain"; "raids against London (took place)"; "attacked targets"; "sorties over Britain", etc. Finally found an instance of something being "bombed", but it's in a awkward turn of phrase of "Rail targets were bombed" (not the unit bombed them, similar to "raids took place" as if on their own volition. Sounds somewhat similar to "units being involved in massacres, vs perpetrating them). Also of note is that only "rail targets" and "artillery positions" were bombed, not the city itself. Precision bombing? :-) Also in Kampfgeschwader 6.

• However, an editor objects: more nonsense. raids is not euphemistic. heard of air raids?", they ask, while simultaneously removing "raids" from the article and replacing it with "sorties over Britain" :-)
• More objections: "common phrase in air warfare not euphemistic at all", while replacing "bombed Allied convoys" with "was engaged in anti-shipping missions" (also note the typical passive voice). My response: "simpler and in plain English". Let's see if this sticks.

• For fun, I turned "American bombing raids" into "American operations over Germany". In Jagdgeschwader 3.

• From the same article: "to bomb" into "to attack" & more. Somebody has to stand up for "victor's justice" :-)
• Three more: diff. In Jagdgeschwader 1 (one needs to look in articles on German fighter arm to find someone, namely Allied terrorists, bombing cities & civilians, with helpful piping from "U-boat Yards" to the "Bombing of Bremen").
• Compare with "attacking" into "bombing" & "operations against" into "bombing". In Joachim Helbig.
• Another reversal:

From: Despite JG 2 scoring its 2,000th kill in January 1944, the ongoing defensive operations against the USAAF bomber offensive took its toll on the Jagdgeschwaders, JG 2 being no exception; Many novices and replacement pilots were killed through the first half of 1944, and more importantly the ever fewer experienced and irreplaceable Experten were also being lost.

To: Successful USAAF operations over Germany led to many novice and replacement pilots being killed through the first half of 1944; more importantly, the experienced pilots were also being lost.

Note the undertones of the "defensive operations" against the Allied aggressors with their "bomber offensive" (here's a term I've yet to see used to describe any of the German units) . Plus, "continually bombing" into "operating sorties against...". In Jagdgeschwader 2.

• Likewise, only the British conducted "bombing campaigns", while Germany simply defended its borders: "with the country at war", "defended against", and "the Third Reich", as usual. Another instance of "Reich", with "defence attached: diff. See: Defenders of Fortress Europe (yes, there's a WWII book with this name). In Carl-Alfred Schumacher.

• In this article, Occupation of Norway by Nazi Germany becomes "Defence of Occupied Norway", while the northernmost thrust of Operation Barbarossa is rendered as incomprehensible "Soviet Union Invasion" (which almost reads as if the Soviet Union were invading something). In Jagdfliegerführer Norwegen (could also qualify for the section on "Eagles of the Reich").
• Another surprising difference between RAF and Luftwaffe articles is that German aircraft is almost never identified as "bombers"; see for example this diff, where the word "bomber" is mentioned just once, and only in the context of being "crippled". Not so with the RAF articles. The saga of this Good article reassessment is still on-going, and the article in its current state is still pretty much "classic Luftwaffe propaganda", as one reviewer put it. My edit above was reverted, for example, among other attempts of improving this article, on the grounds of them being "very destructive attacks on the text". In Joachim Helbig.
• The "Invasion of Western Europe; Battle of Britain" section name becomes "Campaigns in Western Europe and over Britain". Also in Joachim Helbig, also reverted.
• World War II apparently "breaks out" on its own volition. Plus the ever present "Polish Campaign". In Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen, with this combo having been found in many other articles.

• A new variant of the "Polish Campaign", "fighting in [[Polish September Campaign|Poland]]": diff. In Wilhelm Bittrich.

• Operation Margarethe, the German occupation of Hungary, was apparently "done to ensure the country's participation in the war"; read: "it was totes for its own good!" and / or "it was a defensive move". My edit summary: "per linked article". Also note the passive voice of "was done" as if by its own volition. In Panzer Lehr Division.
• Did Poland start WWII? They might as well, since the Wehrmacht entered the fray "at the outbreak of the hostilities". In Wilhelm List.
• The ubiquitous "Polish Campaign", piped (correctly) to the Invasion of Poland article: diff. In Joachim Helbig.

• In a similar vein, German occupation of Czechoslovakia becomes "Annexation of the Sudetenland", also with correct piping. Indeed, the history is written by the losing side (at least on Wikipedia). In Wilhelm Philipps.
• For some, a victorious "Polish Campaign", for others death and destruction: diff. In Junkers Ju 88.
• More of the same: invasion of France becomes ""Western offensive against France" (??). In Jagdgeschwader 2.
• Along the same lines, both in Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen (diff):
  • Invasion of Poland, which began on 1 September 1939, quickly triggering the war in Europe" – a very complicated chain of events, instead of simply stating that Germany invaded Poland, starting WWII.

• "...offensive against Poland..." instead of "invasion of Poland"

• This German security force conducts "evacuations of Jews"; its "anti-partisan" duties go without saying. In Geheime Feldpolizei, of all places.
• Was the concentration camp "liquidated" or were the inmates murdered? You decide! In 20th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Estonian). H/t ‎Nick-D.
• Deportees to Nazi extermination camps were "passengers". In Extermination camp. H/t to VQuakr for spotting this.

Victim of History Studies

German: Opfer der Geschichte Abzeichen:

• Section name: from "Under the regime" (read: victim), to "Serving the regime" (read: perpetrator). In Gerd von Rundstedt
• Another SS man as "victim of history" under the Nazi regime. In Erich Roth.
• Because a subordinate "undertook" (sic) a massacre, this commander's "reputation was tarnished". In Sylvester Stadler.
• Future commander of SS Infantry Brigade was "asked" to join the SS by Himmler. In Karl Fischer von Treuenfeld.
• Another future commander of the SS Infantry Brigade was "exposed to philosophy of NSDAP". In Fritz von Scholz.
• A VoH poem:

The Tide of War

As the war turned against Germany,

[the unit] was forced to operate

deeper and deeper in the German heartland,

finally staging out of East Prussia

by the end of the war.

In rather POV article on Jagdgeschwader 51.

• "Hopelessly outnumbered and hampered by lack of fuel, the unit fought on until the collapse of the Reich" – with much pathos, and POV "Reich" again. In Jagdgeschwader 3.

• Continuing with the same theme: "... facing overwhelming odds in their struggle...". See also: Lost Cause of the Confederacy. In Jagdgeschwader 53.

• The perfect showcase for "victim of history" studies: completely innocent Heimkehrer ("home comers") & "soldiers". The article conveniently leaves out the fact that many of the late returnees (1955) were convicted Nazi criminals, both military and civilian, and that some were subsequently tried and convicted in West Germany (after some international outcry & embarrassment). In Heimkehrer.
• "squandering of the precious Luftwaffe fighters and pilots". In Hannes Trautloft.
• An alleged Holocaust perpetrator also happens to be an "anti-communist" and a "refugee": diff. In Harald Riipalu.

• Another "anti-communist" and "refugee". In Alfons Rebane
• More "refugees": When the refugees reached Sweden, those in uniform were detained.... D'oh, enemy combatants are not refugees. In Swedish extradition of Baltic soldiers. Follow-on edit: "added that the extradited were Waffen-SS".

• As I said in the edit summary: "death at war could hardly be described as "premature". In Werner Mölders, an FA-class article.
• Victim-of-history + Desperate-defensive-battles combo! The subject "with only badly crippled divisions under his command, decided to surrender the city.." Further:

• "For this act, Hitler condemned him in absentia and his family to death. His wife and daughters were arrested in Berlin and Denmark. They were, however released at the end of the war. Lasch was to remain until 1953 in a Soviet labor camp in Workuta, but was released in late October 1955 when, as a result of to Adenauer's Moscow visit, the remaining German prisoners or war were released."

I would say that Hitler's henchmen were not very effective (or may be this did not happen as described?) Also corrected "prisoner of war" to "war criminal" as the generals had by that point been convicted. In Otto Lasch.

• Event the opportunist Andrey Vlasov gets a treatment as an "anti-communist" who "tried to unite Russians opposed to [[communism]] and to the [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] leader [[Joseph Stalin]] with the goal of fighting with [[Nazi Germany|Germany]] to liberate Russia. The volunteers...". Said "volunteers" were mostly recruited from POW camps where they were more likely to die than to stay alive. In Russian Liberation Army.
• Even nations are victims of history: 50 to 70 million people are dead worldwide, the entire continent of Europe lays in ruin, and the article is complaining that Poland got a raw deal with its new western territories. According to the editors, they were in insufficiently tip-top shape: diff. In Territories of Poland annexed by the Soviet Union.
• Edit summary says it all: Undue opinion by an expert on SS uniforms. In Alfons Rebane, yet another victim of history.

Investigative Sub-committee on Abuses of Victor's Justice

Closely related to the above, this section focuses on the implementation of unfair and uncalled-for victor's justice:

• Ominous ""He was executed by the Allied Powers for war crimes in 1946"—missing the steps of being (1) indicted, (2) convicted and (3) sentenced to death, let alone any mentions of his "so-called war crimes" (ironic quotation marks"). Read: "An upstanding Wehrmacht general has been treated unfairly in the kangaroo court of victor's justice". In Alfred Jodl.
  • Same article: section name goes right from trial to execution.
  • Jodl's co-defendant at Nuremberg gets the same treatment: From "At the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] [[Nuremberg Trials|court at Nuremberg]], he was tried, [[capital punishment|sentenced to death]], and [[hanging|hanged]] as a [[war crimes|war criminal]] to "Following the war, Keitel was charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. He was found guilty, sentenced to death and executed in 1946." diff. PS – unclear why "hanged" needed to be hyperlinked. To make the punishment seem more unfair? In Wilhelm Keitel.
• Another war criminal goes straight from trial to imprisonment, apparently bypassing the important step of having been convicted. In Gustav Knittel.
• Victor's justice: "Imprisonment, trial, and death". Aka "Conviction and execution". In Alexander Löhr.

• Along the same lines: changed "Post-war and execution" to "Trial and conviction. In wholly deserving Kurt Daluege.

• Another criminal goes straight from arrest to execution; changed to Arrest, trial and conviction. In Josef Albert Meisinger, notable for being a commander of Einsatzgruppe IV on Poland.
• "Convicted as a war criminal by the allies...", read: victorious allies willy nilly slap a "war criminal" label on an upstanding Wehrmacht general. The fact that he was originally sentenced to death strongly suggests that the crimes were extensive and grave. In Nikolaus von Falkenhorst.
• This unsourced editorialising deserves being quoted in full: "He was proved (sic) to be somehow lucky, as both Fehn and his successor, Generalleutnant Hartwig von Ludwiger, were executed by the Yugoslavians, with only the latter standing trial."]. In Ernst von Leyser.
• Even templates have POV wording, suggestive of (apparently) unfair treatment by the perfidious Allies: "imprisoned" instead of more factual "convicted". In Template:High Command Trial defendants.
• Yet another war criminal "accused of war crimes", at trial (!); nevermind that he was convicted, after all. Also, a distinct victim-of-history vibe going on: "doomed"; "overwhelmed"; "convicted as a war criminal", etc. In Hellmuth Felmy.
• World War I U-boat captains get a similar treatment: Branded a "war criminal" by the Allies...; scare quotes in the original. In List of most successful U-boat commanders. Also, what are "most successful" commanders? I'm thinking this relates to the made-up category "Aces of the deep".
• This one-paragraph article still manages to serve as an example of alleged victor's justice: ...prosecuted for war crimes by the victorious Allies. Plus the deference to the Wehrmacht myth, with Unneeded iconography, in the form of calling the defendants "Generalfeldmarschalls" (in German) and forgetting to add "former". In Hans Laternser.
• A sortable table containing IQs of the major war criminals, in the Nuremberg trials article.

