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.
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
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!
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.
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??
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.
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.
@@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.
Any compassionate German must be thinking " What were our Great/Grandparents thinking off"! supporting such evil... Now explained with new detail 80+ Years on.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
@@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.
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!
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?
@@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.
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!
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.
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.
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.......
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!
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 .
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?
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.
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.
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. 👌
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.....
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 👍
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.
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.
@@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?
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
My grand pawpaw fought in WW2 and was a War Hero. He always said “in war, the possums are tough but the horses are tougher at night” and this is EXACTLY what he meant. Thanks for the great video!
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.
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.
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.
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
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 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.
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 .
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
Dr Felton is one of the foremost ww2 historians in the world and has knowledge of actions , events , etc that few other historians ever cover ! Always entertaining and always rock solid about the facts ! I make sure to read every new post from this most excellent teacher . Always well researched and highly informative and interesting !
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.
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!!!
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.
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.
there was an instance during a retreat, Schorner personally manned an AA gun at a bridge to prevent panic, ensuring an orderly withdrawal. I believe there were German soldiers who understood that Schorner was doing what was necessary to hold his army together in a lost cause. There was an order he issue to stiffen resolve, something like: do this task, and report who you had shot for cowardice. Note that neither Guderian nor Himmler realized that the political situation was that no negotiated peace was possible, hence Schorner holding the army together in the hope that Hitler code work a political solution was rational from his understanding
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.
I would love to see a video about operation Raspberry. I only just discovered the story of Jean Laidlaw and the small group of Navy Wren's who devised the strategies that turned the tide of the War in the Atlantic. Formed as the "Western Approaches Tactical Unit" these girls aged 17 - 21 studied the U-boat tactics then devised strategies which were radioed out to the convoys. It completely reversed the battle between convoy escorts versus the U-Boats. Several claim their impact on the war was greater than the pilots of battle of Britain. As always they were unsung at the time with their male commander taking the credit.
Amazing, I would also love to hear this story done by Felton. My great aunt was a Wren. She gave her life jacket to a man who couldn't swim when their ship.was torpedoed (I believe in the Mediterranean).
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.
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.
This man, Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner, may have exhibited traits of psychopathy, as defined by clinical psychology. Thank you, Dr. Felton! It is always a pleasure to watch your content.
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.
Although you have done quite a few, it would be fascinating series of "Whatever Happened too" concerning people such as German Field Marshals, Allied theater commanders, Army commanders, Naval Commanders, Airforce Commanders, Etc.
Thanks Doctor. I'm a bit curious about some of the things in this video. How does someone who seems to AFAICT based on his winning the Iron Cross and Pour le Merite, display bravery early in his career become so debased as to do the things he did later. Why did the Soviets reduce his sentence by so much?
It happens. RM Goering was a splendid commander of Jasta 27, even winning the Pour le Merite. His tenure as commander of JG1 was not a success, and every promotion after that was even worse. By WW2, he was a morphine-addicted joke.
@@roberthudson1959 But there seems to me to be a wide difference between becoming incompetent, or perhaps being promoted beyond your ability, and setting up what can only be termed murder squads for your own men. And I'm still very curious to know why the Soviets reduced his sentence by so much.
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.
Poo
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
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!
he was a nice man according to j.bogarth's book
I'd have taken quarters arrest any time given the alternatives of either hanging from a tree or fighting the Russians.
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.
Considering what the man did, he certainly weaseled his way out of the much harsher karmic fate he deserved.
He did die both reviled and forgotten though.
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??
@@Redmenace96 turning over to the soviets was hardly nice, usually anyway. Ask the cossacks.
@@Redmenace96 Probably because he was a Field Marshal and valuable as such.
I still believe their prison camps were worse than death.
"Judge not lest you be judged", certainly applies to this guy!
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.
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.
He should've hung from the same tree he condemned men to. A rat bastard.
Didn't McArthur do the exactly the same thing when he abandoned his troops in the Philippines and fled to Australia
@@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.
@@peterrobbins2862
Macarthur was ordered to leave by FDR.
@@joelgoldberg3019 ...yes, how convenient...the upper echelon always protect each other...cheers🍷🇨🇦
What an absolute scumbag it was honestly extremely disappointing to learn that he survived the war and got to live out the rest of his life.
Just when I thought I knew everything about the War, Dr. Felton surprises us with stories like this. Thank you, sir.
Who gives these people such ridiculous names. Allied war propaganda. Let's start calling Churchill "The Butcher of Europe"
Mark Felton has a Ph. D?
no one knows everything about the war. It's not possible.
@@S0ulinth3machin3 good luck with your mental health.
Any compassionate German must be thinking " What were our Great/Grandparents thinking off"! supporting such evil... Now explained with new detail 80+ Years on.
Short version.
The deserter avoided the hangman's noose and died a free man.
Another excellent video.
Takových Nacistů bylo hodně,co v klidu dožili.
Was looking for a good summary.
That's hardly the story
Thank you for keeping history alive, Dr. Felton. May we never repeat some of it.
Some???? What about all off it
Never? It's happening now.
