Erwin: You could say the time I lived in. I studied to be in business, I studied long and hard to learn about the ways of big business and to help run an office. I had no real skill or desire to be a soldier. By 1939 it was becoming clear to most Germans that the former enemies of the first war were plotting a second, even with the numerous peace treaties Germany signed, they still sought war to stop our reunification. To elaborate on this, France took large areas of Germany, Poland was created out of a larger area of Germany, Czechoslovakia was created out of German lands, and a few other nations partook in taking land from a weakened Germany. Adolf Hitler came to power mainly on the promise of returning these lands and people back to their rightful nation. In this he met much resistance, as it showed the errors of the Allies, who would never admit they were wrong in singling Germany out as the sole culprit in starting the first war. Hitler was very successful in bringing most of the land back, but we could see Poland was different; according to the British press, Hitler had to be stopped, and they threw all sorts of lies at us. One that stands out was we wanted to take over the world. This is still popular today. Nothing is as far from the truth, we only wanted a return of all Germans who had been torn away. With regards to Poland, for the first time, masses of Germans fled that nation, as they were targeted for violence, some even killed.

I could tell this was not going to end well. We had a family that was settled into Göttingen, and who told of very brutal treatment at the hands of roving Polish bands who smashed their windows and assaulted the man and wife in front of their children. We were hearing of numerous instances of border crossings, fights, and thefts. Hitler offered concession after concession but the British egged-on Poland to refuse all offers. This only served to inflame the Poles with more bravado and violence against Germans. Talk of war was starting by August, and a comrade suggested I volunteer instead of being drafted. I had always admired the SS men with their elite black uniforms and a strong sense of order and precision. In late August I visited a recruitment office for the SS-Standarte Germania and was impressed. I signed the papers and was selected to go through the acceptance process.

What was the acceptance process like?

Erwin: At that time the SS was very elite, only the most physically fit could join. You also had to prove you were of unmixed blood, meaning you were of the Germanic tribes who made up the peoples of northern Europe. This was Himmler's idea and based on the old type of racial science that was popular in the world at that time. An SS candidate had to go through many tests to look for genetic defects and any health issues. Once passed through I was sent to the SS-VT [SS-Verfügungstruppe (Combat Support Force), formed in 1934 as combat troops for the NSDAP] and then on to the Germania Regiment. I was in training when war broke out on the 1st of September. We assembled in our barracks and our commander said we were in a state of war, therefore sentries were to be armed and had to patrol. For the first time it dawned on me that war meant shooting, but I was told by the recruiter that I could serve in administration. I brought this up to my training NCO, and he rebuffed me, saying Germany needed warriors, not pencil sharpeners. Therefore, I was trained in the infantry, and in particular on the MG34.

You were in the French campaign, what do you remember about this?

Erwin: I was, it was uneventful for me however. Many men had been in Poland and were combat veterans, so they got all the tough jobs and were in the front units. The new recruits were sheltered, if you will; I call it 'on the job training'. We marched a lot and got to see the aftermath of the battles. Germania had very few motor vehicles, so we marched many kilometers. My main job during this time was to learn the ropes as a machine gunner, but I ended up keeping track of the weapons and prisoners we captured more than anything else. It was my first taste of administration duties. I did such a good job with this and with assisting comrades with lost equipment that my leader told me I had leadership potential. I paid attention to how the adjutants worked and how the command structure was set up, with the goal of being a leader someday. Our march into France was fast moving, and we achieved victory over a superior enemy in a very short time. It was a proud moment for us to have achieved in a few weeks what our fathers could not in 4 years. Everywhere we went, we saw demoralized French and countless prisoners. One of the first things we did once the fighting stopped was to care for the refugees. The roads were so clogged with them they often made movement hard. They had to be helped off the roads many times, with carts being stuck, and breaking. Many of us carried chocolate that the children liked, and we provided food if the Red Cross was not close. We spent the later part of the campaign helping the French organize and rebuild what was lost. You will not hear about this in the history books you read.