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wormhout.
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Message 1.Â
Posted by vera1950 (U9920163) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
Hi,
Has anyne any info or comments re the Wormhout massacre.
Vera -
Message 2
Posted by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper (U519668) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
Vera -
you are no doubt referring the the massacre of the Warwickshires and others by the SS near Dunkirk in 194o.....try this
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Message 3
Posted by vera1950 (U9920163) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
hi,
thanks trooper tom,yes this is the masacre.
vera -
Message 4
Posted by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper (U519668) on Thursday, 10th January 2008
Vera - thought so...here is a longer tale where the claim is made that 80 warwicks were killed and others of the Cheshires - artillery etc with only three survivors - until 2004 anyway also anothor comment by the deputy mayor of the adjoining township.....if and when the BBc gets over their infatuation with D day ... they might think about covering this tale .... although that might - just might - upset the gerries ...can't have that now can we ?
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Message 5
Posted by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper (U519668) on Friday, 11th January 2008
Vera -
Here is a bit more on that massacre at Wormhout and I do believe that the big traedy is that the main culprit was never brought to Justice the officer in charge of the 2nd battalion of the liebstatnderte Adolf Hitlertrial as the German prosecutor felt that there was insufficient evidence for a trial in 1988. – probably his uncle/Father in law et al …His name was Wilhelm Mohnke– (Right monkey rings a bell )
His buddy over at the massacre at Le Paradis (sic) in the Pas de Calais region around about the same time was not quite so lucky – he was convicted and – hung in 1949 by a British Military court in Hamburg.
He was Hauptstrumfuhrer Fritz Knocklein of the 14th Company of the
well named SS Division Totenkopf who, after quite a battle around a farmhouse alongside 1st batt Royal Norfolks and the Royal Scots, the 2nd batt Royal Norfolks ran out of ammo and the survivors… 99 (from a full strength battalion of 650 ) men were advised to surrender as there was no relief forthcoming.
The 99 survivors – plus 20 from the Royal Scots were then marched to another farm as prisoners - with no side arms, helmets etc. and machine gunned with only two survivors who were captured later. One was repatriated in 1943 the other at the end of the war. After enquiries into their charge, the culprit was found and brought to justice in Hamburg in late 1948. Some evidence in actual report form by a Journalist attached to the Waffen SS, also the farmhouse owner’s wife was offered which bolstered the eye witness accounts of the two survivors.
These of course, were not the only atrocities carried out in that war as many Commandos were murdered after the raid on St Nazaire also the Canadians in Normandy – frustrating though when the culprits are not held accountable.
One of the most horrendous was in March ’43, when we were still struggling through the third battle for Cassino, at the Andeantine Caves of Rome where 335 old men and boys were massacred by the SS, on Hitler and Kesselring’s orders – the most tragic of course was the Lidice village massacre in Czechoslovakia as well as the Japanese crucifixions. Man’s inhumanity……… -
Message 6
Posted by jm33gnr (U10809727) on Friday, 11th January 2008
Hi Vera, first posting to any of these sites
I had a search through the Â鶹ԼÅÄ site, and it came up with a 'few' addresses to look at..if you search on ss liebstandarte it turns up a few things about the massacre. -
Message 7
Posted by jm33gnr (U10809727) on Friday, 11th January 2008
Trooper Tom hi
Mohnke appears to have been commander of the Das Reich division in 1943..is this Wilhelm ??? -
Message 8
Posted by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper (U519668) on Friday, 11th January 2008
JM 33 gnr -
Welcome to the site - yes it probably is Wilhelm Mohnke - as by the end of '43 - they were running out of good divisional commanders - and he was looked on as being "lucky" - which as it happened - he was to escape trial - his pal was not so lucky as he was challenged to a duel by his fellow officers when they heard of his massacre - he declined..... -
Message 9
Posted by Steelers708 (U1831340) on Friday, 11th January 2008
Wilhelm Mohnke was never a member of the "Das Reich" division. He served with the "LSSAH" until taking over command of SS PzGr Regt 26 of the 12th SS Pz Div. "Hitler Jugend" in 1943.
On the 31st August 1944 he replaced Theodor Wisch as CO of the "LSSAH", after being wounded again in early 1945 he was placed in command of the Reichs Chancellory defenses, these forces consisted of remnants of various units including the 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division der SS "Charlemagne", which was made up of Frenchmen. -
Message 10
Posted by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper (U519668) on Friday, 11th January 2008
Steelers708
So now we know the extent of Mohnke's evil as he was probably responsible for the death of my cousin and most of the battalion of 11th.DLI. at Raurey in June of '44...against the 12th Pz's SS Div. during the operation "Martlett" within "Epsom".
Can't really blame Mohnke or panzer Meyer for that massacre but rather the Brigadier who sent the whole battalion in with fixed bayonets against panzers - shades of 1914 ! -
Message 11
Posted by vera1950 (U9920163) on Saturday, 12th January 2008
hi trooer tom,
thanks there has been a good response and I have larned a lot from you all.
i find it hard to swallow that this brutality was not dealt with severly.
we willkeepthe memory of thse victims in our thoughts.
vera -
Message 12
Posted by Trooper Tom Canning - WW2 Site Helper (U519668) on Saturday, 12th January 2008
Vera - you are most welcome - the trouble usually was to find the culprits as they were invariably very careful not to leave witnesses and it was after the war when the do -gooders were starting up and most only got a slap on the wrist.
In the case of Kesselring for the Ardeantine caves of Rome - he came up with the usual " I was only following orders" and got a few years in the slammer. We will never know them all !
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