Mail Correspondence with Soldiers at War (“Feldpostbriefe”): Letter of German soldier Friedrich Reinhold Haag from Russia, 12 July 1942 (Published on 13/09/2024)
Feldpostbriefe and their significance today
When researching Julius Erasmus, one inevitably comes into contact with letter correspondence between soldiers at war and their families from the time of the Second World War, such correspondence being called “Feldpostbriefe” in German. Be it messages about the death of a soldier, written by his superior to his relatives, which were later sent to Mr Erasmus as a hint for a grave search, or other correspondence between soldiers at war and their families at home. Since then, I have also been dealing more closely with field post letters from that time.
Feldpostbriefe are valuable contemporary documents that unfold their timeless message, especially in times like the present, and convey a vivid impression of what war means to all involved. They are a valuable tool to ward off the very beginnings of a renewed striving for war and perhaps to help prevent history from repeating itself once again and with yet more gruesome consequences for mankind. At present, war, weapons and the killing of people on a large scale are once again being drummed up forcefully, although for decades one could have had the vague hope that mankind had finally learned its lesson to some extent from the painful experiences of two world wars in particular. Unfortunately, this does not seem to be the case once again.
With this in mind, appropriate letters or letter excerpts from various sources will be published here from time to time in the section “Mail Correspondence with Soldiers at War (Feldpostbriefe)” as a reminder of what war means to man and mankind. To provide food for thought and in the unshakable hope that this may make a difference.
Feldpostbrief from Friedrich Reinhold Haag from Russland dated 12/07/1942 (source: Bähr/Meyer/Orthbandt, Kriegsbriefe gefallener Studenten 1939 – 1945, p. 211 f.(translation from German language)):
“Near Sevastopol, 12 July 1942
I learned anew how difficult it is to lead a company into the fire and to sacrifice people, some of whom you hardly know. Then they fall down next to you, and one of them might shout: »Herr Leutnant, you have to write home« – and you don’t even know his name, but perhaps only that it’s the gunner of this or that rifle. At the moment I’m trying to process it all internally, and it’s often very difficult.
It’s not the kind of images you almost get used to seeing in this horrific carnage: The mutilated, the bleeding to death, the gasping, the silently collapsing, but often images on the periphery that won’t let me go.
This is what I saw: a beautiful white horse grazing by a ditch. An artillery shell from the »Maxim Gorki« armored fort had torn off his right forehand at the hock. He continues to graze calmly, but slowly and in unspeakable grief swings his bloody leg stump back and forth, then looks up with a look that makes your blood curdle, shakes his head uncomprehendingly and continues to graze.
I don’t know if I can properly describe the horror of this sight; for me it was the epitome of all this madness. I then said to one of my men, and this is also typical: »Put the horse down!« The soldier, who had been fighting ten minutes earlier, replied: »I can’t bring myself to do it, Lieutenant.«– Experiences like that are more depressing than all the ‘turmoil of battle’ and personal danger.”
Friedrich Reinhold Haag, born on 31/01/1918 in Schorndorf, fell on 11/02/1943 near Krasnodar/Russia.
(Head picture: German military cemetery Mariawald Abbey
near Heimbach, Oktober 2023)
If you wish to support my work, you can do so here. Many thanks!