David A. Harrisville - The Virtuous Wehrmacht: Crafting the Myth of the German Soldier on the Eastern Front, 1941-1944

THE VIRTUOUS WEHRMACHT

CRAFTING THE MYTH OF THE GERMAN SOLDIER ON THE EASTERN FRONT, 19411944

D AVID A. H ARRISVILLE

CORNELL UNIVERSITY PRESS

Ithaca and London

For my father and my grandfather

In the battle against devilry and malice, against hate and the villainy of the world, we know that we are the champions of a just and moral undertaking.

Soldat und Religion, Mitteilungen fr die Truppe, Nr. 254, January 1945, Bundesarchiv-Militrarchiv RW 4/1176

This project has received generous support from many sources. A seminar in 2012, under the auspices of the German Historical Institute, introduced me to archival holdings in Germany and the delicate art of deciphering handwriting. A travel grant from the University of WisconsinMadison History Department allowed me to conduct preliminary research at the Bundesarchiv-Militrarchiv in Freiburg. This stay was followed by a fellowship at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, made possible by the George L. Mosse Program in History. During that stay, I was able to gather materials from the Yad Vashem Archives and lay the foundations for the project. Thanks to a 20122013 fellowship with the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, led by Karin Goihl, I was able to undertake extensive archival research in Berlin and Freiburg. I then had the opportunity to attend a Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies workshop at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, chaired by Waitman Beorn, Wendy Lower, and Stephen Tyas. This experience broadened my understanding of Holocaust historiography and introduced me to the museums extensive collections. After returning to Madison, I began writing this book with support from the UWMadison History Department, a Mellon-Wisconsin summer fellowship, and a fellowship from the Council for European Studies and the Mellon Foundation. The latter was also made possible by the Graduate School and the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education at UWMadison with funding from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. A seminar at the German Historical Institute gave me the chance, in 2016, to receive extensive feedback from colleagues. Helpful comments on a revised version were provided by the Society for Military Historys Edward M. Coffman Award committee, chaired by Samuel Watson, by whom an earlier manuscript of this book was recognized with an honorable mention in 2017.

Along the way, I have enjoyed the advice and support of numerous fellow scholars. With keen insight and words of encouragement at the right moments, Rudy Koshar helped to nurture this project from its inception, looked over drafts, and offered guidance when I altered my initial plans. Lou Roberts, Laird Boswell, John Hall, and Bill Reese also offered helpful commentary and mentorship. Members of the Digital Humanities Research Network at UWMadison introduced me to new ways of incorporating digital methods into my work. Waitman Beorn, Gilad Natan, Mark Hornburg, and Nina Janz graciously introduced me to new sources at various points during the project. Everywhere I traveled, I encountered patient archivists, including Gunnar Goehle at the Museumsstiftung Post und Telekommunikation, who took an interest in the project and helped me locate critical materials. Conversations and correspondence with scholars in the United States and Europe have greatly enhanced the quality of my work. Among many others, Dan Diner, Steven Aschheim, Norbert Frei, Thomas Khne, Andr Mineau, Oliver Janz, Adam Seipp, Konrad Jarausch, Jeff Rutherford, and David Wildermuth have provided thoughtful feedback and challenged my thinking. Skye Doney graciously looked over the manuscript and provided comments. Special thanks also go to the late Diethelm Prowe who, along with many other wonderful teachers, nurtured my intellectual curiosity and sparked my interest in European history.

I have been fortunate to enjoy the encouragement of friends in Madison and beyond, including Nina Janz, Rachel Gross, Skye Doney, Jessica Plummer, Abby Lewis, and Matt Yokell. My family has also been very supportive throughout the process. My grandfather has always been a model for me of the life of the mind and spent hours correcting my German when I was first learning. My parentsRoy and Maryand my sister, Kendra, have lent a sympathetic ear during the struggles and triumphs of writing, and my father, himself a long-time scholar from whom I learned the art of writing, provided comments on the final draft.

Finally, I would like to thank Cornell University Press, in particular my editor, Emily Andrew, who took an early interest in the manuscript and provided invaluable advice as she shepherded it through the publication process. I also benefited from the commentary of series editor David Silbey. Alexis Siemon helped me assemble the images and answered my formatting questions. My thanks also go to the three anonymous readers for Cornell who took the time to read through the manuscript and made valuable suggestions.

Animated maps displaying the locations over time of the soldiers studied in this book, which I generated using ArcGIS, will appear on my website: https://www.davidharrisville.com/.

Abbreviations for the Administrative Sections (Abteilungen, Abbreviated Abt.) within Each Unit