Hitler's Favourite General Deserted! Ferdinand Schörner 1945

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  • Опубліковано 9 тра 2023
  • Known as 'Bloody Ferdinand' and 'The Monster in Uniform', Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner was greatly feared by his men but beloved of Hitler and other leaders due to his barbaric treatment of the men under his command in 1945. But, at war's end, Schörner committed the crime for which he had had hundreds executed - he deserted!
    Dr. Mark Felton FRHistS, FRSA, is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Fe...
    Visit my audio book channel 'War Stories with Mark Felton': • One Thousand Miles to ...
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    Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
    Credits: US National Archives; Library of Congress; Imperial War Museum; Bundesarchiv; Australian War Memorial; Borodun; Hispalois

КОМЕНТАРІ • 1,7 тис.

  • @Ballterra
    @Ballterra Рік тому +339

    Deserted his troops that shows you the character of the man. The fact that he lived to an old age and died in his bed shows one of the many injustices that came out of WW2. He should have got a taste of his own medicine and met the Soviet equivalent of Albert Pierrepoint.

    • @MrManBuzz
      @MrManBuzz Рік тому

      He should've hung from the same tree he condemned men to. A rat bastard.

    • @peterrobbins2862
      @peterrobbins2862 Рік тому +15

      Didn't McArthur do the exactly the same thing when he abandoned his troops in the Philippines and fled to Australia

    • @joelgoldberg3019
      @joelgoldberg3019 Рік тому +49

      @@peterrobbins2862 McArthur was ordered by FDR to leave the Phillipines. America's morale would have been shaken had McArthur been killed or captured. There is lot to dislike aobut General Douglas McArthur but he was obeying a direct order from his commander-in-chief.

    • @meijiturtle3814
      @meijiturtle3814 Рік тому +20

      ​@@peterrobbins2862
      Macarthur was ordered to leave by FDR.

    • @wallykloubek4079
      @wallykloubek4079 Рік тому +19

      @@joelgoldberg3019 ...yes, how convenient...the upper echelon always protect each other...cheers🍷🇨🇦

  • @rickyleeincali5375
    @rickyleeincali5375 Рік тому +311

    In G. Bidermann’s memoir, In Deadly Combat, the author recounts the time Schoerner inspected the author's area on the Courland front in November of ‘44. Schoerner was ‘dreaded and feared’-and if he found something he didn’t like, 'a hail of reprimands, demotions and punishments' were to follow, according to Bidermann. The author noted that he had prepared his unit carefully in advance of Schoerner’s inspection. All the soldiers under Bidermann’s command were meticulously briefed for the General’s visit. Unfortunately for Bidermann, he gave a report to the General that portrayed the situation at the front as less than rosy. The general was apparently not pleased with the negative, yet candid briefing and placed the author under two week’s quarters arrest as a result of the accurate situation report.

    • @bobmach8844
      @bobmach8844 Рік тому +6

      Poo

    • @raymondtonns2521
      @raymondtonns2521 Рік тому +30

      you would thgink that a front line general would do anything possible to show his troops leadership and appreciation like food and weird things like that

    • @marjorjorietillman856
      @marjorjorietillman856 Рік тому

      Hitler ruthlessness was his ability to use psychological techniques within his generals. He use the famous techniques that he probably learned from America to prolong slavery for centuries, by causing so much fear and keeping everyone suspicious of the other, thus it enabled the Slave owner to rule with distrust and fear without even being present 24/7. And public lynchings were often used, and Black soldiers weren’t allowed to be taken as POW by confederate soldiers, as they were murdered immediately! Thus, anybody that decides to defect or runaway, had to be brave beyond death! And evil leaders would also murder or torture loved ones, which was also another deterrent. Hitler used all those techniques in WW2!

    • @dd61125
      @dd61125 Рік тому +2

      he was a nice man according to j.bogarth's book

    • @ottovonbismarck2443
      @ottovonbismarck2443 Рік тому +22

      I'd have taken quarters arrest any time given the alternatives of either hanging from a tree or fighting the Russians.

  • @timpassmore7455
    @timpassmore7455 10 місяців тому +106

    He found equally brutal and sadistic individuals to carry out his orders regarding "desertion". Most memoirs I have read that include those last desperate months include run-ins with his “Kettenhunde” or “Chain Dogs”.
    Men who'd gotten separated from their units during combat or the rush to the rear often fell victim to merciless sadists who often had not seen combat themselves.
    It was like a wounded creature devouring itself in its death throes.

  • @HeilAmarth
    @HeilAmarth Рік тому +27

    Just the guy who hanged young soldiers for walking in wrong direction or if one lost his unit. Special place for him in hell. The fact that he then himself deserted makes him even more despicable.

  • @entropybentwhistle
    @entropybentwhistle Рік тому +208

    Considering what the man did, he certainly weaseled his way out of the much harsher karmic fate he deserved.

    • @madgavin7568
      @madgavin7568 Рік тому +16

      He did die both reviled and forgotten though.

    • @Redmenace96
      @Redmenace96 Рік тому +15

      During the video, was waiting for the part about his hanging from a rope. He did get off easy. The Americans turned him over to the Soviets! Why were they so nice??

    • @chillpengeru
      @chillpengeru Рік тому

      ​@@Redmenace96 turning over to the soviets was hardly nice, usually anyway. Ask the cossacks.

