At the beginning of May 1945, the River Elbe became a river of fate for thousands of civilians and soldiers of all types: either the American or Russian prisoner of war movement. The 12th Army of General Wenck became for many a last hope.
Hellmut Westermann, born in 1926, was a gunner of a mounted artillery unit in the rank of a Fahnenjunker sergeant and one of those who attended the self-sacrificing disengagement battles and the rescue crossing over the Elbe negotiated by Wenck with the American troops in the late afternoon of 7 May witnessed.
In extraordinary honesty, H. Westermann tells his childhood as Pimpf in Jungvolk, as a Hitler boy of the Motor-H.J., His assignment as air force helper at the Eckertalsperre, in the Reich Labor Service and finally as a soldier (volunteer and ROB).
Next to the parental home was the official residence of the commander of the Goslar Jägerbatallion. This included Erwin Rommel, who later became General Field Marshal, who lived here with his family for several years. His son Manfred Rommel, later OB of Stuttgart, became the playmate of H.W
Just as exciting, H. Westermann describes his escape from captivity, the deplorable post-war period, the difficult career choice and the interesting years of the so-called "economic miracle" as a young advertising expert.
If interested in zg-stuttgart@web.de
Hellmut Westermann, born in 1926, was a gunner of a mounted artillery unit in the rank of a Fahnenjunker sergeant and one of those who attended the self-sacrificing disengagement battles and the rescue crossing over the Elbe negotiated by Wenck with the American troops in the late afternoon of 7 May witnessed.
In extraordinary honesty, H. Westermann tells his childhood as Pimpf in Jungvolk, as a Hitler boy of the Motor-H.J., His assignment as air force helper at the Eckertalsperre, in the Reich Labor Service and finally as a soldier (volunteer and ROB).
Next to the parental home was the official residence of the commander of the Goslar Jägerbatallion. This included Erwin Rommel, who later became General Field Marshal, who lived here with his family for several years. His son Manfred Rommel, later OB of Stuttgart, became the playmate of H.W
Just as exciting, H. Westermann describes his escape from captivity, the deplorable post-war period, the difficult career choice and the interesting years of the so-called "economic miracle" as a young advertising expert.
If interested in zg-stuttgart@web.de
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