Ernst: Russia is vast and beautiful. I want to emphasize we fought against Bolshevism, not the Russian people. Stalin successfully convinced the people we were fighting them, this was not true, it was Bolshevism we wanted to destroy. Most Russians welcomed us as liberators and willingly helped us fight in any way they could. I was in the artillery by now and endured the long marches moving east. In the beginning, we saw so many prisoners and war material that I believe a case could be made that Stalin was planning an attack on Germany and we hit them before they could attack. Of course, historians mock this idea today, but they were not at the front. Our forces were woefully understrength for this type of war. I saw many units still using horses to pull artillery, there were never enough trucks, even with what we captured in France. Men still marched on foot for hundreds of kilometers. Roads were non-existent; many were mere paths once we entered Russia. One factor hurting us was the railroads, the tracks were not the same size and it took weeks to get this fixed, causing massive delays in supplies reaching us. In the beginning, our unit was short on ammunition so we could only fire a few rounds at a time.

My opinion of the Russian soldier was they were fanatical until killed, wounded, or captured. They had to be, due to the commissars who killed any cowards. In contrast, many Russians owe their lives to the civility of German forces. I was friends with a doctor in the LSSAH [Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler] who was murdered by partisans on his way back to camp from delivering a Russian baby. Most all eastern Europeans I met were good people, even gypsies in the Balkans were friendly to us, we loved to watch their dances, and my men certainly liked the topless shows they did. We did have to watch our possessions around some of them, as thievery has been a charge of their community for centuries.

What about the charges of war crimes and genocide on the Eastern Front, did you see any evidence of that?

Ernst: Normally, I would beg an author to be careful with this question, as it tends to get us in trouble. However, I saw no evidence of any German war crimes. Perhaps a few soldiers lost their cool, but I never saw it. Do not mistake executing criminals who committed murder, to your term genocide.

There is photo evidence that shows Jews and other civilians being killed due to state policy in the east, from what I understand; you disagree?

Ernst: You have to be a critical thinker, which sadly is being lost on today's youth. What do these photos show? They show people being hung, or shot, but you do not know what the story behind it is. Are they being executed just for being Jewish? No, we would never have done that, the problem was that many Jews chose to join the partisan bands and become criminals. They killed soldier and civilian alike, sometimes in very cruel ways, this I saw firsthand. When arrested, they were tried and if pronounced guilty, they were executed, as any nation would do. The police units would hold captured partisans hostages, and if a terror act occurred, they could use these as tools to stop the attacks. I understand this was done very rarely.

I want to say the photos and testimony against us prove nothing to a thinking person. The crimes these partisans committed are swept aside by the victors as justified sabotage; but our response to these acts is made out to be a crime.

What about what happened at Oradour-Sur-Glane [France], was this not a war crime by the men of Das Reich?

Ernst: No, and there was a trial held that exonerated us. All that Oradour is an example of is reckless partisans, and an SS officer who may have exceeded his authority, out of anger and frustration, by burning parts of the town. As for the church, no German soldiers started the fire, setting off all the illegal munitions. The best assumption is partisans either were hiding or snuck into the church, and trying to arm themselves, accidently set off a grenade or explosive. This in turn set off all the other explosives and killed the women and children. The bronze bell [which had melted, proving it was a hotter than normal fire] tells the story of what was inside the church and the intentions of the town's people. The town was fully cooperating with the illegal resistance, and therefore the men, many of whom were deserters and communists, were executed for causing this. They murdered over 100 Germans in this area before we arrived, most having surrendered and then been mutilated, which the partisans seemed to enjoy. While we were trying to reach Normandy, all along the way we had to contend with civilians, emboldened by Allied propaganda, who attempted to slow us down. Many of them were not even French, but Russians, Spaniards, and others who fled to this area and turned it into a communist haven. Therefore, any response by the men of Das Reich was fully justified, considering who was taking up arms against us.