The Human Side of War: German Paratroopers' Remarkable Act of Kindness during WWII -  

The fallschirmjager are not to be messed with.... Great War film. With a favorite actor of mine, Michael Caine.

Being a good person in a group of bad person is a lot more harder than in a group of good person

“Do what is right, let the consequence follow.”

Paratroopers are of the toughest soldiers, regardless of the army. Plus, the “crazy factor” and comraderie of being airborne is enough to cow anybody not airborne.

"Courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to do the right thing in the presence of fear." Someone

I remember this one story. True story btw. An old WWII vet was at a school talking to some kids. A kid asks “Do you still hate the Germans?” And the old man replied “I never hated the Germans. I hated the Nazis”

Another example is the luft stalag 3 commandant Colonel Friedrich Wilhelm von Lindeiner-Wildau, who never joined the party throughout his career because he hated nazis, he's the old guard war veteran stereotype. He treated all of the allied pows with decency and respect, personally lead his staff to defend the pows from getting interrogated by the gestapo, even after being investigated and intimidated by the SS. After the war ended he was brought to England for trial,he was so respected, every allied pows stayed in his camp stood up for him as witnesses to plead not guilty.

"Not all soldiers follow orders we're Humans and not heartless. We have our own free will to choose either to be Good or Evil."

Most of the German Army really didn't like the SS if i recall correctly

In April 1945, the POW camp my Grandfather was in was liberated, but before the Americans arrived, the SS showed up to eliminate the prisoners. The guards were Wehrmacht and fought the SS protecting the POWs

God bless those paratroopers

The SS was actually well disliked by the other branches of the military due to their actions. A squadron leader in the German Luftwaffe once said that if he ever saw his men shoot down a parachuting enemy pilot, he would shoot them down himself.

I know no one will accept this. But my grandfather was in the Waffen SS during WW2 on the eastern front. He was taken as a POW. While he was being marched along under armed guard he handed his gold signet ring to a little girl with his name and address in Germany in it along with his food ration pack. He died in Russian captivity. Well in 1954 my grandmother received a small parcel in the post from Russia. It contained my grandfather’s signet ring with a letter in Russian thanking her for my grandfather’s kindness in giving up all his food to her daughter. This letter was sent by the mother of that little girl. And I now in 2023 wear this signet ring. The point is that there were people caught up in the river of history that they could not stop - and that individual acts of human kindness still broke through the barriers of hate and evil.

yeah so fun fact the fallschrimjager had a clash with the american airborne a few dozen kilometres from lyons in france and it resulted in a total german victory, about 30 FJs wounded or killed about 70 AA, but the one that where left the fallschrimjagers left behind medical supplies they stole from another camp with hand drawn and written instructions telling the US Airborne how to properly treat gunshot wounds incase they where novices and didnt know And throughout the war the FJs constantly ended up at odds with the commander of the Luftwaffe, Hermann Göring for not only showing mercy but compassion aswell The FJs defended their actions to the end of the war stating it was about winning not slaughtering your enemies Some members of the FJs that remained at the wars close in europe joined what remained of the 12th and 9th armies escorting civilians out of berlin and into american soldiers to spare them death at the hands of the russians Its kinda strange to think about these men now, hope they found peace when it was all over

Always stand up for those who can't. My dad taught me that. Hes a paratrooper. With 42 years in the military. ❤

I worked at a factory in the late eighties and my supervisor was a former SS sergeant. He was one of the nicest people I know, when he passed away in 2005, more than 1,000 people came to his funeral. Mostly the workers from the factory and his family but there were some from Germany that made the trip to say farewell to him.

Special forces will always be special forces. In the modern day we often forget just how cutting edge paratroopers in the 40s were.

My uncle's bomber was shot down by flak when he jumped out and landed he broke his leg. A German family in the forest found him, splinted his leg and fed him. He was later captured in the forest by a German patrol. Spent 9months in a German pow camp. Not all Germans were Nazis or blood thirsty. He had great respect for this family. They were devoted Christians.

I studied WWII extensively, every chapter that I've ever read about the German Fallschirmjager is that they fought hard and damn near fearless.

"The line between good & evil runs down the middle of every man." Carl Jung

Even in darkest times, we cannot stop being human.

As a Paratrooper that traveled all over the globe, we intimidated most but children had no problem making friends with us.

And still they fought for a country that did that. Spontaneous empathy.

Paratroopers are the best, from any place... at any time.

"You are bad guy, but this does not mean you are bad guy." - Zangief

The scene of the confrontation between the Fallschirmjager & the SS Guards from the movie, The Eagle has landed, actually took place. In the real life incident it was a German Panzer unit which confronted the SS Guards - not the Fallschirmjager unit. The offended German was a Panzer NCO Kurt Knispel, who after this incident went on to become a Panzer tank Ace credited with more than 160 rank kills. Because of this incident Kurt Knispel was stigmatized by his superior & his achievements in battle was overlooked & downplayed by his unit superiors. He became the forgotten German Panzer tank commander Ace & was overlooked for promotion & medals award

And Sir Michael Cain can actually play the part of a soldier, given his Korean wartime experience.