Apocrypha Sub-department

• Memoirs presented as fact: Okay, this was a highly successful Luftwaffe pilot, but c'mon – 'being chased by hundreds of pursuers with dog packs'? (according to himself); this entry has a dubious distinction of being cited in Smelser & Davies' book The Myth of the Eastern Front. In Hans-Ulrich Rudel.
• Erhard Raus 'fights a masterpiece of attack', according to himself. In Erhard Raus.
• Altogether unsourced apocrypha: 'the SS were inspired to capture the pass only after Meyer threw a live grenade at the feet of some of his soldiers' – and it only takes 6 years to remove it; in MacKenzie's Revolutionary Armies in the Modern Era: A Revisionist Approach, this anecdote is cited to Meyer's memoirs, which have been described by Charles Sydnor as 'perhaps the boldest and most truculent of the apologist works'. In 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.
• Myth cited as in an encyclopedia: the 'infamous' armband order. In Sepp Dietrich.
• Physical capacity, intelligence, mobility, nerve, pugnacity, daring and stoicism – according to the commanding general, of course. In Afrika Korps.
• "Chivalrous in War, Vigilant for Peace" – Evocative unsourced motto. Also in Afrika Korps.
• Supposedly, led to rivalry between the ministerial bureaucracy and the Wehrmacht executive staff – claim attributed to the chief OKW propagandist and shown to be false. In Wehrmachtbericht.
• Per linked article, "Sepp Allerberger" is a book character. Wikipedia presents this apocryphal personality who may not be a real person as a statement of fact (unsourced from 2013).
• The lead concisely, but eloquently states: "He was a great war leader", in Wolfram Freiherr von Richthofen.
• Even this SS Oberst-Gruppenführer comes across as a potential member of the German military opposition: Rommel "was convinced that Dietrich would follow him if there was an armistice in the West", via a 3rd hand account by Davide Fraser, whose writing been described as "dramatic, swirling prose that encapsulates the post-1945 hagiographic approach". In Sepp Dietrich.
• On the brink of victory: "The attack was making good progress and the corps advanced to within sight of the city. However the corps, including 1st Panzer Division, was ordered removed..."; editor's comment: "Highly dubious: the Soviets were fighting like demons" . In 1st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht).
• *Ah, here's the "Nur-Soldat" concept in action: "The author Heinz Höhne in The Order under the Death Head characterized Gille as an enigma and "Nur-Soldat" (nothing but soldier) who once threatened a newly assigned Weltanschauungsoffizier (political indoctrination officer) with a clean-out squad to (...) throw them and the officer out of the unit." He also successfully surrenders to the U.S. forces: "He marched towards the U.S. troops in order to avoid surrendering to Soviet forces". In Herbert Gille.
• "The second most successful Austro-German sniper of the war and (possibly) co-recipient of the Knight's Cross, Josef Allerberger, witnessed the Count's injury (and subsequent death) and recalls the incident in his memoirs." My edit summary: "article for this subject has been deleted as a hoax". For AfD, please see: Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Josef Allerberger. In Albert Graf von der Goltz.
• Wehrmacht heroes demonstrate unbroken spirit & fight the injustice, even when in captivity, but according to whom?". In Erich Hartmann, the article that keeps on giving.
• German Army's chief of staff simultaneously "felt unable to take direct action against the Führer" and "considered shooting Hitler himself". Only one of these things can possibly be true. In Franz Halder.

Apocryphal nicknames

I'm going to start collecting nicknames of various military figures, as this appears to be a theme.

• First entry is Willi in Wilhelm Bittrich.
• Here's good one: "Unser Giftzwerg (literally "our poison dwarf", meaning "our tough little bastard")", lovingly included in the infobox. Uncited and does not come up again in the article. In Gotthard Heinrici.
• 2-for-1 deal: "Lion of Vilna", also "Tolsdorff the Great" (Tolle Tolsdorff). In Theodor Tolsdorff.
• Here's a good one: "Känonen". In Kurt Knispel, the "top scoring panzer ace, who continues to draw in WWII buffs: copyvio #1 and copyvio #2.
• Verbatim quotation from article: "Because he had been born in Transylvania, he was nicknamed Count Dracula by his comrades." Dif. fIn Hans-Hartwig Trojer.
• "Bruno, Annihilator of Shturmoviks". Same article, different nickname: "Butcher Killer". Both in GA article Otto Kittel.
• "The Lion of Yelnya". The article goes on to state that the subject "prevented a complete Soviet encirclement in the Yelnya Offensive" and "for his stiff, hold-out defense of Wehrmacht forces evacuating the salient, earned the nickname the "Lion of Yelnya" from his soldiers". In Heinz Greiner.
• A whimsical one: "Cherry Brandi". In Albrecht Brandi.
• "Papa" (enough said :-) ): diff. In Julius Ringel.

• Another "papa": "Papa Schulze". In Werner Schulze.

• We've seen "Lion of Vilna"; "Lion of Yelnya" and now "Lion of Sebastopol". In Otto Hitzfeld, which also includes one of the "Who Killed JFK" investigative reporting sections:

• "Otto Hitzfeld's nomination was rejected by Major Joachim Domaschk on 30 April 1945 and commented: "This is not a nomination!" (Only leadership and organisational achievements, no personal bravery) he additionally noted: "missing in cauldron AOK 11". The nomination was thus assessed as insufficient as well as postponed according to AHA 44 Ziff. 572...." More at: Otto Hitzfeld#Notes.

• Yet another "Lion", this time "Lion of Cherkassy". In Theo-Helmut Lieb. Inquiring minds want to know where this is being sourced from, as the nicknames are unlikely (?) to be part of these generals' service records.
• We learn that this general's

"nickname among the troops and his fellow officers was der kluge Hans ("Clever Hans"). This nickname was acquired early in his career, partly in admiration of his cleverness and partly as a pun on his name (klug is German for "clever"). The "Hans" component came not from any of his given names but from Clever Hans, a horse which became famous for its apparent ability to do arithmetic."

In the section "Opposition to Hitler", nonetheless. In Günther von Kluge.

Gulag / Allied Treachery Sub-department

• Soviet POW camps are part of the Gulag (favorite word in these articles). In Reiner Stahel.
• Another reference to the Gulag, combined with American perfidy (sourced to a Waffen-SS collector site). In 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf.
• Surprisingly, the Red Army invades Germany; the "invasion" theme apparently has long history on Wikipedia. In 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg.
• What are 'military passenger ships'? They do exist on Wikipedia. In MV Wilhelm Gustloff.

• Another "passenger liner" sunk by the perfidious Allies: "On 10 February 1945 the liner was torpedoed...". Missing: "During World War II, she served as a troop accommodation ship, and since 1944 as an armed transport." In SS General von Steuben.

• Fear of the "revenge from the Russians" drives this German general to suicide. In Battle of Slivice.
• "Allied atrocities" cited to dasreich.ca: "According to some sources the murder / killing was in revenge..." In Karl Kloskowski.
• How does the editor know this with such certainty? "..was killed on 14 December 1942 after being beaten by Soviet troops following a crash landing". In Heinrich Krafft.
• Maybe the subject was feeling guilty about the crimes he had committed while "assisting the Einsatzgruppen in rounding up the Jewish population in the occupied territories"? Article states: "... committed suicide in an American POW camp on 10 May 1945 because of possible transfer to the Soviet Union". In Fritz Freitag.

Mountains-out-of-anthills Sub-department

• Non-existing battles proliferate (links in the original): Milava Position diff, in Hubert-Erwin Meierdress.
• First Battle of Ladoga and Second Battle of Ladoga (diff). In 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland.
• Even Hill 112 deserves a battle: Battle of Hill 112. In Eduard Deisenhofer.
• Yes another battle for a hill: Hill 111. In Georg Hurdelbrink.
• Combo of non-existing pocket and German spelling: Volchow Pocket diff. In Fritz Freitag.
• A "panzer ace" gets his own eponymous non-existing battle, while fighting non-existing Sherman tanks. Compare with "the legend of Barkmann's corner". In Ernst Barkmann.
• Another non-existing battle: Battle of Durkov Pass (link in the original). In Johann Schwerdfeger, which is also notable for including a citation to funtrivia.com.
• A withdrawal can be a "success". In 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland.
• From the early days of Wiki editing: "After subjugating Poland, his unit...". My edit summary was: "Whoa—his unit subjugated Poland all by itself? :-)". In this particular case, this unit, capable of subjugating an entire country, is a company. In Otto Weidinger.
• Reverse example—Mountains into hills: The Soviet advance is described as a "series of tactical pushes". Editor's commentary: "The soviets moved hundreds of km forward!". In 4th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht).
• In the vein of "pan-European fight against Bolshevism", three men do not a unit make. Editor's comment: "As far as the Irish in the Waffen-SS, could only find two men known to have served; maybe a third; so not an 'Irish Brigade'". In Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts.

• 'Wikipedia takes military matters too seriously sometimes: from "at a meeting before the attack on Tobruk" to "in a propaganda photograph". What else was a propaganda company there for, except to capture moments of Rommel's military genius? In Walther Nehring.
  • Likewise, what could all these military men be staring at?. In Franz Halder (see image to the right).

• Proponents of the Spanish Blue Division elevate it to the status of the most important unit in the 900-day siege by placing it into the first paragraph of the article's lead, on par with a German army group. In Siege of Leningrad.
• A recent find: As typical for minor, collaborationist units, this battalion single-handedly "repels a major Soviet offensive". In 658th Eastern Battalion.

Ignorance Sub-department

• This is probably just plain ignorance, as Commissar Order was not in effect at that time. The division must have been executing officers and commissars all on its own accord. In Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler.
• In the same Ignorance Department, Operation Barbarossa extends well into 1943, also in Leibstandarte. In another instance, it extends through the winter of 1941/1942. In Eastern Front Medal.
• At the start of Barbarossa, a German panzer division encircles "large Soviet forces" at Lublin, which is impossible as the city had been occupied by Germany since 1939. In 13th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht).
  • In a similar vein, this SS man's unit is sent "at the end of 1940 (...) to subdue insurgents in Lithuania", with "insurgents in Lithuania" being piped to Occupation of the Baltic states. This article clearly states that it's about the Soviet occupation of the Baltic states. They must have been "subduing" some other "insurgents". In Otto Weidinger.
• I assume this belongs in "Ignorance": Nazi propaganda cited verbatim, in block quote, in the Horst Wessel article.
• Musings from an armchair general, uncited from 2011: "Had the 11th Army been available as a reserve, it could have been used to reinforce the 6th Army...". Filing under ignorance of what Wikipedia is, or at least supposed to be. In 11th Army (Wehrmacht).
• Must be seen to be believed: VIII Corps of the Wehrmacht links to a Soviet formation, the 8th Estonian Rifle Corps. In 3rd Estonian SS Volunteer Brigade.
• Alternate linguistics: "This offensive was known in German as the Plattensee Offensive, in Russian as the Balaton Defensive Operation" (editor's comment: "these phrases are not in these languages"). In Operation Spring Awakening.
• Article on an Wehrmacht soldier links to Battle of Kowel, a First World War engagement, in Alfred Großrock.
• Citation to a TV show, with inaccurate information, in Third Battle of Kharkov.
• In the same article, an obscure source is used to claim that "52 Soviet army divisions ceased to be effective fighting units".
• Still on Third Battle of Kharkov: Manstein's forces are simultaneously understrength and have received a fresh SS Panzer Corps and two panzer armies.
• Editor using Paul Carell as a source cannot spell his name correctly, resulting in "Paul Carroll". In Scorched earth.
• Sticking this into Ignorance / Comparative Geography department, but it's mostly funny. Editor's comment: "Rm refs to Montana and New York. Wikipedia is an international encyclopedia and refs to US states are off topic and unhelpful to most readers". In Case Blue.
• Choice of language produces some strange effects: "At the beginning of 1944, along with the rest of German forces on the Eastern Front, the 20th Panzer Division spent the winter fighting near the Polotsk, Vitebsk areas..." My original edit summary: "This did not make sense -- all the rest of the German forces were fighting near Polotsk?" In 20th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht).
• Minor, but nonetheless illustrative: Inability / lack of knowledge to correctly include the name of the opposing army group commander: "Kiponus". In 44th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht).
• Link for the Panzer Commander book was going to the video game of the same name. In List of military writers.
• According to the worldview of Luftwaffe romancers, the "Drive to Moscow" extends well into 1942: "Most of early 1942 was spent in operations supporting the Central Front drive towards Moscow...". The section is appropriately named "Drive to Moscow (1942)". In Jagdgeschwader 51.
• Strange turn of phrase: "Following his capitulation Greiner was held as an Allied Prisoner of War until his release and subsequent retirement in 1947." ?? There was nothing to retire from. In Heinz Greiner.

