Rupert: I felt frustrated, I remember. I was frustrated that Poland would not allow the return of Danzig, or the right of way for a path to Prussia. I, like most Germans, followed events daily on this matter. We knew Poland was in a losing position, they held lands that were ripped from us. They can argue all they want that it was justified, as we lost the war, but they ignored that they took land that had Germans on it, not Poles. They persecuted the Germans who refused to become Poles. I remember seeing refugees who fled persecution arrive in the Reich. The Red Cross and welfare organizations helped them with new homes. So, it was no surprise to us to hear that Poland mobilized to fight Germany. We knew England and France would try to help Poland, so it was no surprise when they announced war. The mood was one of determination to see this through, but we never wanted war. I believe the Führer thought once Poland was beaten peace could be made, as the corridor [the Danzig or Polish Corridor separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany] was the final issue needing settling.

He was wrong in this, as he later said. The Allies only wanted to destroy Germany and nothing else would do. They were the warmongers who caused the war to get out of hand. So, in 1939 the SS was called to the flag. The Poles tried to put up a fight, and they had very good weapons, but we had more motivation. It was a happy time for me, for that November I was selected to attend the second wartime officer's course at Bad Tölz. This took me to 1940, just in time for the actions in the west.

What was life like at Bad Tölz?

Rupert: It was demanding of us all. I was with men who, for some, fame would be their watchword. This was all new to us, as this was only the second course for aspiring future SS leaders. I remember being impressed the very first time I saw those white walls of Bad Tölz and the training grounds. The motto the camp commander [SS-Oberführer Werner] von Scheele would ingrain in us the very first day of arrival was, "No One Achieves Alone". We had to work as one and not as individuals. The school was the hardest training I had ever had. The instructors yelled and barked just like in early training. I remember we were up early, would have to run in full pack, some days would be cross country and in the cold. We had many classroom hours to match the drill hours. The second wartime course was nearly 5 months long I remember, and it was in the winter. Training officers in the SS was much harder than in the German army. We were trained to be tacticians and leaders of our men beyond the normal.

I am not putting down comrades in the army, but the SS took things more seriously. Early on we did have many political discussions, these ranged from National Socialist pros and cons, the Jewish power bases and how they began, and religion. Of course, later in the war these went away, I understand. We of course had to have exams on these topics, but these were easy compared to the military-based exams. We had to understand command and control, orders, law, air-to-ground control, leadership, adverse reactions of men, and so on. These exams were quite hard, and a few comrades were dropped from the course. This was a huge disappointment to them, but just like becoming an SS man was hard, it was harder to become an officer. We did have free time on the weekends and for the religious-minded, they attended church, which our commander encouraged. I bet you did not know that; our detractors say we hated God and Christ, which is very ignorant since most all SS men were religious in some way. Graduating from the officer training course was a very proud moment, we were able to have a sword with knot, and presented with officer rank. We were granted leave to prepare for our new roles.