crosspost from /c/history
you can read his notes here https://www.allworldwars.com/Paulus-in-Captivity-NKVD-Files.html
tarabrin really conveys the characters of the captured germans. he not only wrote down their utterances but also described their actions, demeanor, and what they looked like.
you get this near the start, for example:
Paulus is a tall man, his height is about 6.4". He is skinny, with hollow cheeks, humpbacked nose and thin lips. His left eye always twitches.
and later you get
Night passed uneventfully, not mentioning that Schmidt several times asked not to shake his bed. Nobody did anything to his bed, he just had bad dreams.
Dinner. Among other dishes on a table, coffee cookies were served.
Schmidt: “Good cookies, is it French?”.
Adam: “Very good, indeed. Dutch, in my opinion”.
Generals took glasses and examined cookies.
Adam was surprised: “Look, it’s Russian”.
Paulus: “Stop examine this. It’s embarrassing”.
This is still how Westoids react go Russian cuisine. In general, they refuse to believe that Russia is anything but a depressing frigid hellhole.
One person was genuinely shocked to the point of disbelief when I went to Moscow in the summer and came back with a tan.
Paulus being stuck with Schmidt almost made me feel bad for him
edit LMAO:
They started to ask me, what’s going on, who else was captured, etc. They learned that Paulus too was captured. They joyfully began smiling. Schmidt’s name caused a loud laughter, especially from Daniels.
“Schmidt was captured, hа, hа, hа!” - he was laughing for five minutes.
caught in 4k
Conversation moves on to the history of Greece, Rome, etc. They speak about painting and archeology. Adam tells about his participation in archeological expeditions. Schmidt, speaking about painting, authoritatively declares, that German painting is the first in the world and the best German artist is… Rembrandt (?!), presumably because Netherlands, Holland and Flanders are “old” German provinces.
Schmidt: “Is objective interpretation of history possible, in general? Certainly not. Let’s consider a question about the beginning of this war. Who started it? Who is guilty? Why? Who can answer?”
Pretty open and shut, really