• Another general retires after World War II. In Alfred Keller.

• Operations by a Luftwaffe bomber wing are listed as "Soviet Operations". In the iconographically named Sturzkampfgeschwader 77 article.

Alternate timeline

• For my "Alternate timeline" collection, a German general managed to get killed in action in 1944 in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, a country that did not exist until the following year: diff. In Wilhelm Schneckenburger.

• Also in "alternative timeline" news, a general served consecutively from 1940 to 1984. In Ferdinand Maria von Senger und Etterlin.

• An SS functionary who died in 1936 nonetheless had been a member of the Waffen-SS (which did not yet exist at this point): diff, with ornamentation. In Richard Arauner.
• A startling discovery: this SS functionary served "Germany" (not even West Germany), "until 1959", while also having been tried for his crimes and sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment / 15 years. Note the notation: {{flag|DE}} <small>(until 1959)</small>. In Georg Lörner.
• A couple of "alternate history facts":
  • Hitler died on the battlefield (edit summary was Hitler "killed in action"? Really?), in World War II,
  • while this German general also managed to have been {{KIA}}, instead of dying by suicide, in Walter Model.
• Even WP:AFC occasionally contain alternate history narratives, such as this draft on a Cuban-Romanian artist: As Stalinist influence increased [in Romania], Darié and his family fled to Paris in the 1930s". This actually came from the source, but has the editor never heard of the fascist Iron Guard? "Stalinist influence" would have been applicable after WW2, not before it. In Draft:Sandú Darié.
• Werner Kempf was the only German general who managed to reach Kursk during the Battle of Kursk. In Werner Kempf, which qualifies as a double entry as the photo of him "at Kursk" is dated June 1943, before Citadel even started.
• Heinz Guderian was nowhere "near Kiev" on 20 August 1941, before the Battle of Kiev even started. In any case, PG 2's pincer closed well east of Kiev, so Guderian was probably not close to Kiev for the entirety of the battle. In Operation Barbarossa, which almost faithfully reproduces the original propaganda caption: "The general is always in the front line. Here he visits the command post of an armored regiment in order to convince himself of the planned course of the advance!" See also: "leads from the front lines, with a jovial, caring attitude".
• In an imaginary timeline, the Polish Underground State was part of the Soviet Operation Bagration. If only! In Operation Bagration.

• Another Caption This! entry, now with an imaginary "German-Ukrainian parade on 26 July 1941 during Operation Barbarossa". The actual scene depicted is from October 1941. Also qualifies under "Alternate geography", since Ukraine is not situated beyond the Arctic Circle and one does not need to wear a heavy coat there in July. In Ukrainian collaboration with Nazi Germany.
  • A variant: "The German takeover of Stanisławów on 26 July 1941 during Operation Barbarossa". In Stanislavov Ghetto.
  • Also over at Commons. Previously: Stanislawow 26-07-1941 Nazi takeover during Operation Barbarossa. Second Polish Republic before Soviet invasion of 1939, now Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. 20 or 26 July 1941. Now: "Parade in Stanislavov (Ivano-Frankivsk) in honor of the visit of the Governor-General of Poland Reichsleiter Hans Frank. October 1941". In File:Stanislawow October 1941.jpg (renamed).

"Ah, partisanen!"

• As said in The Unknown Soldier documentary by Michael Verhoeven: "Ah, partisanen!", in response to a question about an atrocity in a Dutch village (see clip: "World War II justified by former German soldiers). In Anti-Partisan Guerrilla Warfare Badge.
• Could be an awkward transition, or copy/paste issue, but the juxtaposition is remarkable: "...the activities of partisan groups increased all across the area. LSSAH men murdered 49 Jewish refugees.... As the Nazi "bandit-fighting" instructions said: "Where there are Jews, there's a partisan. Where there are partisans, there's a Jew". Really. In SS Division Leibstandarte.
• Disturbing; genocidal warfare described in terms of "belligerents"; "partisans"; "German victory". Yes, killing unarmed civilians is a "battle": link. In Operation Cottbus.
• Another mass murderer described as "...Waffen SS Brigadeführer (Major General) (...) was awarded to recognize extreme battlefield bravery", blah, blah. De.wiki has quite different things to say. In Heinrich Hannibal.
• Wikipedia caption repeats 1941 caption: Rußland, Minsk.- Öffentliche Hinrichtung von Partisanen ("Public execution of partisans"). In The Holocaust in Belarus.

• Also in the main article: diff. In Masha Bruskina.
• Still on the topic of Masha Bruskina: "...with with [[comrade]]s-[[Partisan (military)|partisans]] before hanging..." diff; she did not take part in armed resistance. In Belarusian resistance during World War II.

• The article on a Nazi ghetto subscribes to the "Jew-Bolshevik-Partisan" construct:

During the Red Army's rapid retreat, on 5–7 August 1941 the Waffen SS massacred as many as 11,000 Jewish men of Pińsk aged 16 to 60,[3] due to reports of Soviet guerrilla activity in the area.[4]

Nazi conspiracy theories indeed connected Jews to the "partisan threat". However, the murder of Pinsk Jews in August 1941 had nothing to do with partisans, whether real or imagined. An aside: by the time this massacre occurred, the Wehrmacht had controlled the area since 4 July, and in any case, the source used does not make this connection. Could also possibly qualify under #Debasement of victims; disturbing diff, in Pinsk Ghetto.

• More of the "Jew-Bolshevik" construct, now via a hoax caption: Jewish welcoming banner for the Soviet forces invading Poland. In the background the Catholic Church of St. Roch in Białystok (Soviet photo). Actual scene: "Yiddish election notice to the People's council of Western Belarus, Białystok". Took two tries to get there: part 1; part 2. The image was removed altogether in 2020; edit summary: "it is never explained how the image is relevant or contributes to understanding the article subject". In Białystok Ghetto. Also qualifies under #Alternate timeline, as the image was misdated by two years, 1939 (presumably) vs 1941.
  • This caption is quite silly because Soviet soldiers most definitely did not read Yiddish (if they were literate at all). Unless this "welcoming banner" was intended for the Jew-Commissars, etc. Compare with a poster from the Russian Civil war era: File:WhiteArmyPropagandaPosterOfTrotsky.jpg.
  • Plus in History of the Jews in Poland: , and over at Commons: .

• A Nazi propaganda classic: "explosions occurred as a result of ammunition stored in the houses", cited to the son of the SS man involved. In Huta Pieniacka massacre.

• Not about partisans, but the thrust of the argument is identical: "...bombs ignited vegetable oil tanks on the dockside, which caused fires that spread into the city centre". In German bombing of Rotterdam. This myth has a long history on Wikipedia: Talk:German bombing of Rotterdam/Archive 1#Causes of fire.

• More of "Jew-partisan" construct: ''[[Einsatzgruppen]]'' ([[task force]]s) are sweeping through [[Eastern Europe]], systematically killing partisans and suspected supporters. For some bizarre reason, we also get a link to the Task force article which states that the term is "a standard part of NATO terminology", also qualifying this entry under #False Equivalence Sub-department. In Defiance (2008 film).
• This reads like Nazi propaganda:
  • "Operation Karlsbad was an anti partisan sweep with the intention of destroying a group of 6000 partisans led by soviet officers" & "were tasked with the destruction of a powerful partisan group under General Wiejerew...".

In the same breath, the article informs us that the unit "recorded the killing of 1051 civilians and alleged partisans for the loss of 24 dead and 65 wounded" & that "the reported casualties from the operation were light with 2 men killed and 10 missing compared to several hundred dead partisans". Not a lot of combat was going on. "General Wiejerew" comes from the Alternate Linguistics Department, or likewise copied from Nazi apologia. In 1st SS Infantry Brigade.

"Fourth branch of the Wehrmacht"

Starting a new section with examples of Waffen-SS (and even SS) being "the fourth branch of the Wehrmacht":

• Yes, there were four branches, including the Waffen-SS: Foreign soldiers and servicemen who did not serve in one of the four branches of the German Wehrmacht.... In List of Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross recipients, a Featured List.
• Even better, the entire SS organisation was "the fourth branch of the Wehrmacht". In Glossary of German military terms.
• The subject (an SS man) receives "Infobox military person" and is presented as a POW. In Josef Blösche.
• The Allgemeine-SS template fits in the "Category:Germany military templates", non-ironically: diff. In Template:Allgemeine-SS.
• Norwegian SS is categorised as one of the "Military units and formations established in 1942". In Germanske SS Norge.
• One of the better known SS men of the entire Nazi era receives an obligatory "Summary of military career". In Theodor Eicke.
• Even this collaborationist unit is a "military formation" and "infantry", instead of being auxiliary police and later Waffen-SS. In SS Sturmbrigade RONA.
• This police and SS official participated in "World War II" (not) after which he was "taken prisoner" (arrested): diff. We also learn about his two ranks, in German, from the lead. In Franz Josef Huber.
• On a related note, various forms of Nazi party, paramilitary and militia ranks were listed in the List of comparative military ranks article.
  • Same story in Template:Military ranks by country, which included "People's Militia, SA, SS, and Nazi Party" (!).

Hall of fame

• The world would be better off if a Wikipedia article on the SS Oath existed (caps and link in the original). In Jochen Peiper, the Waffen-SS romancers' darling and martyr.
• Hmm, "increasingly harsh conditions for the concentration camp inmates" in 1945 and because Nazi Germany was losing the war? As if they were not harsh in 1941, 42, 43, etc... There are some real gems here. In SS-Totenkopfverbände.
• Odious 'Blowtorch Battalion' nickname becomes a point of pride (even the SS Division Leibstandarte's veterans were not too public using it in the post-war context); compare to saner interpretations. Also in Jochen Peiper.
• Remarkable sourcing:
  • Himmler is cited in Wikipedia's voice: Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler stated, "Once the Führer himself has made a decision and given the order, it must be carried out, not only according to the word and the letter, but also in spirit." In Schutzstaffel.
  • The article proudly quotes Himmler, who is also apparently one of "many Waffen-SS commanders": "Himmler said 'Where a Finnish SS-man stood, the enemy was always defeated'." Cited to "<ref>Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler, Order of the day, July 11, 1943"</ref> (!). In Finnish Volunteer Battalion of the Waffen-SS.
  • Another citation to Himmler: , as <ref>RF-SS, Tgb.Nr. 35/143/43 g. vom 2. Oktober 1943</ref>. In 29th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS (1st Italian).
  • A paragraph cited to the Stroop Report: , as Jürgen Stroop. "The Warsaw Ghetto Is No More". Nazi Conspriracy and Aggression Volume 3 — Document No. 1061-PS. The Avalon Project: Lillian Goldman Law Library. Archived from the original on November 26, 2010.. In Warsaw Ghetto.
• This takes the cake – "the consummate SS man", wow. In Fritz Klingenberg.
• Broadly applicable: "He was a military genius". In Heinz Guderian.
• Not sure what this even means: "Nationalist is a term to be treated with caution". In Hermann-Bernhard Ramcke.
• In the more extreme case, as Holocaust denier does not know how to spell Holocaust: "Holocost was a lie". In Richard Glücks.
• 1943 Nazi propaganda book included in Further reading. Where would one find such a book? :-) In 17th Panzer Division.
• This edit summary by editor Beyond My Ken warms my heart :-) "Remove Nazi apologist edit". In Oradour-sur-Glane massacre.
• Nazi salute listed in the infobox under "Motto"; my edit summary was "Seriously?". In 1st Cavalry Division (Wehrmacht).
• The article on a "U-boat ace" lists a 1940 publication by the subject in its bibliography: U-Boot-Fahrer von heute. Erzählt und gezeichnet von einem U-Boot-Kommandanten (Translation: "Submarine commanders of today. Narrated and drawn by a U-boat commander"). How could this possibly not lead to a more "nuanced portrayal" of this Wehrmacht hero? In Joachim Schepke.
• What a way to portray a family tragedy: "His wife, Eva Ledien, was of Jewish descent. She committed suicide in October 1938 so that their children could be Aryanized. "This freed Willibald to follow his career". Plus the usual "capture" while the unit "surrenders". In Willibald Borowietz.
• Considering that Armia Krajowa lost 15,000 troops KIA, while 150,000 to 200,000 civilians were killed during the Warsaw Uprising, the Knight's Cross in this case was awarded 90% for atrocities, and 10% for "successful military leadership". (I'm pretty sure that "extreme battlefield bravery" was not involved, as it's hard to imagine a high-ranking SS figure to be personally storming barricades).