    • @mrnygren2
      @mrnygren2 Рік тому +13

      ​@@Redmenace96 Probably because he was a Field Marshal and valuable as such.
      I still believe their prison camps were worse than death.

    • @jasonkinzie8835
      @jasonkinzie8835 Рік тому

      "Judge not lest you be judged", certainly applies to this guy!

  • @damianousley8833
    @damianousley8833 Рік тому +685

    He was the last surviving German Field Marshall of WW2 to pass away. He was kept penned up in prison for many years. He lived in relative obscurity after his release in 1960 and died in 1973. No one really moticed his demise in 1973. It didn't even make much of a story in the mainstream media. His passing went by with little notice.

    • @roddydykes7053
      @roddydykes7053 Рік тому +111

      Maybe that’s the poetic irony of his death. After so many war crimes, he disappears into death without notice

    • @PereMarquette1223
      @PereMarquette1223 Рік тому +102

      As it should… monsters don’t deserve honor upon death.

    • @keithcitizen4855
      @keithcitizen4855 Рік тому +42

      Shows how lenient the German justice system was after the war towards their own - overview anyone please ?

    • @mattpierre891
      @mattpierre891 Рік тому +79

      Although he was the last Field Marshall to die, he was not buried with military honors.
      Field Marshall Von Manstein who died one month earlier on June 3rd did receive full military honors and his burial was reported on West German TV.

    • @damianousley8833
      @damianousley8833 Рік тому +31

      @@keithcitizen4855 The allies didn't pursue him for hanging his own sides troops for possible desertion, only for his involvement in War crimes. The Germans post war were probably of mixed opinions as desertion in the face of the enemy, ie. Cowardice is a serious charge in any military service but still had to impose the manslaughter judgement for the supposed innocents that were cruelly executed spontaneously without proper Military Court Marshall. The Germans were trying to bury the shame of WW2 in the late 1950's. Schorner didn't say much about his WW2 record to historians or journalists which had battles and operations just as impressive as Erwin Rommel's record but just as the Africa Korps failed in defeat and surrendered so did He at the wars end. Nothing more humiliating to be on the losing side. Mind you the treatment he would have endured in Soviet prison would make anyone keep their mouth shut if finally released. Mind you the fact he was handed back to the Soviets after surrendering or being captured by western forces behave been a blow to his ego much like that of Luftwaffe ace Eric Hartmann who flew to surrender to Western allied forces only to be handed over to the Soviets.

  • @lepeejon2955
    @lepeejon2955 Рік тому +26

    Short version.
    The deserter avoided the hangman's noose and died a free man.
    Another excellent video.

    • @fanda789
      @fanda789 11 місяців тому

      Takových Nacistů bylo hodně,co v klidu dožili.

  • @aylmer666
    @aylmer666 9 місяців тому +6

    The German Generals of WW2 ranged all over the place from cynical tyrants, absolute geniuses (Rommel, Kesselring, Model), incompetent climbers, and everything in between. This guy was, in my opinion, the most despicable and represented the kind of person AH had surrounded himself with by the war’s end. He was more a political appointment than a competent general, tyrannical to his own men, and ultimately a liar and a coward. I have had more than enough coworkers like him, especially in the corporate world.

  • @r2gelfand
    @r2gelfand Рік тому +841

    I'm surprised that he wasn't fragged by his own men after the war. He certainly deserved that fate.

    • @lloydchristmas1086
      @lloydchristmas1086 Рік тому +28

      lol fragged 😂

    • @stevenb891
      @stevenb891 Рік тому +38

      Unfortunately all he got was 14 years 😮

    • @r2gelfand
      @r2gelfand Рік тому +52

      @@stevenb891 True...At best he should have gone to Siberia. At worst...Well, I already said it.

    • @BadgerOfTheSea
      @BadgerOfTheSea Рік тому +28

      Fragged? Why not 360 no scoped?

    • @Njuregen
      @Njuregen Рік тому +18

      He was a detestible and hated and did what he killed many for with hanging.

  • @curtvona4891
    @curtvona4891 Рік тому +587

    No tears were shed for Ferdinand Schorner.

    • @thelastroman7791
      @thelastroman7791 Рік тому +29

      I understood that reference.

    • @stevenlevernier7357
      @stevenlevernier7357 Рік тому +34

      I care more about him than I do about you. Nobody ever watched a documentary about you, although you just watched one about him. Nobody will remember you but many people remember him. Get it yet?

    • @adrianosousa5936
      @adrianosousa5936 Рік тому +108

      Nah I’d still take a random UA-cam commenter over a mass murdering pyschopath

    • @pagodebregaeforro2803
      @pagodebregaeforro2803 Рік тому

      @@stevenlevernier7357 theres always has to be some pos waste of a human being to defend another of the same category.
      you dont need to defend your man like that but ok. you probably would lick his balls if he was still alive.

    • @jamesdellaneve9005
      @jamesdellaneve9005 Рік тому +21

      @@adrianosousa5936Well done sir!

  • @stringalongmike1953
    @stringalongmike1953 Рік тому +35

    Dr. Mark, thank you for documenting all of this WWII history. Time is flying by, and this sort of stuff will end up getting lost in time and history. I'm glad future generations will have the chance to know about WWII.

