Last days at Stalingrad and First interrogation of Field Marshal Paulus

On January 31st 1943 Paulus surrendered along with the main group of German forces fighting in Stalingrad the pictures of the first interrogations of Marshal Paulus shortly after his capture at Stalingrad are well-known and famous but few people know what was actually said during these meetings when he met his victors later this day at the Soviet dawn front HQ the interrogation was kept secret yet one cameraman was exceptionally allowed as a close friend of general Rokossovsky he took a few photos of the meeting but he also wrote down what was being saved this is a first translation into English language the cameraman became the most famous documentary director in the Soviet Union his name was Roman Carmen [Music] Raymond common the last days at Stalingrad and the first interrogation of a field marshal a video by Stalingrad battle Dada one of the most influential figures in Soviet war documentary filmmaking Roman Kamen portrayed the Spanish Civil War the battles on the German Soviet front in world war ii and conflicts linked with the rise of communism in Asia and South America frames from his footage were included in a number of documentaries which became famous both in the USSR and abroad such as the signing of the final surrender of Germany but most important for us here he also captured the very first images of Field Marshal Paulus surrendering at Stalingrad his picture taken on the 1st of February in 1943 and titled interrogation of polis in the presence of general rokossovsky and marshal Voronov went right around the world press Carmen had not slept for three days as he had so much work capturing the historical events of the last days of the fighting in Stalingrad and the first interrogation of a field marshal but he nevertheless flew to Moscow immediately after this filming it was necessary to deliver at once the pictures of the defeated German troops and senior offer Carmen's unique account of this historical shooting has never previously been translated into English in a small hotly heated log hut in the village of la vara Jenna a map of Stalingrad with the markings outlined in colored pencils is spread out on a table around the table are standing people whom I met in the midst of fierce fighting on the outskirts of Moscow a year has passed since then but it was like yesterday there was just slightly more silver frost on the temples of Constantine raucous offski as usual the seal of extreme fatigue on the face of the chief of staff Mikhail Malinin and funny sparkles in the eyes of artillery commander of Vasily Kazakov these three went through the whole war as a band of brothers where is Palace headquarters controversial information obtained from prisoners leads to a square in the city center further details unknown Konstantin Konstantinovich helped me record the capture of Paulus I said in a praying voice counting on the good relations that had developed between us during the difficult days of the fighting at Moscow raucous offski grinned well we will help comin with only one condition service for service all that I can be useful for I began but the commander cut me short first help us get Paulus everyone around laughed he called me to a map of the city [Music] apparently the command post is some way here go to gist Yakov Sami and if we can clarify anything further or try to inform you from the village of severity know where the headquarters of the Don front was located I flew to Stalingrad in a u2 plane the vulgar steps fields of the great battle of stalingrad spread under its wings from here above it was possible to spots places with recent traces of the fighting thousands of ash and craters had not yet been covered with snow the earth looked like enlarged pictures of lunar craters in the endless steps cut by gentle curving ravines large dark spots appeared every minute which from afar seemed like villages cities or forests but when the plane came closer they turned out to be dense clusters of German vehicles abandoned by polis as retreating forces the pilot circled over to German airfields that we encountered along the way hundreds of aircraft of all types some burned out some crashed and others perfectly operational on the airfields but not a single soul the chirping of our u2 circling at low level was the only sound that violated the ominous silence of a dead airfield dotted with swastikas and black crosses the relics of gorings invincible aviation during these minutes the summer days of 1941 came to mind the golden fields of Belarus hundreds of black crosses in the blue sky diving roaring rushing triumphantly over our heads sometimes so low that you could see the face of a German ace in the glass cockpit drunk with their previous successes they already saw themselves in Moscow and now here is their tragic hangover on the bank of the volga the wheels of the plane gently touched the snow field near the crumbling buildings of the vote upon over station today at dawn the Germans were driven out of here retreating east to the outskirts of Stalingrad the battle had already spread to the central areas of the city the earth shudders from the cannonade of thousands of guns the pocket is shrinking down with every hour on this