youtube world war 2 tanks battle dead americans

As a result, American soldiers became more willing to destroy and loot German property. In addition, Americans encountered millions of malnourished and mistreated Displaced Persons-men, women, and children who were forced to work as slaves in German factories and fields. American conquerors assumed that the Germans looted much of this material abundance from countries under their dominion. After GIs saw the affluence of German homes, however, many of the conquerors became even more bitter toward German civilians. Prior to entering Germany, GIs already resented the Germans for starting the war. Germany’s prosperity inspired anger in many American soldiers. German civilians appeared well-fed and clothed, a fact that drew frequent comments from GIs who had observed the hardships the war wrought on the populations of France and England. The quaint little towns looked like illustrations from Grimm’s fairy tales.” Soldiers entering German houses found them richly appointed with modern furniture, paintings, china, and furs. Clear bubbling streams ran down the hills into wide lovely valleys, all intensively cultivated. Nineteen year old Private Richard Kingsbury of the 94th Infantry Division remembered how in southern Germany, “The frequent hills were covered with aromatic pine forests so thick with trees that they were dark and cool despite the brightest sunshine. The majority of German cities, crossroads, and bridges had been destroyed by Allied bombing raids, but the bulk of Germany’s rural areas and suburbs had escaped relatively unscathed. The first thing that many American GIs noticed about Germany was its beauty. The most frequently repeated observations among American soldiers were the material wealth of the country, the friendliness of civilians, and the curious absence of Nazis. The Germany that American soldiers saw in the spring of 1945 provoked strong reactions among their ranks and surprised them in a number of ways. In the seven months that American GIs fought on German soil, they formed their initial impressions of Germany, a country most soldiers previously knew only through wartime propaganda and interactions with captured German soldiers. While Allied bombers had destroyed the centers of most German cities, many smaller towns escaped destruction. American soldiers and tank destroyers make their way through the ruins of Düsseldorf.

Youtube world war 2 tanks battle dead americans