@@janwil8248 that would be an impossibility, we wouldn't have anything if we didn't repeat history
Professor doctor general of history sciences mr Felton is a bigger thing then human evolution
Well said!
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.
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
The OKW surrendered the day before he left.
To this day the Russians are no better for desertion..
Because he has cool spectacles lol
NAZISCHWEIN !!!@
And not in his uniform either
I’m addicted to this channel. Great production, informative, and straight to the point.
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.
good one
Brits were a meanie
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.
& well they did, especially after the
Husseini-Amin-hajj-Rashid-Ali Germanazi-inspired
coup in Iraq earlier in 1941.
@@Charles_Anthony yeah, better if Iranian oil helped secure Hitler's victory.
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
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.
Maybe that’s the poetic irony of his death. After so many war crimes, he disappears into death without notice
As it should… monsters don’t deserve honor upon death.
Shows how lenient the German justice system was after the war towards their own - overview anyone please ?
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.
@@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.
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!
No tears were shed for Ferdinand Schorner.
I understood that reference.
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?
Nah I’d still take a random UA-cam commenter over a mass murdering pyschopath
@@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.
@@adrianosousa5936Well done sir!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.......
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!
Oh they don't treat your Nazi heroes, try to cope snowflake.
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 .
Very well said! Very thankful.
Brown nose comments should be marked so we don't have to read them.
@@kingofenglandthethir
Very low comment!
for a man who was the last field Marshall, I'll hold my hands up, never heard of him. Great video as ever.
I'm surprised that he wasn't fragged by his own men after the war. He certainly deserved that fate.
lol fragged 😂
Unfortunately all he got was 14 years 😮
@@stevenb891 True...At best he should have gone to Siberia. At worst...Well, I already said it.
Fragged? Why not 360 no scoped?
He was a detestible and hated and did what he killed many for with hanging.
Dr. Felton, your indefatigable digging bring such interesting stories to the light. Thank you again. This has been a very rich chapter.
@MarkFeltonProductions.. Get stuffed.
Please do a video on German logistics in WW2, how the man on the front line was supplied, an awesome and massive job.
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.
That would also be a good time to break down the myth of an ubermechanized Wehrmacht
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.
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?
Mammoth job and make or break
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.
As always an episode packed with rich details and great historical photos. Impressive work indeed!
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!
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.
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. 👌
Thank you very much Mark! I'd never heard of this man until this video!
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.
I never heard my grandfathers speaking about the war, except once when they were cursing Schörner with the worst words available in german.
Both grandfathers!
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?
Loyalty? Yeah he definitely deserved an unceremonious death at the hands of his army
You are the one who released them because it turned you on
They recruited him under Operation Bent Staple.
I to have often wondered about that ? There were so many who could have taken revenge. He was a monster.
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.
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.
Another great Video from the great Dr. Mark Felton! Thanks again for these great videos on history!
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.
Please never stop making this great insightful content !
Schorner had hundreds of German soldiers hung for desertion. But yet he deserted his command in the field.
Whenever Dr F posts a video, it's always right on time
This utterly ruthless brutal man , was indeed fortunate not to be hanged , and lived a number of years as a free man
Your videos get better and better every time
keep up the good work!
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.....
Yet again another great story from Mark ! Many thanks for telling it Mark !
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 👍
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.
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.
SS commanders usually respected their men and looked after them. It was anyone else, especially enemies, that had better flee.
@@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?
@@spikespa5208 lol until the Soviets entered the chat
Another fascinating one, Mark, and another one where I knew next to nothing about it previously, so thank you
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.
You've made me so informed and passionate about this war. Thank you Mark. I watch as many vids of all wars u post.
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
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.
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.
He must have provided both the Soviets, East Germans and West Germans something they found valuable to keep him alive. Information?
Potential?
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.
Damn - I stupidly forgot about Greim, though I wonder how official it was considering the date.
@@MarkFeltonProductions😂 Even you sir, though very rarely, can forget.
That's only human!
This was a truly interesting story, but mostly thanks to your comments and your subtle (and not so subtle) irony, Dr. Felton.
Really well done video. Will you talk about the italian general Giovanni Messe? (The one that stood his ground against Mussolini)
My grand pawpaw fought in WW2 and was a War Hero. He always said “in war, the possums are tough but the horses are tougher at night” and this is EXACTLY what he meant. Thanks for the great video!
On which side did he fight?
@@Americanpatriot-zo2tk he fought with will smith in the grocery store
@@skyDN1974 totally funny dude.
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.
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.
This was the guy they called "the Monster in Uniform?" No wonder Hitler liked him
Like attracts like eh.
@@t.wcharles2171 Thought opposites attract? Good luck living by hillbilly colloquialisms
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.
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
I was gonna say the same thing.
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
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.
Just shows how capable the German army still was to the very last day
And the positive side of those casualties was a few thousand less Germans.
@@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.
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 .
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
Dr Felton is one of the foremost
ww2 historians in the world and has
knowledge of actions , events , etc
that few other historians ever cover !
Always entertaining and always
rock solid about the facts ! I make
sure to read every new post from this most excellent teacher . Always
well researched and highly informative and interesting !