side of the encirclement the city is filled with crowds of German soldiers who have just surrendered they are bewildered asking our fighters where to go now the soldiers wave them away they have only one thought to move on and the Germans who surrendered are being assembled in two columns wandering somewhere to assembly points accompanied by several guards their appearance is terrible wrapped in blankets handkerchiefs and some rags hungry losing not only their military but also their human appearance a group of Germans is standing near our firing guns they look with curiosity at the work of Soviet artillery man who sent shell after shell over there on the enemy the gunners carry on with their job ignoring these unusual spectators the Katyusha rocket launchers also attract crowds of German soldiers trembling they observe each volley like a fiery tornado in their eyes there's a fear mixed with joy they are spectators now and no longer targets [Music] January 29 I journeyed all day long in the streets of Stalingrad the noise of the fighting is stunning the troops of Shem Elif tolbukhin chistyakov and Chuikov are now engaged in the final stages of clearing the city of groups of machine gunners still entrenched in the destroyed houses in several places I had to leave the car and make it on foot the city is clogged with German vehicles next to the huge trucks at dozens of abandoned cars today hundreds of soldiers and officers continued to surrender prisoners are first sent to feeding areas near the Volga the headquarters of the 100th infantry division along with its commander Lieutenant General Sanne was surrounded and captured by soldiers of the 10th army I saw him last night he is 54 and has been awarded many orders the medals sparkle on his chest he said that powerless in his headquarters were hidden somewhere in the basement of the city centre changing location every two to three hours Paulus said general Sanne is fulfilling Hitler's directive to fight to the last soldier the troops were ordered to carefully searched for Paulus to scour the entire city to inspect each basement at noon for German planes appeared over the city and randomly drop supplies all were unpacked by our soldiers I got a pack of dry biscuits and a huge piece of fat Ukrainian sausage obviously intended for Colonel general Paulus several other general surrender this day at the headquarters of the division where I checked in to find out the situation they were negotiating a truce a truce envoy was sent by the commander of the famous 376 infantry division general Phan Daniel's he wished to surrender with the remnants of the division we climb onto a hill where a deep ravine could be seen Zod it's a riverbed a sinuous black ribbon descends into the ravine from the opposite high bank a column of German prisoners as they come closer we can see the lonely figure of a man walking in front of them a dog circling around him behind when a group of men followed by a long black ribbon the man with the dog is a general a division commander the group of men his headquarters staff and the black ribbon his division the short and puny looking general fund Daniels is watching his fate as he walks his hands wrapped in a rabbit clutch he had led his troops with fire and sword through the Ukraine and the dawn villages now he leads them for the last time in the Second World War into the frozen channel of the deserted sir River the Grenadier zuv the 376 division were first defeated last winter near Moscow they marched on the Russian capital foreseeing the end of the war yet for them the war ended here in Stalingrad at the bottom of the ravine we meet them the generals freckled face is pale and emaciated his eyes without brows are questioningly fixed on major silicon the representative of our headquarters in the generals eyes and expression of pain and shame he stands alert barely moving his thin bloodless lips I listen the general it turns out is worried about his personal items he left two suitcases in the staff dug out his eyes expressed genuine alarm not for the honor of the defeated division but for two suitcases of some junk his staff officers lower their blood backpacks on the snow the mighty dog a German Shepherd walks around the feet of its owner general several times and slowly lays down on the snow near the boots of a Soviet officer the general was put in a jeep and taken to the army headquarters may I ask said the general addressing the chief of staff which military unit captured me and my soldiers during this period when we were surrounded our intelligence was almost inactive and I did not have the opportunity to know my opponent Oh certainly general the chief of staff replied politely you were captured by the army commander by general toboggan then followed a detailed account of the Army's achievements during the war until it came to Stalingrad the general listened silently dropping his eyes propping his gray head with his fists he warmed up a little and even unfastened two buttons on his uniform with medals von Daniels was eventually invited to general toe Balkans headquarters standing upright he thanked the Soviet general for the polite chivalrous attitude of the Soviet officers towards him and his men he said I surrendered because I consider