There are many stories of kind Germans during the wars. I heard one story directly from a French boy who had been punched in the kidney by his father and the mother was trying to carry him to the hospital. None of the French stopped.The retreating Germans drove him to the hospital far away in the opposite direction to where they were headed risking their own lives.They saved his life and he was never ashamed to say it. I believe the Germans were forced into the war and they were good people under a dictatorship.

There is an instance in Poland where the Wehrmacht would not allow the SS to cross a bridge to slaughter a Jewish village. SS backed down and left. An SS doctor (Hans Munich)refused to do barbaric experiments on Jewish prisoners, was captured by the Soviets and tried for war crimes…..but Jews who heard such about his trial testified on his behalf. Soviets exonerated him.

Remember, not every German soldier was a Nazi

Paratroopers are a different breed

Had no idea this happened! Wow you learn something every day!

The Luftwaffe and the SS often had incidents like this especially involving allied airmen pows,in fact this animosity reached the highest levels where inspite of both being loathsome Himmler and Goring disliked and mistrusted each other though on occasion they’ll band together against a mutual rival like Ernst Rohm …

And played wonderfully by Michael Caine. This was the first movie I saw featuring Michael Caine, and I've loved almost every movie he's been in since.

When soldiers are ordered to do terrible things and say “we can’t disobey orders, they have guns pointed at our backs,” they just have to remember that they have guns too. They can turn around and point their own guns right back.

Paratroopers are the real deal on both sides

That's the sad part of war ,good humans both sides forced into horror situations ,

I remember this scene, I highly recommend watching this well made movie.

Fallschirmjaeger was the most honoured unit ever served german,their tenacity and bravery was recognized by every us unit who faced them

THE Falschirmjager were the VERY BEST GERMAN SOILDERS. They were Respected by by both the British & American SOILDERS. They Claimed that they always fought with Honor & Bravey.The Green Devil's are Still admired as Honored Warriors!!

Professionals have standards

The Eagle has landed an iconic British movie, truly

Evil people will prevail when good people do nothing. That’s why 98% of good people will stay quiet in fear of being outcasts

You don’t mess with paratroopers any man crazy enough to jump out of plane with with all that equipment and fight like hell. They deserve respect and don’t care about being outnumber they weren’t nicknamed “hell jumpers” for a reason.

I love the German col's role,felt sorry for him and his men that they were on the wrong side..

Bravery is needed today too. May we rise to such moments. Thanks and honor to past brave souls.

Stand for something or fall for anything.

I always love hearing the story of WW1 when all the soldiers fighting on the battlefield Decided on the day of Christmas, to stop firing which was against orders but they decided to stop and met in the middle of the battlefield with compassion, celebrated Christmas in that moment of peace between them and this went against those above them, orders of continue to fight. Some say they come together long enough to sing their country's Christmas song and they had a cup of coffee in that moment of peace. I wish the whole world could somehow find that compassion again but hold on to it when those big wigs tell them to drop an explosive onto a city or not to arm those land mines in he roadways. And maybe when they get in a face off with their enemy o choose not to raise their weapon but to look into the eyes that would have been closed permanently just a second ago, and really see that person as a child, a son, or maybe even a dad or granddad. See them and refuse to raise their weapons at each other and just simply give pleasentries and wish them well. Use the compassion that we so quickly dismiss like we don't have because the mass media has mislead us to believe a lie and out of the anger that was created from the lie you take the shot that takes that dad, brother, or son's future away from them only to have to live with the guilt after discovering those above them had lied, and it all could have been avoided. May God have mercy on us all.

There is another movie that recreated this scene, and there were several instances on the eastern front of German soldiers fighting SS over Jews. I wish I remembered the movie! Does anyone remember it? Also the world’s Number 1 tank ace, Kurt Knispel, was refused the Knights Cross because he pistol whipped SS officers who were mistreating a Soviet prisoner. He wore his hair long and with a beard in defiance.

Sadly a single act of Kindness is often forgotten among a sea of hateful actions.

The Will power to stand up for what is right will always be amazing thing to see and do!

This RU-vid video reminds of the 1960's movie of the Great War, "Blue Max." In my personal interpretation of the movie it raises the question of soldier's responsibility to duty, honor, and country. The main protagonist is a young and ambitious fighter pilot, who enlisted into the new German flying corps. Spending two years in the trenches and then raised from the rank of file of the German Imperial Army, the new recruit felt he had to measure up with his new comrades, the majority being if aristocratic and noble stock of the German Empire. Their noble airs were off putting for the new recruit with their code of chivalry, while the common foot soldiers struggle in the mud and died in droves. In a couple of scenes, his comrades mourned the loss of their fallen comrades and later the death of two British airmen who the protagonist had killed. His comrades could not understand his callous ness, and his inability to express grief. But to the generals he was raised a hero calling him, "a young man with vigor who is willing to do what he can to fight and win." In this scene, "The Eagle Has Landed," it is a reminder that war is inherently brutal but each man is responsible for their actions and for their personal honor.

