Rudolf: Yes, I understand your friend is called Maria, which was my mother’s name, she made me learn English. Anyway, the SS was for me the best maintained and disciplined organization. I saw the men on parade early on and was taken in by the uniforms and the smart marching they did. They showed off as the best in the Reich, and owed loyalty to only the Führer. It was hard to gain entrance as one had to know someone to help you, or pass all the tough fitness tests. Something worth saying as well is that a German had to be free from any foreign blood in order to be a part of the Korps. This was from Himmler, who wanted to make the SS a model for a new age that he believed was coming. It was to be a racial awakening where the races would understand separation and find peace. We see it as a crazy idea today. To be an SS man back then meant you belonged to the best in the nation, and it came with great respect. We were tough as nails, and always went to the hot spots of the front to put out fires [Das Reich was often sent in to reinforce parts of the front line that were in danger of breaking. They were referred to as firefighters putting out 'fires'.] What a big change, now we must be silent as we are called the nation's criminals.

If I may ask, do you think the criminal accusations against the Waffen-SS are founded?

Rudolf: Of course, they are founded; the tribunals did not just make up the stories from thin air. They researched the claims made by civilians and our enemies and came to a conclusion. Now I know you come recommended by comrades so I can say to you this, the Allies got it wrong. That war was hard and cruel for all involved, we fought at the front and had to fight behind us. There were general orders on how to deal with the unconventional fighters who wore no uniform. In parts of the occupied areas they had small cells that helped them, when found, these were destroyed. Our responses to the partisan war had to be tough and firm, these translated into what the Allies called war crimes. They made legal reprisals illegal after the war and tried us for crimes that were not crimes when committed. If civilians impeded an advance, sabotaged or harassed German units, they could legally be shot.

These same people had relatives who ran to the Allies postwar and told very fanciful stories about what happened. I know of one instance where a partisan was caught planting a mine. He was tried and hung in front of his village, to warn others. The Soviet radio said we wiped out the whole village; this was false. So, while I am very careful with this, I will say that I saw no evidence of illegal acts by my men, or other comrades. As I say, the Allies put together a good case, but it was based on exaggerated testimonies and accusations. Oradour is an example my division was part of that is misrepresented. We faced strong, organized resistance from civilians, who murdered German soldiers. The retribution, as dictated by lawful orders, was to burn down homes, which got out of control due to illegal munitions being stored in them. It was not our intention to have innocents killed, but the misfortune of war struck.

If they were not attacking us and hiding Allied munitions, nothing would have happened to them. While one officer may not have shown restraint and allowed executions without trial, it was not our aim to harm those who did nothing. This seems typical of war crime claims, it was a small, justified incident that was no crime, but made into a crime by the Allies. I will tell you I heard bad things in the east happened due to the many militias the east government allowed. They took terrible retribution on the Jews and ethnic minorities. Woe to any Stalinist they caught; they hated the Bolsheviks, due to the crimes they committed.