further bloodshed pointless the situation of our troops is hopeless we underestimated the power of the Red Army and paid for it with a cruel defeat On January 30 however the rest of the six army continued the senseless bloodshed keeping a foothold in small sections of the city Soviet aircraft ceased bombing the Germans this had become dangerous for our own troops today squadrons of aircraft leaving Stalingrad flew as in parade the last group of 35 bombers passed low over the city center lining up in the formation of a five-pointed star pilots thus saluted the heroic city the planes then went on a Western course and Stalingrad saluted them in turn with volleys of heavy guns that destroyed the last nests of enemy resistance where is Paulus hiding all the generals who surrendered are saying that polis will do the same in the coming hours but he will do this only after he can prove that he fought bravely to the last moment having ruined the last troops are baying his order yesterday I asked general Fong's Arriba whether Paulus would shoot himself the general smiled and shook his head he will not do that he said at dawn On February 1st Soviet soldiers discovered a resistance hub around the two central department store from this half the Germans fired like hell the unit commander ordered this area surrounded soldiers prepared for the decisive assault several tanks were brought to the scene and opened fire a white flag soon appeared the Germans surrendered the order was given to cease fire and soon a truce in voice stepped out of the department stores basement he said that general Paulus was here with his headquarters and asked us to send a representative for negotiations on surrender Paulus was asking for a general or a colonel colonel likkin was assigned to negotiate with Paulus he went to the basement where he was met by the chief of staff of six army general Schmidt there could be no new conditions for surrender other than those indicated in the ultimatum presented earlier no discussion of these conditions nor can there be a delay in the surrendering process if you have any doubts about the hopelessness of your situation said Colonel Lucan get out of the basement you are surrounded by a large number of well-equipped troops around your headquarters our tanks and artillery I suggest giving up immediately a few minutes later Paulus came to the colonel and declared that he was transferring himself and he said quarters to the hands of the Soviet command soon after polar stepped out of the basement escorted my staff officers the personal luggage of the field marshal and his closest officers were loaded onto a lorry Paulus himself along with Colonel Adam his personal adjutant and the chief of staff general Schmidt went to the army headquarters there was no cameraman in the department store area and how could one be there since there were still many centers of resistance in Stalingrad even at this time unless by some miracle one of the operators filming in Stalingrad could have been in this place oh if only I knew that this miracle was actually there waiting for me if only I knew that at the headquarters of the 10th army there was a message for me from raucous offski faithful to his promise and notifying me about the capture of Paulus instead unaware of the commander's gift awaiting me I was filming the streets of Stalingrad with incredible excitement and enthusiasm I filmed how our soldiers uprooted the last resisting Germans from the basements how they went out raising their hands waving a white towel on a stick or any white rag they had fighting at the Central Station began at dawn on February the first several wagons blazed along the tracks bursts of German machine-gun fire came down sparkling from a high water tower our soldiers rolled in a 45 millimeter gun for direct fire aiming through the barrel they began to drive shells methodically into each window of the building cameraman boris shear and i shot this fight we filmed enthusiastic involved the opportunity to show in one frame both the gunshots and the explosions of the shells suddenly the incredible happened silence fell yes we did not notice how its subsided and then the frantic Thunder of the guns completely ceased the silence was implausible we didn't immediately realize silence the thunder of continuous gunfire raging in the air suddenly gave way to the silence of a sunny frosty winter day the quiet crackle of a fire the creak of a sled runner and someone's soft voice began to be heard was the battle of stalingrad over from somewhere in the distance still came the rumble of artillery fire in the northern part of the city where there was a second pocket of encirclement the battle apparently continued sitting on bricks and shell crates soldiers rolled cigarettes and talked among themselves about things from long ago about fighting assaults about a fallen friend about upcoming battles they spoke almost without looking at the dense crowd of German soldiers wandering past the ruins the thought flashed through my mind like lightning if the battle of stalingrad is over what about parlous surely he surrendered and perhaps one of the operators is already shooting this historic event quick to tenth army headquarters there I eventually got the telephone message