Iterview suggestion with 93 year old Panzer !!! driver

[birdie]

I am going to have the chance to interview a PanzerIII driver..93 years old, taken prisoner at Kursk..

outlines and questions are welcome..

[pete]

.

Well, all i can say is as an ex-soldier:

-There are a lot of silly wasted interviews that come off as childish and are heavy with the kind of talk in all these youtube air-softer-ish short films....if you keep to a plan and let it flow you'll get the best results.

-Just let them talk in their own words about their service time, from their own perspective of their part in history "from the then not the now". Don't interrupt them with questions "from the now".

Later, my suggestion you could ask things like:

-What was a typical day for a crew, what kind of things were important to you daily, how were your crew members as a team. How was your equipment performing...etc

-Just do not get into "Did you ever kill anyone", "What was (trauma related) like", "What about the government", "What about all the war crimes", "Did you ever see" etc...I'm sure you get the picture......

Bottom line, they will either want to talk on some levels or not, likely, you'll see......some people are still wide open to talk about anything or nothing after all these years. They may have something very specific they've been waiting to say publicly their whole life etc- so let them talk 25% you (or less) to 75% (them)....let it flow. Don't forget to thank them for sharing their memories- its likely very important to them, or they wouldn't have agreed to talk!


P

[birdie]

Agree pete

I agree with your Post...and have many of the same thoughts...I am getting more info from son, my friend, as we speak. he says his dad "is a book ready to be written" and very forthcoming..

As I get more details...I will post so I can formulate a great interview.

[Jean-Loup]

My advice: record the interview. Interrupt the vet a minimum. Let him do the talking. Ask spcific questions once he has finnished talking spontaneously.

JL

[birdie]

PNZ vet interview

Great advice jean Loup, i agree.

[whatthecrunchyo]

You should totally ask if he preferred M36, M40, or M43 tunics more

[birdie]

Panzer III drivers personal medals

......................

[birdie]

More info

He served in 3 units- 2/K34 in the 4th Panzer, A34, 4th PD, and PAA7 in the 25th Panzer. He wasn't captured at Kursk. What he knows is they were 124 KM in Russia when it occurred. At least 5000 of them were captured.

He was in the PAA7 unit, 25th Panzer when captured. He always drove Panzer 3's. He didn't remember all the unit commander names. 2/K34 was Major Kahlden

[Tom B]

I would like very much to see an interview !!!! Tom

[birdie]

Update

He served in 3 units- 2/K34 in the 4th Panzer, A34, 4th PD, and PAA7 in the 25th Panzer. He wasn't captured at Kursk. What he knows is they were 124 KM in Russia when it occurred. At least 5000 of them were captured.

He was in the PAA7 unit, 25th Panzer when captured. He always drove Panzer 4's. He didn't remember all the unit commander names. 2/K34 was Major Kahlden

Son showed dad some pics i sent of Mk3s he laughed said they were JUNK,,,he drove MK4s not 3s Son had it wrong!!

[o.r.k.]

a little late, perhaps too late I have a piece of advice-
I subscribed a military magazine that always had a vet interview and I liked the structure of the interviews- some thoughts to keep the vet talking:

own background and military career

places of deployment/big battles aginst which enemy and how they were perceived through Landser eyes

special events or experiences (battle, comradie, war crimes..)

medals/ decorations won in what situations

Experience/own thoughts in the endphase of WW2

capture, treatment and POW time and perhaps first months back home

[birdie]

Interview

All good advice...

for the record he was a MK 4 driver,,,and i found out he did write his memoirs some time back, in German with lots of military slang...I am in the process of getting it.