[Above: (from left to right) Günter Schulze, Franz Fischer, Willibald Faust and Eugen Schlotter in the middle of the photo.]
Interview with Obersturmbannführer Eugen Schlotter, SS Signals Officer, Nordland/Florian Geyer, Nuremberg, 1988.
Eugen: Yes, in my time the SS was a very simple and exclusive group. I was an early supporter and due to my education was used as a specialist in communications. I am glad to be back at my old school, which has given me fond memories, thanks for getting me back here. I found the early SS to be slightly disorganized and there was more stepping over everyone as many tried to vie for positions once the National Socialists won the elections. People who were non-political and fence sitters were all of a sudden fanatic supporters of [Heinrich] Himmler and his plans. It's human nature I suppose, but I did not like this.
In the early days the SS was not completely understood, we were seen as private security for Hitler. Himmler had bigger ideas, to make us into the new torchbearers of German culture. I felt Germany was in a decline after the first war, so this message was refreshing to hear. Himmler chose many of the early SS members to be leaders, due to their loyalty and devotion to the Führer.
By the early thirties, this small group was growing, with districts all over the Reich. We started as a group meant to protect speakers from Red violence, to being an elite military force. I personally liked the pageantry, our black uniforms, the parades and functions. We were seen as the best Germany had to offer. Contrary to photos we did not march or have rallies often, the men would have hated it.
Did you ever meet Himmler or other leaders, any impressions?
Eugen: Yes, saw and met RFSS [Reichsführer-SS] Himmler often, as well other high leaders. Within our SS family, a very good job was done with being active and engaged. Our leaders met with their groups often to make sure everything was fine in both work and family life. Himmler could sometimes be intrusive into personal lives, but it was for the overall good of the SS. There were times that a member who drank too much would be addressed, or a cheating wife would be addressed.
Our leadership wanted a very tight ship, with no one rocking the boat. There was a case in my university where a professor refused to give the National Socialist greeting and caused a fuss. The SS stepped in and ordered him to either get on board or resign, since he belonged to a National Socialist organization. Himmler met with him to try to understand why someone would refuse to give a simple greeting; this was just a difficult person who was more for the monarchy than for Hitler. There is always that tiny group who wants to make trouble.
RFSS Himmler arranged for him to retire with benefits, and to work as an advisor if needed. He gave him an easy way out, while also ensuring our students did not have mixed messages. Some comrades could be pushy and arrogant, however Himmler was not this type. He was honest, yet had compassion.
The senior leadership of the SS always promoted educational trips, parties, and many dances featuring the newest swing music from all over Europe and the US. Himmler went out of his way to encourage SS men to pick a suitable wife based on racial guidelines and health. Our dance parties always had the prettiest girls, making the other branches jealous. Himmler was trying to rebuild Germany's birthrate.
During the war I served under Hermann Fegelein, who was a very able and brave leader. He was much respected for being trusted by Himmler and the Führer; he went on to marry Eva Braun's sister [Gretl]. He once told a lighthearted story of sneaking off with Gretl to the Führer's tearoom. She showed him some new lingerie bought somewhere fancy, the men teased for more details on how she looked. He said her honor was far more important than the men's lust for sordid details. His brother was very brave and a good leader too, I never heard anything bad about them until war's end.
[Above: Hermann Fegelein and his wife Gretl Braun.]
What was your feeling when war started in 1939?
Eugen: I was angered, very simple. Poland had a record of poking Germany for a very long time. When the Allies created the free Polish state, at first they showed greatness by defeating the Red Army. They also had help from veteran German Freikorps units, but nonetheless the brave Polish army stood and turned back an invasion of Europe.
In the coming years, they then turned attention to German land, trying to take by force something that was not theirs. Again, the Freikorps rose up and defeated them. Poland kept doing small things that were not reasonable, they imposed higher taxes on Germans, and some nationalists attacked Germans, because we urged Germans in Poland not to give up their hopes of returning to the new Reich.
These pokes kept happening, and due to German inaction, they got bolder. The Führer tried to work out solutions with Poland, even welcoming thousands who were allowed to flee to the Reich. However, many Germans were on ancestral farmlands that they could not leave. By 1939, with the WWI victor's encouragement, renegade forces attacked German territory. I do not believe for a minute that this was a staged SS incident. If so Himmler or someone would have spoken about it later on, all I ever heard was how terrible it was that Poland was a pawn of the Allies.
There were eyewitness reports from police units that claimed Polish soldiers actually fired at them from across the border on a few occasions. Polish soldiers are also said to have crossed the border and stolen while in uniform, which the Poles completely denied of course.
The English shoulder the blame for the war; they encouraged it, and thumped their chest when they got it, refusing offers to end it. You would not know it today, but Germany had many allies, and many peoples of Europe supported our cause. Of course, when we were defeated all of a sudden everyone was against us.
Can I ask what your feelings are regarding war crimes; SS men have been accused of crimes all over Europe.
Eugen: I will only tell you, but these are all lies spread by the victors of the war. One of the first actions the Allies did was put their version of the war in all the newspapers and books. In Germany as soon as 1948 they were teaching and preaching the same story, in the east and west. The story goes that we were all mentally ill, drunkards, or drug addicts who were jealous of Jewish success. They said we were immoral, anti-religious, and practiced evil worship. Wanting to take over the world, we had to be stopped at any cost. Jews who left Germany egged this war on, and then returned to taunt us.