from raucous offski to go at once to the headquarters general Chimel of 64th army to my question about what was happening the duty officer gritted his teeth it seems that Paulus is surrendering there these days in Stalingrad all military units dreamed of capturing Paulus therefore the colonel who handed over the telephone message to us was so upset his army had been outrun in a minute we were already racing through the ruined City guided by the map on the way we ran into a convoy of cars with a huge steel colored one leading having guessed that Paulus was in this car we overtook the convoy and drove to 64th Army headquarters near the house there was already a group of officers waiting for the captives when the convoy of cars appeared our cameras were standing ready a tall thin man got out of the car in a long German overcoat and a crumpled cabin with a tired confused look he looked around the bright Sun was shining he squinted shifting from foot to foot then slowly treading the large felt boots in the crisp snow the man went to the porch climbed the steps carefully watched by the guard and then along with several Soviet officers he entered the house this was the commander of six German army Friedrich Paulus I excitedly filmed him walking he looked completely exhausted the shots that followed were taken in the spacious room of the army headquarters slowly under singh in the hallway Paulus together with Schmidt and Adam entered the room fortunately for our cameras the room was flooded with sunlight and it was possible to shoot on the threshold Paolo stood upright hit his heels and raised his hand in the Nazi salute squinting from the Sun that hit him in the face he stepped into the middle of the room followed by his companions at the table was 64th army commander general Shem Elif along the walls of the room on the benches were staff officers with the nod of his head answering the greeting Chimel off gestured to Paulus to sit down in a chair marking every word Shoom Elif said Colonel general you are captured by the 64th army which fought with you from the dawn to Stalingrad the command of the army guarantees you military honor and uniform Paulus listened carefully to the translator and bowed his head Chimel off continued can you show us a document certifying that you are the commander of the 6th german army colonel general palace then Paulus unfasten the buttons of his uniform to take out his soldiers book from his inner pocket his hands trembling noticeably there was intense silence in the room Shem Elif carefully read the document laid it in front of him on the table and turned his eye back to his captive let me make an important statement said Paulus please said Chimel off tonight general I received a radio message from my Fuhrer stating that I had been promoted to the rank of Field Marshal with the nod of his head Shoom aloft made it clear that he was accepting the statement he handed Paulus a pack of Z's Beck's cigarettes saying please Field Marshal the room was quiet pollicis face was tense the leader of the German army who put down his field marshals baton at the feet of the victorious Red Army sat depressed It was as if he was just now beginning to fully realize the tragedy that befell his troops and himself the first Field Marshal who surrendered in the history of warfare the silence was broken only by the light crack of my camera which recorded this historical episode his uniform is worn and crumpled his face is earthy in color he seems calm but his hands tremble as he brings a cigarette to his mouth answering questions he speaks in a quiet muffled voice thinking through every word why didn't you accept the ultimatum of the Soviet High Command to surrender shamila asks him I had in order to fight did you have additional instructions after you were surrounded from the very beginning I had instructions to fight to the last opportunity have you ordered the northern group to lay down their arms I am in captivity and do not have the right to give an order to surrender but when the commander sees that his people are perishing in vain and that further resistance is hopeless shouldn't he prevent unnecessary bloodshed it can be decided by the one who is with the troops I am in captivity in the course of further conversation Paulus said this is my first time in Russia in World War one I fought on the Western Front I see now that it is difficult to defeat your country I could not have foreseen my defeat I did not expect that you have such forces in military operations there is fortune and there is misfortune I suffered misfortune which alas I could not prevent you captured me I am your captive [Music] a few hours later Paulus was sent to serve our eggy know the front headquarters he was taken there in his own car in the next car sat General Schmidt and Colonel Adam the willies in which I was traveling was the third in the convoy it was a 30 kilometer journey along the Volga steps the temperature was about minus 30 degrees there were whirl winds of snow from time to time we overtook columns of many thousands of prisoners stretching four kilometers in narrow places they had to make way for us to pass the noise of thousands of feet walking on the frosty snow like the hum of a giant waterfall stood over the