Name: Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus
State: Germany
Field of activity: Army
Greatest Achievement: Saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of German soldiers at Stalingrad by surrendering
Military campaigns have always featured excellent commanders, officers, and army leaders. All of them were distinguished by their extraordinary talent for combat. Of course, opponents would give a lot to capture or kill such a warrior. In ancient times, life was not valued as much as it is now. Many talented commanders gave their lives for their country and king. In the 19th and 20th centuries it was more convenient to take prisoners. After all, such a general could benefit the enemy. One of these is General Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus.
The beginning of the way
It seemed that nothing foreshadowed such a bright military career for a boy from a simple accountant’s family. Friedrich Paulus was born on September 23, 1890 in the town of Huxhagen. The father, who held the position of accountant (accountant in modern times) in the prison of the city of Kassel, instilled in the child a love of order and scrupulousness. Young Friedrich loved to study since childhood, showed excellent results at the gymnasium, and then at the college.
As he enters adolescence, he listens more and more to how people talk about him and what opinions they have. Gradually he comes to the conclusion that a military career would suit him. Before this, he makes attempts to become a lawyer and even attends lectures on jurisprudence, but quickly loses interest in it. Paulus is trying to get a job as an officer in the German fleet, but was rejected for one simple reason - he does not have a drop of blue blood. But Paulus is not lost and becomes a lieutenant of the Baden Land Regiment. This is how his military career begins.
It is worth noting that, unlike other top-ranking German officers, Friedrich Paulus was not particularly eager to go to the front line; he was mainly at headquarters. The regiment under his command managed to fight in France and the Balkans. Frederick met the end of the war with the rank of captain.
Life after the war
After the end of hostilities, Paulus did not abandon the army and continued his service. And he did not forget to arrange his personal life - back in 1912 he met the Romanian aristocrat Elena Solescu. Soon they got married. It was with her help that Friedrich learned good manners and made the necessary acquaintances.
With the establishment of the Weimar Republic, Paulus did not leave the country and continued to serve Germany. He held leadership positions in the armed forces. In 1922 he completed training at the General Staff. Gradually he moved up the career ladder. His fellow officers said about him that “he is slow, but methodical,” that he does not have the determination that should be inherent in all high-ranking German officers.
Paulus and the rise to power of the Nazis
The 1930s were marked by the rise of National Socialism in Germany. The NSDAP party, led by them, is trying to get to the top of power, and they soon succeed. Friedrich Paulus himself did not adhere to fascist ideas, but really wanted to become a general. That's why I joined the party. His wife, being an aristocrat, easily made the necessary contacts and often helped her husband in this. Paulus himself had a complex due to his lack of blue blood that he could not add the prefix “von” to his surname (a designation for aristocratic surnames in Germany).
In 1934, Friedrich was awarded the rank of colonel. He was also appointed commander of one of the sections of road transport. In this matter he became a real expert. Before Paulus rose to the rank of major general and became director of training for Germany's light divisions - motorized rifle and reconnaissance regiments.
Participation in the Second World War
Hitler could not help but use the talented officer in his military operations. In 1939, Paulus took part in the occupation of Poland, then was transferred to Belgium and France. In 1940 he became lieutenant general. His dreams of a high military position begin to come true. Together with other officers, Paulus begins to develop a plan for the invasion of. At this time, he is mostly at headquarters and does not take part in hostilities. He proposes to the Nazis to take over the Soviet Union. Paulus advises Hitler to attack immediately and prevent her from going deeper into the country after defeat. The main emphasis should be on the northern territories to make it more convenient to capture Moscow.
On the advice of Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau, Hitler makes Paulus commander of the army. Already at the beginning of 1942, Friedrich conducted his first battle near Dnepropetrovsk. This battle was lost by the Germans. Paulus gives the order to look for more reliable defensive positions. Paulus was nominated for awards for his bravery.
In the summer, Paulus’s troops were already located near the city of Stalingrad - in the amount of 250 thousand people. Frederick himself personally developed a plan for an attack on the Soviet city. Hitler listened carefully to his general - victory was of great importance. After all, the places were rich in oil, in addition, the city bore the name of Stalin, which would have been excellent propaganda and a demonstration performance of the German troops. But the fascist army faced difficulties with food and weapons delivery - replenishment was slow. There was also a shortage of fuel, without which it was almost impossible to win this battle.
After it was finally delivered, violent attacks began. During the first weeks, the German army under the command of Paulus captured or killed about 50 thousand Soviet soldiers. It would seem that this is success. But at the most inopportune moment, the fuel ran out again. I had to send a delivery request again. In order not to lose that success, the Luftwaffe helped Paulus - they bombed the city from the air, killing thousands of lives every day.
In September the fighting resumed. The German army advanced deeper into the city. Soviet troops fought fierce battles for every centimeter of Stalingrad. The Russian snipers, hiding in the destroyed houses, performed well. Their bullets greatly undermined the power of the German army. Despite the fact that the Germans still managed to raise their flag in the main square of the city, street fighting did not stop.
Battle of Stalingrad
Hitler gave the order to Paulus to capture Stalingrad at any cost. On the radio, the Fuhrer loudly declared that “no one will ever push us out of Stalingrad.” When one of the generals complained about high casualties, Paulus quickly removed him from his post, although he himself had lost tens of thousands of soldiers and desperately asked Hitler to send reinforcements. Stalin did the same. Here you can trace the battle strategy - the Soviet army had more human resources, the German army had almost the entire territory of the city. It would seem that everything is lost. But the weather intervened.
The October rains turned the roads into a continuous mud mess. Paulus needed food and weapons. The Red Army continued its attacks and pushed the German army to the city's borders. Hitler demanded to stand to the end, and the Luftwaffe would provide the Germans with everything they needed from the air. However, what was delivered was not enough to fully supply the German army. Hitler realized that she was beginning to starve. During the winter, about 28 thousand soldiers died. Outside help was stopped by the Red Army near Stalingrad.
In January 1943, Hitler appointed Paulus as field marshal. He hoped that this would give Frederick a reason to commit suicide and avoid capture. However, Paulus himself decided otherwise - the next day he surrendered. He was taken into custody and initially refused to cooperate with the Soviet command. However, he soon changed his point of view and turned to the German people demanding the overthrow of Hitler. This was the beginning of the end. The Fuhrer, in retaliation, put his son, who served in the Wehrmacht, under arrest. His wife, daughter, and grandchildren are sent into exile. Paulus himself remained in captivity until the end of the war.
last years of life
Friedrich Paulus settled in Ilyinsky near Moscow. He traveled to Germany several times, including to the Nuremberg trials, where he acted as a witness. In 1949, Paulus's wife died - he was informed about this only a month after her death.
He was able to leave the Soviet Union only after Stalin's death. He moved to Dresden, where he was given a villa. He begins teaching military history and art at a special military center. He always spoke warmly about. Paulus died on February 1, 1957 in Dresden. A few days later, the urn with the ashes was buried next to the grave of his wife in the city of Baden-Baden.
Friedrich Paulus received the rank of field marshal the day before he was captured. For the Soviet command, Paulus was a valuable trophy; they managed to “reforge” it and use it in geopolitics. The former field marshal and commander of the 6th SS Army, read Chekhov and praised the courage of Soviet soldiers...
Collapse
By the beginning of 1943, Paulus's 6th Army was a pitiful sight. On January 8, the Soviet command addressed Paulus with an ultimatum: if the marshal did not surrender by 10 o’clock the next day, all the Germans surrounded would be destroyed. Paulus did not react to the ultimatum.
The 6th Army was crushed, Paulus lost his tanks, ammunition and fuel. By January 22, the last airfield was occupied. On January 23, with his hands raised, the commander of the 4th Army Corps, General Max Karl Pfeffer, came out of the building of the former NKVD prison; together with the remnants of his 297th division, General Moritz von Drebber surrendered; in full dress uniform, with all the regalia, the commander of the 295th division, General Otto, surrendered Corfes.
Paulus's whereabouts still remained unknown, and there were rumors that he had managed to escape from the encirclement. On January 30, a radiogram was intercepted about the awarding of the rank of field marshal to Paulus. In the radiogram, Hitler unobtrusively hinted: “Not a single German field marshal has ever been captured.”
Finally, intelligence reported that German orders were coming from the Central Department Store building. That's where Paulus was found. "This is the end!" - said a dirty, haggard, stubble-covered old man, in whom it was difficult to guess Friedrich Paulus.
Disease
Paulus had a terrible disease - rectal cancer, vigilant monitoring was established over him, and he was provided with proper care. Paulus was taken to the hospital incognito.
The German general was a pitiful sight: his emaciated, sallow face was always gloomy, sometimes overgrown with coarse stubble. He was prescribed a diet: soups, vegetable and red caviar, smoked sausage, cutlets, fruit.
The field marshal ate reluctantly. In addition, his right arm was broken, which the hospital staff perceived unequivocally: the nameless patient was tortured.
Spring in the monastery
Paulus met the spring of 1943 at the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal. Here he stayed for six months. After the revolution, the monastery housed military units, there was a concentration camp, and during the war it was a camp for prisoners of war.
The field marshal lived in a monastic cell. He was vigilantly guarded. For the Soviet command he was prisoner number one. Even then it was obvious that they wanted to play Paulus in a big political game.
The decision to abandon Nazi ideas began to mature in Paulus after the assassination attempt on Hitler. The participants in the conspiracy were brutally dealt with, among them were the field marshal’s friends. A huge achievement of Soviet intelligence was the operation to deliver Paulus a letter from his wife.
In Germany they were sure of the field marshal's death. There was even a symbolic funeral for Paulus, at which Hitler personally laid a field marshal’s baton with diamonds, which had not been given to the ex-commander, on the empty coffin.
A letter from his wife was the last straw that led Paulus to a very difficult decision. On August 8, 1944, he spoke on the radio broadcasting to Germany, calling on the German people to renounce the Fuhrer and save the country, for which it is necessary to immediately end the war.
Paulus at the dacha
Since 1946, Paulus lived at a dacha in Tomilino near Moscow as Stalin’s “personal guest”. Paulus was surrounded by attention, security and care. He had a personal doctor, his own cook and adjutant. The field marshal, despite the honor bestowed upon him, continued to strive to return to his homeland, but by personal order of Stalin he was prohibited from leaving.
Paulus was a valuable personal trophy for Stalin. There was no way the “leader of the peoples” could lose him. In addition, releasing the field marshal was unsafe for himself: in Germany, the attitude towards him was, to put it mildly, unkind, and the death of Paulus could seriously damage the reputation of the USSR. In 1947, Paulus was treated for two months in a sanatorium in Crimea, but the field marshal was forbidden to visit his wife’s grave and communicate with his children.
Nuremberg
Paulus was one of the main witnesses for the prosecution at the Nuremberg trials. When Paulus entered the hall as a witness, Keitel, Jodl and Goering, who were sitting in the dock, had to be calmed down.
As they say, nothing is forgotten, nothing is forgotten: Paulus was one of those who was directly involved in the development of the Barbarossa plan. Even the inhuman Nazi criminals could not forgive Paulus’s outright betrayal.
Interrogation of F. Paulus at the Nuremberg trials.
Participation in the Nuremberg trials on the side of the Allies, in fact, saved the field marshal from time behind bars. Most German generals, despite their cooperation during the war, were still sentenced to 25 years.
Paulus, by the way, might not have made it to the courtroom. On his way to Germany, an attempt was made on his life, but the timely work of counterintelligence helped to avoid the loss of such an important witness.
Paulus at the villa
On October 23, 1953, after Stalin's death, Paulus left Moscow. Before leaving, he made a statement: “I came to you as an enemy, but I am leaving you as a friend.”
The field marshal settled in the Dresden suburb of Oberloschwitz. He was provided with a villa, servants and security, and a car. Paulus was even allowed to carry weapons.
Paulus in his villa in Dresden in 1955. Photo from the State Archives of the Federal Republic of Germany.
According to the archives of the GDR intelligence services, Friedrich Paulus led a secluded life. His favorite pastime was disassembling and cleaning his service pistol. The field marshal could not sit still: he worked as the head of the Military History Center of Dresden, and also gave lectures at the Higher School of the People's Police of the GDR.
Working on a kind attitude towards himself, in interviews he criticized West Germany, praised the socialist system and liked to repeat that “no one can defeat Russia.”
Since November 1956, Paulus did not leave the house; doctors diagnosed him with “sclerosis of the brain”; the field marshal was paralyzed on the left side of his body. On February 1, 1957, he died.
Paradoxes of history
When Paulus was captured, this became a serious bonus for the anti-Hitler coalition and for Stalin personally. They managed to “reforge” Paulus and in his homeland he was dubbed a traitor.
Hitler and Paulus.
Many in Germany still consider Paulus a traitor, which is quite natural: he surrendered and began working for the propaganda machine of the social bloc. Another thing is striking: in modern Russia there is a cult of Field Marshal Paulus, on social networks there are communities named after him, on forums there is an active discussion of the “exploits” of the Nazi general.
There are two Paulus: one is a real, fascist criminal who caused the death of millions of people, and the other is a mythological one, created by short-sighted “connoisseurs” of the German military leader.
Most recently, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of one of the most important battles of the Great Patriotic War - the Battle of Stalingrad, which took place from July 17, 1942 to February 2, 1943. Millions of people on both sides took part in this battle. The memory of the feat of Soviet soldiers at Stalingrad is carefully preserved in our country. He does a lot of work to preserve and promote heroic memory.
It was with his active participation that the multimedia exhibition #MYSTALINGRAD was opened, which began its work at the Museum of Military Uniforms of the RVIO, and later moved to the Victory Museum on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow. As part of the all-Russian action “Lesson of Courage”, which started in February 2018, teachers used materials prepared by the scientific department of the Russian Military Education Society, and in a number of educational institutions of the country (in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Khanty-Mansiysk, Stavropol, Tambov and other cities) these the lessons were taught by RVIO staff. In addition, the Russian Military Historical Society organized and held a number of other events on Stalingrad topics.
Exhibition #MYSTALINGRAD
Today we will tell you about one page of history that is inextricably linked with the Battle of Stalingrad. This is the further fate of Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus, commander of the 6th Army, which suffered complete collapse at the walls of Stalingrad.
General Paulus was promoted to field marshal shortly before being captured by Soviet soldiers. Hitler, giving him this title, hoped that there would be no capitulation, and field marshals, in his opinion, did not surrender. He really hoped that Paulus would commit suicide in this case. This did not happen, and you all probably know that on the morning of January 31, 1943, the Soviet command received a request from the field marshal to surrender. Before his capture, the last location of his headquarters was the building of the Stalingrad Central Department Store.
Captivity of Field Marshal F. Paulus
For the command of the Red Army, Paulus became a very important prisoner; it was assumed that he would take part in a big military-political game. At the time of his capture, the field marshal was very ill. Initially he was sent to the hospital, and later he ended up in the general’s camp in the Spaso-Evfimiev Monastery in Suzdal.
For a long time, Paulus adhered to National Socialist views. He considered the created pro-Soviet “Union of German Officers” to be high treason. His attitude towards Nazi ideas changed after the assassination attempt on Hitler. The conspirators were brutally dealt with, and among them were the field marshal’s friends. The letter that came from his wife was the last straw that changed his views. On August 8, 1944, Paulus addressed the German people on the radio. In it, he called for saving the country and renouncing Hitler. He personally signed anti-war leaflets. A few days later, Paulus joined the Union of German Officers, and later the National Committee of Free Germany.
The Nazis responded to his actions immediately: Paulus’s son, who fought at Stalingrad with the rank of captain, was sent to prison, and his wife and daughter were under house arrest.
With the end of the war his position did not change. Like many “Stalingrad” generals, he continued to remain in captivity. In 1946, Paulus went to Germany, where he took part in the Nuremberg trials. He acted as a witness. After that, he lived for several more years in the USSR, in Ilyinsky near Moscow (according to some sources, in Zagoryansky). The “personal prisoner” was engaged in self-education, read party literature, and prepared for speeches before Soviet generals. The field marshal had his own doctor, cook and adjutant. Relatives from Germany constantly sent him letters and parcels.
F. Paulus at the Nuremberg Trials
After Stalin's death, Paulus was allowed to leave for Berlin. When meeting with the leader of the GDR, W. Ulbricht, he assured the authorities that he would live only in East Germany. His place of residence was the city of Dresden. Paulus was assigned a car, an adjutant and the right to carry personal weapons. In 1954, the Military Historical Center was created, and Paulus headed it. At this time, his teaching career began: at the Higher School of the Barracks People's Police (the future army of the GDR), he lectured on the art of war and gave reports on the Battle of Stalingrad.
On February 1, 1957, Friedrich Paulus died. This happened on the eve of the 14th anniversary of the defeat of his army at Stalingrad. The field marshal's ashes were buried in Baden-Baden near the grave of his wife.
 |
||
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus(German) Friedrich Wilhelm Ernst Paulus ; September 23, Huxhagen, Hesse-Nassau - February 1, Dresden) - German military leader (since 1943 - Field Marshal) and commander of the 6th Army, which was surrounded and capitulated at Stalingrad. One of the authors of the Barbarossa plan.
In some sources there is a spelling of his last name with the addition of a predicate background, which is incorrect, since Paulus was not an aristocrat by birth and never used such a prefix to his surname.
Biography
Childhood and youth
Period between wars
For Paulus and his comrades, who were transferred to the general’s camp in the Spaso-Evfimyev Monastery in Suzdal in the spring, this was a betrayal. Seventeen generals, led by the field marshal, sign a collective statement: “What the officers and generals who have become members of the “Union” are doing is high treason. We no longer consider them our comrades, and we resolutely reject them." But a month later, Paulus unexpectedly withdraws his signature from the general’s “protest.” Soon he was transferred to the village of Cherntsy, 28 km from Ivanovo. The highest ranks of the NKVD feared that the field marshal might be kidnapped from Suzdal, so they sent him to the depths of the forests. In addition to him, 22 German, 6 Romanian and 3 Italian generals arrived at the former Voikov sanatorium.
In the former sanatorium, Paulus's intestinal disease began to progress, for which he was operated on several times. However, in spite of everything, he refused individual dietary nutrition, and only asked to deliver the herbs marjoram and tarragon, which he always carried with him, but lost the suitcase with them in battles. In addition, he, like all prisoners of the “sanatorium”, received meat, butter, all the necessary products, parcels from relatives from Germany, beer on holidays. The prisoners were engaged in creative work. To do this, they were given every opportunity: there was plenty of wood around, so many were engaged in wood carving (even carving a linden baton for the field marshal), canvases and paints were available in any quantity, Paulus himself also did this, and wrote memoirs.
However, he still did not recognize the “Union of German Officers”, did not agree to cooperate with Soviet authorities, and did not oppose A. Hitler. In the summer of 1944, the field marshal was transferred to a special facility in Ozyory. Almost every day, reports from the UPVI are written to L.P. Beria on the progress of the processing of the Satrap (this nickname was assigned to him by the NKVD). Paulus is presented with an appeal from 16 generals. Intelligent, indecisive Paulus hesitated. As a former staff officer, he was apparently accustomed to calculating all the pros and cons. But a number of events “help” him in this: the opening of the Second Front, defeat on the Kursk Bulge and in Africa, the loss of allies, total mobilization in Germany, the entry into the “Union” of 16 new generals and his best friend, Colonel V. Adam, as well as death in Italy in April 1944 of his son Friedrich. And finally, the assassination attempt on A. Hitler by officers whom he knew well. He was shocked by the execution of the conspirators, among whom was his friend Field Marshal E. von Witzleben. Apparently, a letter from his wife, delivered from Berlin by Soviet intelligence, also played a role. 
On August 8, Paulus finally did what they wanted from him for a year and a half - he signed an appeal “To the prisoners of war of German soldiers and officers and to the German people,” which literally said the following: “I consider it my duty to declare that Germany must eliminate Adolf Hitler and establish a new government leadership that will end the war and create conditions that will ensure our people’s continued existence and the restoration of peaceful and friendly relations with the current enemy.” Four days later he joined the Union of German Officers. Then - to the National Committee of Free Germany. From that moment on, he became one of the most active propagandists in the fight against Nazism. He regularly appears on the radio, puts his signature on leaflets, calling on Wehrmacht soldiers to go over to the side of the Russians. From now on there was no turning back for Paulus.
This also affected his family members. The Gestapo arrested his son, a Wehrmacht captain. His wife, who refused to renounce her captive husband, his daughter, daughter-in-law, and grandson are sent into exile. Until February 1945, they were kept under house arrest in the mountain resort town of Schirlichmülle in Upper Silesia, along with the families of some other captured generals, notably von Seydlitz and von Lenski. The son was under arrest in the Küstrin fortress. Paulus's daughter and daughter-in-law wrote petitions for release in connection with their young children, but this played the opposite role to expectations - reminding the Main Directorate of the RSHA, they were transferred first to Buchenwald, and a little later to Dachau, when the Red Army approached Silesia. In April 1945 they were liberated from the Dachau concentration camp. But the field marshal never saw his wife. On November 10, 1949, she died in Baden-Baden, in the American occupation zone. Paulus found out about this only a month later.
Friedrich Paulus acted as a witness at the Nuremberg trials.
Post-war time
After the war, the “Stalingrad” generals were still held captive. Many of them were then convicted in the USSR, but all 23, except one who died, later returned home (of the soldiers - about 6 thousand). However, Paulus visited his homeland already in February 1946 as a participant in the Nuremberg trials. His appearance there and speaking at the trial as a witness came as a surprise even to the officers closest to Paulus. Not to mention the defendants V. Keitel, A. Jodl and G. Goering, who were sitting in the dock, and had to be calmed down. Some of the captured generals accused their colleague of baseness and betrayal.
After Nuremberg, the field marshal spent a month and a half in Thuringia, where he met with his relatives. At the end of March he was brought to Moscow again, and soon Stalin’s “personal captive” (he did not allow Paulus to be put on trial) was settled in a dacha in Ilyinsky near Moscow. There he studied the works of the classics of Marxism-Leninism, read party literature, and prepared for speeches before Soviet generals. He had his own doctor, cook and adjutant. Letters and parcels were regularly delivered to Paulus from his relatives. When he fell ill, he was taken to Yalta for treatment. But all his requests to return home, to visit his wife’s grave met with a wall of polite refusal.
One morning in 1951, Paulus was found unconscious, but managed to be saved. Then he fell into a severe depression, did not talk to anyone, and refused to leave his bed or eat. Apparently fearing that the famous prisoner might die in his “golden” cage, Stalin decides to release the field marshal without giving a specific date for his repatriation.
Only after Stalin's death, on October 24, 1953, Paulus, accompanied by orderly E. Schulte and personal cook L. Georg, left for Berlin. A month before, he met with the leader of the GDR, W. Ulbricht, and assured him that he would live exclusively in East Germany. On the day of departure, Pravda published a statement by Paulus, which spoke, based on the terrible experience of the war against the USSR, about the need for peaceful coexistence of states with different systems, about a future united Germany. And also about his admission that he, in blind submission, arrived in the Soviet Union as an enemy, but leaves this country as a friend.
Life in the GDR
In the GDR, Paulus was given a guarded villa in an elite area of Dresden, a car, an adjutant and the right to have personal weapons. As the head of the newly created military historical center, he began teaching in 1954. He gives lectures on the art of war at the higher school of the Barracks People's Police (the forerunner of the GDR army), and gives reports on the Battle of Stalingrad.
All the years after his liberation, Paulus did not stop proving his loyalty to the socialist system. The leaders of the GDR praised his patriotism and did not object if he signed his letters to them as “Field Marshal General of the former German army.” Paulus condemned “West German militarism” and criticized the policy of Bonn, which did not want German neutrality. At meetings of former World War II veterans in East Berlin in 1955, he reminded veterans of their responsibility for a democratic Germany.
The modest funeral ceremony in Dresden was attended by several high party functionaries and generals of the GDR. Five days later, the urn containing Paulus's ashes was buried near his wife's grave in Baden-Baden.
Film incarnations
- Vladimir Gaidarov “The Oath” (1946), “Battle of Stalingrad” (USSR, 1949).
- Ernst Wilhelm Borchert “Dogs, do you want to live forever? "(Germany, 1959)
- Zygmunt Maciejewski “November Epilogue” / Epilog norymberski (Poland, 1971)
- Siegfried Voss “Stalingrad” (USSR, 1989).
- Paul Glavion “War and Remembrance” (TV series) / “War and Remembrance” (USA, 1988)
- Matthias Habich “Enemy at the Gates” / “Enemy at the Gates” (USA, 2001)
- Christian Wewerka "Die Geschichte Mitteldeutschlands" (TV series). Germany, 2011.
Write a review of the article "Paulus, Friedrich"
Notes
Literature
- Steidle L. From the Volga to Weimar: Memoirs of a German Colonel, Regimental Commander of the 6th Army Paulus = Entscheidung an der Wolga / Luitpold Steidle; Per. with him. N. M. Gnedina and M. P. Sokolov; Ed. Z. S. Sheinis; Preface N. N. Bernikova. - M.: Progress, 1973. - 424 p. - 50,000 copies.(in translation)
- Poltorak A.I. Nuremberg epilogue. - M.: Military Publishing House, 1969.
- Pikul V.S. Barbarossa (Square of Fallen Fighters). - M.: Voice, 1996. - 624 p.
- Mitcham S., Mueller J. Commanders of the Third Reich. - Smolensk: Rusich, 1995. - 480 p. - (Tyranny). - 10,000 copies. - ISBN 5-88590-287-9.
- Gordienko A. N. Commanders of the Second World War. - Minsk: Literature, 1997. - T. 2. - 638 p. - (Encyclopedia of Military Art). - ISBN 985-437-627-3.
- Correlli Barnett.. - New York, NY: Grove Press, 1989. - 528 p. - ISBN 0-802-13994-9.
- Chukarev A. G., Sleptsov E. Ya. Ahead of its time. - M.: NEI “Academic Thought”, 2008.
| This article or section contains or external references, but the sources of individual statements remain unclear due to the lack of footnotes. Statements not made may be questioned and removed. You can improve the article by providing more accurate citations to your sources. |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
Excerpt characterizing Paulus, Friedrich
All the people of this party were catching rubles, crosses, ranks, and in this fishing they only followed the direction of the weather vane of the royal favor, and just noticed that the weather vane turned in one direction, when all this drone population of the army began to blow in the same direction, so that the sovereign the more difficult it was to turn it into another. Amid the uncertainty of the situation, with the threatening, serious danger that gave everything a particularly alarming character, amid this whirlwind of intrigue, pride, clashes of different views and feelings, with the diversity of all these people, this eighth, the largest party of people hired by personal interests, gave great confusion and vagueness of the common cause. No matter what question was raised, the swarm of these drones, without even sounding off the previous topic, flew to a new one and with their buzzing drowned out and obscured sincere, disputing voices.Of all these parties, at the same time that Prince Andrei arrived at the army, another, ninth party gathered and began to raise its voice. This was a party of old, sensible, state-experienced people who were able, without sharing any of the conflicting opinions, to look abstractly at everything that was happening at the headquarters of the main headquarters, and to think about ways out of this uncertainty, indecision, confusion and weakness.
The people of this party said and thought that everything bad comes mainly from the presence of a sovereign with a military court near the army; that the vague, conditional and fluctuating instability of relations that is convenient at court, but harmful in the army, has been transferred to the army; that the sovereign needs to reign, and not control the army; that the only way out of this situation is the departure of the sovereign and his court from the army; that the mere presence of the sovereign would paralyze the fifty thousand troops needed to ensure his personal safety; that the worst, but independent commander-in-chief will be better than the best, but bound by the presence and power of the sovereign.
At the same time, Prince Andrei was living idle under Drissa, Shishkov, the Secretary of State, who was one of the main representatives of this party, wrote a letter to the sovereign, which Balashev and Arakcheev agreed to sign. In this letter, taking advantage of the permission given to him by the sovereign to talk about the general course of affairs, he respectfully and under the pretext of the need for the sovereign to inspire the people in the capital to war, suggested that the sovereign leave the army.
The sovereign's inspiration of the people and the appeal to them for the defense of the fatherland - the same (as far as it was produced by the personal presence of the sovereign in Moscow) inspiration of the people, which was the main reason for the triumph of Russia, was presented to the sovereign and accepted by him as a pretext for leaving the army.
X
This letter had not yet been submitted to the sovereign when Barclay told Bolkonsky at dinner that the sovereign would like to see Prince Andrei personally in order to ask him about Turkey, and that Prince Andrei would appear at Bennigsen’s apartment at six o’clock in the evening.
On the same day, news was received in the sovereign's apartment about Napoleon's new movement, which could be dangerous for the army - news that later turned out to be unfair. And that same morning, Colonel Michaud, touring the Dries fortifications with the sovereign, proved to the sovereign that this fortified camp, built by Pfuel and hitherto considered the master of tactics, destined to destroy Napoleon, - that this camp was nonsense and destruction Russian army.
Prince Andrei arrived at the apartment of General Bennigsen, who occupied a small landowner's house on the very bank of the river. Neither Bennigsen nor the sovereign were there, but Chernyshev, the sovereign’s aide-de-camp, received Bolkonsky and announced to him that the sovereign had gone with General Bennigsen and the Marquis Paulucci another time that day to tour the fortifications of the Drissa camp, the convenience of which was beginning to be seriously doubted.
Chernyshev was sitting with a book of a French novel at the window of the first room. This room was probably formerly a hall; there was still an organ in it, on which some carpets were piled, and in one corner stood the folding bed of Adjutant Bennigsen. This adjutant was here. He, apparently exhausted by a feast or business, sat on a rolled up bed and dozed. Two doors led from the hall: one straight into the former living room, the other to the right into the office. From the first door one could hear voices speaking in German and occasionally in French. There, in the former living room, at the sovereign’s request, not a military council was gathered (the sovereign loved uncertainty), but some people whose opinions on the upcoming difficulties he wanted to know. This was not a military council, but, as it were, a council of those elected to clarify certain issues personally for the sovereign. Invited to this half-council were: the Swedish General Armfeld, Adjutant General Wolzogen, Wintzingerode, whom Napoleon called a fugitive French subject, Michaud, Tol, not a military man at all - Count Stein and, finally, Pfuel himself, who, as Prince Andrei heard, was la cheville ouvriere [the basis] of the whole matter. Prince Andrei had the opportunity to take a good look at him, since Pfuhl arrived soon after him and walked into the living room, stopping for a minute to talk with Chernyshev.
At first glance, Pfuel, in his poorly tailored Russian general's uniform, which sat awkwardly on him, as if dressed up, seemed familiar to Prince Andrei, although he had never seen him. It included Weyrother, Mack, Schmidt, and many other German theoretic generals whom Prince Andrei managed to see in 1805; but he was more typical than all of them. Prince Andrei had never seen such a German theoretician, who combined in himself everything that was in those Germans.
Pfuel was short, very thin, but broad-boned, of a rough, healthy build, with a wide pelvis and bony shoulder blades. His face was very wrinkled, with deep-set eyes. His hair in front, near his temples, was obviously hastily smoothed with a brush, and naively stuck out with tassels at the back. He, looking around restlessly and angrily, entered the room, as if he was afraid of everything in the large room into which he entered. He, holding his sword with an awkward movement, turned to Chernyshev, asking in German where the sovereign was. He apparently wanted to go through the rooms as quickly as possible, finish bowing and greetings, and sit down to work in front of the map, where he felt at home. He hastily nodded his head at Chernyshev’s words and smiled ironically, listening to his words that the sovereign was inspecting the fortifications that he, Pfuel himself, had laid down according to his theory. He grumbled something bassily and coolly, as self-confident Germans say, to himself: Dummkopf... or: zu Grunde die ganze Geschichte... or: s"wird was gescheites d"raus werden... [nonsense... to hell with the whole thing... (German) ] Prince Andrei did not hear and wanted to pass, but Chernyshev introduced Prince Andrei to Pful, noting that Prince Andrei came from Turkey, where the war was so happily over. Pful almost looked not so much at Prince Andrei as through him, and said laughing: “Da muss ein schoner taktischcr Krieg gewesen sein.” [“It must have been a correctly tactical war.” (German)] - And, laughing contemptuously, he walked into the room from which voices were heard.
Apparently, Pfuel, who was always ready for ironic irritation, was now especially excited by the fact that they dared to inspect his camp without him and judge him. Prince Andrei, from this one short meeting with Pfuel, thanks to his Austerlitz memories, compiled a clear description of this man. Pfuel was one of those hopelessly, invariably, self-confident people to the point of martyrdom, which only Germans can be, and precisely because only Germans are self-confident on the basis of an abstract idea - science, that is, the imaginary knowledge of perfect truth. The Frenchman is self-confident because he considers himself personally, both in mind and body, to be irresistibly charming to both men and women. An Englishman is self-confident on the grounds that he is a citizen of the most comfortable state in the world, and therefore, as an Englishman, he always knows what he needs to do, and knows that everything he does as an Englishman is undoubtedly good. The Italian is self-confident because he is excited and easily forgets himself and others. The Russian is self-confident precisely because he knows nothing and does not want to know, because he does not believe that it is possible to completely know anything. The German is the worst self-confident of all, and the firmest of all, and the most disgusting of all, because he imagines that he knows the truth, a science that he himself invented, but which for him is the absolute truth. This, obviously, was Pfuel. He had a science - the theory of physical movement, which he derived from the history of the wars of Frederick the Great, and everything that he encountered in the modern history of the wars of Frederick the Great, and everything that he encountered in the latest military history, seemed to him nonsense, barbarism, an ugly clash, in which so many mistakes were made on both sides that these wars could not be called wars: they did not fit the theory and could not serve as the subject of science.
In 1806, Pfuel was one of the drafters of the plan for the war that ended with Jena and Auerstätt; but in the outcome of this war he did not see the slightest proof of the incorrectness of his theory. On the contrary, the deviations made from his theory, according to his concepts, were the only reason for the entire failure, and he, with his characteristic joyful irony, said: “Ich sagte ja, daji die ganze Geschichte zum Teufel gehen wird.” [After all, I said that the whole thing would go to hell (German)] Pfuel was one of those theorists who love their theory so much that they forget the purpose of theory - its application to practice; In his love for theory, he hated all practice and did not want to know it. He even rejoiced at failure, because failure, which resulted from a deviation in practice from theory, only proved to him the validity of his theory.
He said a few words with Prince Andrei and Chernyshev about the real war with the expression of a man who knows in advance that everything will be bad and that he is not even dissatisfied with it. The unkempt tufts of hair sticking out at the back of his head and the hastily slicked temples especially eloquently confirmed this.
He walked into another room, and from there the bassy and grumbling sounds of his voice were immediately heard.
Before Prince Andrei had time to follow Pfuel with his eyes, Count Bennigsen hurriedly entered the room and, nodding his head to Bolkonsky, without stopping, walked into the office, giving some orders to his adjutant. The Emperor was following him, and Bennigsen hurried forward to prepare something and have time to meet the Emperor. Chernyshev and Prince Andrei went out onto the porch. The Emperor got off his horse with a tired look. Marquis Paulucci said something to the sovereign. The Emperor, bowing his head to the left, listened with a dissatisfied look to Paulucci, who spoke with particular fervor. The Emperor moved forward, apparently wanting to end the conversation, but the flushed, excited Italian, forgetting decency, followed him, continuing to say:
“Quant a celui qui a conseille ce camp, le camp de Drissa, [As for the one who advised the Drissa camp,” said Paulucci, while the sovereign, entering the steps and noticing Prince Andrei, peered into an unfamiliar face .
– Quant a celui. Sire,” continued Paulucci with despair, as if unable to resist, “qui a conseille le camp de Drissa, je ne vois pas d"autre alternative que la maison jaune ou le gibet. [As for, sir, up to that man , who advised the camp at Drisei, then, in my opinion, there are only two places for him: the yellow house or the gallows.] - Without listening to the end and as if not hearing the words of the Italian, the sovereign, recognizing Bolkonsky, graciously turned to him:
“I’m very glad to see you, go to where they gathered and wait for me.” - The Emperor went into the office. Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky, Baron Stein, followed him, and the doors closed behind them. Prince Andrei, using the permission of the sovereign, went with Paulucci, whom he knew back in Turkey, into the living room where the council was meeting.
Prince Pyotr Mikhailovich Volkonsky held the position of chief of staff of the sovereign. Volkonsky left the office and, bringing cards into the living room and laying them out on the table, conveyed the questions on which he wanted to hear the opinions of the assembled gentlemen. The fact was that during the night news was received (later turned out to be false) about the movement of the French around the Drissa camp.
General Armfeld began to speak first, unexpectedly, in order to avoid the difficulty that had arisen, proposing a completely new, inexplicable position away from the St. Petersburg and Moscow roads, on which, in his opinion, the army should have united and await the enemy. It was clear that this plan had been drawn up by Armfeld long ago and that he now presented it not so much with the aim of answering the proposed questions, which this plan did not answer, but with the aim of taking advantage of the opportunity to express it. This was one of the millions of assumptions that could be made, just as well as others, without having any idea of what character the war would take. Some disputed his opinion, some defended it. The young Colonel Toll, more ardently than others, disputed the opinion of the Swedish general and during the argument took out a covered notebook from his side pocket, which he asked permission to read. In a lengthy note, Toll proposed a different campaign plan, completely contrary to both Armfeld’s plan and Pfuel’s plan. Paulucci, objecting to Tol, proposed a plan for moving forward and attacking, which alone, according to him, could lead us out of the unknown and the trap, as he called the Dris camp, in which we were located. Pfuhl and his translator Wolzogen (his bridge in court relations) remained silent during these disputes. Pfuhl only snorted contemptuously and turned away, showing that he would never stoop to object to the nonsense that he was now hearing. But when Prince Volkonsky, who led the debate, called him to express his opinion, he only said:
- Why ask me? General Armfeld proposed an excellent position with an open rear. Or attack von diesem italienischen Herrn, sehr schon! [this Italian gentleman, very good! (German)] Or retreat. Auch gut. [Also good (German)] Why ask me? - he said. – After all, you yourself know everything better than me. - But when Volkonsky, frowning, said that he was asking his opinion on behalf of the sovereign, Pfuel stood up and, suddenly animated, began to say:
- They ruined everything, confused everything, everyone wanted to know better than me, and now they came to me: how to fix it? Nothing to fix. Everything must be carried out exactly according to the principles I have laid out,” he said, banging his bony fingers on the table. – What is the difficulty? Nonsense, Kinder spiel. [children's toys (German)] - He went up to the map and began to speak quickly, pointing his dry finger at the map and proving that no accident could change the expediency of the Dris camp, that everything was foreseen and that if the enemy really goes around, then the enemy must inevitably be destroyed.
Paulucci, who did not know German, began asking him in French. Wolzogen came to the aid of his principal, who spoke little French, and began to translate his words, barely keeping up with Pfuel, who quickly proved that everything, everything, not only what happened, but everything that could happen, was all foreseen in his plan, and that if there were now difficulties, then the whole fault was only in the fact that everything was not executed exactly. He laughed ironically incessantly, argued, and finally contemptuously gave up proving, just as a mathematician gives up verifying in various ways the correctness of a problem that has once been proven. Wolzogen replaced him, continuing to express his thoughts in French and occasionally saying to Pfuel: “Nicht wahr, Exellenz?” [Isn't that true, Your Excellency? (German)] Pfuhl, like a hot man in battle hitting his own, shouted angrily at Wolzogen:
– Nun ja, was soll denn da noch expliziert werden? [Well, yes, what else is there to interpret? (German)] - Paulucci and Michaud attacked Wolzogen in French in two voices. Armfeld addressed Pfuel in German. Tol explained it in Russian to Prince Volkonsky. Prince Andrei silently listened and observed.
Of all these persons, the embittered, decisive and stupidly self-confident Pfuel most excited the participation of Prince Andrei. He alone, of all the people present here, obviously did not want anything for himself, did not harbor enmity towards anyone, but wanted only one thing - to put into action the plan drawn up according to the theory he had developed over years of work. He was funny, unpleasant in his irony, but at the same time he inspired involuntary respect with his boundless devotion to the idea. In addition, in all the speeches of all the speakers, with the exception of Pfuel, there was one common feature that was not present at the military council in 1805 - it was now, although hidden, a panicky fear of the genius of Napoleon, a fear that was expressed in everyone objection. They assumed everything was possible for Napoleon, waited for him from all sides, and with his terrible name they destroyed each other’s assumptions. Only Pfuel, it seemed, considered him, Napoleon, to be the same barbarian as all the opponents of his theory. But, in addition to a feeling of respect, Pfuhl instilled in Prince Andrei a feeling of pity. From the tone with which the courtiers treated him, from what Paulucci allowed himself to say to the emperor, but most importantly from the somewhat desperate expression of Pfuel himself, it was clear that others knew and he himself felt that his fall was close. And, despite his self-confidence and German grumpy irony, he was pitiful with his smoothed hair at the temples and tassels sticking out at the back of his head. Apparently, although he hid it under the guise of irritation and contempt, he was in despair because now the only opportunity to test it through vast experience and prove to the whole world the correctness of his theory eluded him.
The debate continued for a long time, and the longer it continued, the more the disputes flared up, reaching the point of shouting and personalities, and the less it was possible to draw any general conclusion from everything that was said. Prince Andrei, listening to this multilingual conversation and these assumptions, plans and refutations and shouts, was only surprised at what they all said. Those thoughts that had long and often occurred to him during his military activities, that there is and cannot be any military science and therefore there cannot be any so-called military genius, now received for him the complete evidence of the truth. “What kind of theory and science could there be in a matter in which the conditions and circumstances are unknown and cannot be determined, in which the strength of the war actors can be even less determined? No one could and cannot know what the position of our and the enemy’s army will be in a day, and no one can know what the strength of this or that detachment will be. Sometimes, when there is no coward in front who will shout: “We are cut off!” - and he will run, and there is a cheerful, brave man in front who will shout: “Hurray! - a detachment of five thousand is worth thirty thousand, as at Shepgraben, and sometimes fifty thousand flee before eight, as at Austerlitz. What kind of science can there be in such a matter, in which, as in any practical matter, nothing can be determined and everything depends on countless conditions, the meaning of which is determined in one minute, about which no one knows when it will come. Armfeld says that our army is cut off, and Paulucci says that we have placed the French army between two fires; Michaud says that the disadvantage of the Dris camp is that the river is behind, and Pfuel says that this is its strength. Toll proposes one plan, Armfeld proposes another; and everyone is good, and everyone is bad, and the benefits of any situation can only be obvious at the moment when the event occurs. And why does everyone say: a military genius? Is the person who manages to order the delivery of crackers in time and go to the right, to the left, a genius? It is only because military men are invested with splendor and power, and the masses of scoundrels flatter the authorities, giving it unusual qualities of genius, that they are called geniuses. On the contrary, the best generals I have known are stupid or absent-minded people. The best Bagration, - Napoleon himself admitted this. And Bonaparte himself! I remember his smug and limited face on the Austerlitz Field. Not only does a good commander not need genius or any special qualities, but, on the contrary, he needs the absence of the best highest, human qualities - love, poetry, tenderness, philosophical inquisitive doubt. He must be limited, firmly convinced that what he is doing is very important (otherwise he will lack patience), and only then will he be a brave commander. God forbid, if he is a person, he will love someone, feel sorry for him, think about what is fair and what is not. It is clear that from time immemorial the theory of geniuses was falsified for them, because they are the authorities. The credit for the success of military affairs does not depend on them, but on the person in the ranks who shouts: lost, or shouts: hurray! And only in these ranks can you serve with confidence that you are useful!“
Eyewitness accounts of the last days of the great battle
Since the German group was surrounded at Stalingrad, our scouts began to hunt for Paulus, the commander of the 6th German Army.
The underground reported that his headquarters was in the village of Golubinskaya, 120-150 km from Stalingrad. As the commander’s adjutant, Colonel Adam, later recalled, the shots from Soviet tanks that broke through into the German rear and closed the giant encirclement ring turned out to be completely unexpected for the group’s command and Paulus himself. Fearing being captured, Paulus, together with his headquarters, under the cover of tanks, left the village of Golubinskaya at night. As it became known later, General Paulus reached Stalingrad, where he hid in the basement of a former department store.”
Friedrich Paulus was a remarkable figure among the German generals. Hitler declared that victory always accompanies Paulus. Divisions under his command invaded Poland in 1939 and occupied Belgium and the Netherlands in 1940. General Paulus became one of the developers of the monstrous “Barbarossa” plan, which provided for the defeat of the Red Army and the implementation of total genocide of the Soviet people during the “blitzkrieg”.
In the summer of 1942, a powerful group under the command of Paulus, developing speed across the steppe expanses, rushed to the Volga, to Stalingrad, where events took place that would later shake the whole world.
It would seem that there was one last push left before the victory of the German troops. However, the defenders of the city imposed their tactics on the enemy. There were battles for every street, for every house. The divisions of the Red Army fought while surrounded, when there were 300-500 meters left to the Volga. General Paulus was unable to assess the scale of preparations for the encirclement of German troops. And now, at the end of January 1943, after all his dizzying victories, he sat, driven into the basement, awaiting his fate...
One day, Stalingrad veterans called me, a war correspondent: “General I.A. arrived in Moscow from Minsk. Laskin, who is famous for having captured Field Marshal Paulus in Stalingrad.” I have come across the name of General Laskin more than once in military literature. During the days of the heroic defense of Sevastopol, he commanded one of the divisions, noted for many exploits. In Stalingrad I.A. Laskin headed the headquarters of the 64th Army, which defended the southern regions of the city. I called the general and soon we met.
“How did we know where Paulus is? - I.A. began his story. Laskin. - In war, much is decided by chance. On January 30, 1943, Fyodor Ilchenko, a staff officer of the 38th Infantry Brigade, arrived at the front line with another order. The brigade's fighters fought heavy battles as they moved toward the city center. In one of the houses, a German major was captured and brought to Ilchenko. After interrogation, the German major reported that General Paulus was nearby, in a basement in the central square of Stalingrad.
Senior Lieutenant Ilchenko immediately radioed this information to the brigade commander. A few minutes later the text of this message was at army headquarters. Fedor Ilchenko was given the appropriate powers.”
...Early morning of January 31, 1943. In the semi-darkness above the square, the flares slowly went out, illuminating with a deathly light the huge ruins, fallen pillars, and caked soot on the edges of the craters. Senior Lieutenant Ilchenko, through a translator, said into the mouthpiece: “We propose a ceasefire! We propose to begin negotiations on the surrender of the encircled German army!” After some time, a German officer came out of the department store building with a stick in his hands, on which a white rag was attached. Senior Lieutenant Ilchenko, together with Lieutenant Mezhirko, a translator and several machine gunners, crossed the front line and entered the square. No one could know what awaited them behind the walls of the building, immersed in darkness.
General I.A. Laskin said: “We received a message from Ilchenko. He met with representatives of the German command. However, Chief of Staff Schmidt told him that Paulus would negotiate only with senior officers equal to him in rank. I was ordered to go to the basement of the department store. We were in a hurry. After all, every hour of fighting claimed the lives of soldiers.
No one was going to listen to any special conditions for surrender from the defeated General Paulus. We felt like winners.
We had one goal: to accept the complete and unconditional surrender of the German troops in Stalingrad.
We drove along a snow-covered road, on the sides of which sappers put up shields: “Be careful, mines!” Machine gun fire and the sound of machine guns were heard getting closer and closer. In the central square, hiding behind a pile of stones, we watched for some time. There are firing points in the windows of the department store, lined with bricks and sacks. As we later learned, the building was defended by three thousand soldiers and officers. Through a translator, we conveyed into the mouthpiece that representatives of the Red Army were coming. However, no one came to meet us. One path was visible in the square; the rest of the approaches to the building, as we were warned, were mined. We decided not to wait for our sappers to work, and along the same path along which Ilchenko walked, we moved towards the fascist lair.
There were five of us, together with me - the battalion commander Latyshev, the translator Stepanov and two machine gunners. They gave the order to cover us with fire if necessary. When we approached the entrance to the building, we saw a dense chain of German officers who, blocking the entrance to the basement, looked at us sullenly. Even when our group came close to them, they did not budge. What was to be done? We pushed them away from the entrance with our shoulders. Fearing a shot in the back, they began to descend into the dark basement.”
General Laskin's group went to accept surrender on behalf of hundreds of thousands of city residents: the Germans burst into Stalingrad as punitive forces. Bombs and shells destroyed residential buildings, schools, hospitals, theaters, and museums.
On the burnt-out streets, in earthen holes, people prayed: “Just so as not to fall to the Germans...”
Approaching the shelter, where mostly women and children were hiding, German soldiers threw grenades down without warning. The wounded were shot on the spot; the living, pushed with rifle butts, were driven into the steppe. Some later ended up in concentration camps, others were sent to hard labor in Germany.
Finding ourselves in a basement filled with Nazis, we had absolutely no idea which way to go,” General I.A. continued his story. Laskin. – They moved in silence. They were afraid that upon hearing Russian speech, the Germans would start firing in fear. We walked in the dark, holding on to the wall, hoping that we would eventually stumble upon some door. Finally they grabbed the handle and entered the illuminated room. We immediately noticed the general's and colonel's shoulder straps on the uniforms of the military personnel present here. I walked up to the table in the center of the room and loudly, through an interpreter, said to everyone present: “We are representatives of the Red Army. Get up! Hand over your weapons! Some stood up, others hesitated. I sharply repeated the command again. None of them offered any resistance. One by one, the Germans began to call out their names. In the room were the Chief of Staff, General Schmidt, the commander of the southern group of forces, General Rosske, and other senior military officials.
General Rosske stated that Commander Paulus had delegated negotiating authority to him. I demanded an immediate meeting with Paulus. “This is impossible,” Schmidt said. – The commander was elevated to the rank of field marshal by Hitler, but is not currently commanding the army. Besides, he is unwell.” A thought flashed like lightning: “Perhaps some kind of game is going on here, and they managed to transport Paulus to another place?” However, gradually, during the interrogation of German generals, it became clear that Paulus was nearby, in the basement. I demanded that Chief of Staff Schmidt go to him and convey our terms for the surrender of the German troops. On my orders, battalion commander Latyshev followed Schmidt in order to establish our post near Paulus’s office. Don't let anyone in or out. Private Pyotr Altukhov stood at the door.
By that time, our group authorized to accept the surrender of German troops had expanded significantly. We were joined by the head of the army's operations department, G.S. Lukin, head of the intelligence department I.M. Ryzhov, commander of the 38th Infantry Brigade I.D. Burmakov and other officers. And also a group of scouts.
We presented a demand to Generals Schmidt and Rosske - to immediately give the order to all troops surrounded at Stalingrad to cease fire and all resistance.