The achievement was celebrated in the Wehrmachtbericht (an OKW press release, aka unadulterated Nazi propaganda) as follows:

More information Date, Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording ...

Date	Original German Wehrmachtbericht wording	Direct English translation
1 October 1944 (addendum)	Bei der Niederwerfung des Aufstandes in Warschau haben sich die im Verband des SS-Obergruppenführers und General der Polizei von Bach unter Führung des Generalmajors Rohr kämpfenden Verbände des Heeres, der Waffen-SS und der Luftwaffe durch Härte und kühnes Draufgängertum besonders ausgezeichnet.[1]	During the suppression of the uprising in Warsaw, fighting forces of the Army, the Waffen-SS and the Luftwaffe under the command of SS-Obergruppenführer and General of the Police von Bach under the leadership of Major General Rohr have particularly distinguished themselves by showing toughness and audacious recklessness.

Close

In Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski; the said mention required four (!) tries to remove.

• "Infobox military biography" seriously needs "Known for" and/or "War crimes" section. In this case, the massacre at Babi Yar was listed under Battles/wars. Yes, slaughtering defenseless civilians, away from the front lines, is a "battle". In Walther von Reichenau.

• The gems extend to the post-war politics: German People's Union is a "patriotic" party? In Gerhard Frey (politician).

• Related: changing to "neo-Nazi" and "extremist" from "right-wing", in both cases. In Hans-Ulrich Rudel.

• "General Patton in 1945 to Colonel Aaron Banks in 1953" are turning in their graves that they had "commanded" an SS training camp, in the appropriately named section: "German/US Commanders". In SS-Junkerschule Bad Tölz.
  • On a related note, the swastikas that flew over Reichskommissariat Ukraine in 1941–1945 were "Ukrainian flags". Jesus f***g Christ. I could not decide whether the person who added them was trolling or deeply ignorant. Judging by the entirety of the section, this individual was possibly motivated by a desire to insert as many Nazi flags as possible into an unrelated article: Seven swastikas, plus SS runes for good measure. In List of Ukrainian flags.

#1: "That idiot Hitler!"

• Rundsted blames Hitler for the defeat of Barbarossa, in a paragraph cited to "influential military writer"{{peacock}} Liddel-Hart which in turn is based on "extensive interviews with [...] with Rundsted ("all the Army leaders", "following their training in the Prussian military tradition", blah, blah). In Gerd von Rundstedt.
• Rundsted was "dismissed for resisting Hitler's interference in the Russian campaign", not because Barbarossa failed. In Gerd von Rundstedt.
• Verlorene Siege, the mother of the German Wehrmacht apologetic memoir genre, with its suggestive title "Lost Victories" (i.e. if it weren't for Hitler, Russian winter, and "endless waves", Wehrmacht would not have "lost the war"). Read: WWII was Germany's to lose, and not for the Allies to win. In Verlorene Siege.
• More from Verlorene Siege. Manstein (via a helpful wikipedia editor) on why he lost: "Hitler had forbidden his armed forces to fortify river lines".
• Typical post-WWII apologia from a German general: "loss of further men unnecessarily due to Hitler's orders to turn cities and towns into fortresses", in Erhard Raus.
• A perfect distillation of post-war Wehrmacht apologia: "Hitler's command of the OKH however, led to disastrous defeats of the German Army in the Eastern Front, and soon on the Western Front". Suggest reading Inside Hitler's High Command by Geoffrey P. Megargee. In Oberkommando des Heeres.
• As always, Hitler is responsible for all Wehrmacht reverses; my edit summary: Oversimplification - Bock was the field commander most insistent on the continued attack in November, in re: "...Bock—who recommended an earlier withdrawal—was subsequently relieved of command by Adolf Hitler". In Fedor von Bock.
• "That idiot Hitler" + "Brutal Russian winter" combo, in one lead & cited to the subject of the article himself:

During the autumn of 1941, his offensive on Moscow was delayed by [[Battle of Kiev (1941)|orders from Hitler]] with whom he disagreed sharply. Soon, German troops found themselves delayed by bad roads and mud {{sfn|Guderian|1952|p=245}} and then suffering from the winter cold, one of the major factors that led to the failure of [[Operation Barbarossa]].

The Red Army wasn't apparently "one of the major factors". And let's throw Greek-tragedy vibe into the mix: This marked the end of his ascendancy. diff-link. In Heinz Guderian.

• Instead of rewarding this commander, Hitler unceremoniously forced him out: On 19 December 1941, Kluge resigned along with Bock and Field Marshal Walther von Brauchitsch. In reality, Kluge was promoted to command Army Group Center, replacing Bock. In 4th Army (Wehrmacht). Also qualifies under #Alternate timeline.

#2: "Brutal Russian winter"

• ""Once the full fury of the Russian winter struck, which was the coldest in over 50 years..." In Fedor von Bock.
• "... but by then the first blizzards of the Russian Winter had already begun". This one was even linked appropriately – in Operation Barbarossa.
• "... before the Russian Winter forced the German forces to take up winter positions"; also linked correctly. In Case Blue.
• "Despite the onset of a brutal winter, the Germans doggedly advanced on Moscow". In Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma.
• "The Soviet defense of its capital at the onset of the [[General Winter|brutal Russian winter]] stalled out the hitherto seemingly-unstoppable Nazi German invasion; piping to General Winter, how appropriate – in Strategic victory.
• "More of non-ironic use of the General Winter article, with piping: [[Russian Winter|characteristically severe Russian winter weather]] and [[Russian Winter|Russian winter]]. In Tiger I. Did the Wehrmacht not know that it gets cold there in winter?
• Follow up to the above entry: second attempt at removing "Brutal 1941 winter". Tiger I was not in production yet. :-) In Tiger I.
• "In spite of beginning to suffer heavy rates of attrition, the Panzer Armies marched along. The Rasputitza Season (season of no movement in Russian - due to heavy rains and sluggish muddy roads) was terrible and took its toll on German equipment. Progress was often slowed down to a few kilometres a day. Nonetheless, the Germans marched on." --> becomes: "The rasputitsa season (literally "roadlessness", due to heavy rains and sluggish muddy roads) was terrible, but not unusual. Nonetheless, Wehrmacht did not prepare for this contingency as the German high command had expected the German army to be in Moscow and beyond at this time, with the campaign over by the fall." In 2nd Panzer Army.
• Both mud and cold in one sentence: "After great initial success,^{[dubious – discuss]} the attack bogged down in mud, and was halted in December by severe cold...". In Georg-Hans Reinhardt.
• "...remained on the front throughout the winter, suffering more from the difficult climatic conditions than from enemy actions", while also "defending against the fierce and continuing Russian attacks". In 1st Parachute Division (Germany).
• Conveniently skipping over early Oct with its "perfect offensive weather" & early winter frosts, when the roads became passable but it has not snowed yet: rasputitsa, "brutal Russian winter set it", etc.. In Fedor von Bock.
• The subject "worked tirelessly to ensure the German success before the onset of severe Russian winter which was the most brutal on record ever since the winter of 1940". In Walther von Brauchitsch.
• One of the early encounters with the "Brutal Russian Winter" narrative: "The German tanks inability to traverse snowy terrain effectively may have slowed the relief attempts". As if the Wehrmacht had never heard of snow before. In Battle of Stalingrad.

#3: "Endless waves of men and tanks"

Another favorite alibi of the former Wehrmacht generals; to quote Friedrich von Mellenthin, these waves "eventually submerged the superior Wehrmacht, like the stones in the ocean" (or something to this effect)

• "The numerical superiority of the Red Army" was only reason why Operation Spring Awakening failed
• "Allied air and naval superiority forced the German units to retreat" – Verdammt Allies with their ships and airplanes! Moreover, the units don't just retreat, they are forced to do so (in many other articles, too). In Parachute-Panzer Division Hermann Göring.
• Channeling Panzerschlachten, Wikipedia states: "Reinhardt's shattered forces could not stem these overwhelming attacks, and this caused disputes with [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]." In Georg-Hans Reinhardt.
• "It was no more than an understrength unit formed from remnants, thrown into battle to halt the Soviet onslaught into the German heartland". May also qualify for "Poetic language" and "Selective empathy". In Panzergrenadier Division Kurmark.
• "Most of the time it [the Wehrmacht] fought being outnumbered and outgunned but regularly inflicted higher losses than it received", cited to a 1977 source: "Assessment". In Wehrmacht.

"Bled itself white" & more poetic language

• "Battle of the European SS" – trifecta of unsourced dubious claims, POV language and POV linking, in SS Division Nordland.
• "Leading from the front", in SS Division Wiking.
• "Lead from the front with jovial, caring attitude", in Fritz von Scholz.
• "Bled itself white", in SS Division Nordland.
• More of "bleeding itself white", in SS Division Wiking.
• Yet more of "bleeding itself white" – Ah, this is the meta theme of sacrifice, in SS Division Totenkopf.
• "Annihilated" times 2. In Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross.
• Yes, "hellish" and "annihilated" in one sentence! In 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland.
• Uncited POV language: "The Dutch were seen as especially well qualified for service in the SS", more, in SS Division Nederland
• More poetic language: "The Legionnaires were stunned, but had little time to mourn their lost leader.". In SS Division Nederland.
• Combo of "ferocious battles", "stemming the tide" and German terms, such as "the abteilung" and "abt"; no italics or translation in the original. In Hubert-Erwin Meierdress.
• The POV language has gone too far here with "resurrection' of the Afrika Korps; "rebirth" (of a division!) is equally poetic, in 21st Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)
• Only took 9 (!) years to clean up up an article, in Franz Böhme
• The French SS unit was apparently so insignificant, that to pad its 'engagement' listing, locality names were used instead. Also present: Sacrifice; Defiance; Survivors – all extremely popular concepts in these articles, in SS Division Charlemagne
• Infamous (?) Battle of Kursk – since when?. In 82nd Infantry Division (Wehrmacht).
• Felix Steiner is described in Wikipedia's voice, without quotation or attribution, as "probably the best SS officer available", in 11th SS Panzer Army.
• Apparently, one can be "liberated" from prison, in the case of a convicted war criminal Albert Kesselring. Second attempt at the same change.
• War as something not to be missed: "... returned to the regiment, in time for the Polish Campaign" is an excellent way to describe the start of World War II; fun times. Also note "Polish Campaign" while the event is (normally) known is the Invasion of Poland. In Walter Schmidt (SS officer).
• What is the significance of the date that it apparently needs its own article? '...after an equally gallant action on the 28th...' (link in the original)
• More of the same: "Alternate geography; "stem the tide"; ahistorical terms; "much-needed recuperation"; etc., in 2nd Parachute Division (Germany).
• (Re)visions of grandeur on behalf of the admirers of the SS Div Leibstandarte.
• More of "desperate fighting" and "repulsing all enemy attacks", in Walloon Legion.
• Non-ironic use of "Third Reich". In Gheorghe Răscănescu.
• A smorgasbord of POV campaign names: "Polish Campaign"; "French Campaign"; "Russian Campaign"; "Ukrainian Campaign" (twice!), culminating with "Defence of the Reich". In 1st Infantry Division (Wehrmacht)
• "Although the conquest of Crete was considered a grandiose victory of the airborne corps,<ref>Kurowski, Frank, 'Jump into Hell: German Paratroopers in World War II', Stackpole Books, (2010), p. 165</ref>..." from the beloved Franz Kurowski: diff. In Battle of Crete; h/t Indy beetle.
• A German withdrawal is described in biblical terms: "the Germans began their exodus from the city, under great pressure from the Soviets". More in the same diff, such as "Germans desperately fought..." for the #"Desperate defensive battles" entry, and so on. (I see I missed "desperate combat" in the same para). In Belgorod-Kharkov Offensive Operation.

The I Was Not a Nazi Polka

See: "The 'I Was Not a Nazi' Polka" by The Chad Mitchell Trio:

...Adolf who?

- Adolf Hitler!

- Should I know him? Is he a folksinger?

• A classic! "While Rommel developed an admiration for Hitler, he never joined the Nazi Party". In Erwin Rommel.
• A Luftwaffe ace and a hero of war-time propaganda was "rabidly anti-Nazi":

• "its bull shit, re; biographers Tate, Heaton and Spick. See Marseille and Nazism on his article"
• "reverted bull shit. A media 'historian' isn't qualified to comment. It is a firm fact, was Marseille rabidly anti-Nazi.".

Said "anti-Nazi" credentials include playing jazz at a party and overhearing a conversion about the "evacuation" of the Jews. Despite frowns at his jazz performance, he's invited back for another party! In the article about 1957 West German movie Der Stern von Afrika, which the allegedly "bull shit" source (James Chapman) describes as "a "whitewash" that presented an "acceptable face of wartime heroics" in West German films of that period. The film did not portray Marseille's Nazi convictions, instead presenting his a rebel in trouble with his superiors". In Der Stern von Afrika.

• Another classic: "Asperger cooperated with Nazis, including sending children to the Spiegelgrund clinic which participated in the euthanasia program, although he never had direct involvement with the Nazi party." As if this makes the murder of children under the guise of "euthanasia" somehow better. In Hans Asperger.
• About a dedicated and energetic mass murderer: Nebe was implicated in the plot due to his anti-Nazi feelings, even though he was a full member of the SS and had commanded an Einsatzgruppe". In 20 July plot.
• Another classic: "A strong (but covert) opponent of the Nazi regime, he...". In Hans Bernd Gisevius.

Surrender? Never!

• Why always "captured" and never "taken prisoner" or "surrendered"? In Hans Boeckh-Behrens and dozens, if not hundreds, of other articles.
  • Even in section names: "Italian Front and capture". Perhaps it is just a "Germanised" turn of phrase, but it reads rather POV: i.e. Germany was not defeated; instead, it was overrun by "overwhelming masses of Allied men, tanks and aircraft" and its soldiers never laid down their weapons and surrendered, but were "captured"? In Gerhard von Schwerin.
  • The German forces "surrendered" but the general was "captured". That does not make sense. In Werner Sanne.
• This German general was "captured" while the caption to the infobox photo is "Hitter and corps commander Gollwitzer surrender to Soviet forces". Moreover, the article states that "his division was encircled and forced to surrender". Seriously. In Alfons Hitter.
• In this instance, I was thinking "finally, a general surrenders!" But no, in the very next sentence, we get "capture" again. And another frequent reference: "released from captivity", as well. In Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben.
• Here, we are apparently to feel sorry for the general whose army had been "decimated" before he assumed command. He was subsequently "captured", through no fault of his own. In Friedrich-Wilhelm Müller.
• A new variant: "was made a prisoner of war", not "surrendered". I'm pretty sure I've seen this construction & the odd passive voice elsewhere. In Joachim Fest.

Alternate geography

• Pet peeve – German versions of locality names: example, another one; even POW camps are located in German- (Czech-?) sounding places: Šuja; German spelling results in non-existing Bielgorod or, a variant, Bjelgorod (see diff) (links in the original). Bjelgorod was listed as the place of death, so it must be a variant of the Knight-Cross-Holder-died-there-so-there-must-be-an-article-for-it below.
• Just because a Knight's Cross holder dies there, does not mean that an article needs to be created: e.g. Losovka (see diff); Petit Coo (see diff); Büttgenbach (see diff); Bass Bodeux (see diff); "Shepetowka, Russia" (see diff) (This also qualifies under "Alternate geography, as the real-life city of Shepetovka is located in Ukraine, not in Russia)
• This improbable locality name Rkiwira comes from the book by Florian Berger The Face of Courage (!) in the Hans Juchem article; it does not sound anywhere close to Ukrainian and Berger's book is the only place where it can be found. Preface to the book by Manfred Dorr: link. Five exclamation points in as many paragraphs.
• Kharkov is apparently located in Russia, and not in Ukraine (this was originally spelled Charkow).
• Either Alternate Timeline or Alternate Geography: Having recaptured Stalingrad earlier in the year, the Soviet Union began a counteroffensive to surround the remaining Axis armies still in the area – the edit either confused Operation Uranus (1942) with the Battle of Kiev (1943), OR the editor did not realise that by November 1943 the major fighting was happening over 1000 km west of Stalingrad. Not sure which, but improbably either way, even given two citations listed. But leaning towards a geography entry, as the passage states that Stalingrad was recaptured earlier in the year. In November 1943.
• The city of Briansk is described as a "village", unless it was indeed a village but with a similar name; but who cares, let's link it anyway! diff. In Erich Hartmann, the subject of the evocatively named The Blond Knight of Germany (the book is extensively cited in the article, with the dubious distinction of being mentioned in The Myth of the Eastern Front as an example of WWII romancing literature).

"Unneeded iconography"

That's a catch-all section for a variety of totemic symbols that often fill articles to the brim, with foreign language unit names, unnecessary translations, and visual depictions of much intricate detail.

• The image on the right is authentic & comes from Bundesarchiv, but the super-gigantic Knight's Cross is not; it was added after this picture was taken. This reminds me of Wikipedia's coverage of the German war effort somehow: every Knight's Cross is more "coveted"; every Panzer/Stuka/U-boat "ace" is more successful; every general is a father to his men; and every soldier displays "extreme battlefield bravery". Rah-rah! In Walter Koch (Fallschirmjäger), where even the disambiguation is a combo of #"Unneeded iconography" and #"Heart of the romancing ethos".
• Pet peeve: excessive linking to unit names, plus unnecessary linking to SS ranks. In Friedrich August Freiherr von der Heydte and SS Division Wiking.
• Pet peeve: Insistence on using German variants of unit names, despite the fact that suitably named articles exist, plus the usual over-linking to units and commanders; POV issues; unsourced dubious claims. In Fritz Kraemer, and many other pages. Why use German variants? In Gustav Lombard.
• What's with the obsession over SS Panzer Regiment 1 (links in the original): examples 1, 2, 3 and many more. This must be related to the "Panzer ace" myth, as the three examples here come off that list: link to the 2015 version, which also includes a randomly red-linked "SS-Panzerjäger-Abteilung 12" (translation: 12th SS Tank Destroyer Battalion).

• Three same, unneeded links—why? Must be the "fancruft" (the term which I only recently learned). In a typical SS officer article, August Schmidhuber, which does not mention in the lead that he was convicted of war crimes and executed.
• The article teaches us about the "Correct wearing of the U-boat War Badge". Who would have thunk one could wear it "incorrectly"? Here's a relevant video: "This is What Happens When You Wear a Nazi Uniform in Court". In U-boat War Badge.
• The article about a movie invites the reader to "note the Knights Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords" on the picture of the protagonist. Hard to say who would be interested in such intricate detail. In Der Stern von Afrika.
• Someone decided to illustrate the article on Hypothetical Axis victory in World War II with a WWII propaganda poster, at 275px size: diff. Image can be viewed here: File:Berlin.Gestapo Museum 007.JPG (since deleted, but it was really something).
• Someone took the time to decorate the template containing the German SS divisions. In Template:SS Divisions.

• Here's an equally ornamental template, replete with graphics, German-language terms, and even links to de.wiki: Template:Ranks, uniforms and insignia of Nazi Germany. Who would not need to learn about Flaggen der Hitlerjugend? Current version: Template:Ranks, uniforms and insignia of Nazi Germany.

• The Nazism sidebar was decorated with miniature portraits of key Nazi figures: Hitler, Goering, etc.: (see right; actual size). A practical question: who can recognise them at such a miniscule size? In Template:Nazism sidebar.

Alternate ethnography and geopolitics

• Propensity to call the Red Army as "Russian army" or simply "Soviets" or "Russians"; examples to numerous to list, but here's another one – what's with the German POV?
• Yes, let's blame the Italians for Germans' military defeats. And the 'Russian' are just scaredy cats; in SS Brigade Schuldt
• Ostfront happening in 'Russia' (note the German term for the Eastern Front as well), in 8th Army (Wehrmacht)
• Alternate ethnography: "he had observed the Russians preparing to destroy an important bridge..." In Karl Kloskowski.
• Alternate geopolitics: "from the countries annexed by [[Russia]] after 1939. They were organised to fight against the Soviets on the [[Germany|German]] side." In Azeri SS Volunteer Formations. Note that the countries linked are Russia and Germany, neither of which were the official designations of these countries at the time of WWII.
  • Also in "alternate geopolitics" news, this Waffen-SS division was a unit of "Vichy France", displaying a {{flag|Vichy France}}: diff. In SS Division Charlemagne.

Comparative Nazism-Stalinism Studies

• The attitude towards russian (sic) women going to war was not welcomed on either the German or Russian side. Also reads like apologia, since this irrelevant aside follows a more pertinent statement: "On 29 June, Kluge ordered that women in uniform are to be shot, which was later rescinded." In Günther von Kluge.
• [[Category:Soviet occupation of Eastern Poland 1939–41]] applies to a district within the Nazi civilian administration: diff. In District of Galicia.
• The rather extensive article on the Holocaust in Poland has a lead that devotes a paragraph (out of four) to rescue by ethnic Poles, emphasising their great personal cost, and half a paragraph that's about Soviet crimes: . In The Holocaust in Poland.

"Annihilation of Mobile Group Popov"

This deserves its own subsection:

• II SS Panzer Corps – destruction of Mobile Group Popov
• Franz Bäke – destruction of Mobile Group Popov again (link in the original)
• 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking – more of Mobile Group Popov
• Fritz Witt – including Mobile Group Popov yet again, plus the ever popular "annihilation"
• Hubert-Erwin Meierdress – back to the annihilation of Mobile Group Popov (link in the original)
• Ernst Barkmann – Yet more of 'annihilation of Mobile Group Popov' – link in the original
• 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion – destruction of Mobile Group Popov (link in the original)

Selective empathy

Appropriate quote from The Myth of the Eastern Front: "Little if any sentiment has been extended [by the Americans] to the families of the 8 million Red Army soldiers who died fighting the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS, or the 22 million civilians killed by these military organizations and the killing squads, the Einsatzgruppen", that worked closely with the army formations. "With a forty-year head start", the predominance of the German account "hardly remains a mystery".

• Endless self-pity: 3 (!) instances of 'remnants' in 2 sentences'; they are worth quoting: "The remnants of the XI SS Panzer Corps got trapped in the Halbe Pocket around April 28, 1945. Together with the remnants of the German 9th Army and 12th Army, the remnants of the 23d SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division "Nederland" surrendered on 4 May 1945 to US troops across the Elbe." (see diff). In III (Germanic) SS Panzer Corps.
• "Like all who suffered in the first Russian winter of the war..." – self-pity much? In Siegfried Müller (SS officer).
• More of self-pity & tales of valor and heroic deeds: "against overwhelming odds"; "condemned the troops to bitter and bloody street fighting. Completely encircled and cut off from any reinforcements, his Kampfgruppe fought off the Soviet advances." In Wilhelm Mohnke.
• More: "... hardship endured during the Russian winter" (Begs the question, why was the German army even there?) In Eastern Front Medal.
• Did the opposing tank crews have air-conditioned vehicles, while the Germans "worked in 'boiling' tanks, in sweltering weather conditions, and frequently suffered from heat exhaustion"? In Battle of Kursk.
• War presented as "burden", which is moreover "forced" upon the Wehrmacht: ... would release some of the burden the Germans were forced to take..." (Q: Why are we going to attack? A: We are just trying to relieve the burden. :-) ). Also in Battle of Kursk
• In this instance, Waffen-SS divisions "suffer through the Russian winter". In Waffen-SS.
• Despite the "many hardships", the subject of the article "learned to make ways of entertainment in the ruins of the city" (which the Wehrmacht first firebombed and then destroyed what remained with artillery). In Alexander Edler von Daniels.
• "...taking ever higher toll of the overworked veteran Luftwaffe pilots". Not a rest cure, d'oh. In Jagdgeschwader 52.
• "...Suffering (...) extensive aircrew exhaustion". In Kampfgeschwader 4.
• If only the Axis had more luck... "Unfortunately, North Africa, like other cases proved disastrous for the Abwehr." Editor's comment: "Not so unfortunate". In Abwehr.
• "The defensive, however, effective as it might have been, wasn't able to work wonders for too long, and was overrun during another large-scale Soviet offensive...." – also with undertones of "endless waves of tanks and men" and "victim of history". In Heribert von Larisch, another curiously overwrought article.
• Unfortunate according to whom? "His first success however, was also unfortunately his last". Moreover, the subject also "dispatched" two terrorist aircraft in just "five minutes". In Heinrich Setz.
• The initial stages went well, full stop. In Kamenets-Podolsky pocket, another strictly German-side POV article.
• "This evacuation is still an issue with surviving veterans of the 79th", the article commiserates, adding: "Most men were taken into Soviet captivity including Generalleutnant Alexander von Daniels, the commander." Replaced both sentences with: "The division, including its commander, Generalleutnant Alexander von Daniels, surrendered to the Red Army when the German forces capitulated." In 79th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), which looked more like a fan page rather than an article: link, with its talk of "second" and "third lives".
• In related news, the search for [Trapped remnants wehrmacht desperate] currently produces 33 articles, with snippets offering such language as "A desperate counterattack was mounted against the 2nd Armored Division by German remnants, but this was a disaster..." (Operation Cobra) and "Remnants of the 21st Panzer Division were to cover in a north-westerly direction, while remnants of the 32nd SS Division..." (Battle of Halbe). See also: Lost Cause of the Confederacy.

• Are there such things as hot water hydrants? I don't think so. A case of inadvertent First world problems, perhaps? In Battle of Berlin (see right).
  • Also over at Commons: & ; people are apparently not familiar with the function of a fire hydrant.
• Another post-war reference, now in the 1970s timeframe: "war time slaughter". What?? Casualties are generally expected in a war and not described as "slaughter". In Thomas Kretschmer.
• "The war in the Soviet Union was going well but [unfortunately] the cost to the Waffen-SS was extreme". Also present: the tropes of brutal Russian winter & within sight of the Kremlin. In SS Division Das Reich, where else?

"Desperate defensive battles"

• In plain English, "gave an instruction for the Division to move to the west to surrender to the American forces" is called hastily running away from a fight, in Erich Eberhardt.
• "Defensive operations on the Eastern Front" vs "Retreat" – which one is in plain English and shorter? In 4th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht).

• Overdoing "defence" and "defenders", especially in the context of an occupied territory: 9 instances in one edit. In 218th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht).
  • In a similar vein, a picture of nondescript German military vehicle in a random field is used as a lead image in an article on a major Soviet operation, with this caption: German troops defending Smolensk in August 1943. Who are they "defending Smolensk" from – themselves? In Battle of Smolensk (1943).
• There are such things as defensive victories, and even decisive ones. Both in Hubert-Erwin Meierdress.
• Another example of "successful defensive battles" in which the company is reduced to 30 men, and yes, Berlin is about to fall. In Friedrich Blond (article has been deleted; see Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Friedrich Blond)
• Another general claims a "major defensive victory", despite "losing many men and being pushed back around 100 (!) kilometres". In Erhard Raus.
• As a variant on the "desperate batttles" theme, the Waffen-SS units never retreat, they are always "engaged in a fighting withdrawal". Example from Eduard Deisenhofer. Plus totemic German-language unit names, as usual.
• Not quite a defensive battle, but definitely a "tragic hero" vibe going on, combined with a WP:Crystal ball: "... unaware he could take the town..." and " ... unknowingly bypassing an opportunity to flank and trap the entire division ...", sourced to dubious author Bruce Quarrie. In Jochen Peiper.
• SS divisions never retreat! No such term exists in Waffen-SS mythology. In 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking. They simply "withdraw". In 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen.
• "Desperate defence". In Gustav-Adolf Blancbois.
• Could also fit into "Outstanding achievements in euphemismia": this Wehrmacht division simply "continued a slow movement west", instead of retreating. In 79th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht).
• Deserves quoting almost in full:
  • "Mummert was determined to lead the survivors of his division in an escape to the west. Ignoring Weidling's calls for a cessation of hostilities, Mummert ordered the breakout attempt to get underway. Late in the day he went missing during heavy fighting, surfacing years later in Soviet captivity. The remnants of 18th Panzergrenadier joined the escape attempt, and both divisions attempted to battle their way to the west and surrender to the Americans. By 3 May the divisions had reached a river crossing in Spandau. The bridge was under heavy Soviet artillery fire, but the few survivors of the Müncheberg attempted to cross the bridge. Those who made it across the bridge found that they were surrounded by the Soviet forces, and on 5 May the division disintegrated. Several small groups of men had managed to reach the Americans."
  • As of Dec 2015, this was one of the early encounters with such POV content; my comment was: "too much high drama. In Panzer Division Müncheberg.

Language school

• Wikipedia appears to be a place to learn German, plus unnecessary piping (with italics) to an article named in English; in Helmut Wick.
• Opportunity to learn all four highest Nazi Germany's awards in just one lead; in Günther Prien, a mythical figure in WWII U-boat lore.
• "Not a place to teach readers German", comments an editor. Quote continues: "That's a coatrack problem we just don't need. Interested readers can click related links." In Erwin Rommel.
• Another fine example of the language school theme: many translations, plus totemic German-language unit names. I also learned the word Grundschule (elementary school). Why include info on the attendance of a elementary school in an encyclopedia? Apparently, no detail is too small for the hero. In Ernst-Georg Buchterkirch, whose propaganda photo apparently added to his notability: "Buchterkirch (left) in discussion with Generaloberst Walter Model, July 1941". The photo was erroneously included in Battle of Kursk, which took place in 1943. The latter entry belongs in the Ignorance Sub-department.
• A particularly bad case of "language school", in Alexander Löhr. (h/t Catrìona)
• An example of a "reverse language school", plus unneeded piping & italics: [[Fall Gelb|Operation ''Fall Gelb'']]. Editor explains in the edit summary: "Operation" and "Fall" mean the same thing in this context, so Operation Operation Gelb doesn't make much sense. In SS Division Das Reich.
• A rather remarkable entry, "<ref group="Tr">childcare of the Evangelical Relief Fund—''Jugendfürsorge des Evangelischen Hilfswerk''</ref>", given that's an article about a submarine commander: diff. In Otto Schuhart.

WP:Memorial

Starting a new section as a reflection of WP:MEMORIAL, in a literal sense:

• Plot details are included – so that fans can visit? plot 47—row 3—grave 120. In Michael Wittmann.
• With a notation that "the stone has been removed. In Georg Bochmann.
• Are people going on tours of various cemeteries? "Block 18-grave 349". In Emil Dürr.
• Repost from Talk:Hans-Joachim Marseille#Overly detailed article, where my attempt to remove this verbatim inscription on an actual memorial went nowhere:

The left side bears the insignia.^[2]

Hauptmann		Hauptmann
Hans-Joachim Marseille		Hans-Joachim Marseille
Inh. d. Eichenlaubs m. Schwertern		Recipient of the Oak Leaves with Swords
u. Brillanten zum Ritterkreuz		and Diamonds to the Knight’s Cross
Der höchsten Ital. Tapferkeitsmedaille		The highest Italian Medal of bravery
in Gold u.a. Auszeichnungen		in Gold and other Awards
Geb. 13 December 1919 gef. i. Derna i. Afrika 30 September 1942		Born 13 December 1919 killed in Derna in Africa 30 September 1942

• Wübbe, Walter (2001). Hauptmann Hans Joachim Marseille— Ein Jagdfliegerschicksal in Daten, Bildern und Dokumenten [Captain Hans Joachim Marseille— A Fighter Pilots Fate in Data, Images and Documents] (in German). Schnellbach, Germany: Verlag Siegfried Bublies. ISBN 978-3-926584-78-6.

Cited to yet another small-time, extreme-right publisher Verlag Siegfried Bublies [de]. In Hans-Joachim Marseille.

• "Not a grave directory", times two: diff 1 & diff 2. Both in Hans Hahn (night fighter pilot).

• In this case, the "Memorials" section lists propaganda appearances in German press; my edit summary: "Appearing in Deutsche Wochenschau while alive does not fit under "Memorials" – broke out into separate section". In Hans-Joachim Marseille.

• Filing under WP:MEMORIAL, although this could also qualify under "Outstanding Achievements in Double-speak": Caption reads: "A military commander of the 45th Estonian Regiment", while the subject is shown in a Waffen-SS uniform (this fact is not alluded to in the lead). Plus "Ball Lightning" nickname. Definitely memorial.

• Seems to best fit here: even templates have POV names; see "Third Reich". In (now renamed) Template:Generaloberst of Nazi Germany.
• A "memorial" section of Notable decorations was removed with this edit summary: "decorations of a mass murderer??? what are we here - nazi nostalgia central or what???". Said "notable" decorations included a long list of occupation medals; [[SS-Ehrenring|SS-Honour Ring]] (1933), which all SS men received; and other obscure awards. In Kurt Daluege.

Enemy in the cross-hairs

Starting a section for capturing the moments of glorification of military violences:

• 18 instances of "enemy" removed, including multiples in the same sentence. The prose that showed up in quotations (from the participants of events) was exactly the same: "enemy this", "enemy that". In Hans-Joachim Marseille.
• Image included in the article with original caption (diff):

Let's celebrate the accomplishments of this pilot by showing the people he presumably killed! In Johannes Naumann.

• Exuberant language: "Two more British vessels fell victim to Prien...". In Günther Prien.
• War is exciting stuff! Let's have more of it! Section appropriately named "Summary of raiding history". Equating the military (profession) to enjoyable pastime ("hunting") is a typical approach in similar articles. In German submarine U-88 (1941). Side note: Soldaten: On Fighting, Killing and Dying by Sönke Neitzel & Harald Welzer provides excellent insights into this psychology. I highly recommend this book.
• Yes, let's glorify military violence some more: JG 400 in action! In Jagdgeschwader 400. (See Soldaten again).
• Sure, let's decorate an article on a Luftwaffe pilot with an image of the memorial to the RAF pilot he had presumably shot down & killed:

What could be more appropriate and more sensitive to the war dead? In Rudolf Pflanz.

Debasement of victims

• This series of edits was quite shocking to have had to perform: referring to sexual slavery as "prostitution", the victims as "prostitutes", and even with a helpful "Category:Prostitution in Germany" in the mix: diff. In German camp brothels in World War II, of all places.
• Describing gang rape at an extermination camp as the female prisoners "entertaining" the SS guards during "orgies" in Kurt Bolender. (H/t Catrìona.)
• In the context of the murderous policies that Nazi Germany was about to unleash on the Polish and Soviet Jews, "in the personnel of the Soviet security police at the time, the high percentage of Jews was striking" reads uncomfortably close to Nazi propaganda. Being cited to the fringe author "Mark Paul" does not help. In Lviv pogroms.

• Victims are anonymised, while perpetrators are presented in excruciating detail, especially for the lead. In this case, the name of the probable victim is "hidden" via piping, while the Nazi party's name is listed and linked twice: [[National Socialist German Workers Party]] ([[Nazi Party]]). We also learn the subject's obscure rank (with translation): "[[Rottenführer]] (Section Leader)". In Josef Blösche.

• More anonymising of victims (see right), in World War II: diff (Czesława Kwoka was also originally "sent" to Auschwitz, not deported). My edit was later replaced with ...[[Czesława Kwoka|Polish girl deported]]..., but let's have more pictures of military action!

• A hoax caption, presenting victims as (almost) perpetrators:

• "Sonderkommando 1005 next to a bone crushing machine during liquidation of genocide evidence in the Janowska concentration camp".

To put it more charitably, this could just be plain ignorance. But the poses are too casual and the subjects are too well-dressed; you don't need to be a historian to see that. In Janowska concentration camp.

• Also over at Commons: Date = between June 1943 and Oct 1943; Author =SS officer who had worked in Janowska concentration camp|Janowska concentration camp. The "SS officer" and the date are event purportedly sourced to "U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum".
• Still on the same topic: well-fed and spiffily dressed Sonderkommandos are casually posing next to the machine in German-occupied Poland (Jun 1943 – Oct 1943). Fitting: a borderline Holocaust-denial statement in the article Holocaust denial.

The process

To illustrate the scope of the project, I did the following, starting soon from the time I joined MILHIST (Nov 2015):

1. was greatly puzzled as to what the heck this thing was and why the text blocks were getting so much space, including in original German, and prominently housed in their own sub-sections: sample;
2. rewrote and expanded the Wehrmachtbericht article ;
3. attempted to engage editors on related talk pages, (which was ignored);
4. initiated removal discussions on three Talk pages including Manstein, Erwin Rommel and Erich von dem Bach-Zalewski (salient quote: In this case [the transcript] may have included euphemisms for criminal actions, but it may equally have been referring to bravery in combat against armed fighters of the Home Army) emphasis mine; pls see, for example: Wola massacre;
5. observed the resulting blowout: [Name redacted], (...) repeatedly restoring the content that two different established users took out and calling their edits vandalism to boot is definitely a no-no. So be warned that a block might be looming if you insist in continuing your behaviour;
6. conducted a search for sources as to whether it was a military commendation as alleged (could not find any)
7. initiated a discussion at the NPOV noticeboard, which may have helped sway one editor's opinion, and
8. am now finally able to proceed with removal of these OKW press releases (aka "historic testimony", the wording of which "is accepted at GA and FAC levels". (Apparently not any more, as 11 editors have supported the removal, at the NPOV noticeboard and various Talk pages).

Wehrmachtberichte: The Essential Collection

These have already been removed from articles and are being preserved here for archival purposes.

"Endless waves of tanks and men" & "Asiatic hordes" (see Panzerschlachten):

Destroyed "1,754 tanks" and won a "full defensive victory":

This one is interesting because it describes the "heroic death" of Henning von Tresckow, who, according to linked article, had killed himself to avoid exposure of his involvement in the 20 July plot. "Invading Bolsheviks" goes without saying:

More "Bolsheviks" & "defensive victories":

A fighter wing claims "8,000 victories":

This one did even better! (10,000 "arial victories")^{[dubious – discuss]}:

See "Panzer ace":

Dubious ("smashed seventy enemy divisions"):

Almost poetry:

Wehrmachtbericht haiku(TM) based on the preceding entry:

Fight for freedom
Units of the Army and the Waffen-SS
After days of harsh fighting
Through rough terrain
Broken the enemy ring, and by that
Our comrades were freed from the clutch.

(c)2016

"5,500 enemy tanks destroyed":

This one at Alexander Löhr was a monster: 7,500 characters worth of Nazi propaganda, aka "historic testimony". In Erich von Manstein's case, it was almost 7,000 characters worth.

• In the case of the Manstein article, the transcript was inserted with the edit summary: "insert missing Wehrmachtbericht wording (emphasis mine). Begs the question: who's been missing it?

More of Panzerschlachten & "sacrificial battles":

Woah! Deserves a Wehrmachtbericht haiku(TM):

United for Europe (extended)
Troops of the Army and Waffen-SS
Including Spanish, Dutch and Flemish volunteers
After months of bitter fighting
Under difficult weather and terrain conditions
These hostile armies were first sealed off
Then crowded together
More and more
And finally destroyed.

Much poetic language going on, including "defending" an occupied city:

Red links, suggesting that articles for these subjects should be created:

How were the battles victorious if the pilot was killed?

Nazi propaganda's version of WP:CRYSTAL:

Somehow, the "freedom of Europe" was being sought deep in the Soviet Union, almost in Asia:

Recent developments

But no, we were not quite done. There have been additional discussions and attempts to restore the Wehrmachtberichte in a different form.

• MILHIST: Wehrmachtbericht transcript on Talk pages.

• Salient quotes:

• "The fact of the matter: it isn't vandalism. You can't start deleting editor's comments/edits on talk pages" &
• "You don't delete things without discussion. Have you learned nothing yet? Dapi89 (talk) 20:40, 2 January 2017 (UTC)"

• This is in re: "An editor has recently began reinserting this material on Talk pages of related articles, stating that this was being done for the purposes of archiving the transcripts: sample :diff 1 and diff 2, as well as "don't remove additions to the talk page unless it is vandalism"".

• NPOVN: Current consensus on the Wehrmachtbericht:

• "I understand that today, the community believes that the verbatim Wehrmachtbericht transcript should not be part of the Wikipedia articles, unless the wording is addressed and commented by other secondary reliable sources. I am not challenging the consensus at this moment." – thank God!

• MILHIST: Quoting from London Gazette versus Wehrmachtbericht

• Pleased that the article that I rewrote came in handy: "I think the difference is that whereas the Wehrmachtbericht was "the daily Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW) mass-media communiqué and a key component of Nazi propaganda during World War II", the London Gazette was (long before the concepts of mass media or propaganda were thought of), and to some extent still is, an official report of acts of government."
• "I don't quite see the point of quoting the daily communiqué verbatim, as its information content is virtually nil. More so, the claims often don't have any foundation in fact and would necessitate profound cross-referencing and double-checking."
• "You can't really compare the two works: the Gazette was, and remains, a way for bureaucracies of a country with a system of generally honest and open government to publish official notifications. In contrast, the Wehrmachtbericht was part of the propaganda machine for a totally dishonest government."

• Category for discussion: Personnel referenced in the Wehrmachtbericht (2nd nomination)

• Salient quotes from the sole "Keep" voter: The category is useful in identifying how and why the the Wehrmachtbericht was used. it is helpful to researchers in identifying the type of mentions and And I would strongly object to removing mention of this source in the articles, or in removing the transcripts. Note: That ship has already sailed :-)
• Sample quote from a "Delete" voter: Trivial; where someone is mentioned is hardly notable except in the rarest circumstances (such as the Bible). I don't think that the German war reports merit such rarity. Closed as "Delete", 6 to 1.

"Not accused of war crimes"

• Rommel was apparently a great humanitarian, simply because he did not have POWs shot out of hand. (That was an achievement vs the Eastern Front; still that did not make him a "humanitarian", i.e. "a person promoting human welfare and social reform", per definition).
• Continuing with "Rommel as humanitarian" theme, editor insists on keeping "ancient and bad references for the chivalrous nature of North Africa fighting.
• Dubious distinction and a weasel phrase that a unit was "not accused of war crimes", according to a 1950 source.
• The Rommel legend, in full bloom: "He was noted to never have committed a war crime during his military service. He also supported the Stauffenberg 20 July plot to assassinate Hitler. He was found guilty of treason...", with the last two things demonstrably wrong, and the first one an obfuscation ("noted for not being a criminal" is a dubious honor). In Wehrmacht.

Heroics

• The word "exploits" used non-ironically.
• Rommel is sent to Italy to "prepare a defensive line", not to participate in Operation Achse. Also, "his disagreements with Hitler reached a new level" – this disagreements were over military matters, and moreover, Rommel appeared to have been wrong. (emphasis mine)
• More gushing from Liddell Hart: "Awe for his dynamic generalship developed into an almost affectionate admiration for him as a man". For real.
• The saviour Rommel: "If given more time, he may have succeeded." – If only he had a bit more time to reenforce the Atlantic Wall, he would have "succeeded"! And succeeded at what? Repelling the Allied invasion? That's quite a bit of conjecture going on. The statement is cited to "effusive and uncritical" biography by Ronald Lewin. (Side note: The book appears to borrow design elements from the best traditions of the colonial war literature, with an intertwined palm tree and swastika embossed on the cloth cover.)

Complaining

• Great edit summary: "Tweak WP:Peacock text, including implication that the situation was somehow unfair to the Germans".
• Rommel ungentlemanly blames his subordinates for his own failings, while Basil Liddell Hart gushes.
• Excellent example of Rommel's insubordination and opportunism, which appears to be presented as a point of pride in this note: "Quote from Rommel: I had maintained secrecy over the Panzer Group's forthcoming attack eastwards from Mersa el Brega and informed neither the Italian nor the German High Command. We knew from experience that Italian Headquarters cannot keep things to themselves and that everything they wireless to Rome gets round to British ears." (emphasis mine)

Random mythology

• The Rommel legend can be found in unexpected places: a completely unrelated propaganda photo, as Rommel in not discussed in the article at all. In Tank.
• Gullible wikipedia article takes St Rommel at his words: "I felt it my duty to do all in my power...". In the mothership: Erwin Rommel. (That said, the article has gotten much less Rommel-worshipy in recent time).
• Pops up in unexpected places, such as In 7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht):
  • "His fearless command of the 7th Panzer Division showed his confidence and understanding of blitzkrieg concepts. The success they experienced and his favor with Hitler prevented any repercussions from the High Command, some of whom criticized Rommel for being difficult to contact and locate. Rommel described the French Campaign in his letters to his wife as "a lightning Tour de France"."^[1]
  • My edit summary: Replace hagiographic & overly detailed content with material from Erwin Rommel.

• From "The Desert Fox" congratulates Marseille on becoming the youngest Hauptmann in the Luftwaffe to more grounded "Field Marshal Erwin Rommel and Marseille in a propaganda photo on 16 September 1942". What else would a propaganda company would be there for? In Hans-Joachim Marseille.
• The mythology has found its way into Wikimedia Commons: "...one of the most distinguished German Field Marshals...". In Commons:Erwin Rommel.

Otto Kittel (GA article)

An article sourced almost exclusively to Wehrmacht "guru" Franz Kurowski:

Heinrich Bär (FA article)

More semi-fictional accounts:

• Sources that list him with 221 aerial victories include Luftwaffe Aces by Franz Kurowski.^[1]
• Hermann Göring's personal dislike of Bär, coupled with Bär's insubordinate character and lack of military discipline, deprived him of this award.^[2]
• His first sight of a Junkers transport aircraft changed his mind and convinced him that he should become an aviator.^[3]
• Incidents like this are testimony to his often blatant disregard for higher authority, a trait that frequently landed him in trouble.^[2]
• He suffered back injuries while bailing out, but managed to walk back to the German lines; his wounds necessitated a lengthy hospital treatment.^[4]
• Thus began a comradeship which outlasted World War II.^[5]

• Morale of the group soared following his appointment. He was considered the unofficial leader of the group and the best officer in the entire Geschwader.^[1]
• it is believed that Göring disliked Bär for his insubordinate character and strong Saxon dialect, which Göring was known to detest.^[2]

26 total citations.

Erich Hartmann (GA article)

A GA article built on:

• a coffee-table book by Philip Kaplan Fighter Aces of the Luftwaffe in World War WWII – 18 citations
• "Insidiously titled" by Toliver, Raymond F.; Constable, Trevor J. (1986). The Blond Knight of Germany. – 20 citations

Hans Waldmann (fighter pilot) (GA article)

Article built almost entirely on the Landserhefte work by Gerhard Bracke:

• Gegen vielfache Übermacht—Mit dem Jagdflieger und Ritterkreuzträger Hans Waldmann an der Ostfront, an der Invasionsfront und in der Reichsverteidigung [Against Manifold Supremacy—With the Fighter Pilot and Knight's Cross Bearer Hans Waldmann on the Eastern Front, on the Invasion Front and in Defense of the Reich] (in German). Zweibrücken, Germany. 1997.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link),

– published by militaria and right-wing publisher VDM Heinz Nickel [de].

Walter Ohmsen (GA article)

Special mention for using the term "Fortress Europe" non-ironically:

• Ohmsen was the first German defender of Fortress Europe to sight the invasion force. His battery engaged in heavy fighting and subsequently Ohmsen was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes)... (emphasis mine)

According to the linked article, "Fortress Europe (German: Festung Europa) was a military propaganda term used by both sides of the Second World War."

Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz (GA article)

The collection of material that I gathered here reads like a mini-version of my user page: Wikipedia:Good article reassessment/Hyazinth Graf Strachwitz/1: "led from the front"; "destroyed 2,700 tanks in 4 hours"; "received a move out order while at lunch"; "rose to fame"^{[according to whom?]}; Victim of History nominee (in both wars); joined the NSDAP, but strictly for reasons of civic duty; etc.

According to a source deemed reliable for a GA article, the subject "destroyed 105 Soviet tanks in 30 minutes, with just four Panzers of his own.

Joachim Helbig (GA article)

The GA / A-class article is largely based on fringe sources: Franz Kurowski, two works published by a German right-wing publisher, and a self-published source.

Paratroop forces

• Fallschirmjäger (World War II): the elite paratroop units are of special interest for romances, with better weapons, better training and daring raids.
  • WP:OR, citing verbatim supposed "commandments" (war-time propaganda) of these units and using two non WP:RS websites as sources.
  • Five (!) links to reenactor groups; two links to "weapons and uniforms" and a link to fan page, all in one External links section.
  • Plus the usual unsourced content full of awe for these units that still needs to be cleaned up.

Waffen-SS

These elite units (better equipment, higher strength) are fascinating to those how romanticise Nazi Germany's war effort:

• Hubert-Erwin Meierdress: This is from a Talk page, when someone asked "What is his significance?", but deserves replicating almost in full (comment is from 2010): "Herbert-Erwin Meierdress held off a major Soviet Counteroffensive {why capitalise "counteroffensive? so that it sounds more significant?} and saved German forces from complete encirclement {can an encirclement be incomplete?} using just 120 men, 30 of whom survived. He was awarded the Knights Cross for his actions, and his story was published in the SS Magazine DAS SCHWARZE KORPS. {dubious honor} German propaganda would have been all over this, and Meierdress would have been a known hero of the Reich, even more so as his career progressed. This man saw ferocious combat {poetic language} on the Eastern-Front and nearly survived to see the end of the war. His decorations include the Wound Badge in GOLD [...], {this is notable how?} Tank Assault Badge, {another totemic badge} Iron Cross First and Second Class, the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross (as previously mentioned), with Oak Leaves (a separate award for another act of valor in combat equal to that of the one in which he received his first Knight's Cross, awarded to him personally by Adolf Hitler on 5 October 1943). {dubious honor} [...] So needless to say, his resume speaks as to why he is significant." (emphasis mine) Compare Oct 2015 version and now, March 2016.
• This is rich: peacock on weasel on peacock: "Helmut was one of the heroes of the 1941/42 Winter war, in the same category as August Dieckmann, Otto Baum, Georg Bochmann, Hinrich Schuldt, Otto Kumm, Wilhelm Bittrich and Hermann Fegelein". Here's more from the very next sentence: "Born in 1909, Dörner soon reminded his superiors of his true potential, winning..." Just keeps on giving: "he and his battalion soon established a reputation within the Army Group North as a crack unit. No end in sight (still the same article). Finally, the end. In Helmut Dörner.
• "Total casualties amongst the Waffen-SS will probably never be known", the article intones, with much pathos, while Rüdiger Overmans has provided exactly such an estimate. The other set of numbers listed was citing to HIAG's successor Wenn Alle Brűder Schweigen ("When All Our Brothers are Silent"). Cue pathos. In Waffen-SS.

"Eagles of the Reich"

Luftwaffe articles are generally filled to the gulls with romantic notions of "aces", "hunters" and Experten (aka the Knights of the Third Reich), so I'm starting a dedicated sections devoted to this area of Wikipedia.

• Promotion report replicated in full, with underlining and references to fulfilling his task very well and being fully eligible for promotion to Oberleutnant. I've converted the quote to:

• The report highlighted that he "has excelled in action as a fighter pilot" and that "during 449 combat flights, he has 97 kills because of his audacity". The report further described Beißwenger as having "good leadership talent" and being "positive as a National Socialist". In Hans Beißwenger.

• Is it typical to include GPS coordinates indicating the spot where the pilot died, as well as where he is buried? diff. In Walter Oesau.

• Deserves replicating in full, with the language of "kills", "dispatched", "personal total", "Assi" (nickname); "emerged as one of the top aces", etc.:

Battle of Britain

JG 2 took part in the Battle of Britain, operating Bf 109Es over the South Coast of England and the English Channel from bases in Cherbourg and Normandy. Major Helmut Wick emerged as one of the Battle’s top Luftwaffe aces, claiming 31 kills for a personal total of 56, before being killed (MIA) in action versus Spitfires of No. 609 Squadron in November 1940. Wick was seen to bail out successfully but was not found by German Air/Sea Rescue attempts. The Spitfire who dispatched him was immediately shot down by Oberleutnant Rudolf Pflanz. Ofw. Schnell, Ofw. Machold and Olt. Hans "Assi" Hahn also claimed heavily during this period, with 16 kills each. Some 42 JG 2 pilots were killed or made POW during the Battle.

Also present: "defense of the Reich" (italics in the original). In Jagdgeschwader 2.

• Cannot quote them all; pls see diff, with "built a fearsome reputation", "skill and determination", "Allied bomber crews dispersing in fear", etc. In Jagdgeschwader 26.

• Dramatic retelling of the last minutes of a pilot's death, cited to likely semi-fictional (90% fictional?] account by Franz Kurowski: "His chest strikes the vertical fin as he departs the fighter....". In List of accidents and incidents involving military aircraft (1940–44).

• Is it me, or are Luftwaffe associated articles have the highest percentage of the use of Third Reich? "...after the defeat of the Third Reich...", with the Third Reich appropriately linked. In the mothership article, the Luftwaffe.

• Poetic: "East of Waluiki the duo observed a Russian air base teeming with Russian fighters. Beckh threw his aircraft into combat against a large force of LaGG-3s that appeared in the skies. While shooting down at least two Russian fighters, ... diff. Also present: Charkov. Well, at least it's not Charkow. In Friedrich Beckh.

Special mention: 55th Bomber Wing

Round One

• Who said that fighting for "victor's justice" was going to be easy? Had to do essentially the same edit for NPOV twice; the first one was reverted with the edit summary: "erroneous to say there is anything wrong with the tone". Let's play the NPOV bingo:
  • "the crew bailed out but were later found by advancing German forces to have been shot in the head. Two of the men were found at the local Commissar's house".^{[citation needed]} – cn tag removal for Allied Treachery Sub-department
  • "The vast expanse of the front" – selective empathy
  • "the severe winter" – brutal Russian winter
  • "Charkow" – alternate linguistics
  • "bore the brunt of Göring's supply plan" – double! selective empathy and that idiot Hitler (or his stand-in, Goering)
  • "the meagre 90 tonnes of supplies" – Golgotha of the 6th Army
  • "[[6th Army (Wehrmacht)|German 6. Armee]] " – totemic value of German-language unit names
  • "celebrated their 10,000 mission" – enemy in the crosshairs
  • "Ritterkreuz des Eisernen Kreuzes holder Oberfeldwebel Willi Nemitz" – double! language school and totemic value of German-language award names
  • "Most notable during this year was the completion of KG 55's 50,000th mission" – enemy in the crosshairs

Round Two

• Addressing very similar issues again; I hope this time this sticks: diff. In Kampfgeschwader 55.

Round Three

Still on the same article, see: Talk:Kampfgeschwader 55#Neutral POV. Prior edit summary from the same editor: reverted all edits by Coffman; vandalism, removing sources, baseless accusations on pov. For realz.

"His nose is long and straight"

• J.J. Fedorowicz Publishing – an imprint for Waffen-SS/Wehrmacht guru authors
• Schiffer Publishing – an imprint for Luftwaffe romancing literature
• Merriam Press – an imprint for Waffen-SS/Wehrmacht guru authors, including Richard Landwehr
• Amber Books (?)
• Osprey Publishing – Mixed bag: 'mostly an illustrated publisher', but also puts out solid military history, especially on the operational side.
• Stackpole Books – Mixed bag: published memoirs/popular histories by former high-ranking Waffen-SS members Kurt Meyer, Willi Fey, Hubert Meyer, along with scholarly works such as Rommel Reconsidered (which I read).
• Arcadia Publishing/History Press (?) – "We are the largest publisher of local and regional content in America."

POV-titled sources

"In Good Faith"? Via J.J. Fedorowicz

• Huseman, Friedrich (2003). In Good Faith: The History of 4. SS-Polizei-Panzergrenadier-Division: Volume 1, 1939–1943. Winnipeg: J.J. Fedorowicz. ISBN 0-921991-74-6.

Yes, let's re-use the SS motto for a book title! In Heinrich Sonne

• Schneider J. W. Their Honor was Loyalty!, R. James Bender Publishing, 1977

Here's another "Loyalty" one, from Gordon Williamson (writer), who seems to be only slightly less prolific vs Franz Kurowski. In Joachim Peiper.

• Williamson, Gordon (1995). Loyalty is my Honor. Osceola, WI: Motorbooks International. ISBN 978-0-7603-0012-1.

Alternate geography, as Kharkov is located in Ukraine, and some historians don't even call it a "victory" (see: Third Battle of Kharkov#Aftermath):

• Nipe, George M. Jr. (2000). Last Victory in Russia: The SS-Panzerkorps and Manstein's Kharkov Counteroffensive—February–March 1943. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing. ISBN 0-76431-186-7.

• Samuel W. Mitcham: Eagles of the Third Reich: Men of the Luftwaffe in World War II

• Mike Spick: Luftwaffe Victorious: An Alternate History – what the what?

List of articles with major sourcing problems

• 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich – much of the article is unsourced; revisionist work by Mark Yerger in references
• Joachim Peiper – dubious claims sourced to a hagiography from Patrick Agte, characterized as such by Danny S. Parker in Hitler's Warrior: The Life and Wars of SS Colonel Jochen Peiper; see my note on the talk page: Agte
• 1 SS Infantry Brigade – much of the article cited to Axishistory.com (~20 cites)
• Albert Graf von der Goltz – link speaks for itself: permalink
• 1st Panzer Army – dubious minimal sources, minimal cites
• 5th Panzer Army – no sources listed
• Henri Joseph Fenet; Norwegian Legion – Sourced largely to revisionist works by an "extreme admirer" of the Waffen SS Richard Landwehr, who writes from "the fringes of the far right" (quotes are from Mackenzie, Revolutionary Armies in the Modern Era: A Revisionist Approach)
• 4th SS Polizei Panzergrenadier Division – cites from the usual dubious online sources, plus extensive citations from another "admirer" of Waffen-SS Gordon Williamson (also per Mackenzie).
• Geheime Feldpolizei – no citations, problematic minimal sources, alternate geopolitics, dubious claims, POV language
• German Army (Wehrmacht) – minimal citations (only 9) for an important article like this; unreasonably high proportion of militaria content, and even a picture of the period [bread bag] (as some sort of a relic, perhaps?)

Cleaned-up articles

Here are some of the articles already copyedited to remove above issues; further improvements are welcome:

• 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French) – see diff
• 5th SS Panzer Division Wiking – see diff
• 11th SS Volunteer Panzergrenadier Division Nordland – see diff
• 23rd SS Volunteer Panzer Grenadier Division Nederland – see diff
• 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend – mostly cited to the revisionist work by unit commander Kurt Meyer and to a HistoryNet article, which is in turned sourced from Meyer: see note on the Talk page: Sources; see diff
• Fritz Witt – see diff
• Max Wünsche – see diff
• Hubert-Erwin Meierdress – see diff
• Kurt Meyer – WIP; see current diff
• Ernst Barkmann – see diff; this case is somewhat unique due to a eponymous non-existing battle in the infobox
• Erhard Raus – article was almost entirely based on Raus's memoirs; see diff
• Helmut Dörner – this is probably the worst I've seen so far due to ratio of WP:Weasel per word count diff