Crimes of the Wehrmacht

My dad was sent off to Latvia by the Wehrmacht as a result of stealing from freighttrains in Amsterdam in 1943. The camps were called 'Arbeitserziehungslager' and were manned or guarded by both Gestapo and Army, because in those parts of the Third Reich, the Russian threat was imminent
His experience with the Army is such that he had a lot more problems with the ordinary, low in rank, average soldier, than the average Gestapo-soldier or
-officer.
Maybe it had to do with the 'will for survival' attitude among the Dutch prisoners who were forced into hard labor in the mosquito infested woods and lakes around Riga.
The International Organisation (branch of the UN) that defends the rights of victims of forced labor during WW II, should have a fair account of those crimes.
The sad part is that -internationally, and thus by Germany- these people, from various countries, were never recognised or acknowledged as real victims of WWII, because being forced into hard labor -universally and/or globally- has never been acknowledged as a crime against people. No help has thus been granted by the German govenment for the pople who often became lifelong victims....
These people , who are in their eighties now, rest with the feeling of being misunderstood and abandoned by a large part of the world, especially Europe.
They do not have a voice.....
The second worldwar -of course- has had many of those seemingly small and relatively unimportant human dramas.

I

Auschwitz through the lens of the SS

These pictures were first published last Friday by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: "Auschwitz through the lens of the SS: Photos of Nazi leadership at the camp".

http://www.ushmm.org/research/collections/highlights/auschwitz/auschwitz_album/

Ybe

It’s true that many victims of Nazi Germany for a myriad reasons have been overlooked, and when it comes to financial compensation, whatever we think of that, certain types of victims (I apologize for putting it like this) have been overlooked as well.

Oscar W

Thanks you for the link. The Dutch newspaper NRC Handelsblad had a story about these pictures today on the front page.

Ybe,
This may be impossible to answer, but how has this history of your father determined/influenced your own life: ideas, choices etc.?

And yet in those days leaders took there responsibility (even Hitler declared: the responsibility in mine only). Nowadays we observe a shift to force responsibility to the lower ranks only, the executioners on the field, so the leaders keep clean hands.
Not only an army exists because people want to obey orders, an army also exist because a lot of people adore to give orders and love to accumulate power and wealth in huge amounts..

Jan T

Yes, but the ones giving orders need helping hands.

@Arnon
Today I bought my third Coetzee, Youth. I really start to like this guy a lot, he is funny in a particular way. You introduced me to him, now I almost feel like a betray you. Ah, my perfidious heart.

Ordinary

First I thank Arnon for his kind words.
As to Johannes van der Sluis' question. Johannes, never before have I been askes this question. I find it hard to put in words., like you already predicted.
What I did learn from this whole business, is the fact that although my dad was for a big part, really 'out of harms way', in the end (and I think it is fair to say that at the age of 86, one is soaring towards the end) everything that happened in those days, has affected him more than he is willing to admit and it starts showing.
He talks of the camp because it has returnedf in his dreams, still dreams, not (yet) nightmares, so what can we learn from this, besides the fact that it is probabl not a good thing to keep it hidden all those years (my dad rarely talked about this period in his life)
This is as far as I get Johannes.

Jan Thys

If you betray me with Coetzee I can only feel honored.