• German PoW from leaves £384,000 to Perthshire village
    4 replies, posted
[IMG]http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/9B15/production/_92810793_collage.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]A former German soldier has left £384,000 in his will to the Perthshire village where he was held as a prisoner of war during World War Two. Heinrich Steinmeyer was 19 when he was captured in France and held in the PoW camp at Cultybraggan by Comrie. Mr Steinmeyer, who died in 2013 aged 90, bequeathed the money in return for the kindness he was shown there.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=Heinrich Steinmeyer]Herewith, I would like to express my gratitude to the people of Scotland for the kindness and generosity that I have experienced in Scotland during my imprisonment of war and hereafter.[/QUOTE] Sources: [URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-tayside-central-38184935"]BBC NEWS[/URL] [URL="http://www.itv.com/news/2016-12-03/german-pow-leaves-400-000-to-scottish-village-for-kindness-shown-to-him-in-captivity"]ITV NEWS[/URL] [url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/14943293.Nazi_prisoner_of_war_leaves___400_000_to_Scots_village_after_residents_showed__kindness_and_generosity__while_in_captivity/?ref=rl&lp=3]The Herald Scotland[/url]
SS huh... I thought they were all being hunted down by sensitive people. Good on him for his donation.
[QUOTE=Trebgarta;51467314]1) PoW, 2) Hasnt taken a part in Holocaust, because 3) Captured before the beginning of the final solution[/QUOTE] Nothing i'm about to post should be taken as 100% fact, just educated assumptions Given his age it's likely he'd have been subjected to Nazi brainwashing through the Hitler Youth for around abour 10 years, the fact he was SS and captured by the Brits around the Normandy invasions and the insignia's on the uniform makes it highly likely he would have been in the 12th SS Panzer Division, aka, the Hitler Youth Division. If that was the case then he was incredibly lucky to survive, the 12th SS were one of if not the most feared and fanatical unit in France. They were absolutely bloody ruthless. Their never say die attitude earned them a 40% casualty rating, which for any combat unit was diabolically high and yet it remained combat effective enough to hold the falaise pocket open far longer than it should have, those that surrendered were often shot on the spot because of what they made their attackers endure. He must have been captured really early.
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