From the period of 1944 to 1948 a secret, pro-Nazi, fascist group of SS officers and German soldiers called "Werewolves" terrorized Allied sympathizers and allied soldiers. Using tactics which can only be described as guerrilla they posed a moderate security threat to the rebuilding of Germany. They often were dressed as civilians, and almost never fought as conventional soldiers. They frequently committed acts of violence not only against the Allied occupiers, but also against other Germans who they viewed as being anti-Nazi.
Allied-supported government leaders were assassinated including the American-supported and democratically elected mayor of Aachen, the first major German city to be liberated. The werewolves came to the house of the Mayor dressed as downed pilots and killed him when he came to the door.
In a 3-month period of 1945 there were 300 incidents of violence and sabotage in which the Werewolves were suspected. They blew up railroad tracks, schools, and in some cases attempted poisoning the food and liquor supply.
In a way to further their cause they also used media to their advantage. Using bootleg radio transmitters, pro-Nazi graffiti, and by dropping leaflets, they promoted the citizens of post-war Germany to rise up against the evil occupying forces of America, England, France, and the USSR.
Though the body count of Allied soldiers was light to non-existent, they did make the rebuilding of Germany a tougher job than it had to be. These Nazi sympathizers wanted a return to a statist, fascist Nazi led government.
Things eventually got better, but during the reign of the Werewolf citizens were terrorized and frightened to cooperate with the occupiers for fear of reprisal. This small, but dedicated, bunch of Anti-American insurgents did not want to see the end of the fascist Nazi ruling party that they were a part of. The ultimately knew that if Germany became a free state, all hopes of seeing their world of hate and genocide would come to an end. With freedom would come an end to the world they wanted to live in.
You can learn a lot from history. Just look at Iraq today. It took years for post-war Germany to be totally free of anti-coalition Werewolves, and we still have a military presence in Germany almost 60 years after the surrender. We won the war in just a few months, and have handed over sovereignty to the Iraqis. News was met with guarded optimism and calls to talk radio
I heard Ron Kuby of the Curtis and Kuby show today discuss how we have lost the war in Iraq. He says the continued attacks and sabotage by the insurgents have proven that we have lost. I say to Mr. Kuby that he has to look no further than the history of our own military post-war occupations to see that the road to instilling democracy in previously dictatorial countries is a bumpy one but it is one that can and must be traveled.
What we have done in Iraq is momentous. What we have done we have done faster, with less civilian casualties and less American soldiers killed than any other wary in American history.
And just like the rebuilding of Germany and Japan after World War II, the naysayers are saying it can't be done. But history has proven them wrong 60 years ago, and history will again judge them as wrong this time.
Posted by psugrad98 at June 28, 2004 09:03 PM