  • @SavingMsBlack
    @SavingMsBlack 3 місяці тому +3

    I’m addicted to this channel. Great production, informative, and straight to the point.

  • @ARIXANDRE
    @ARIXANDRE Рік тому +418

    Just when I thought I knew everything about the War, Dr. Felton surprises us with stories like this. Thank you, sir.

    • @africanlipplateandbonenose3223
      @africanlipplateandbonenose3223 Рік тому

      Who gives these people such ridiculous names. Allied war propaganda. Let's start calling Churchill "The Butcher of Europe"

    • @3506Dodge
      @3506Dodge 11 місяців тому +1

      Mark Felton has a Ph. D?

    • @S0ulinth3machin3
      @S0ulinth3machin3 11 місяців тому +3

      no one knows everything about the war. It's not possible.

    • @3506Dodge
      @3506Dodge 11 місяців тому

      @@S0ulinth3machin3 good luck with your mental health.

    • @woodenseagull1899
      @woodenseagull1899 10 місяців тому

      Any compassionate German must be thinking " What were our Great/Grandparents thinking off"! supporting such evil... Now explained with new detail 80+ Years on.

  • @Bobaklives
    @Bobaklives Рік тому +280

    So addicted to this channel. I’d love to hear you talk about how Reza Shah flirted with the Germans to the point the British overthrew him during the war.

    • @mikecook317
      @mikecook317 Рік тому +6

      good one

    • @MI-mx3rh
      @MI-mx3rh Рік тому +12

      Brits were a meanie

    • @Charles_Anthony
      @Charles_Anthony Рік тому +42

      I'll never forget the story I heard from an 80 year old Iranian man over fifteen years ago. He grew up in the southern oil rich area of present day Iran and vividly recalled how the British stole their oil under the guise of "cleaning up the land" since it was considered to be polluted by the locals. Fast forward to the late 30s and he said that the Germans, who came to the country, were well received by the population due to their desire to develop their infrastructure. He told me that many bridges and railroads were built with German expertise. It wasn't just Reza who liked the Germans... even knowing what the Germans did in WW2 the old man (a coworker of mine) spoke highly of them and still held a great disdain for the British.

    • @Charlesputnam-bn9zy
      @Charlesputnam-bn9zy Рік тому

      & well they did, especially after the
      Husseini-Amin-hajj-Rashid-Ali Germanazi-inspired
      coup in Iraq earlier in 1941.

    • @Charlesputnam-bn9zy
      @Charlesputnam-bn9zy Рік тому

      @@Charles_Anthony yeah, better if Iranian oil helped secure Hitler's victory.

  • @kimberH1005
    @kimberH1005 Рік тому +8

    I have praised Dr. Felton several times previously but I feel compelled to do so again. I have watched many of his videos and as a WWII history buff he is in my opinion the most interesting and knowledgeable WWII historian / documentarian. This You Tube channel is the only one to which I have ever made a contribution to make a small yet tangible demonstration of my appreciation. I highly recommend new viewers to explore further.
    OK that's enough praise for awhile. LOL

  • @henriknilsson7851
    @henriknilsson7851 Рік тому +15

    As always an episode packed with rich details and great historical photos. Impressive work indeed!

  • @rockymountainlifeprospecti4423
    @rockymountainlifeprospecti4423 Рік тому +929

    Thank you for keeping history alive, Dr. Felton. May we never repeat some of it.

    • @janwil8248
      @janwil8248 Рік тому +10

      Some???? What about all off it

    • @randysurline4651
      @randysurline4651 Рік тому +43

      Never? It's happening now.

    • @tomz5704
      @tomz5704 Рік тому +4

      ​@@janwil8248 that would be an impossibility, we wouldn't have anything if we didn't repeat history

    • @hb.c4899
      @hb.c4899 Рік тому +2

      Professor doctor general of history sciences mr Felton is a bigger thing then human evolution

    • @fractaled3129
      @fractaled3129 Рік тому +3

      Well said!

  • @Asger21
    @Asger21 Рік тому +18

    This is one of my favorite stories from Mark Felton.
    Full of mysteries & fanaticism, one of the highest decorated Nazi's which even the Germans didn't like and punished even after the Soviets had done so.
    Extraordinary story of one man.
    So well documented, Mark!

  • @greglammers9905
    @greglammers9905 Рік тому +7

    Interesting story. Thanks for the lesson. I loved history in school, and now almost 50 years since graduating, I’m still learning. Thank you Dr Felton.

  • @marrtube
    @marrtube Рік тому +301

    What always amazes me is that none of the soldiers under him took revenge on him after the war. Why do they let these cowardly monsters go?

    • @roddydykes7053
      @roddydykes7053 Рік тому +37

      Loyalty? Yeah he definitely deserved an unceremonious death at the hands of his army

    • @TimPerfetto
      @TimPerfetto Рік тому

      You are the one who released them because it turned you on

    • @rinoz47
      @rinoz47 Рік тому +12

      They recruited him under Operation Bent Staple.

    • @brentclackson7009
      @brentclackson7009 Рік тому +19

      I to have often wondered about that ? There were so many who could have taken revenge. He was a monster.

