<vid> WWII Aviation over Europe : 2LT Charles "Charlie" Brown and crew vs. Luftwaffe Pilot Franz Stigler

[nitesite]

Verified true and surprising war story:

 

https://www.warhistoryonline.com/war-articles/64443.html/2

 

Edited November 1, 2018 by nitesite

[Cubdriver]

I remember reading about that some time ago.  Very cool story, and it's nice to see humanity occasionally rise to the surface even during the ugliest of times.

-Pat

[M&P15T]

Interesting fact; the German Navy was the only service branch were Jews could serve, and Jewish family members were protected. Also, despite his portrayal in the movie "Sink The Bismark", Admiral Günther Lütjens was not a Nazi, and did not like the Nazis. He refused to do the Nazi salute when Hitler came on board, instead sticking with the standard salute.

So, there were other bastions of decency in the German military.

Edited November 2, 2018 by M&P15T

[Brown Hawk]

Sorry, Lutjens was the Admiral on the Bismarck.  Raeder was the Naval CinC.  And Jews were removed from the armed forces by the Nuremberg Laws (1935) long before the start of the war.  (Except for a few ardent Nazis who were ethnic Jews, not religious Jews, and got “pure” papers for that reason.)  

Lutjens did have contempt for Hitler, like many other military and naval officers, but they did enable Hitler and and follow his orders.  

Hitler