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To: DFG
There is a a very brief scene in Band of Brothers where German POWs are being murdered by the side of the road by French troops.

I hadn't thought much about the French in the latter years of WW2, so I did a bit of research. From what I've read, German POWs were horribly treated by the French, and as referenced in Band of Brothers, frequently murdered. Thousands more were sent to Vietnam to fight France's war. And considering the existence of Vichy France, and that the French African garrisons usually fought against the allies (this was often for different, frequently justifiable reasons, but the fact remains), and that an unknown, but certainly in the tens of thousands, number of French women married German soldiers, there is something ridiculous about the savage reprisals the surrendering French took on German soldiers AFTER the United States bailed France out (for the 2nd time). I recall an old fable about terriers biting and ripping a lion after it had been fatally wounded by wolfhounds.

The French fought bravely at the start of the war, and obviously the occupation of France was not a pleasant time for the French, but more than plenty of them were happy to cooperate for one reason or another once the Nazis were in charge.

40 posted on 07/22/2017 9:54:39 AM PDT by Wyrd bið ful aræd (Flag burners can go screw -- I'm mighty PROUD of that ragged old flag)
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To: Wyrd bið ful aræd

The 33rd Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS Charlemagne (1st French) and Charlemagne Regiment are collective names used for units of French volunteers in the Wehrmacht and later Waffen-SS during World War II. From estimates of 7,340 to 11,000 at its peak in 1944, the strength of the division fell to just sixty men in May 1945.

They were one of the last German units to see action during World War II, when they participated in the defence of central Berlin and the Führerbunker. They were among the last to surrender during the final days of the Battle in Berlin.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/33rd_Waffen_Grenadier_Division_of_the_SS_Charlemagne_(1st_French)


43 posted on 07/22/2017 10:02:27 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Wyrd bið ful aræd

You need to do a lot more research.


102 posted on 07/22/2017 10:52:39 AM PDT by Mollypitcher1 (I have not yet begun to fight....John Paul Jones)
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