A tragic story, told eloquently by Rob. If you have enjoyed this show, please don't forget to click like, leave a comment for other viewers and if you have not done so already please SUSBSCRIBE so you don't miss our next streams. You can also become a member of this channel and support me financially here ruclips.net/channel/UCUC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA. Links to any books discussed, WW2TV merchandise, our social media pages and other WW2TV shows to watch can all be found in the full RUclips description. Lastly, my own book Angels of Mercy is always available online - more info here www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html
I know I say this too much, Woody, but thank you for another great show spotlighting a "forgotten" aspect of WW2. It's a shame so few people, especially here in USA, know their story.
What a very important show. I was not aware of this horrible event. I am very disappointed that the investigation was closed before anyone was brought to trail. I am glad that these men are being remembered, I hope it gives comfort to their families.
This is such a tragic story that I was not aware of. I can only hope the perpetrators received some sort of justice, even if it was the personal hell of having to live with oneself after the war and knowing what they had done. A difficult subject to cover but I found it to be tastefully done, and with the utmost respect to those who lost their lives. Thanks for bringing this to me.
This is my favourite part of ww2 history, the personal stories. Types of aircraft and how many cylinders a tank engine has etc isnt the same as learning about real people's experiences. Very interesting show.
I was aware of the Wereth 11, but not all of the detail. Harrowing stuff. Excellent presentation tonight. I watched the film tonight's guest made as well after the live show. Very informative and moving.
Some German officers seemed to like to do that. My great grandfather was part of the resistance in Evere (part of Brussels) since the start of the war. Working for the Belgian railroads he reported rail movements to others and eventually to London. He got betrayed by a family member mid war, during the great roundup of 42, if I recall. The Gestapo officer aprehending him would continue to visit my great grandmother and grandmother on occasion, just to eat something. My great grandfather was eventually executed after a show trial. My grandparents located his (mass)grave on a red army training ground near Berlin in 1990, giving some closure. This story ... It rips open some family wounds.
HI Guys. My father and I visited Wereth in September. It's a great area and the story of the Wereth 11 is fascinating and inspiring. Something that I noticed while we were there....I thought it was unusual that the monument uses very "authentic" looking SS (Schutzstaffel) symbols in the German inscription on the monument. It seems strange to me that a monument erected to honor the lives of American soldiers brutalized and murdered at this site, at the hands of the SS, would display the actual military symbol of the perpitrators. I am not sure if this had been discussed, or if there is a reason, or maybe I am just over analyzing it. I would be curious to know what you think
Captain William F. Everett, assistant regimental surgeon of the 395th US Infantry Regiment, wrote in his post mortem report after examining the bodies. His report disproves popular myths about torture including cut off fingers. He stated on the 19th of February 1945: “On the 15th of February 1945, I personally examined the bodies of the American negro soldiers […]. It was difficult in some cases to discover the exact cause of death due to the decomposition of the bodies. In some instances there were multiple wounds, several of which might conceivable have caused death.” As we can read in the report, Thomas Forte's fourth finger on the right hand was "almost cutt off" but other than that no cutt off fingers are mentioned which means the wikipedia entry that "the soldiers had their fingers cut off" is highly exaggerated. In a statement of the same date, the investigating officer Lieutenant Herbert Peterfreund added that only one of the bodies wore shoes. Only one victim wore a cartridge belt but several had loose rounds of ammunition in their pockets. All victims had documents or personal letters in their pockets, several still had wrist watches, money and fountain pens in their possession and though none of the bodies had an overcoat or helmet, all were otherwise fully dressed except for the aforementioned shoes. He wrote that: "apparently one man lived long enough to extract a compress and place it on his battered head." Wikipedia claims that "at least one was shot while trying to bandage a comrade's wounds" but clearly that is not what Peterfreund and Everett reported. It seems far more likely that one of the victims survived, bandaged his own head but later succumbed from his wounds and the cold. All in all we have a small group of SS scouts from 3. Kompanie, SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 1, who did not have the means to guard their prisoners because they had to continue their mission. Therefore they shot them in a field and finished them off with rifle butts and knifes. A terrible war crime and a horrible way to die but it can do without sensationalistic exaggerations. A racist massacre? Perhaps, but he next day, 25 km to the west in la Vaulx Richard, a group of eleven white GI's was massacred in a similar way - shot wounds, stab wounds, rifle butts - by members of the same SS battalion. Their frozen remains were found a week before the bodies in Wéreth were discovered. I've posted a copy of the post-mortem report in your Facebook group. It is archived at NARA. I'm sorry to say that the book Rob Child and Denise George wrote is one of the worst books ever written, full of basic factual inaccuracies, errors, assumptions, zero original research and - what bothers me most - fabrications. If only they had looked at the original reports written by Everett and the investigating officer, Lieutenant Herbert Peterfreund.
