Jump to content
Sign in to follow this  
Olham

Ernst Udet - "Des Teufels General" ?

Recommended Posts


Those are really fascinating. I've always thought of Udet's fate as a tragedy. He got involved with people who seemed to be doing great things at first, but then it became obvious to Udet that they were all on the road to Hell. Finally he saw no other way out of the deadly game but to kill himself. And then the Nazis treated him like a great hero who had died in an accident while bravely serving the Third Reich. Disgusting.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Yes, it reminds me of what another officer said to the German writer Eugen Roth.

Roth wanted to see an exhibiton in Munich in the later days of the war, and got a

Nazi officer to show him through the paintings.

When they had seen everything, the officer said frankly to him, that he knew all was lost.

Roth asked him to change his ways, and even to get out of the NSDAP.

The officer held his hand for long time and spoke his mind about the whole regime.

Then he finished saying: "I cannot turn anymore. It is too late. All that we have done...

When you dress in the devil's uniform, when you walked with the devil - then you can

only go down with the devil.

But thank you for listening - I had to speak my mind to an honest soul."

 

People in Udet's time after WW1 could not know, what Hitler would really make out

of Germany. "Nazi" was not a dirty word then. And many officers wanted to join in to

a new Germany, that would overcome the "disgrace of the Versaille treaty".

He killed himself as early as 1941. He was intelligent enough to realise, that he was

wearing the uniform of the devil. And that the devil would not let him lay it down.

Edited by Olham

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Udet's suicide made an additional victim, as then top-scoring ace Werner Mölders was killed in a flight accident while coming to the funerals.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

...which wasn't Udet's fault. Or do you mean perhaps, Mölders might have been killed, cause he was also a critic?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

It's been my understanding that Udet committed suicide after the leadership tried to blame him for the Luftwaffe's failure in the Battle of Britain.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

There's even more to it. Udet was too soft and sensitive to survive among the ruthless Nazis and his competitors in the Luftwaffe. He just couldn't handle the endless political maneuvering and backstabbing that was the specialty of such people in high places.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
Sign in to follow this  

×

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, and We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue..