The U.S. Army Said No German Civilians Could Cross the Elbe. The GIs Let Them Cross Anyway.
WW2 Memo
13,562 views
In May 1945, German soldiers stripped off their uniforms and swam the Elbe River toward the American army, not to fight it but to be taken prisoner. Behind them came mothers with babies, old men and children, running from the Red Army. The American generals had set the terms: soldiers could cross, civilians could not. This is what the GIs on the riverbank actually did.
The story of Lt. William Toothman, an American prisoner on the far bank who promised a German general safe passage; General Wenck's letter and the surrender talks at Stendal; the catwalk over the blown railroad bridge at Tangermünde; the ferry at Ferchland; and the 118,000 German soldiers, plus uncounted thousands of civilians, who crossed.
SOURCES
With the 102d Infantry Division Through Germany (1947), pp. 207–233.
Conquer: The Story of Ninth Army 1944–1945 (1947), pp. 328–330.
C. B. MacDonald, The Last Offensive (U.S. Army in World War II, Center of Military History, 1973), p. 465.
Stars and Stripes, 6 May 1945 (AP, Wes Gallagher) and 9 May 1945.
YANK, the Army Weekly, 1 June 1945, Sgt. Allan Ecker, on the Ferchland ferry.
A. Beevor, Berlin: The Downfall 1945 (2002), pp. 395–397.
Film and photographs (public domain): U.S. Army Signal Corps film at the National Archives (111-ADC-2046, 3968, 4016, 4056, 4066, 4136, 4202, 4262, 4380, 4519, 9720, 9759, 9772, 9773); Army Air Forces film NARA 18-SFP-9149; Signal Corps photographs NARA 111-SC-203636, 205234, 207117; Universal Newsreel (20 March 1944) and United News (Nos. 95 and 182). Film of other places and dates is used as illustration. Quotes on screen are re-typeset from the cited sources. Maps are drawn for this video. Scenes marked "AI RECONSTRUCTION" on screen are AI-generated illustrations, not archival film.
#WW2 #WWII #Elbe #1945 #History
Chapters:
0:00 Swimming toward the Americans
0:42 The Elbe becomes the line
2:06 Lt. Toothman on the far bank
4:04 Bring your own food. No civilians.
5:17 May 5: they came
6:22 What about the civilians?
8:09 118,000
8:54 Next
Books on German POWs in America (affiliate links, we may earn a small commission):
Nazi Prisoners of War in America, Arnold Krammer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1493049526?...
Men in German Uniform, Antonio Thompson: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1572337281?...
The Barbed-Wire College, Ron Robin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691037000?...
Stalag Wisconsin, Betty Cowley: https://www.amazon.com/dp/187856983X?...
Listen to history audiobooks with an Audible free trial: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NB86OYE?...
1 Comments
The U.S. Army Said No German Civilians Could Cross the Elbe. The GIs Let Them Cross Anyway.
WW2 Memo
13,562 views
In May 1945, German soldiers stripped off their uniforms and swam the Elbe River toward the American army, not to fight it but to be taken prisoner. Behind them came mothers with babies, old men and children, running from the Red Army. The American generals had set the terms: soldiers could cross, civilians could not. This is what the GIs on the riverbank actually did.
The story of Lt. William Toothman, an American prisoner on the far bank who promised a German general safe passage; General Wenck's letter and the surrender talks at Stendal; the catwalk over the blown railroad bridge at Tangermünde; the ferry at Ferchland; and the 118,000 German soldiers, plus uncounted thousands of civilians, who crossed.
SOURCES
With the 102d Infantry Division Through Germany (1947), pp. 207–233.
Conquer: The Story of Ninth Army 1944–1945 (1947), pp. 328–330.
C. B. MacDonald, The Last Offensive (U.S. Army in World War II, Center of Military History, 1973), p. 465.
Stars and Stripes, 6 May 1945 (AP, Wes Gallagher) and 9 May 1945.
YANK, the Army Weekly, 1 June 1945, Sgt. Allan Ecker, on the Ferchland ferry.
A. Beevor, Berlin: The Downfall 1945 (2002), pp. 395–397.
Film and photographs (public domain): U.S. Army Signal Corps film at the National Archives (111-ADC-2046, 3968, 4016, 4056, 4066, 4136, 4202, 4262, 4380, 4519, 9720, 9759, 9772, 9773); Army Air Forces film NARA 18-SFP-9149; Signal Corps photographs NARA 111-SC-203636, 205234, 207117; Universal Newsreel (20 March 1944) and United News (Nos. 95 and 182). Film of other places and dates is used as illustration. Quotes on screen are re-typeset from the cited sources. Maps are drawn for this video. Scenes marked "AI RECONSTRUCTION" on screen are AI-generated illustrations, not archival film.
#WW2 #WWII #Elbe #1945 #History
Chapters:
0:00 Swimming toward the Americans
0:42 The Elbe becomes the line
2:06 Lt. Toothman on the far bank
4:04 Bring your own food. No civilians.
5:17 May 5: they came
6:22 What about the civilians?
8:09 118,000
8:54 Next
Books on German POWs in America (affiliate links, we may earn a small commission):
Nazi Prisoners of War in America, Arnold Krammer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1493049526?...
Men in German Uniform, Antonio Thompson: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1572337281?...
The Barbed-Wire College, Ron Robin: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691037000?...
Stalag Wisconsin, Betty Cowley: https://www.amazon.com/dp/187856983X?...
Listen to history audiobooks with an Audible free trial: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NB86OYE?...