@@susanyu6507 thats not even remotely what I said. What I did say is that the Wéreth killings are often described as racially motivated but the same SS unit murdered white GI's in an equally gruesome fashion
@@susanyu6507 according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), torture is defined as the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a powerless victim. The treatment must be inflicted for a specific purpose, such as forcing the victim to confess, provide information, or to punish them. In general, torture is inflicted in order to break the victim's will. Again, the victims were butchered in a gruesome way but the stories which go around on the internet do not match the post-mortem report and there was no specific purpose other than to get rid of them. I've researched the war crimes of this SS battlegroup for 25 years and interviewed American veterans, Belgian civilians and indeed SS veterans from this outfit. The reports do show that the story the Langers tell (as perpetuated by Child in this video) is different from what they told the American investigating officer in February 1945. Matthias Langer in his statement for Lieutenant Peterfreund said that he already knew the day after the prisoners were led away that they were dead and that they lay in a field near their home. So why did they change their story to what Child said, that they throught they had been taken to a POW camp and only realized what had happened when the snow started to melt? But I see what you're doing: without checking the reports yourself you try to discredit me and even try to twist my words (no, I did not say the white soldiers deaths were worse, but nice attempt to frame me as a racist).
@@timoruimteaapje4384 This is the second I've seen when the Wereth 11 comes up, you publicly post these gruesome details for even family members to see. I don't think anyone was around to hear or see if the SS considered the Black soldiers inferior. If they were taunted because of their race, or killed knowing they were hated because they they were considered inferior. Back in the day, many Americans did not consider Black Americans equal. Would give them equal consideration, even in an autopsy. Before making assumptions, now a days, a second opinion is needed before making broad assumptions.
Understood. We cannot compete with the type of channel that makes animated maps and explains things that way. What we do have is excellent experts and the ability to ask questions in real time
Don't forget that that region was turned over to Belgium after FWW. And as of May 40 it was not occupied Belgium, but Germany again. Undoubtedly some people there, then, would have felt German. And Germans would have seen them as Germans and not Belgians.
This is a prograsm about the 11 soldiers murdered by the Nazi SS. Stop this moral equivalency about how everyone committed warcrimes. I'm tired of Europeans pointing fingers at us Americans for warcrimes when your ancestors committed most of them. Like 99.9% How many civilians did you British kill with your area bombing and firebombing? Just talk about what happened here.
You my be right about area bombing, but are you seriously suggesting you believe that 8th Air Force planes were putting their bombs in a pickle barrel? My take on the purpose of this channel is to challenge those kind of myths with evidence (something I believe it does rather well).
A tragic story, told eloquently by Rob. If you have enjoyed this show, please don't forget to click like, leave a comment for other viewers and if you have not done so already please SUSBSCRIBE so you don't miss our next streams. You can also become a member of this channel and support me financially here ruclips.net/channel/UCUC1nmJGHmiKtlkpA6SJMeA. Links to any books discussed, WW2TV merchandise, our social media pages and other WW2TV shows to watch can all be found in the full RUclips description. Lastly, my own book Angels of Mercy is always available online - more info here www.ddayhistorian.com/angels-of-mercy.html
I know I say this too much, Woody, but thank you for another great show spotlighting a "forgotten" aspect of WW2. It's a shame so few people, especially here in USA, know their story.
What a heartbreaking story that I was not aware of. I’m so glad that the story of these men is coming to light
What a very important show. I was not aware of this horrible event. I am very disappointed that the investigation was closed before anyone was brought to trail. I am glad that these men are being remembered, I hope it gives comfort to their families.
I hadn't heard of this one before... brutal. And god bless those soldiers that had to experience it. Thanks for the video, I learned a lot from it!
A very personal story, skillfully and respectfully presented here. I am glad that this channel doesn't shy away from the darker side of the war.
Like many have already said, thanks for bringing these stories to light.
My pleasure!
This is such a tragic story that I was not aware of. I can only hope the perpetrators received some sort of justice, even if it was the personal hell of having to live with oneself after the war and knowing what they had done. A difficult subject to cover but I found it to be tastefully done, and with the utmost respect to those who lost their lives. Thanks for bringing this to me.
This is my favourite part of ww2 history, the personal stories. Types of aircraft and how many cylinders a tank engine has etc isnt the same as learning about real people's experiences. Very interesting show.
I was aware of the Wereth 11, but not all of the detail. Harrowing stuff. Excellent presentation tonight. I watched the film tonight's guest made as well after the live show. Very informative and moving.
Very well stated, FoxtrotRomeo; I listened to the program this morning ( USA EST).
The details of the wounds was haunting
What a story. Excellent job. I'm speechless.
Thank you Robert & Woody for that. Its always good to learn about something you've never heard of before, even if it is a harrowing story.
Informative episode worth sharing to everyone. Well done
Glad you enjoyed it
Some German officers seemed to like to do that. My great grandfather was part of the resistance in Evere (part of Brussels) since the start of the war. Working for the Belgian railroads he reported rail movements to others and eventually to London. He got betrayed by a family member mid war, during the great roundup of 42, if I recall. The Gestapo officer aprehending him would continue to visit my great grandmother and grandmother on occasion, just to eat something.
My great grandfather was eventually executed after a show trial. My grandparents located his (mass)grave on a red army training ground near Berlin in 1990, giving some closure.
This story ... It rips open some family wounds.
Excellent presentation. Very informative. Many thanks Robert
Very good and
Accurate
HI Guys. My father and I visited Wereth in September. It's a great area and the story of the Wereth 11 is fascinating and inspiring. Something that I noticed while we were there....I thought it was unusual that the monument uses very "authentic" looking SS (Schutzstaffel) symbols in the German inscription on the monument. It seems strange to me that a monument erected to honor the lives of American soldiers brutalized and murdered at this site, at the hands of the SS, would display the actual military symbol of the perpitrators. I am not sure if this had been discussed, or if there is a reason, or maybe I am just over analyzing it. I would be curious to know what you think
I don't know, I think maybe you are over analysing
Visited the site of the massacre a few weeks ago. Sad that it never had the same recognition as other atrocities in the Ardennes.
Captain William F. Everett, assistant regimental surgeon of the 395th US Infantry Regiment, wrote in his post mortem report after examining the bodies. His report disproves popular myths about torture including cut off fingers. He stated on the 19th of February 1945:
“On the 15th of February 1945, I personally examined the bodies of the American negro soldiers […]. It was difficult in some cases to discover the exact cause of death due to the decomposition of the bodies. In some instances there were multiple wounds, several of which might conceivable have caused death.”
As we can read in the report, Thomas Forte's fourth finger on the right hand was "almost cutt off" but other than that no cutt off fingers are mentioned which means the wikipedia entry that "the soldiers had their fingers cut off" is highly exaggerated.
In a statement of the same date, the investigating officer Lieutenant Herbert Peterfreund added that only one of the bodies wore shoes. Only one victim wore a cartridge belt but several had loose rounds of ammunition in their pockets. All victims had documents or personal letters in their pockets, several still had wrist watches, money and fountain pens in their possession and though none of the bodies had an overcoat or helmet, all were otherwise fully dressed except for the aforementioned shoes. He wrote that: "apparently one man lived long enough to extract a compress and place it on his battered head."
Wikipedia claims that "at least one was shot while trying to bandage a comrade's wounds" but clearly that is not what Peterfreund and Everett reported. It seems far more likely that one of the victims survived, bandaged his own head but later succumbed from his wounds and the cold.
