Skip to main content

A great story about a little bit of 'humanity' during a terrible war.

A great story about a little bit of 'humanity' during a terrible war.   



                                                                                 

In April 1945, 2nd Lt. Peter During was a South African fighter pilot (N.7 Squadron) running missions over Italy when his Spitfire was shot down by German AA fire.

He managed to crash land his plane behind enemy lines where he was immediately captured.  

Whilst been escorted to a German Lufwaffe Prisoner of War (POW) camp (he was a pilot and thus his interrogation and imprisonment was the responsibility of the German airforce), he opened a conversation with his captors.

He was quickly able to establish that they could already see the writing on the wall, that the war was at an end and Germany would lose it.  

The Germans agreed with him that the best way for them to survive the war was to make it over to the Allied lines and surrender.  

He then convinced his four German escorts that he was their ticket to survival and to become his prisoners.  

They agreed and then changed direction and headed for the Allied lines instead.

It was a simple agreement really – if challenged by any German or other Axis Forces along the way the German’s agreed to say they were transferring an Allied pilot and continue on their way, and if challenged by Allied troops or the Italian Resistance fighters, Lt. Peter During would be given their MP-40 machine pistol and state he was transferring German prisoners.

On their way they stopped at several Italian houses for food and glasses of wine. One of the Germans had a camera and hence the photographs. 

They made it over to the Allied lines, Peter During wrote them a note mentioning their good conduct which he gave to them as they went into captivity.  

The camera was given to Peter for safekeeping as its owner knew it could fall into the wrong hands and be lost once going into captivity.

Despite trying on numerous occasions after the war had ended, to track down these men Peter had assisted,  he was unable to find them, thank them and reunite the camera with its original owner.  

He printed the role of film to discover this priceless snippet of history.

don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

French woman accused of sleeping with Germans during the occupation has her head shaved by vindictive neighbors in village near Marseilles.

French woman accused of sleeping with Germans during the occupation has her head shaved by vindictive neighbors in village near Marseilles.  Antony Beevor wrote: "... In Paris, there were cases of prostitutes kicked to death for having accepted German soldiers as clients. (...) A large number of the victims were prostitutes who had simply plied their trade with Germans as well as Frenchmen, although in some areas it was accepted that their conduct was professional rather than political, others were silly teenagers who had associated with German soldiers out of bravado or boredom.  In a number of cases, female schoolteachers who, living alone, had German soldiers billeted on them, were falsely denounced for having been a "mattress for the boches. (...) Women accused of having had an abortion were also assumed to have consorted with Germans.  Many victims were young mothers, whose husbands were in German prisoner-of-war camps. During the war, they often had no means of supp...
Post a Comment
Read more

After the end of world war 2,this letter was found in nazi concentration.

After the end of world war 2,this letter was found in nazi concentration camp,which contains following message adressing the teachers.  Dear Teacher, I am a survivor of a concentration camp. My eyes saw what no man should witness: Gas chambers built by learned engineers. Children poisoned by educated physicians. Infants killed by trained nurses. Women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. So, I am suspicious of education. My request is: Help your students become human. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters, skilled psychopaths, educated illeterates. Reading, writing, arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more humane. Don't forget to leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
Post a Comment
Read more