    • @internetstrangerstrangerofweb
      @internetstrangerstrangerofweb Рік тому +24

      I doubt none knew where he was or had the ability to enact revenge on account of the fact that he was in prison for an extensive period after the war and fell off the face of the earth after that point.

  • @Toncor12
    @Toncor12 Рік тому +121

    Please do a video on German logistics in WW2, how the man on the front line was supplied, an awesome and massive job.

    • @TheMilitantHorse
      @TheMilitantHorse Рік тому +7

      This would be really cool to see. Thought I imagine if we wanted an in depth, we'd need at least a 2 part video.

    • @warlordofbritannia
      @warlordofbritannia Рік тому +9

      That would also be a good time to break down the myth of an ubermechanized Wehrmacht

    • @frankharley1000
      @frankharley1000 Рік тому +6

      Love to see that as well. And, as a former active-duty Marine, a video on German infantry training, I think that would be very interesting.

    • @RaoulThomas007
      @RaoulThomas007 Рік тому +3

      Ike felt logistics was so important, it might be most beneficial to create it, as a separate branch of the military. Did German leaders feel that way too?

    • @pweter351
      @pweter351 Рік тому +1

      Mammoth job and make or break

  • @CheeseWithBaconAus
    @CheeseWithBaconAus Рік тому +37

    We are so privileged to get these high quality videos. I've learnt so much about the brutality of the war just from these videos.

  • @jonathanljohnson
    @jonathanljohnson Рік тому +23

    There are so many very interesting stories to be found in real life, it amazes me that Hollywood scripts run so dry and repetitive! Thanks for another great story, Dr. Felton!

    • @SirAntoniousBlock
      @SirAntoniousBlock Рік тому

      Oh they don't treat your Nazi heroes, try to cope snowflake.

  • @ftffighter
    @ftffighter Рік тому +103

    My subconsciousness has been waiting on this one to pop up for a while!! Schörner had no respect for his troops and their struggles, he'd hang them just because he felt like it. Such a great video and excellent research, thank you Dr. Felton!

    • @jean6872
      @jean6872 Рік тому +7

      I rather think he did not put the rope around any man's or teenager's neck but ordered a willing cohort of loyal German soldiers who did that on his orders (although I expect he did shoot plenty of his own men). What did these killers tell their families if they survived the war and captivity? Undoubtedly, they buttoned their lips.

    • @sthrich635
      @sthrich635 Рік тому +6

      To be fair, by 1945 the troops in Army Group Center under Schorner were exactly ones worthy of his or most other German generals' respect. A significant portion of the troops were "German" in name only, mainly conscripts from foreigners in Central or Southern Europe, usually in foreign SS division, and in the regular German divisions, in 1945 they were filled with ethnic "Germans" where the only thing "German" was that they had German ancestry several generations back then or just happen to speak Germans (thus could work with other German troops). In other words, these troops had little incentives to fight a lost war and obviously in turn had little respect to their German commander. And it wasn't just Schorner, by late 1944 Feldjagerkorps was formed to assist the German military police to deal with potential desertions from such dubious quality "German" troops and made sure they act as meat shield against the Red Army as the actual Germans escape westwards.

    • @d0nKsTaH
      @d0nKsTaH 8 місяців тому +2

      Yet strangely he didn't use the 500,000 to 850,000 men he had under his control at various times to their capabilities.
      A lot of military historians have said he was pure incompetent when it came to commanding an army.
      It was HIS suggestions I believe that allowed the siege at Kiev to not be relived or have reinforcements sent.
      That one battle cost the Germans.
      Kiev was the nerve center for Fuel, ammunition, and weapons for the entire Soviet Army.
      Had they taken that.......

  • @yodasmomisondrugs7959
    @yodasmomisondrugs7959 Рік тому +13

    I hope Schorner was aware of the dialogue between Ephialtes and Leonidas at Thermopylae and had someone say to him what Leonidas said to Ephialtes, "I hope you live forever."

  • @michaelcapeless3268
    @michaelcapeless3268 Рік тому +6

    Dr. Felton, your indefatigable digging bring such interesting stories to the light. Thank you again. This has been a very rich chapter.

  • @pierremainstone-mitchell8290
    @pierremainstone-mitchell8290 Рік тому +6

    Thank you very much Mark! I'd never heard of this man until this video!

  • @jezzlee23
    @jezzlee23 Рік тому +132

    Hi Mark I've been watching you're channel for over a year now and I have watched every single episode you have released. I just want to thank you for all your hard work and really detailed stories if not for you I would not know hardly any of the true stories you tell ,so thanks and I look forward to the next one .

  • @robertwells6454
    @robertwells6454 Рік тому +19

    This is great stuff. I thought I knew quite a bit about WWII, but with all of the great stories on both of Your channels I learn new things all the time. Such good detail and research. 👌

  • @joegordon5117
    @joegordon5117 Рік тому +2

    Another fascinating one, Mark, and another one where I knew next to nothing about it previously, so thank you

  • @honnebombll
    @honnebombll Рік тому +9

    I never heard my grandfathers speaking about the war, except once when they were cursing Schörner with the worst words available in german.

  • @shutup2751
    @shutup2751 Рік тому +400

    the man was a coward, had ordinary soldiers executed for giving up the fight without any kind of trial but it was ok for him to do the exact same

    • @dwaynebronson870
      @dwaynebronson870 Рік тому +16

      The OKW surrendered the day before he left.

    • @hughmurphy151
      @hughmurphy151 6 місяців тому

      To this day the Russians are no better for desertion..

    • @steveyi2859
      @steveyi2859 5 місяців тому +1

      Because he has cool spectacles lol

    • @R-gl5im
      @R-gl5im 5 місяців тому +8

      NAZISCHWEIN !!!@

    • @British_monarchist
      @British_monarchist 5 місяців тому +2

      And not in his uniform either

  • @mikecook317
    @mikecook317 Рік тому +9

    Hey! i caught this one at two minutes old, just sitting down after supper and this treat popped up. Hi Doc, keep up the good work!

  • @MartinleanRM
    @MartinleanRM Рік тому +4

    Your videos get better and better every time
    keep up the good work!

  • @richardstone3083
    @richardstone3083 Рік тому

    Always something new from Dr Felton. Thank you sir

  • @cior8837
    @cior8837 Рік тому +25

    Another great Video from the great Dr. Mark Felton! Thanks again for these great videos on history!

  • @josh2248
    @josh2248 Рік тому +35

    As the saying goes. When a person points a finger at someone there are three pointing right back. The anti-deserter becomes the deserter! Good work Dr. Felton! Most enjoyable content on the internet.

    • @jasonhaynes2952
      @jasonhaynes2952 8 місяців тому

      Honestly I think he knew his troops despised him. Had he told his troops they were going to surrender, they may have actually just killed him right there. Knowing this, Schörner figured his best chance at staying alive after the war was to disappear or be captured by opposing forces. I think he hid for a few days thinking about his best options.

  • @jimc.goodfellas226
    @jimc.goodfellas226 Рік тому +4

    Whenever Dr F posts a video, it's always right on time

  • @JohnSmith-rw2yn
    @JohnSmith-rw2yn Рік тому +5

    for a man who was the last field Marshall, I'll hold my hands up, never heard of him. Great video as ever.

  • @dammad8584
    @dammad8584 Рік тому

    Very interesting and always entertaining. You are "the best of the best" as always....ty Mark Felton.

  • @zach6210
    @zach6210 Рік тому +25

    Please never stop making this great insightful content !

  • @TheTrickster923
    @TheTrickster923 Рік тому +263

    This was the guy they called "the Monster in Uniform?" No wonder Hitler liked him

    • @t.wcharles2171
      @t.wcharles2171 Рік тому +14

      Like attracts like eh.

    • @TimPerfetto
      @TimPerfetto Рік тому

      @@t.wcharles2171 Thought opposites attract? Good luck living by hillbilly colloquialisms

    • @DovahFett
      @DovahFett Рік тому +22

      They had lots of nicknames like that, such as Reinhard Heydrich being known as "the man with the iron heart". He was the chief architect of the Nazi's "Final Solution". It's interesting to think that as far as immorality within the party went, Hitler was sort of middle of the pack. There were quite a few members of the Nazi Party who were far more depraved and disconnected from the suffering they caused than him. Just think of that! Hitler wasn't even the biggest Nazi _in_ the Nazi Party, just the most powerful.

    • @BadgerOfTheSea
      @BadgerOfTheSea Рік тому

      Not as bad as the SS guy and his wife that were so antisemitic that senior Nazis were like "woah, too far" and went to arrest them

    • @youngimperialistmkii
      @youngimperialistmkii Рік тому

      I was gonna say the same thing.

  • @mkingir
    @mkingir Рік тому +3

    Yet again another great story from Mark ! Many thanks for telling it Mark !

  • @rodhubble5348
    @rodhubble5348 11 днів тому

    Nothing like listening to Dr. Mark Felton on a Saturday morning with bevy of interesting WW2 stories!

  • @chaptermasterpedrokantor1623
    @chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 Рік тому +3

    Ha! I knew this guy would make for an interesting video when he cropped up in an earlier video Mark made. And as it turns out even more interesting then I thought. Nicely done, Dr. Felton, nicely done.

  • @FINNIUSORION
    @FINNIUSORION Рік тому +9

    I was questioning if I was going to set my tools down for a little lunch break. I look at my phone to check the time and see a new Felton video. Well that decision was made for me lol.

  • @randyminnick5031
    @randyminnick5031 Рік тому

    Another outstanding documentary/video, sir! Thank you!

  • @williamberry8895
    @williamberry8895 Рік тому +1

    You've made me so informed and passionate about this war. Thank you Mark. I watch as many vids of all wars u post.

    • @DragonZombie2000
      @DragonZombie2000 Рік тому

      This is incredibly one sided and propagandized to the point of being false. You're not being informed. If you want to be informed, you'll have to buy books from the 1950s-1960s which were surprisingly much more unbiased inspite recency. Being neutral doesn't mean pretending Nazis weren't inhumane and brutal; but to avoid falsifying history for the sake of a narrative

  • @aroncells3120
    @aroncells3120 Рік тому +38

    Fantastic content Mark, very interesting bit of history to one of Hitler's last field marshal's. Amazing to think that someone with that that history of war and prison could have been someone's neighbour in a sleepy part of Munich in the 70's totally oblivious.

