Theo Young-Smith

But in the context of the 1930s, after years of indoctrination, after years of listening to Hitler's speeches...

But in the context of the 1930s, after years of indoctrination, after years of listening to Hitler's speeches...

But in the context of the 1930s, after years of indoctrination, after years of listening to Hitler's speeches...

fueled by a sense of resentment and victimhood yeah i guess you can see how it happens i mean we know it happened right it does chime with the prejudices already held by a lot of german soldiers so we know that some german officers when they talked to their men beforehand they gave them pep talks they said come on guys we all know the poles are primitive we all know they're dirty they can't be trusted we you know we can't take any prisoners all of this kind of thing

fueled by a sense of resentment and victimhood yeah i guess you can see how it happens i mean we know it happened right it does chime with the prejudices already held by a lot of german soldiers so we know that some german officers when they talked to their men beforehand they gave them pep talks they said come on guys we all know the poles are primitive we all know they're dirty they can't be trusted we you know we can't take any prisoners all of this kind of thing

fueled by a sense of resentment and victimhood yeah i guess you can see how it happens i mean we know it happened right it does chime with the prejudices already held by a lot of german soldiers so we know that some german officers when they talked to their men beforehand they gave them pep talks they said come on guys we all know the poles are primitive we all know they're dirty they can't be trusted we you know we can't take any prisoners all of this kind of thing

And we can see the results. In two months of the campaign, hundreds of Polish villages were burned, thousands and thousands of civilians executed. I'll give you one example. Richard Evans, in his book, The Third Reich at War, he describes a guy called Gerhard M, who is a stormtrooper who, before the war, was a fireman. And he came from a place called Flensburg, which is basically Denmark.

And we can see the results. In two months of the campaign, hundreds of Polish villages were burned, thousands and thousands of civilians executed. I'll give you one example. Richard Evans, in his book, The Third Reich at War, he describes a guy called Gerhard M, who is a stormtrooper who, before the war, was a fireman. And he came from a place called Flensburg, which is basically Denmark.

And we can see the results. In two months of the campaign, hundreds of Polish villages were burned, thousands and thousands of civilians executed. I'll give you one example. Richard Evans, in his book, The Third Reich at War, he describes a guy called Gerhard M, who is a stormtrooper who, before the war, was a fireman. And he came from a place called Flensburg, which is basically Denmark.

It's right on the border with Denmark. And this guy, Gerhard, describes...

It's right on the border with Denmark. And this guy, Gerhard, describes...

It's right on the border with Denmark. And this guy, Gerhard, describes...

um how in the first days of the invasion they were going through a polish village and someone fired at them and so they reacted by burning the entire village to the ground burning houses weeping women screaming children a picture of misery is how he described it gerhardt described how one woman was trying to get out of her house and they we stopped her he said and they but she burned to death her screaming rang in my ears long afterwards and a few days later they got to another village and

um how in the first days of the invasion they were going through a polish village and someone fired at them and so they reacted by burning the entire village to the ground burning houses weeping women screaming children a picture of misery is how he described it gerhardt described how one woman was trying to get out of her house and they we stopped her he said and they but she burned to death her screaming rang in my ears long afterwards and a few days later they got to another village and

um how in the first days of the invasion they were going through a polish village and someone fired at them and so they reacted by burning the entire village to the ground burning houses weeping women screaming children a picture of misery is how he described it gerhardt described how one woman was trying to get out of her house and they we stopped her he said and they but she burned to death her screaming rang in my ears long afterwards and a few days later they got to another village and

And he said, burning houses were lining our route. After the flames there sounded the screams of the people who had hidden in them and were unable anymore to rescue themselves. It was dreadful. It's still ringing in my ears even today. But they shot at us and so they deserve death.

And he said, burning houses were lining our route. After the flames there sounded the screams of the people who had hidden in them and were unable anymore to rescue themselves. It was dreadful. It's still ringing in my ears even today. But they shot at us and so they deserve death.

And he said, burning houses were lining our route. After the flames there sounded the screams of the people who had hidden in them and were unable anymore to rescue themselves. It was dreadful. It's still ringing in my ears even today. But they shot at us and so they deserve death.

I guess so, by fascist ideology, by the pressure of war. And the thing is, this is in the first week of the war.

I guess so, by fascist ideology, by the pressure of war. And the thing is, this is in the first week of the war.