Volga steps in the bright beam of headlights as on a screen floated sad images of soldiers wrapped in blankets and rags I involuntarily looked at them through the eyes of the captured Field Marshal who was witnessing on this frosty night the last tragic parade of his defeated troops late at night the convoy arrived in Savannah Guinot I knocked on the door of the log house of the representative of the general headquarters chief marshal of artillery Voronov I became friends with Nikolay Nikolayevich voronov in Spain where he bore the codename Voltaire he was an advisor to the Republican Army on artillery we spent many days and nights in besieged Madrid we met again at jardim in Guadalajara in Burnet here in Suvari Guinot we meet for the first time since Spain well you have a hell of a look said marshal Voronov laughing Lucas offski told me that you film polis already are you hungry I confess that I have forgotten when I ate or slept last then I glanced at his watch and said hurry in 40 minutes we will have the first meeting with the captured Field Marshal now raucous offski Malinin and telegin will come here will you allow me Nikolay Nikolayevich to be present at the meeting just sit here in the corner but you probably won't be able to shoot we cannot offer anything for your camera other than a car light bulb then I'll take a picture it is impossible not to fix this historical meeting general rokossovsky entered are you already here he said turning to me well did you film Paulus what does he look like tell me the front commander called Moscow at 2 hours and 15 minutes on February the 1st Field Marshal Paulus was bought into the room the translator major D at lenko told him this is the representative of the Supreme High Command marshal of artillery Voronov and the commander of the don front colonel general Rokossovsky the German Field Marshal standing upright silently bowed his head he was invited to sit looking closely at the present Soviet military leaders he asked was it you who signed the document forwarded to me by the truce the ultimatum to surrender yes it was us Cedric osofsky fill marshal we invite you at such a late hour said vote enough to solve an important issue your troops are defeated thousands of your soldiers surrendered and you feel marshal are captured but in the northern part of the city in a narrow pocket the last group of your troops continue to resist the Soviet command has large-scale firepower artillery aircraft sufficient to destroy this group within a few hours we suggest that you field marshal turn to your soldiers and officers with a proposal to lay down their arms this will prevent useless bloodshed the life of your soldiers is in your hands Field Marshal Paulus listen to Voronov carefully his face twitched nervously raucous offski handed him a pack of cigarettes Paulus took one his hand trembled he replied I cannot give such an order to my troops why because I'm in captivity and they are fighting I simply do not have the right to order them to surrender but you are aware of the senselessness of their resistance explained Rokossovsky they will be destroyed Paulus turned to Rawkus offski there was Express pain in his eyes he understood the humanity of the proposal made by the Soviet journals and of course felt the measure of his responsibility over his soldiers after a moment of silence he said no I can't give the surrender order throughout this war I have witnessed more than once how Russian soldiers who found themselves in a hopeless situation still fought to the last bullet they fought valiantly heroically my soldiers have ammunition and weapons they have an order to continue the resistance why are you offering me to make my soldiers surrender no I can't do this well in that case we are forced tomorrow morning foreign I've looked at his watch or rather today to begin operations to defeat the group Paulus bowed his head spread his arms and silently looked into raucous offski eyes as if to say you have strength on your side we lost a small car light bulb burned above the table sitting in a corner I wrote down in a notebook every word of this historical dialogue I was the only journalist present there I clicked the camera several times the picture of the interrogation of Paulus soon went around the entire world press Voronov asked Paulus if he had any complaints against the Soviet command regarding the conditions in which he was located polish shook his head vigorously Oh No the attitude of the Soviet officers and soldiers toward us was most honorable do you feel marshal have any kind of requests to us one request I asked the German doctors stay with their wounded we have already done this for enough added such an order has been given thank you said Paulus when he went out millennion slapped his hand on the table what can you say he behaved like a real soldier whether polos was a real soldier or not history will judge him like he said himself the next day after this meeting the Battle of Stalingrad was over [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Stalingrad Battle Data

Views: 581,460

Rating: 4.8186431 out of 5

Keywords: Stalingrad, Paulus, roman karmen, karmen

Id: wQ4Jz0H4fAA

Length: 33min 29sec (2009 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 15 2020