I saw with my own eyes what happened, and I can say I saw nothing of the sort. The SS was a very spiritual group, some may not have been Christian, but faith was encouraged, it was the bickering between denominations that was stamped out. Himmler attended church, and went to many weddings and christenings held in churches; the church was not our enemy. Interdenominational warfare was.
I served in the signals regiment of Florian Geyer, which was active in the east fighting partisans and the Red Army. At no time did we act illegally, even the vengeful Allies agreed with this. There were times where would have been justified in burning down a village or hanging partisans, but Fegelein was very humane, and worried about our reputation more than the sometimes petty crimes of partisans.
I of course cannot speak for all soldiers, but I have a hard time believing the stories fed to us on a daily basis regarding German so-called "atrocities". The funny thing is the Allies are very guilty of the same things they accuse us of, but do a good job of deflecting to our supposed misdeeds. I have heard American servicemen say they killed prisoners because they were told we did. I asked if they ever saw evidence and they said no.
Now I will not speak about the Jews, ever, that will get one into trouble. There is not a day that goes by that we are not reminded of what happened to them. I knew men in Totenkopf that served at the camps, so I will tell you, do not believe what you are taught, but you must keep it to yourself or you risk their wrath.
Why do you believe the tribunals labeled the entire SS as a criminal organization?
Eugen: I will tell my observations. After our surrender, I was held as a POW and subjected to abuse by the Allies. The Americans and English both had former Germans who served as interrogators and investigators regarding German crimes. These people were mostly Jews, and I worked for them. I was cleared of any crimes and put to work as a clerk; I took this with the quiet goal of helping prisoners avoid unjust charges, and getting letters out to their families, which was forbidden.
The attitude of the Allies was that SS units were killing squads; every family killed by indiscriminate Allied fire were really the victims of the SS. Prisoners killed while resisting, escaping or sudden firefights, were also 'murdered' by SS units. They make it seem that SS men ran around the battlefield and behind the front just looking for innocent people to kill. Only twisted minds can conjure up this pure fantasy.
It is my opinion, and I believe based on common sense, that the Allies are covering up their own carelessness by turning every civilian death into an SS crime. There were no orders given to run around killing anyone, quite the opposite, and any SS man who would have done any of this would have been severely punished, if not shot.
I worked in the department that handled the claims, and I was amazed how it worked. They had men literally travel all over Europe and the scripted questions were "Did you see or know of any German activity in your area?" In addition, "Did the Germans or their allies harm anyone?" Here, peoples' dishonest political bias came out, anything missing was blamed on German theft, anyone arrested was a German crime, anyone shot was a war crime, they never investigated what led up to the reprisal, if one happened at all.
Some that I read are so full of shit that it made me laugh in anger. One story that stood out was a woman in Poland who claimed Germans killed her son. However, a note surprisingly was added saying a neighbor stated, "A pimp, due to nonpayment of a debt, killed the son. The Germans arrested the pimp and deported him to a work camp".
This stood out, as it was the only one I saw that had any type of challenge to the claim. People were free to make any claim against us they wished. Even in the Reich, former communists came forward with absurd testimonies, running to the new Allied controlled press to tell fanciful stories of persecution and attacks. I also saw that many of these people turned in anyone who was a member of any National Socialist organization. It was all written down in Allied reports.
It made me angry, yet also glad that I never stepped on anyone's toes that would have lied about me back then. It sadly still goes on today, the papers are full of these stories still being told and believed.
You mentioned you served on the Eastern Front, how did you view the Russian soldier?
Eugen: I found them to be unlikable and cruel. I blame this on the propaganda they were fed every day. [Ilya] Ehrenburg had them believing that we were running around their homeland raping, pillaging, and killing everything they loved. It turned them into mindless slaves who were exacting revenge on every German they killed or raped. Every town Stalin ordered destroyed was blamed on us, and any sort of revenge was encouraged. This caused crimes to happen, then German reprisals.
They used vast amounts of non-European soldiers so they brought their tribal instincts into the war, the European Russians were only a little better, with some being very correct in their behavior. I also found them to be very reckless and brave. They always outnumbered us and could launch massed attacks on our overstretched lines.
Usually our defensive lines were only a few holes dug here and there. We would only have a platoon sometimes spread over a half kilometer. The enemy would hit them with a full regiment usually including armor and mobile artillery. They charged yelling their 'Ura!' cry, and were cut down by the dozens, the carnage was appalling.
This happened to me many times, where our thin lines would receive a large attack, and it would take superhuman efforts to stop the enemy. We would have to retreat, and then an armor reserve could be used to counterattack and restore order. Luckily, I was never overrun as signal personnel had top secret codes and could not fall into enemy hands. We were the first to be ordered to fall back in this situation.
Seeing the aftermath of these attacks was sobering, there would be dozens of enemy soldiers laying where they fell. We had Russians who helped us called HiWis [abbreviation for Hilfswilliger which means "auxiliary volunteer"], and often times civilians would come to bring or sell extra food to our lines. We had to sometimes get them to help bury the dead, as the smell was awful. We paid them extra for this duty, as no one wanted it.
If you could go back to do it all again, would you?
Eugen: Splendid question Junge [boy], yes, I have nothing to be ashamed of and would do it all over again. The twelve years Germany had under the Führer were worth it. The war came and made us fight for our right to exist. Again, I will tell you we did nothing to be ashamed of, our enemies forced us into situations that caused reprisals, but usually against only partisans or those working against us in violation of laws.
