Hans-Georg Henke - 16 year old German Flakhelfer crying after being captured by the US 9th Army in Germany on April 3, 1945.
(Flakhelfer; anti-aircraft warfare helpers of 15 to 17 year old German students during World War II.)
According to the story that Henke maintained throughout his life, he was based in Stettin with a battery of 88mm guns.
As the Soviets advanced so the German forces were pushed back towards Rostock.
It was here where the Soviets finally overran their unit, that these photographs were taken.
The alternative story is given by the American photojournalist John Florea.
He alleges that he took these photographs in Hessen, in the village of Hüttenberg-Rechtenbach, which is just north of Frankfurt am Main.
The area in which the photos of Hans-Georg were taken is incontrovertibly Hessen.
John Florea is adamant that Hans-Georg is not sobbing because his world had crumbled but rather due to combat shock after being overrun by the American forces.
The sole motive for Henke dissembling on this issue must relate to the fact that after the war he elected to join the Communist Party and live in East Germany.
The East German Communists regarded all those who had surrendered to the Americans as a potential third force.
To cover his tracks, Henke changed the story from being overrun by Americans to being captured by the Russians.
No comments:
Post a Comment