Schwarzenfeld had one thing that most German towns did not—a bona fide American who could smash the propaganda machine and set the record straight.
“The Allied forces were gradually winning the day and they could not come quick enough for us, not that we wanted the ordinary poor German soldier killed, they could not help what they were doing, but we were hoping for the early defeat of the Nazis. Nearer and nearer came the Americans, people were saying why don’t they get here quicker?”
—Fr. Viktor Koch, SS. Giovanni e Paolo, Rome (September 26, 1946).
This excerpt from Fr. Viktor’s letter describes the prevailing mood in Schwarzenfeld in the weeks preceding the American arrival. After conversing with Germans who lived in this place and time, I discovered that there’s more to this quote than meets the eye.
The Germans had names for all their adversaries. The Russians were “Ivans.” The English were “Tommies.” Americans were generally known as “the Amis.” Then, after the Allied invasion of Normandy, they became commonly referred to as “the Gangsters.” German cinemas played newsreels before a feature film (much the same way that we see previews of upcoming movies.) In an effort to stoke fears of the Allied advance and stiffen resistance on the home front, the Nazi propaganda machine borrowed clips of gun-toting mobsters roaming New York and Chicago, and incorporated them into newsreels. This left civilians in the Third Reich with an ominous impression that the enemy soldiers descending upon their cities and towns were a band of bloodthirsty thugs. (I expect that readers in America will realize how absolutely ridiculous this is.)
Schwarzenfeld, however, had one thing that most German towns did not—a bona fide American who could smash the propaganda machine and set the record straight. To me, it’s a stunning example of how easily reality can be distorted, misleading the masses to comply with an agenda.
Useful reminders
This post is part of a month-long series celebrating historical events that contributed to my debut historical fiction novel, The Sower of Black Field. Visit the “Latest News” area on my website for a recap »
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