Mark, can you make a video about general Heinrici, a defense master?
Absolutely amazing commentary and historical perspective! Thank You!
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.
Paulus settled in the GDR and was given an appropriate villa and even a personal sidearm.
Paulus DID see Germany again. Please research your material better.
@@cracoviancrusader6184 East Germany was NOT the Germany he knew.
GFM Paulus died after being released from captivity in East Germany. He also was interrogated in Nuernberg.
Brilliant Mark...your channel is the best!
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!!!
So happy to discover that you overcame that auto fade issue in the voiceover.
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.
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.
there was an instance during a retreat, Schorner personally manned an AA gun at a bridge to prevent panic, ensuring an orderly withdrawal. I believe there were German soldiers who understood that Schorner was doing what was necessary to hold his army together in a lost cause. There was an order he issue to stiffen resolve, something like: do this task, and report who you had shot for cowardice.
Note that neither Guderian nor Himmler realized that the political situation was that no negotiated peace was possible,
hence Schorner holding the army together in the hope that Hitler code work a political solution was rational from his understanding
Very interesting and always entertaining. You are "the best of the best" as always....ty Mark Felton.
Interesting that he ended up living so long after the war I was not expecting that
...And another fine and informative video! Thanks, Doc!
Love your content, the writing and delivery
I’m genuinely shocked that the Soviets didn’t send him to the hangman 😮
He killed more Germans than Soviets they probably gave him a medal.
Maybe because he killed more Germans than the average Russian soldier?
Always something new from Dr Felton. Thank you sir
The worst part of this story is that he was able to live to age 81.
Thank you Dr. Felton. That music at the start is great.
Amazing that in both the German and Russian armies their soldiers were in danger of being killed by their own officers.
I also thank you for keeping History alive!
Within history lessons on WW2, every child in Czechoslovakia was taught about the flight (pun intended) of Schoerner, a cowardly cruel man.
That is a somewhat fitting fate
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.
A Czech talking about cowardly cruel men. What an irony 🤣
@@honeybee8856Unfortunately they have every right. As you have NO right spreading your lies. Shame on you. Get an education.
@@honeybee8856 To mluvila Němka.
Another outstanding documentary/video, sir! Thank you!
I would love to see a video about operation Raspberry. I only just discovered the story of Jean Laidlaw and the small group of Navy Wren's who devised the strategies that turned the tide of the War in the Atlantic. Formed as the "Western Approaches Tactical Unit" these girls aged 17 - 21 studied the U-boat tactics then devised strategies which were radioed out to the convoys. It completely reversed the battle between convoy escorts versus the U-Boats. Several claim their impact on the war was greater than the pilots of battle of Britain. As always they were unsung at the time with their male commander taking the credit.
Amazing, I would also love to hear this story done by Felton. My great aunt was a Wren. She gave her life jacket to a man who couldn't swim when their ship.was torpedoed (I believe in the Mediterranean).
Excelente video Dr.Felton.Saludos desde El Salvador
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.
Very interesting. So many stories from the history of WW2 I was not aware of 👍
Interesting dr Felton
Was not aware of this cat until now
He got off easy👎🏻great presentation as always❤🇨🇦
Informative video, i first saw Schörner in a Hoi4 Mod named TNO, thanks for the info.
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.
CONGRATS >2M!
All of your content is fantastic & very much appreciated. You and Ken Burns (OPB Documentaries) are the best.
Cheers :)
This man, Field Marshal Ferdinand Schörner, may have exhibited traits of psychopathy, as defined by clinical psychology. Thank you, Dr. Felton! It is always a pleasure to watch your content.
IDK where you get your archival footage, Dr. Felton, but it's always en pointe and the very best.
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.
Yes!😊
As always brilliant thank you 👏👏
So Hitler's last ditch warrior did desert after all.Thank you Dr.
Your historical prowess is outstanding
Deserting yourself, after hanging hundreds of men accused of desertion without trial, is the pinnacle of hypocrisy and cowardice.
YUP! Breaking News? ..not really 😕
excellent video, as always!
Another fantastic history lesson.
Although you have done quite a few, it would be fascinating series of "Whatever Happened too" concerning people such as German Field Marshals, Allied theater commanders, Army commanders, Naval Commanders, Airforce Commanders, Etc.
Thanks Doctor. I'm a bit curious about some of the things in this video. How does someone who seems to AFAICT based on his winning the Iron Cross and Pour le Merite, display bravery early in his career become so debased as to do the things he did later. Why did the Soviets reduce his sentence by so much?
It happens. RM Goering was a splendid commander of Jasta 27, even winning the Pour le Merite. His tenure as commander of JG1 was not a success, and every promotion after that was even worse. By WW2, he was a morphine-addicted joke.
@@roberthudson1959 But there seems to me to be a wide difference between becoming incompetent, or perhaps being promoted beyond your ability, and setting up what can only be termed murder squads for your own men.
And I'm still very curious to know why the Soviets reduced his sentence by so much.
You have surpassed yourself again, Dr. Felton. One can only marvel at the quality of your work.
iOS has no proper emoji for SALUTE