General Rosske sat down at his typewriter. Meanwhile, our officers began to disarm the German military. Pistols and machine guns were piled up in the corner. It was truly a symbolic picture.
We took control of the telephone network located at headquarters in order to monitor what orders were being given to the troops.
General Rosske gave us the text of the order, which he called “farewell.” Here is its content: “Hunger, cold, and the unauthorized surrender of individual units made it impossible to continue leading the troops. To prevent the complete loss of our soldiers, we decided to enter into negotiations to end the hostilities. Human treatment in captivity and the opportunity to return home after the end of the war are guaranteed by the Soviet Union. Such an end is the very fate to which all soldiers must submit.
I order:
Put down your weapons immediately. Soldiers and officers can take with them all the necessary things..."
After reading this order, I told General Rosske that it should clearly say: “All soldiers and officers surrender in an orderly manner.” Rosske sat down at the typewriter again and added this important instruction. However, he told us that they have no contact with the northern group of troops, and the fighting there continues. Before our eyes, the headquarters of the German army began to move. Last time in Stalingrad. Over many telephones, German signalmen, in hoarse, cold-stricken voices, transmitted the text of the order to the troops.
Following adjutant Adam, we entered Paulus.
The basement room was small, crypt-like. With his hands behind his back, the field marshal walked along the concrete wall like a hunted animal.
I identified myself and declared him a prisoner. Paulus, in broken Russian, uttered, apparently, a long-prepared phrase: “Field Marshal Paulus surrenders to the Red Army as a prisoner.” What surprised us then was his statement about his uniform. In this situation, he considered it possible to tell us that just two days ago he was promoted to field marshal. Doesn't have a new uniform. Therefore, he appears to us in the form of a colonel general. Paulus stated that he had read the text of the order of surrender and agreed with it. We asked him what Hitler's last orders were conveyed to him. Paulus replied that Hitler ordered to fight on the Volga and wait for the approach of tank groups. Since we were informed that the German army headquarters was not in contact with a group of its troops continuing to fight in the northern regions of Stalingrad, I demanded that Paulus send officers there who would deliver the order for surrender. However, Paulus refused, saying that he was now a prisoner and had no right to give orders to his soldiers.
After the defeat of German troops at Stalingrad, three days of mourning were declared in Germany. What a history lesson! Listening to the story of I.A. Laskin, I suddenly thought about such different fates of two generals - V. Chuikov and F. Paulus.
IN AND. Chuikov commanded the 62nd Army. Being in a dugout on the Volga slope all the days of defense, he shared many of the soldiers’ hardships. He told me when we met:
What were the hardest days? It is even difficult to identify them in a series of continuous attacks. One day the Germans set fire to oil tanks that stood on the banks of the Volga. Burning oil rushed down the steep slope, destroying everything in its path. We barely jumped out of the dugout. We took cover to the side, in a ravine. And as they say, the hairs on my head started to stand up: what if in this situation, command and control of the troops is disrupted? They began to call division and brigade commanders by radio so that they knew that the army command remained in place and was directing the combat operations. Our dugouts, where the army headquarters were located, were only one or two kilometers from the foot of Mamayev Kurgan. It happened that German machine gunners broke through so close that the headquarters guards entered the battle.
I must say frankly: I, the chief of staff Krylov and a member of the military council Gurov were sitting with pistols in our hands, ready to commit suicide. Don't give in!
General Chuikov, commanding the 8th Guards Army, will reach Berlin. It will happen that for the first time a parliamentarian from the fascist Reich Chancellery will come to his command post, near the Reichstag. He will report the readiness of the German troops to capitulate, and also that Hitler committed suicide. IN AND. Chuikov will become a marshal, twice Hero of the Soviet Union. He will leave a will: to bury him on the Mamayev Kurgan, next to the mass graves of his soldiers.
Field Marshal Paulus faces a dramatic journey in Soviet captivity. In 1944, he joined the Free Germany movement of German officers. Even before the end of the war, Paulus would sign a statement to the German people: “For Germany, the war is lost. Germany must renounce Adolf Hitler and establish a new government that will end the war and create conditions for our people to continue living and establish peaceful, even friendly relations with our current opponents.” At the Nuremberg trials, Paulus acted as a witness, citing facts that exposed the leaders of the Nazi Reich. By a strange coincidence, he will leave this world 17 years after the war on the next anniversary of the defeat of German troops in Stalingrad.
“We rose from the basement,” said I.A. Laskin. “We had to take Paulus and a group of captured generals to the headquarters of the 64th Army. But then I paid attention to the surrounding situation. How everything changed here while we were at the fascist headquarters. There were no longer German guards around the building. She was captured by our soldiers under the command of Colonel I.D. Burmakova. There were Red Army soldiers on the adjacent streets.” Subsequently, Colonel Adam would write in his memoirs:
“The appearance of the soldiers of the Red Army seemed symbolic to me - it was the appearance of the victors. Our soldiers were not beaten or shot. Soviet soldiers, in the midst of a destroyed city, pulled pieces of bread out of their pockets and gave them to hungry prisoners of war.”
The war in the city looked out from the empty eye sockets of burnt houses, from every crater, from the snow-covered mounds of mass graves. How can we understand this mercy of our soldiers towards the prisoners, who just yesterday were aiming at them?
These feelings of human dignity demonstrated by Soviet soldiers are also part of our history, which is as significant as the memory of the great victory in Stalingrad.
In those days, radio stations around the world broadcast messages about the victory on the Volga. Many congratulations came to the military leadership of the country and to Stalingrad:
“One hundred and sixty-two days of epic defense of the city, and the decisive result that all Americans celebrate today, will be one of the most beautiful chapters in this war of nations united against Nazism.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt, US President.
“The grateful hearts of the peoples of the world beat enthusiastically and greet the soldiers of the Red Army who were victorious in Stalingrad.”
From the Yugoslav newspaper Borba.
"The victorious defense of Stalingrad is one of the feats that history will always recount with the greatest reverence." Writer Thomas Mann.
“Stalingrad is an order of courage on the chest of the planet.”
Poet Pablo Neruda.
The King of Great Britain sent a dedicatory sword on which was inscribed:
"To the citizens of Stalingrad, strong as steel, from King George VI as a sign of the deep admiration of the British people."
...And in the photographs taken in Stalingrad on that victorious day and now stored in various museums around the world, modest and unassuming pictures remain. Perched on a shell box, a fighter writes a letter. The soldiers gathered around the accordion player. Surviving residents carry their children out of the earthen cracks. They reach with pots to the field kitchen, which smokes against the backdrop of a destroyed wall. The soldiers are sleeping side by side in the snow, clutching their rifles to themselves. For the first time in six months, guns don’t sound and bombs don’t explode. The terrible sounds of war fell silent. Silence became the first reward for the soldiers of the victorious city. Wounded Stalingrad was returning to life.
P.S. I recently read in Arguments and Facts that Paulus in last years apologized to the residents of Stalingrad with his life. It was strange for me to read such a message. Our family alone suffered terrible losses in Stalingrad - fourteen people died under bombs and shelling. I remember their faces and voices. I saw how planes dropped bombs on the burning houses of our street. Paulus's apology appeared only because our soldiers eventually drove him into a Stalingrad basement and forced him to surrender. Otherwise, this commander would continue to strain his efforts in implementing the brutal Barbarossa plan. It was later, after returning from captivity, that he repeated more than once: “No one can defeat the Russian people!”
Special for the Centenary
Loading...
