Berlin was once a Communist fortress, and there were also supposedly impregnable Red bastions in Hamburg, Saxony, the Ruhr and Munich. There were some in the ranks of German Communism who honestly believed in the blessings of Bolshevism. They were ready to serve as Moscow's Foreign Legion and deny their German Fatherland to build a life of dignity and beauty for the working class of the whole world.
Adolf Hitler's powerful idea has long driven criminal Communist thinking from the minds of every normal person in Germany. Among the millions of German soldiers who are now fighting as loyal followers of the Fuhrer in Russia, there are certainly some who can remember some of the promises made by the Bolshevist traitors to the working class.
These citizens are the ones most shocked by what they see in the Soviet Union. Many a letter writer to his wife, his local group leader or his S.A. leader mentions that he was formerly a Communist. I mention one who served 2 1/2 years in prison, but now volunteered for the army even though he has seven children. He wants to atone for his sins. Now he writes back home as one who is fully converted.
We have omitted the names of some writers, since we were not sure whether a brave soldier doing his duty would want thousands of strangers to read that he was once a Communist. We have the originals. Anyone who doubts the genuineness of these letters can receive the names and address of the writers, if he has good reason.
The Fuhrer spoke from the hearts of these soldiers when he said of the Soviet Union on 3 October 1941: "It is a country that our soldiers are coming to know after 25 years of Bolshevism. This I know: Anyone who went there with even the slightest sympathy for Communism, even in the most idealistic sense, is cured. You can be sure of that."
[В главе 9 выдержек из писем, приводятся 3]
The Soviet Union is Absolutely MiserableFlyer W. M., Res.-Lazarett Salzlwedel —
to his Cell Leader SchroederI have seen the "wonderful workers' paradise" in the Soviet Union with all its terrible misery, and wish that those who thought differently could spend a few weeks here to see and experience what we have. The misery and horror of Bolshevism is terrible.
I hope that volunteering for our proud army may atone for my earlier sins, and that when I am back home, you, dear party member, will accept me as an honest person. In that hope, I send you my warmest greetings.
Heil Hitler!
signed W. M.
Earlier Fans of the Soviet Union are Quickly Cured
Corporal Otto Kien, Military Post Number 18, 756, —
to the Factory Leadership t the Conrad Scholtz Factory. Barmbeck
Russia, 8 August 1941Anyone who earlier had different opinions of the Soviet Union is quickly cured of them here. The poverty is terrible. Not even the farmers have anything to eat. They beg from us. There are lice and filth everywhere. One has to be careful one doesn't get them from the inhabitants.
These people don't know anything else. They sit in their huts and remove lice from each other. They don't mind if anyone watches. I've had my fill of this workers' paradise. We'll be glad to be out of here. In the past we saw pictures of malnourished children. They were not exaggerated. One can't believe it if one hasn't been here.
Worse than we Imagined
Corporal J. F., Military Post Number 26,280 —
to his Local Group
In the Field, 3.8.41What we have seen of the so-called Soviet paradise is worse than we ever imagined. Anyone back home who still has any doubts should come here. All his doubts will disappear. Everywhere we go, the people are happy to be freed from Bolshevism, and looks to the future with confidence. We soldiers can say to those back home he [Hitler] saved Germany and all of Europe from the Red Army. The battle is hard, but we know what we are fighting for, and, confident of the Fuhrer, we will win. In the hopes of a victorious return,
Heil Hitler
Corporal J. F.