Grossdeutschland - Panzergrenadier - Hasso von Manteuffel, Guderian - Mp 40 - Panzer 4 - Wochenschau

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This footage from April or May of 1944 shows soldiers from the Panzergrenadier Division Grossdeutschland positioned in Romania. At the time they were acting as a fire-brigade being rushed to critical areas in the front. Due to heavy combat the division was under strength but new recruits continued streaming in. This is a Panzer 4. Notice the damage it took from a direct hit to its front right armor plate. Later in the video we’ll see more from this footage.

The division Grossdeutschland was an elite formation made up mostly of volunteers which was part of the German Heer, or army. It’s commonly misidentified as an SS formation because of their black armbands which were similar in appearance to what SS units wore. As the war continued, their thinning ranks began being filled with drafted recruits.

The Hitlerjugend, or Hitler Youth, was a kind of finishing school used to prepare young men for military service. Those that volunteered for the military in 1944 were only about 6 years old when the Nazis came to power, and so had grown up completely indoctrinated by the national socialist propaganda. In November of 44 the draft was opened up to include adolescents aged 16.

This nice private footage is from a Hitler Youth camp in Austria from 1942. It has a runtime of about 11 minutes. If you are a Patreon Channel member I will send you a link to watch that. If not, please consider becoming one.

This German newsreel footage from September of 1944 shows General Guderian inspecting Hitler Youth members with the Hitler Youth leader Artur Axemann. During the 3rd Reich military figures like Guderian were something like rock stars to the youth.

To make a bigger impression, Guderian spoke to the gathered youths from on top of a Stug. His message was that this war would determine their Germany, their future and their happiness. As with most every generation, they too would have to fight.

At the end of this video you can see the first 4 minutes of a Panzergrenadier training film so stick around, it’s worth it.

Having volunteered the young men would usually be able to chose the branch of their service. This 1944 footage shows former members of the Hitler Youth volunteering to serve with the division Grossdeutschland.

Because of the dire situation, the young recruits quickly found themselves at the front. This is actually the camera man who wanted to have himself filmed shooting the Mp 40.

And finally here is some of a training film that a new Panzergrenadier recruit would have watched in 1944. If you are a Patreon Channel member you’ve already seen the first 10 minutes of this training film.

Thanks for watching.