  • @jameswright4236
    @jameswright4236 Рік тому +95

    A man like Schörner you would probably expect to see in an SS uniform, especially given the contempt he displayed to men under his command and his priority of self-preservation as opposed to the wellbeing of his men.
    Great video as always Mark 👍

    • @maxhill9254
      @maxhill9254 Рік тому

      Very true, many SS and Nazi party leaders deserted instead of fighting the "Endkampf" with their men. Schörner was a spineless, brown nosed careerist and mass murderer in my opinion. The soviets should have hung him.

    • @cammobunker
      @cammobunker Рік тому +21

      Likely the fact that he was retained in the Army after the end of WW1. A number of highly decorated, truly skilled soldiers wound up in the Allgemeine SS between the wars. The guy who really came up with the basis for the Waffen (armed) SS, Felix Steiner, had been an officer in the Army but was done in 1918, but later wound up in the paramilitary Freikorps and eventually in the embryonic SS, later rising to full general in the Waffen SS, which he was instrumental in developing as a truly modern force. Like them or not, they were absolutely good fighters. Steiner was a truly good general, as opposed to a number of the other SS commanders who had little or no formal large unit leadership training. Oh, and for the record; SS officers tended to be less contemptuous of their men than somebody like Schorner; The SS tended to pay a lot less attention to class and wealth distinctions than the Army, with it's traditions going back centuries did. Officers were obeyed because they had earned the right to give orders, not because they had a "von" in their name. SS officers tended to be more middle to lower middle class and the atmosphere was much different than the Army, or so I read.

    • @spikespa5208
      @spikespa5208 Рік тому +8

      SS commanders usually respected their men and looked after them. It was anyone else, especially enemies, that had better flee.

    • @ThomasDaley100
      @ThomasDaley100 Рік тому

      @@cammobunker "Like them or not, they were absolutely good fighters." what's this supposed to mean? who likes the SS? and were the convicted murderers and rapists that made up SS Dirlewanger "absolutely good fighters"? were they elite soldiers when killing women and children?

    • @kbanghart
      @kbanghart Рік тому +2

      ​@@spikespa5208 lol until the Soviets entered the chat

  • @krishnar3493
    @krishnar3493 Рік тому

    Thank you Dr. Felton. That music at the start is great.

  • @donalddodson7365
    @donalddodson7365 Рік тому +10

    He must have provided both the Soviets, East Germans and West Germans something they found valuable to keep him alive. Information?

  • @uligismann1193
    @uligismann1193 Рік тому +6

    Please note: After WW2 Schörner's chief of staff, Col. Erwin Fussenegger, was given the command of the newly found austrian armed forces - in fact Fussenegger had to built up and organize the new forces. He served under Ferdinand Graf, a minister of defence, who had survived a nazi concentration Camp. In the political climate of postwar austria nobody found that worth a discussion.....

  • @cdrolshagen
    @cdrolshagen 3 місяці тому

    Love your content, the writing and delivery

  • @ericseaman542
    @ericseaman542 6 днів тому

    Absolutely amazing commentary and historical perspective! Thank You!

  • @johanstahl1497
    @johanstahl1497 Рік тому +8

    Great video like always Mr. Felton. Talking about Walter Model, how about you make a video about German Generals or officers who excelled in defensive strategy? Almost everyone knew about the offensive Generals like Guderian, Rommel and so on. But few who knew the exploit of Gotthard Heinrici, Albert Kesselring, and for instance Manstein.

  • @84sp84
    @84sp84 Рік тому +20

    I enjoyed the story as always, but I’m sure I won’t be the only one to point out Robert Ritter von Greim was actually the last field marshal appointed by Hitler.

    • @MarkFeltonProductions
      @MarkFeltonProductions  Рік тому +36

      Damn - I stupidly forgot about Greim, though I wonder how official it was considering the date.

    • @Asger21
      @Asger21 Рік тому +7

      ​@@MarkFeltonProductions😂 Even you sir, though very rarely, can forget.
      That's only human!

  • @michealgillman7418
    @michealgillman7418 Рік тому +1

    Brilliant Mark...your channel is the best!

  • @user-ys1zc3gp9s
    @user-ys1zc3gp9s Рік тому

    I also thank you for keeping History alive!

  • @Cripleclarence_1948
    @Cripleclarence_1948 Рік тому +19

    I have a book by a former German officer that spent time in the same Russian POW camp as Schorner. He wrote that Schorner kept to himself and tended to his garden. Can't remember the name of the book off hand though.

    • @dondajulah4168
      @dondajulah4168 Рік тому

      Makes you wonder what he was giving up to the Soviet officials to keep from getting put in general population where he would very likely been offed. Cant imagine the rank and file guards in the POW camp having much respect for the scumbag.

  • @christiant4596
    @christiant4596 Рік тому +9

    Really well done video. Will you talk about the italian general Giovanni Messe? (The one that stood his ground against Mussolini)

  • @kerrylloyd4215
    @kerrylloyd4215 Рік тому

    Damn that was good! I never knew about any of that, thanks for the broadcast 👍

  • @foryt4193
    @foryt4193 Рік тому

    So happy to discover that you overcame that auto fade issue in the voiceover.

  • @lonnieclemens8028
    @lonnieclemens8028 5 місяців тому +6

    Schorner had hundreds of German soldiers hung for desertion. But yet he deserted his command in the field.