All in all we have a small group of SS scouts from 3. Kompanie, SS-Panzer-Aufklärungs-Abteilung 1, who did not have the means to guard their prisoners because they had to continue their mission. Therefore they shot them in a field and finished them off with rifle butts and knifes. A terrible war crime and a horrible way to die but it can do without sensationalistic exaggerations.
A racist massacre? Perhaps, but he next day, 25 km to the west in la Vaulx Richard, a group of eleven white GI's was massacred in a similar way - shot wounds, stab wounds, rifle butts - by members of the same SS battalion. Their frozen remains were found a week before the bodies in Wéreth were discovered.
I've posted a copy of the post-mortem report in your Facebook group. It is archived at NARA.
I'm sorry to say that the book Rob Child and Denise George wrote is one of the worst books ever written, full of basic factual inaccuracies, errors, assumptions, zero original research and - what bothers me most - fabrications. If only they had looked at the original reports written by Everett and the investigating officer, Lieutenant Herbert Peterfreund.
Question - are you a pathologist? Have you ever written a pathology report? Do you have a definition for torture?
Are you saying the white soldiers deaths were worse than the Black soldiers death?
@@susanyu6507 thats not even remotely what I said. What I did say is that the Wéreth killings are often described as racially motivated but the same SS unit murdered white GI's in an equally gruesome fashion
@@susanyu6507 according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), torture is defined as the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a powerless victim. The treatment must be inflicted for a specific purpose, such as forcing the victim to confess, provide information, or to punish them. In general, torture is inflicted in order to break the victim's will.
Again, the victims were butchered in a gruesome way but the stories which go around on the internet do not match the post-mortem report and there was no specific purpose other than to get rid of them. I've researched the war crimes of this SS battlegroup for 25 years and interviewed American veterans, Belgian civilians and indeed SS veterans from this outfit.
The reports do show that the story the Langers tell (as perpetuated by Child in this video) is different from what they told the American investigating officer in February 1945. Matthias Langer in his statement for Lieutenant Peterfreund said that he already knew the day after the prisoners were led away that they were dead and that they lay in a field near their home. So why did they change their story to what Child said, that they throught they had been taken to a POW camp and only realized what had happened when the snow started to melt?
But I see what you're doing: without checking the reports yourself you try to discredit me and even try to twist my words (no, I did not say the white soldiers deaths were worse, but nice attempt to frame me as a racist).
@@timoruimteaapje4384 This is the second I've seen when the Wereth 11 comes up, you publicly post these gruesome details for even family members to see. I don't think anyone was around to hear or see if the SS considered the Black soldiers inferior. If they were taunted because of their race, or killed knowing they were hated because they they were considered inferior. Back in the day, many Americans did not consider Black Americans equal. Would give them equal consideration, even in an autopsy. Before making assumptions, now a days, a second opinion is needed before making broad assumptions.
Nice one Paul....
Love these presentations but it is difficult to follow maps and troup movements, any highlights would help
Understood. We cannot compete with the type of channel that makes animated maps and explains things that way. What we do have is excellent experts and the ability to ask questions in real time
Don't forget that that region was turned over to Belgium after FWW. And as of May 40 it was not occupied Belgium, but Germany again. Undoubtedly some people there, then, would have felt German. And Germans would have seen them as Germans and not Belgians.
The film is well worth a watch. Its very well put together and produced.
Hey Paul apologies if this was mentioned. What happened the the remainder of the prisoners that didn't escape when the P47 attacked ? Survivors ?
Taken to POW camps
MOH material, all of them.
Im thrilled...but shocked the SS didnt wipe out the whole family for even answering the door,& letting them in.
This is a prograsm about the 11 soldiers murdered by the Nazi SS. Stop this moral equivalency about how everyone committed warcrimes. I'm tired of Europeans pointing fingers at us Americans for warcrimes when your ancestors committed most of them. Like 99.9% How many civilians did you British kill with your area bombing and firebombing? Just talk about what happened here.
We did do that, but we did address a couple of questions that came in on the sidebar
You my be right about area bombing, but are you seriously suggesting you believe that 8th Air Force planes were putting their bombs in a pickle barrel? My take on the purpose of this channel is to challenge those kind of myths with evidence (something I believe it does rather well).