Michael Wittman interview

[Mr Bowcat]

Not sure if this is the right place for this??

Found this video on YouTube and thought some might find in interesting.

[Robert1968]

Now that is very interesting indeed and enjoyed that rare bit of footage

Nice one Bob

I defo think when I get to building my Tiger 1 I may consider Wittmans ( however my 1/35 Accademy is a mid production so I wonder will that fit in to the time period of 1944 may have to do some research.

Kind regards

Robert

[monica]

very interesting,Bob what a great find,thank you for showing us

[Guest]

While this is very good, keep in mind this was a piece of German war Propoganda and exaggerated. Despite that, I have respect for servicemen of both sides, so you get what I mean....
Cheers, John

[Robert1968]

When I first read this story many years ago I thought he only took out a couple of light tanks possibly Sherman's and around 6 APC and there was some pathe news ? Think ) that mentioned this showing the carnage but now it seems whether exaggerated or not to hype the German propeganda news reels at a time when Germany was clearly losing the war to boost the people's and armed forces will power.
Again we at the time only has the firefly that could take o the tiger ( again I'm not sure if this
I believe Wittmam was a good leader but as we all know propeganda is all hyped up to make things better than they are ?

[Guest]

Almost all "heroes" that are used to drum up support for the war machine are rather exaggerated, but facts are facts and there's plenty of proof that Michael Wittman was either a really solid tactician - or a careless tanker/leader who didn't care much for his men, or his own life? He sure did knock out a hell lot of tanks! That we can't deny.
I just can't bring myself to admire the man though due to him being SS and the indoctrination/allegiance that came with it. They were a cruel and ruthless unit that did just about everything horrible just to please uncle Hitler.

The odd thing is that when you read about him, or listen to this interview, he doesn't sound and look at all like a true SS man - quite the opposite actually, but there are also those who said he wasn't a pleasant person either and truly believed in the SS and the teachings of uncle Hitler...

Why Wittman became so famous and not Sgt. Kurt Knispel (also German)- who knocked out more thanks than Wittman in WWII - I don't know? Less valuable for propaganda perhaps? He wasn't SS and that might have something to do with it perhaps?

I admire the German designers and engineers for their unrivalled skills at the time, not just tanks and war machinery but all the fine mechanical engineering they and the Swiss did!
Mauser 98 and StG44 are still being copied today for their excellent design. Mauser 98 has actually not changed much at all since the late 1890's and it's still the de facto standard for bolt action rifles today!
This is why the Americans did operation Paperclip and grabbed all the best physicists, chemists, designers and engineers and gave them new identities in exchange for freedom and them working for the Americans for the rest of their lives. This funnily enough actually makes NASA an (x-) Nazi organisation!?! Not something NASA likes to hear today when queried about it... hehe...

From a modelling perspective Wittman must be interesting though because he, his tanks and his battles, are so well documented - which allows for accurate representation in a model!

Sorry for being a bit off topic, a bit political - and perhaps not so positive in my post but I hope you Brits can understand my dislike (hatred actually) for the SS...

[flyjoe180]

Why Wittman became so famous and not Sgt. Kurt Knispel (also German)- who knocked out more thanks than Wittman in WWII - I don't know? Less valuable for propaganda perhaps? He wasn't SS and that might have something to do with it perhaps?

Or to do with Wittman being not just SS but an officer and Knipsel being an NCO?

Interesting video, when viewed with the context of the time and situation in mind.