  • @drmarkintexas-400
    @drmarkintexas-400 Рік тому +3

    Thank you for sharing
    🏆🤗🙏🇺🇲

  • @Mark-yy2py
    @Mark-yy2py Рік тому +1

    ...And another fine and informative video! Thanks, Doc!

  • @snarflatful
    @snarflatful Рік тому

    IDK where you get your archival footage, Dr. Felton, but it's always en pointe and the very best.

  • @asullivan4047
    @asullivan4047 Рік тому +3

    Interesting and informative. Excellent photography job making it easier for viewers to understand what the orator was describing. Historians did a very good job presenting actual facts from fiction. Class A research project. Orator presented the documentary very well. Special thanks to ss member sherner for making this documentary possible!!!

  • @Adamantiummonke
    @Adamantiummonke Рік тому +3

    Love your videos and your work Dr Felton, could you please do some videos on Australians on the Kakoda track as it was very important to WW2 especially the battles at Isurava and Brigade hill.

  • @mriamilne
    @mriamilne Рік тому

    TY Dr Mark, a triumph. Loved the education. Ty.

  • @susanhill3147
    @susanhill3147 Рік тому +1

    As always brilliant thank you 👏👏

  • @tomawen5916
    @tomawen5916 Рік тому +4

    Excellent video! Makes me curious on what you can tell us about General Rendulic, final commander of Army Group South commanding the remnant of German forces including what was left of Seep Dietrich's 6th SS Panzer Army.

  • @gavinbennett1849
    @gavinbennett1849 Рік тому +36

    This utterly ruthless brutal man , was indeed fortunate not to be hanged , and lived a number of years as a free man

  • @atunis5804
    @atunis5804 Рік тому +1

    excellent video, as always!

  • @scottconlon5124
    @scottconlon5124 Рік тому

    Your historical prowess is outstanding

  • @majic12
    @majic12 Рік тому +5

    Love your videos, Dr. Felton -- I am a long-time subscriber. This is another great video, but I just wanted to offer two comments. First, I do not believe Schörner was the last officer Hitler promoted to the rank of field marshal. My understanding is that Hitler promoted Schörner on 5 April 1945, but later promoted Robert Ritter von Greim to field marshal on or about 25 April 1945, after Hitler dismissed Göring from all of his offices. Second, on that same topic, Hitler would not have actually presented Schörner with a field marshal's baton at their early April meeting, as those were ornate jeweler's pieces that took months for the Godet firm (I believe) to manufacture. I assume you meant it figuratively. I look forward to your future videos, and thank you.

  • @mmiYTB
    @mmiYTB Рік тому +40

    Within history lessons on WW2, every child in Czechoslovakia was taught about the flight (pun intended) of Schoerner, a cowardly cruel man.

    • @roddydykes7053
      @roddydykes7053 Рік тому +1

      That is a somewhat fitting fate

    • @jean6872
      @jean6872 Рік тому +8

      In 1977 I visited an aging German woman in her Erzgebirge (Saxony) home and on the wall was a photo of her officer husband who had been killed in Russia and her boy of about 16 who was killed at war's end in nearby Czechoslovakia, just across the Ore Mountains where he grew up before leaving school to go to war. More than 30 years later, I could feel her pain, the loss she felt filled the room. The boy had this butcher as a commanding Field Marshal. For all his mother knew, her son had been hanged by German troops on the orders of this monster who managed to get away with manslaughter except for 4½ years in a West German prison. What a shame.

    • @honeybee8856
      @honeybee8856 Рік тому +6

      A Czech talking about cowardly cruel men. What an irony 🤣

    • @janhaanstra2245
      @janhaanstra2245 Рік тому

      ​@@honeybee8856Unfortunately they have every right. As you have NO right spreading your lies. Shame on you. Get an education.

    • @fanda789
      @fanda789 11 місяців тому

      @@honeybee8856 To mluvila Němka.

  • @comradekirov7788
    @comradekirov7788 Рік тому +1

    Informative video, i first saw Schörner in a Hoi4 Mod named TNO, thanks for the info.

  • @ColeYounger16
    @ColeYounger16 3 місяці тому

    Amazing, always amazing detail. Thanks Professor

  • @jamesbodnarchuk3322
    @jamesbodnarchuk3322 Рік тому +4

    Interesting dr Felton
    Was not aware of this cat until now
    He got off easy👎🏻great presentation as always❤🇨🇦

  • @tomservo5347
    @tomservo5347 Рік тому +32

    Hans Von Luck related in his memoirs how during the defense of Berlin his staff was highly upset when one of their beloved NCO runners was caught behind the lines and hanged for desertion when in fact he was performing his duty. It's amazing how Schörner was essentially given a slap on the wrist by the West German government for the hangings and abandoning his men to certain death in Soviet captivity. He was apparently a first-rate brown noser as even the Soviets reduced his sentence while Von Paulus and many other generals died never seeing Germany again.

    • @mathiasbartl903
      @mathiasbartl903 Рік тому +14

      Paulus settled in the GDR and was given an appropriate villa and even a personal sidearm.

    • @cracoviancrusader6184
      @cracoviancrusader6184 Рік тому +2

      Paulus DID see Germany again. Please research your material better.

