Field Marshal Paulus in Captivity: NKVD Files
www.allworldwars.com

crosspost from /c/history

you can read his notes here https://www.allworldwars.com/Paulus-in-Captivity-NKVD-Files.html

tarabrin really conveys the characters of the captured germans. he not only wrote down their utterances but also described their actions, demeanor, and what they looked like.

you get this near the start, for example:

Paulus is a tall man, his height is about 6.4". He is skinny, with hollow cheeks, humpbacked nose and thin lips. His left eye always twitches.

and later you get

Night passed uneventfully, not mentioning that Schmidt several times asked not to shake his bed. Nobody did anything to his bed, he just had bad dreams.

  • coeliacmccarthy [he/him]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Paulus being stuck with Schmidt almost made me feel bad for him

    edit LMAO:

    They started to ask me, what's going on, who else was captured, etc. They learned that Paulus too was captured. They joyfully began smiling. Schmidt's name caused a loud laughter, especially from Daniels.

    “Schmidt was captured, hа, hа, hа!” - he was laughing for five minutes.

    • keepcarrot [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      Probably says a lot about Schmidt's command style.

      I kinda like these vignettes from old soviet archives.