Simply put, don't confuse the Nazis with the luftwaffe. Something that history classes should be teaching more of.

This story along others prove that the pilots of WW1 and WW2 were honorable and respected

My father was platoon commander of a Gebirgsjägerzug (Mountain ranger platoon) and he rescued 6 Russian jewish men who had to work for them for the revenge of Russian troops. Greetings from Linz Austria 🇦🇹 Europe!

Really brings it back into full circle the realization that a good portion of the Germans fighting in WWII either volunteered for their country and homes or were drafted.

Hats off to paratroopers. Soldiers that don't feel right if they're not surrounded by the enemy

One of the best war movies ever made.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

michael caine was awesome in this film

The most damning thing to those that just stood by is the actions of those that stood up.

My dad was a Fallschirmjäger. He was shot in the leg & later in life lost his leg. Both his brothers died in Russia. The things my mother told me are horrific..

Paratrooper’s are a special kind of soldier’s!!!👍🫡🇪🇸

A real soldier doesn't treat others inhumanity.

Read the book as a kid, phenomenal. Haven't seen the movie I'll have to put that on my list

The acts of countless heroes went un recognised

I once knew a man back in 1982, "Louis Ludwig" who was a former WW2 German Paratrooper and a German car mechanic. He had been POW during the war and had been sent to the states for its duration. Louie was a hell of a character , a true hustler.

Even in the darkest times, brave souls stand in front of the mighty Villains.

Very good. It is time to open our eyes and recongnize that they were not the same.

First, I finished the book back in freshmen year, I even had the first batches signed by Jack Higgins, I bought it from a very old bookstore. Then, I found out there was a movie about it. Watched it and read the book again. Boy, what a great experience.

" _You did not bear the shame. You resisted_ "

Another event to look up, the Battle of Castle Itter. It was in the last days of WWII in Europe, where German, Austrian, American, and French fought together to protect French POWs from the SS.

The Fallschirmjager were the best troops Germany had. My friend was an American paratrooper in World War 2 and told me nobody fought harder. He had much more respect for them than the SS.

One of my favorite scenes from that movie. Michael Caine’s performance is incredible. His emotions are real, a true warrior never supports atrocities against innocent people, they are not the enemy.

my great grandmother survived this, she told me stories of the bombs being dropped and how family members were taken on ti trains and 6ft tall full grown men woukd weigh less then 100lbs, food was money/gold, every meal and every dollar was worth so much to them it still effects my grandpa and his mother my great grandmother to this day, she bow has dementia so im glad she could tell me thoughs stories... insane.

Good men will always stand up top evil and evil will never triumph over good in the end.

Holy cow Michael is really young there in that movie and was a great movie. I guess I'm getting older too. 😂😊

One of the best lines in this scene was Oberst Steiner's (Michael Caine) reply to the SS officer when confronted for the action depicted here: "difficult decisions are the privilege of rank".

I can only imagine the messed up head space of someone in whom the sight of kindness towards children provokes hatred.

That's an act of true nobility,compassion and heroism.

This just made me emotional. God bless every good soul out there. ❤

Michael Caine was amazing in that movie. Just pure class.

the airborne soldiers are legends 101st, 82nd, 13th, 17th, fallschirmjager, basically every airborne division were filled with legends and war heros

My dad is a WWII he fought from North Africa to when the war ended in the Eto in Czechoslovakia he told me that they had to separate the German Werhmach troops from the SS because many of the SS where getting beaten up by them and this was before Germany surrendered it was worse when the war was over. Especially if they where toten kauf prison guards . The Waffen ss where treated with more respect if anything but not by much.

The Luftwaffe often clashed with the SS

I love this clip. Even when the worst is prevailing, there is hope that human good will is possible.

My grandfather was a us army Sergent in ww2 boots on the ground overseas. He fought the Nazis in streets and lived through it. No human should be treated as disposable.

There is always good to battle evil, whatever it's shape or form.

My grand mother my sister and brother were protected by a Jewish woman, God Bless her a million thanks my friend 🙏 sincerely the Silva's.

My most sincere apologies for the treatment of another human being in this way I can empathize and testify how that would make me feel oh that's right How that is making me feel. 😢

I’ve always loved this scene. They will always have my utmost respect.

my grandpa's unit the 2nd ss panzer division.. he was an officer he would always say we didn't have anything against the jews they are people like us but the Russians are another story.. I was just a boy trying to keep my men alive we all hated the German high command and Adolf hitler.. they expected us to fight with no food or supplies at times... I miss that man because of raw history he had in his memories 😔

Great example of judge a person not the people

I’ll have to see this film again!It was very historic!

Kindness anytime is better than none

How a few bad apples can spoil everything ….

That shows some people are good just fighting for the wrong side

True soldiers had honour and respect,these guards never saw war,just soft targets

Fantastic story. I'd never heard this before.

And those brave people stood up against NEGATIVE. Always stand for right or in other words what’s POSITIVE.