    • @tomservo5347
      @tomservo5347 Рік тому +3

      @@cracoviancrusader6184 East Germany was NOT the Germany he knew.

    • @hansgolieberzuch1804
      @hansgolieberzuch1804 Рік тому

      GFM Paulus died after being released from captivity in East Germany. He also was interrogated in Nuernberg.

  • @thomasthomas2418
    @thomasthomas2418 Рік тому

    Dr. Felton,
    I never knew this story. Thank you, again, for your dedication and professionalism.
    I also noted, at 6:30, Julius Shaub wearing glasses. I almost didn't recognize him.

  • @user-ee4mp1sg8c
    @user-ee4mp1sg8c 6 місяців тому

    Thank you for such a brilliant series, i am learning so much more, but best of all, you bring other names to the viewers attention, names that are as bad as others, but you also show us that some were a lot worse, if that's even possible. Mr. Felton, I hope you win awards for your work, thank you

  • @talassaXXI
    @talassaXXI Рік тому +14

    Mark, can you make a video about general Heinrici, a defense master?

  • @wildcolonialman
    @wildcolonialman Рік тому +6

    Fascinating. Your appraisal of this mans military life, paints a picture of success in command I was not aware of.
    A command that ended in groveling under Hitler, and the murder of his own men, I was aware of.

  • @wn8022
    @wn8022 11 місяців тому

    Excellent Video. Thank you. 👏

  • @fergalfoley6718
    @fergalfoley6718 Рік тому +1

    Outstanding Documentry Mark

  • @nassermj7671
    @nassermj7671 Рік тому +3

    Great piece. Didn't know about this guy!

  • @TheEvertw
    @TheEvertw Рік тому +3

    Deserting yourself, after hanging hundreds of men accused of desertion without trial, is the pinnacle of hypocrisy and cowardice.

  • @timmyjones1921
    @timmyjones1921 Рік тому

    Thanks Dr. Felton.

  • @luistrinidad7600
    @luistrinidad7600 Рік тому +1

    Excelente video Dr.Felton.Saludos desde El Salvador

  • @michaelpalmer4387
    @michaelpalmer4387 Рік тому +123

    The battles in Czechoslovakia in May 1945 resulted in thousands of casualties. The final Russian operation from 6th to 11th May 1945 is known as the Prague Offensive. Russian losses are officially 50,000 for those 5 days, 12,000 being likely killed. 850,000 Germans were captured. Over 1,600 Czechs were killed fighting the Germans in the concurrent Prague Uprising.

    • @honeybee8856
      @honeybee8856 Рік тому +31

      Just shows how capable the German army still was to the very last day

    • @rickster100100
      @rickster100100 Рік тому +5

      And the positive side of those casualties was a few thousand less Germans.

    • @michaelpalmer4387
      @michaelpalmer4387 Рік тому +15

      @@honeybee8856 Schorner even ordered a counterattack at the town of Zobten (now Sobótka in Poland) on 6 May 1945. The town was recaptured from the Russians. Probably the last German victory of the war & a likely pointless one at that. From the little I've read about it it was supposedly an attempt to relieve Breslau, but the city had surrendered that very day.

    • @davidrussell8689
      @davidrussell8689 Рік тому +14

      What an amazing story . What surprises me is the absence of a sense of duty / responsibility to his men . Guess when the situation becomes extreme you get to see the person’s true colours .

    • @africanlipplateandbonenose3223
      @africanlipplateandbonenose3223 Рік тому

      And the story of the millions of Germans slaughtered and raped remains untold to this day as they are being genocided (as is the rest of Europe) through mass migration. We certainly won didn't we! LOL

  • @damirslatina
    @damirslatina Рік тому +5

    Hi Mr. Felton, in your Episode ´´Hitler's Jewish Soldiers´´ you said, that last Hitlers Field Marshal was Feldmarschall Erhard Milch (06:30 Min). He died in year 1972. I am great admirer of your work.

  • @tomythomas9261
    @tomythomas9261 Рік тому

    Thanks for video

  • @daniellabra4186
    @daniellabra4186 Рік тому +1

    This was a truly interesting story, but mostly thanks to your comments and your subtle (and not so subtle) irony, Dr. Felton.

  • @vpgdarkstar
    @vpgdarkstar Рік тому +17

    I’m genuinely shocked that the Soviets didn’t send him to the hangman 😮

    • @lloydchristmas1086
      @lloydchristmas1086 Рік тому

      He killed more Germans than Soviets they probably gave him a medal.

    • @ttuny1412
      @ttuny1412 Рік тому

      Maybe because he killed more Germans than the average Russian soldier?

  • @kosmonautofficial296
    @kosmonautofficial296 10 місяців тому +6

    Interesting that he ended up living so long after the war I was not expecting that

  • @Kenno734
    @Kenno734 Рік тому +2

    Very interesting. So many stories from the history of WW2 I was not aware of 👍

  • @johncox2865
    @johncox2865 Рік тому

    You have surpassed yourself again, Dr. Felton. One can only marvel at the quality of your work.
    iOS has no proper emoji for SALUTE

  • @Baskerville22
    @Baskerville22 Рік тому +3

    Hitler's "favourite General" really depended upon the particular point of the War you address. At various stages, it could be Rommel, Guderian, Model, Manstein, Dietrich or, in desperation, Schörner. and Steiner